·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory has found evidence that the prevalence of building-related symptoms increases with increasing outdoor concentrations of the pollutant ozone. They also have discovered that the type of air filter that some buildings use in their ventilation systems may also play a role in the prevalence of symptoms.

Read the full story in Interior Design.

You read about them, maybe even meet them, but haven’t any idea how to be like them. I’m talking about really green design firms, whose projects—and they only do green projects—are held up as the enviable green standard to which we all aspire. They are easier to find on the commercial side than residential, but one such firm happily thrives in Denver.

Read the full story in Interior Design.

The most exciting technology you’ve never heard of is all around us working its tiny wonders

Read the full story in Interior Design.

…it isn’t only the national chains that are going green. Many communities can now boast of green building materials stores, beginning with Seattle’s Environmental Home Center, which may have been the first of its kind. Stocked with a diverse array of products—from appliances and bath fixtures to finishes and lighting—a spin around these centers is a de facto education in what’s green. What we haven’t had are green home furnishing stores, until now.

Read the full story from News.com.

The infrastructure and tools required to make Linux a green operating system are now in place, according to Linux leader Linus Torvalds, who was in Melbourne this week attending Australia’s largest Linux conference.

Read the full story at Environmental Leader.

Adam Grosser, general partner of Foundation Capital, describes the different categories of green technology and the challenges they face.

Read the full story in the Financial Times.

Some of the UK’s biggest food and drink companies pledged to cut their use of water in a move that could save them a total of £60m a year.

A full-color, graphic version of this newsletter is available online at:
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/enewsletter

Using Water Management Strategies to Boost the Triple Bottom Line
By Tom Ash
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36594
Smart water management can be a simple improvement to facilities, but one that can help real estate portfolio owners achieve LEED certification, protect and improve property value by eliminating water-related property destruction and liabilities, save costs and improve the environment.

The Importance of Measuring Building Energy Use
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36593
By Brandi McManus
With companies rapidly seeking out every possible way to improve their environmental performance, many are finding that tracking down inefficiencies in building energy use is a quick and easy way to make a noticeable difference.

Clorox and Sierra Club Announce Branding Partnership
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36522
The Clorox Company has formed a partnership with the Sierra Club as part of the company’s launch of Green Works, a new line of natural cleaning products made from plant-based ingredients.

Three Trends Push Green Building From Niche to Mainstream: Report
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36596
A new report pins attributes the growth of green building to government initiatives, demand for green residential housing and better sustainable building materials.

CIA Campus Embraces Green Building
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36601
The CIA is working on its newest, greenest campus, with a vegetated roof,
energy- and water-saving measures, and special parking for carpoolers.

New York Town Chooses LEED for New Standards
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36587
Another U.S. town wants to use LEED standards as mandatory guidelines for new construction.

EPA Promotes Green Infrastructure for Better Water Quality
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36578
The EPA lays out state and municipal options for using green infrastructure to cut down on stormwater runoff and sewer overflows.

Non-Profit Aims to Increase Hospitality Sustainability
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36572
The Global Green Hospitality Consortium has been created to give the hospitality industry easy access to resources for green standards and certifications.

ASHRAE Offers Free Access to Energy Savings Guides
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36547
The Advanced Energy Design Guides series of four books covers small office, retail buildings and elementary schools. Future guides, including one coming out in the spring that focuses on warehouses, also will be offered online at no charge.

All U.S. Facilities to be LEED-Compliant, ProLogis Announces
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36563
The company, which is the world’s biggest manager of distribution facilities, will require all of its new developments in the U.S. to meet LEED standards, effective immediately.

Wal-Mart to Open Energy-Efficient Supercenter
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36537
The world’s largest retailer plans to open a store in Illinois next week that will use 25 percent less energy than a conventional Supercenter.

LEED Innovation & Design Credit Catalog Now Online
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36527
The catalog contains a listing of proven green building strategies that have been successful on previous LEED-certified projects.

Loads of Green Building Incentives: Report
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36514
Local and state governments offer a slew of green building incentives for developers but the incentives are not always taken advantage of because of time constraints, according to a new study.

Flex Your Power Releases Guide to Hotel Energy Efficiency
http://greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36506
Best practices cover all aspects of hotels, from lighting, HVAC and office equipment to restaurants, pools and spas.

EcoLabelling.org
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/tool_detail.cfm?LinkAdvID=96949
This recently launched site has already compiled data on more than 260 of the world’s estimated 410 green labelling schemes, including 50 related to buildings. Its overall goal is to take the mystery out of the bewildering herd of green labels by studying the foundations of all types of eco-labels aimed at both consumers and corporations.

Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure — Action Strategy 2008
http://greenerbuildings.com/tool_detail.cfm?LinkAdvID=96929
In this report, the EPA lists the numerous green infrastructure options available and the benefits of putting them in place.

Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times.

In an effort to reduce industry’s reliance on toxic compounds, state environmental officials today will lay out a framework for transforming California into a leader in the development and use of “green” chemicals.

The proposals are an attempt to change the approach to environmental health from a chemical-by-chemical squabble to a wholesale shift in the way industry manufactures compounds used in products as varied as prescription drugs, plastic food packaging, pesticides, cosmetics and household cleaners.

Environmental Capital provides daily news and analysis of the business of the environment. It tracks how growing green concern, particularly over climate change, is roiling established industries and spurring new ones – and how that shift is affecting investors, consumers and the planet.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

According to Autocar’s Hilton Holloway, BMW is seriously considering starting up a new brand to produce and sell a line of green vehicles.

For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.greenercomputing.com/enewsletter.

Dell’s New Rules in Leadership for Business and the Environment
By John Davies
http://www.greenercomputing.com/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=36606
Dell is now using its direct model in new ways to showcase the company’s environmental commitment, which it has identified as a key strategy for future growth.

Greening the Physical Data Center
By Robert McFarlane
http://www.greenercomputing.com/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=36599
Following these simple, energy-saving steps for building and redesigning data centers can help companies of all sizes get out in front of EPA requirements for energy efficiency.

Best Practices Can Help IT Manufacturers Design Green
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36588
Incorporating environmental stewardship into IT product development presents tremendous opportunity for manufacturers.

HP Ups Green PC Ranks, Says Gov’t Could Save Billions with Green Tech
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36576
HP introduces new energy-efficient business PCs and looks at how the government can save over $1 billion in the coming years with improved PCs and data centers.

Intel Named Biggest Buyer of Green Power
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36598
Intel Corp. will buy 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy a year in a bid to stimulate the green power market.

Some IT Decision Makers Still Holding Out on Green Tech: Report
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36575
A new study from Harris Interactive finds that 16 percent of IT pros are “anti-green” unless it saves their company money; nearly one-third say companies should go green even if it means sacrificing some profitability.

Dell Launches New Servers to Stake out Green Data Center Turf
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36564
The company’s new PowerEdge blade servers target HP and IBM’s server businesses, aiming to use less energy for more performance than offerings from those two companies.

IT Can Take the Lead With CSR, According to Report
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36539
“Sustainable IT Provision” lays out why it’s important for the IT industry to take eco-friendly steps and how it can accomplish CSR goals.

Fujitsu Unveils Green Initiative for Retailers
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36533
The company’s “Pervasive Green” initiative includes retail-oriented hardware that is RoHS and WEEE compliant, as well as new operational goals to reduce its own environmental footprint.

IBM Leads Program to Share Clean Technologies
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36521
IBM, Nokia, Pitney-Bowes and Sony are the first companies to join the newly launched Eco-Patents Commons, a coalition spearheaded by IBM to offer environmental technologies, processes and ideas to spur innovation around the globe.

Exercise Environmentally Preferable Purchasing for a Healthier Planet and
Pocketbook
http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/reports_third.cfm?LINKADVID=96952
This Info-Tech report looks at how companies have benefited from adopting environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) programs and gives recommendations on how to set up an effective EPP plan.

Lean & Green: Reducing IT Energy Drain for Business Gain
http://www.greenbiz.com/reference/webguide_record.cfm?LINKADVID=94520
In a world of toxic e-waste and chronic energy shortfall, IT professionals of all stripes are seeking cost-effective ways to implement green practices across the enterprise, and this site aims to spread the word about sustainable computing practices.

Read the full post in News.com’s GreenTech blog.

There is real money behind the claims of corporations “going green,” but consumers still need convincing that it’s more than just feel-good PR, a couple of recently released studies show.

GLRPPR now has an RSS feed for documents recently added to the sector resources section of the web site. Subscribe at http://www.glrppr.org/sectors/newSectorDocsRss.cfm.

Read the full story in E: The Environmental Magazine.

There could hardly be a better state to host a “green” Superbowl than Arizona, which needs to call attention to the very immediate realities of pollution and resource depletion and the importance of fast environmental action.

Read the full story in E: The Environmental Magazine.

A new analysis released by researchers from Yale and Columbia Universities last week found that the United States ranked 39th of 149 countries studied on the basis of overall environmental performance. Switzerland, with lots of open space and forward-thinking environmental policies, took the top honors, followed by Sweden, Norway, Finland and Costa Rica. Twenty-two member countries of the European Union outranked the U.S., as did several other industrialized nations like Japan (which finished 21st). Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Angola and Niger were at the bottom of the list, although 89 other countries were excluded due to incomplete data.

Read the press release.

Five states and non-profit organizations in Ohio, Michigan, Oregon, Florida, and Texas were recently awarded more than $500,000 in federal grant funds to educate health care providers and women of child-bearing age on environmental health risks. The EPA grants will focus on environmental health issues that include exposure to mercury, lead, environmental tobacco smoke, chemicals, pesticides, drinking water contaminants, and indoor and outdoor air contaminants.

Read the full story in Building Design & Construction.

According to FMI’s 2008 U.S. Construction Overview, construction industry stakeholders are increasingly recognizing green building capabilities as “good” — and being a necessary part of a firm’s best practices. Green building is no longer a niche sector, and three major trends are pushing green building to the forefront of the construction industry.

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

A $23 million residence hall under construction in Champaign will be the first at the University of Illinois to be certifiably green.

The eco-friendly features of the 262-bed Presby Hall include a geothermal system to heat rooms and water, water-saving plumbing, as well as environmentally friendly lighting and paint.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

The vast stock of older buildings presents a much bigger opportunity to cut down on energy consumption and carbon emissions.

EPA has released two publications specifically designed to increase environmental awareness among multilingual communities. Teach English, Teach about the Environment is a curriculum designed to help teach adult students English, while introducing basic concepts about the environment and individual environmental responsibility. The concepts introduced in the curriculum can help immigrants understand their role in contributing towards cleaner and healthier communities by reducing, reusing and recycling.

The second publication, Working Together for a Healthy Environment – A Guide for Multi-Cultural Community Groups, is designed to help community-based organizations plan and execute community events that promote reducing, reusing and recycling. It has a brief introductory paragraph on the inside cover in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

Read Teach English, Teach about the Environment at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/teachers.htm

Read Working Together for a Healthy Environment – A Guide for Multi-Cultural Community Groups at http://www.epa.gov/osw/community.htm

Read the full story in the Daily Press.

The scientists from Old Dominion University stood on the roof of the local sewage plant and smiled.

“Look at the color,” said Margaret Mulholland, pointing to emerald-green slime growing in plastic tanks filled with treated sewage. “Just wait until this summer. It’ll be a darker green, and in clumps.”

The tanks are part of a pilot project for turning algae into biodiesel fuel.

Read the full story in the Miami Herald.

Entrepreneur JP Patten hopes to attract people to his retrofitted lawn mowers, which he says are more efficient and environmentally friendly. But they’re also expensive, at $1,899.

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.

Biodiesel expert and environmentalist Josh Tickell’s documentary about biodiesel and America’s need for fuel independence received one of the Sundance Film Festival’s top honors at the festival’s awards ceremony in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 26.

“Fields of Fuel” was chosen for the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film and was presented to Tickell by host William H. Macy. The film’s producer and other crew members accompanied Tickell onstage to accept the award. In his acceptance speech, Tickell said, “May we work together to create a green and sustainable future.”

Read the full story in the Independent.

Solar reflectors could one day make petrol from thin air, and algae may provide all the diesel we need. Simon Usborne reports on the race to perfect energy sources for the future

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Several lawmakers from Illinois said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman made it clear in a meeting in Washington on Tuesday that he was poised to pull the plug on a showcase clean coal energy project slated for Downstate Illinois.

The Bush administration appeared on the verge of killing off the $1.8 billion FutureGen project only a day after the president highlighted plans for a big hike in energy research spending in his State of the Union address.

Read the press release or the full report.

Most researchers are not in favour of changing the current system of peer review for journal articles;  they believe that it helps to improve scientific communications and increases the overall quality of published papers.  Alternatives such as ‘open peer review’ (where papers are available for public comment prior to publication’) were not popular in a new study of over 3,000 senior authors, reviewers, and editors from around the world. However, some were interested in post-publication review, where a published paper is opened up for public comment, as a useful supplement to, but not a replacement for, traditional peer review.

Researchers did, however, prefer double-blind review (where both reviewers and authors are unaware of each other’s identity) to the currently prevalent single-blind system (where only the reviewer is anonymous), seeing this as a way to improve both objectivity and fairness. A majority of reviewers and editors also said it would be desirable to be able to review authors’ data as part of peer review.

While of the majority of respondents saw peer review as an effective filter for research, some did not think it was effective at detecting plagiarism, fraud or misconduct.

The report, by Mark Ware Consulting, also underscored that the most productive reviewers are currently overworked, which is an area that may need further monitoring and analysis.

Read the full press release.

The CIA’s newest campus in Northern Virginia represents the Agency’s most ambitious effort to date to create a state-of-the-art work environment with a design that focuses on “green” principles. The design is so effective that the campus buildings have earned certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

Read the full press release.

Recycled televisions and computer monitors, known as CRTs, often end up in another country as unusable and broken.

That can be a problem because Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) contain hazardous materials such as lead, cadmium and mercury. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to make sure that the destination-country is aware that the recycled materials are on their way.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the Cathode Ray Tube Rule in the U.S., which is intended to encourage recycling and reuse of CRTs and CRT glass. The rule requires that recyclers notify EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. when they plan to export used and broken CRTs. EPA will then notify the receiving country of the shipment. However, if the CRTs are intact, instead of broken, and destined for reuse, the recycler must send a one-time notification to EPA before exportation. In this case, there is no requirement to notify the receiving country.

For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.climatebiz.com/enewsletter.

The State of Green Business in 2008: Are We Swimming, Treading or Sinking?
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36600
The newly released, first annual State of Green Business report takes a close look at the reality behind all the green claims to find out just how well U.S. are businesses doing in their quest to be greener and more environmentally responsible.

World Leaders Call for Global Climate Change Effort, Strengthened Public Governance
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36589
Business and foreign leaders called for strengthened public governance frameworks that will boost corporate global citizenship and fuel the fight against climate change.

E.U. Sets Ambitious Goals to Address Climate Change
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36579
Under the newly released proposals, European countries will aim for a 20 percent reduction in their emissions by 2020, using carbon credit trading, automotive emissions limits, renewable energy and energy-efficient heating and cooling as key strategies.

Intel Named Biggest Buyer of Green Power
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36598
Intel Corp. will buy 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy a year in a bid to stimulate the green power market.

New Online Resource Gets the Skinny on Eco-Labels
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36592
Ecolabelling.org aims to take the mystery out of the bewildering herd of green labels by studying the foundations of all types of eco-labels aimed at both consumers and corporations.

State of Oregon Joins Climate Savers Initiative
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36584
The State of Oregon joined the Climate Savers Computing Initiative in a bid to make the IT equipment in its offices and agencies more energy efficient. By 2015, the state wants to reduce agency energy consumption by 20 percent below 2000 levels.

Website Gives Businesses Basics, Resources on Climate Change
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36571
The Global Environmental Management Initiative has set up a new website sharing the basics of how climate change relates to businesses.

Woolworths Works to Reduce Refrigerant Emissions
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36574
In its bid to hold its carbon emissions at 2006 levels, Woolworths of Australia will incorporate new practices related to refrigerant at all of its new supermarkets.

Adjustments to Agriculture May Help Mitigate Global Warming: Report
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36562
A recent report from Greenpeace details the direct and indirect effects of agriculture on climate change and suggests how the sector can move from being a major greenhouse gas emitter to being a carbon sink.

Safeway Converts U.S. Fleet to Biodiesel
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36550
The retailer’s fleet uses more than 1,000 big rigs throughout its operations. The move will help Safeway avoid about 75 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

TerraPass Launches Carbon Calculator for Businesses
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36541
The Carbon Balanced Business Program is a free online carbon tool that calculates emissions from on-site energy use, off-site server energy use, company vehicles, business travel, and employee commuting.

Can Airlines Actually Reduce Their Emissions?
By GLOBE-Net
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36561
Last year, air travel and transport emerged as major contributors to global warming. Airlines and shipping companies are exploring a range of potential solutions in the face of legislation underway in Europe. Is it even possible for planes to be friendly to the skies?

The Dangerous Rise of Carbon Fundamentalism
By Brad Allenby
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36591
Climate change science and policy is rapidly becoming carbon fundamentalism, an over-simplistic but comprehensive structure of moral valuation that can be applied to virtually any individual or institution.

Powering a Sustainable Future
http://climatebiz.com/sections/toolsresources_detail.cfm?LinkAdvID=96951
This report from the WBCSD examines the sustainability challenges posed to the electric utilities sector by global warning, exploring strategies, principles, best practices and case studies for utilities to help guide utilities toward sustainability.

EcoLabelling.org
http://climatebiz.com/sections/toolsresources_detail.cfm?LinkAdvID=96949
This recently launched site has already compiled data on more than 260 green labelling schemes, with the overall goal of taking the mystery out of the bewildering herd of green labels by studying the foundations of all types of eco-labels.

The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:

• Clean, Green Energy Can be a Reality for the Southeast
• Renewable Energy Powers Rwandan Health Centers
• Consumers Click with Energy Savings
• Keeping Down with the Joneses
• How Would a Recession Affect the Solar Industry?
• A New Energy Direction: A Blueprint for Santa Barbara County

Read the full story in Metropolis Magazine.

Evo Design’s new kitchenware line is made from recycled plastic.

Read the full story in Metropolis Magazine.

How do the leading voices in transportation and sustainable cities envision our future?

Read the full story in Metropolis Magazine.

Philadelphia, a city of tiny row houses, might be just the place to build a new version of the American dream: green and affordable.

Read the full story in FarmWeek.

Agriculture and science teachers across Illinois last week explored in-school biodiesel production as a new teaching tool offered by the Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC), one of the state’s scientific surveys.

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.

Rapidly improving technology and a consumer thirst for all the latest gadgets are leaving people with a growing number of old electronics. Even though they should be recycled, most end up in the trash or gather dust in the basement. Now, states and manufacturers are trying to make it easier for people to recycle old TVs, iPods and even fluorescent light bulbs.

Read the press release.

Businesses and consumers have learned that sustainable development or “green technology” results in both environmental protection and economic growth. And with some help from EPA, college students around the country are also catching the “green wave.” Fifty-eight university teams were awarded $580,000 in EPA grants to work on sustainable solutions for environmental problems.

Read the full story at News.com.

For green-tech start-ups, 2008 could be the year of either break-neck speed or just hitting the brakes.

Read the press release.

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games could be one of the most climate friendly Games in history if it follows the recommendations set out in a new David Suzuki Foundation report.

Read the full story at News.com.

Sugar or sunlight?

That’s one of the fundamental questions for companies trying to transform algae into transportation fuel or dietary supplements. Solazyme says it will grow algae through fermentation–for instance, feeding the algae sugars in a heated, sealed environment.

“We’re not growing it photosynthetically. We put it in stainless steel tanks similar to what you see in a brew pub,” said Solazyme President Harrison Dillon.

By contrast, GreenFuel Technologies and LiveFuels will exploit the sun to grow the single-celled creatures. And here there is a divide, too. GreenFuel grows its algae in sealed, transparent tubes it calls bioreactors. LiveFuels, by contrast, is setting up an open pond near the Salton Sea in Southern California.

Read the press release.

Americans are famous for building big: the tallest sky scraper, the biggest jet, the widest plasma TV screen. But now U.S. entrepreneurs are considering thinking small. Nanotechnology uses particles 80,000 times smaller than a human hair; yet the new technology has the potential to quickly clean up pollution, cure serious illnesses, and make the computer silicon chip obsolete. While EPA looks forward to new environmental breakthroughs, the Agency’s first commitment is to protect human health and the environment. Therefore EPA has awarded 21 grants totaling $7.34 million to universities to investigate potential adverse health and environmental effects of manufactured nanomaterials.

Read the full story in the Buffalo News.

The mounting toll on migrating birds has stoked fears among researchers and ecologists that blame for the deaths lies with invasive populations of zebra mussels and round gobies spreading over the Great Lakes, effectively creating a new food chain.

Read the full story in the Detroit Free Press.

The Great Lakes are less polluted than in the past, but U.S. efforts to improve water quality are hampered by unclear lines of responsibility and inadequate funding, a witness told lawmakers Wednesday.

Read/listen to the full story from the Environment Report.

Some experts say water will be the “oil” of the next generation. As it become more scarce, prices are going to go up. For farmers, that’s serious business. Kyle Norris recently spent time with several farmers who say they think about water constantly:

Read the full story in the Macomb Daily.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality decided the body of water formerly known as a canal is so shallow and choked with weeds that it now qualifies as a wetland.

Read the full story in the Toronto Globe & Mail.

The premiers of British Columbia and Ontario will push their colleagues from other provinces today to reach a national accord on how to adapt to the fallout from global warming that is already evident on the country’s forests, lakes and wildlife.

Read the full story in the Christian Science Monitor.

In Springfield, Mo., college students are about to see quite vividly how much energy they consume. Piles of coal will be on display in proportion to what’s needed each day to power their dorms, computers, and dining halls.

At Radford University in Virginia, students may stumble upon a mock fight between a windmill and a smokestack (costumes courtesy of the campus Green Team).

At the University of Vermont in Burlington, audience members will be encouraged to bike or walk to a one-woman show in which the fictional first lady calls for a boycott against sex until the nation starts a serious dialogue about climate change.

The creative tactics are designed to draw students into a series of events this coming week known as Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America. Organizers bill the culminating day, Jan. 31, as the largest teach-in in the nation’s history, drawing parallels to the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s and ’70s. More than 1,500 institutions, most of them colleges and universities, will host classes, documentaries, performances, energy-saving competitions, and discussions with political leaders.

Read the press release.

What are the human health and environmental risks and benefits of nanoscale chemical products? That’s what EPA wants to find out with its just-announced Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP). Engineered nanoscale materials range in size from 1-100 nanometers (nm), and may have very different properties than the same materials at a larger scale.

Read the press release.

Corporate Express US Inc., part of the Dutch-based Corporate Express NV (NYSE: CXP), announced today that it is now fueling the majority of its delivery truck fleets in Colorado and Kansas with Blue Sun’s Fusion B20 biodiesel — an ultra-low sulfur fuel comprising 20% virgin oilseed-based biodiesel, from renewable US-grown crops, and 80% petroleum diesel.

Read the press release.

GreenPrint Technologies announced today the launch of GreenPrint World, a new version of its paper-saving software available for free to home users worldwide. The company estimates that with widespread use the software could save over 100 million trees and reduce greenhouse gasses by over 300 million tons globally.