·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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The solicitation for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) FY 2009 Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) was released on January 10, 2008.

DOD ORGANIZATIONS: The DoD Call for Proposals requests pre-proposals related to each of the ESTCP focus areas: (1) Environmental Restoration; (2) Munitions Management; (3) Sustainable Infrastructure; and (4) Weapons Systems and Platforms.

BAA and NON-DOD FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS: The Broad Agency Announcement and Non-DoD Federal Call for Proposals requests pre-proposals in the following topics only: (1) Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater; (2) In Situ Remediation of Contaminated Sediments; (3) Characterization, Control, and Treatment of Range Contamination; (4) Military Munitions Detection, Discrimination, and Remediation; (5) Control of Non-Native Invasive Species on Department of Defense Lands and Waters; and (6) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for DoD Installations.

The due date for all pre-proposals from both the federal and non-federal sectors is March 13, 2008.  Projects will be selected through a competitive selection process.  More information about the solicitation, deadlines, and detailed instructions are available on the ESTCP web site under Opportunities: www.estcp.org/opportunities

WEBINAR FOR THE ESTCP SOLICITATION – JANUARY 17.  Through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Technology Innovation Program, ESTCP Director Dr. Jeffrey Marqusee will conduct an online seminar “ESTCP Funding Opportunities” on January 17, 2008, from 3:30-5:00 PM EST. This “how to play” briefing will offer valuable information for those who are interested in new funding opportunities within ESTCP. During the online seminar, participants may ask general questions about the funding process, the current FY 2009 ESTCP solicitation, and the proposal submission process. To learn more about this online seminar or to register, www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/estcpfunding.

Did you know?

• Breathing home indoor radon causes nearly one hundred times more deaths each year than carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking.
• Some 20,000 people will die this year due to breathing too much radon without even knowing it.

Responding to this danger, EPA is joining state, local, and tribal governments, community groups, public health organizations, and industry in designating January as National Radon Action Month, to raise public awareness and promote actions reducing these risks. (more…)

Read the full story in the New York Times.

The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed a bill requiring large stores and retail chains to collect and recycle the plastic bags they give to shoppers.

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

More Steps Toward Eco-Friendliness: Lead-Free, Halogen-Free and Energy
Efficiency
By Todd Brady
http://www.greenercomputing.com/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=36505
Manufacturers are taking strides to make IT products more efficient and with less hazardous materials. For many products, a relatively quick and simple assessment can be completed by focusing on three primary areas: material content, energy consumption and end of life considerations.

So Your Processor has Multiple Cores — Now What?
By Andrew Binstock
http://www.greenercomputing.com/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=36497
The bottom line is that multiple cores are now universal, so you have no choice but to buy them when upgrading x86-based servers and desktops. But the performance improvement for each will vary.

U.S. Government Mandates EPEAT PC Purchases
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36507
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2008 — Three major departments of the federal government have jointly announced a proposal that would require all new computer purchases to meet EPEAT standards for energy efficiency and toxics, a move that will likely have big effects on commercial and consumer buyers as well.

HP Declares Goal to Cut PC Energy Use
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36499
PC maker plans to reduce its products’ energy consumption by one-fourth in the next two years.

Canon Unveils ‘Generation Green’ Brand
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36494
The new brand and campaign launched Monday will encompass all of its environmentally-focused products and initiatives.

Sharp, Panasonic and Toshiba Launch Electronics Recycling Company
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36485
Panasonic Corp. of North America, Sharp Electronics Corp. and Toshiba America Consumer Products have launched a new electronics recycling company servicing Minnesota, and eventually, beyond.

Biggest U.K. Supercomputer Can Be Used to Model Climate Change
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36475
HECToR operates at up to 60 teraflops and can be used to model climates, financial markets and biological processes.

Vanderbilt University, Oregon see Savings With Virtualization
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36470
Consolidating and virtualizing equipment is expected to save money and energy.

Estimating Regional Power Consumption by Servers
http://www.greenercomputing.com/tools.cfm?LINKADVID=95844
This report by Jonathan Koomey for AMD finds that, at current growth rates, 10 new thousand-megawatt power plants will be needed to power data centers in three years unless small but important changes are made to data center design today.

RETScreen Clean Energy Decision Making Tool
http://www.greenercomputing.com/web_guid.cfm?LinkAdvID=95846
This downloadable application, developed by the CETC in Varennes, Quebec, can be used to help companies of all sizes determine which renewable energy sources will meet their needs most efficiently and cost-effectively.

Read the full story in the Environmental Leader.

A cap on carbon emissions is all but inevitable, however the details of those caps have yet to be determined. As a result, some companies are moving slower rather than faster towards green investment. But according to Marketing Green, a recent Harvard Business Review article sheds light on three common financial practices that could be suppressing investment in green innovation in such a way that causes severe long-term harm on a company.

Via the Environmental Leader.

Under a a contract hire scheme in its flexible benefits program, employees at PricewaterhouseCoopers can currently select a car from an extensive list of models that includes green cars as well as gas-guzzlers, but that’s about to change, according to Employee Benefits magazine. The company will now restrict choice of new vehicles to those that emit a maximum of 265 grams of CO2 per kilometre.The new initiative is aimed at changing the behaviour of a small proportion of drivers who have chosen cars that are particularly damaging to the environment.

Read the full story in ComputerWorld.

The U.S. government plans to require federal agencies to buy PCs and computer monitors that are energy efficient and include reduced levels of toxic chemicals — a requirement that likely will affect corporate users as well because of the government’s massive buying power.

The Department of Defense, NASA and the General Services Administration jointly detailed an interim rule on the new purchasing requirements in a notice published in the Federal Register on Dec. 26, and they are accepting comments on the proposal through Feb. 25. The new rule formalizes the use within the government of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, which some agencies and private-sector companies have already adopted.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Corporations and shoppers in the United States spent more than $54 million in 2007 on carbon offset credits, but where exactly is that money going?

See also: FTC Holds First Workshop on Green Advertising from the Environmental Leader.

Discovery Kits describe the basic scientific principles underlying the applied science and activities of NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS). Designed for educators and students at the high school level, they are written in non-technical language, and focus on the themes of oceans, coasts, and charting and navigation. Discovery Kit topics include:

• Corals
• Currents
• Estuaries
• Geodesy
• Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Tides & Water Levels

Date: January 11, 2008
Time: 1:00 eastern, 12:00 central, 11:00 mountain and 10:00 pacific and will last for 90 minutes.Note: A subscription is required to access H2E webinars. Visit http://www.h2e-online.org/subscribe/index.htm for more information.

Topic
An overview of the history of green building in health care with a focus on the development of the Green Guide for Health Care. A review of health care projects that have achieved LEED certification. And, an interactive conversation with webinar participants on the emerging issues that will be important to the next generation of green building tools tailored to the health care sector. http://www.gghc.org

Take Home Value (THV)

1. Understand the history and fundamental issues associated with green building in health care.
2. Clarify the role of the Green Guide for Health Care in the growth of green building projects in the health care industry.
3. Review common, successful green building strategies for health care facilities.
4. Participate in a strategic conversation about the future of green building tools tailored to the health care environment.

Presenter

• Adele Houghton, AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager, Green Guide for Health Care

Please note, this webinar will take advantage of updated technology. Your confirmation email will list the phone number and web address required to access the call. No visual presentation will be available for download on the site.

Register for the call.

Read the full story in Waste Business Journal.

Three leading electronics brands have established a new electronic product recycling management company, Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, LLC (MRM), to manage collection and recycling programs in the United States. The new company’s first activities are focused on providing cost effective services to manufacturers who must satisfy the recently enacted requirements in Minnesota for the recycling of used electronic products.

Read the full story in the Portland Business Journal.

Earth Class Mail Corp. has closed an unusually large Series A round — $13.3 million.

The Seattle-headquartered company, which has 57 of its 70 employees in Beaverton, scans mail and delivers it electronically to corporations, government and military customers and to consumers. The company also sorts, archives and disposes of mail, as directed by its customers.