·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the press release.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced the launch of its pilot rating system for sustainability in higher education. Over ninety college and university campuses will test the self-assessment tool, called STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System). Over the course of 2008 they will provide feedback to AASHE and inform STARS version 1.0, planned for release in spring 2009.

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

Tiny single-celled organisms could become the giants of energy production in the near future. Scientists are using bacteria to convert waste into hydrogen energy. Lisa Ann Pinkerton recently watched a vat of microbes turning wastewater into electricity.

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB®) is an academic competition for high school students designed to generate interest and excitement about science and our oceans and Great Lakes. Each February, more than 300 schools and 2,000 students participate and compete at 25 regional NOSB sites.

Read the press release.

Building on 37 years of progress in protecting human health and the environment, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today released his agency’s $7.14 billion fiscal year 2009 budget.

Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

From hospital to power plant, Greensburg, Kansas residents are building the model of the future.

Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

Given the urgent need for a response to climate change, each candidate’s environmental record deserves extra scrutiny.

GO GREEN!
EPA News You Can Use – February 2008
http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/gogreen

IN THIS ISSUE:
Enviro-Tip of the Month
What You Can Do, What You Can Use
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
About This Newsletter

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ENVIRO-TIP OF THE MONTH

Buy a high-efficiency washer or save up for full loads. The average washing machine uses 40.9 gallons of water per load. Find out more about using water wisely.
http://www.epa.gov/watersense/water/simple.htm

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WHAT YOU CAN DO, WHAT YOU CAN USE

Increase environmental awareness among multilingual communities. “Teach English, Teach about the Environment” is a curriculum to help teach English to adult students and introduce basic concepts about the environment and individual environmental responsibility.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2008-1-30_mulit-cultural

Reduce costs through low-impact development. Communities increasingly use rain gardens, cisterns, permeable pavements, green roofs and other practices to help protect and restore water quality.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2008-1-8_stormwater

Recycle your cell phone. Less than 20 percent of unwanted cell phones are recycled each year. Recycling old phones helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste, save energy, and conserve natural resources.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2008-1-8_cells_phones

Get involved in the regulatory process. Learn the basics of how regulations are written, explore environmental regulations, and find out how to submit comments on proposed regulations.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/names/hq_2008-1-2_regs

Ask EPA – discuss how to better protect the environment with top EPA experts. On Wednesday, Feb 20, Jim Gulliford, Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, will discuss how the new Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program will examine human health and environmental risks and benefits of nanoscale chemical products.
http://www.epa.gov/askepa

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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

February

Month
National Wildbird Feeding Month

Week
National Consumer Protection Week, Feb 3-9

Day (none)

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Baby shampoos, lotions and powders may expose infants to chemicals that have been linked with possible reproductive problems, a small study suggests.

The chemicals, called phthalates, are found in many ordinary products including cosmetics, toys, vinyl flooring and medical supplies. They are used to stabilize fragrances and make plastics flexible.

In the study, they were found in elevated levels in the urine of babies who’d been recently shampooed, powdered or lotioned with baby products.

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

AAMCO Aims for Zero-Waste, Increased Efficiency With New Initiative
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36602
The automotive service center’s ambitious new AAMCO Eco-Green certification program helps both franchise owners and customers boost their performance and reduce their impact by implementing energy-efficiency measures, promoting alternative fuels and closing the loop on service centers’ waste streams.

UK Food and Drink Companies Vow Water Reductions
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36597
Twenty-one major food and beverage companies have agreed to review and change their water use to save resources and money.

HP Speeds Up Ink-Cartridge Recycling Program
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36607
Hewlett-Packard has already made more than 200 million ink cartridges by recycling old cartridges, and is stepping up its production of recycled-content products to reduce overall waste.

Wal-Mart Packaging Scorecard Begins Today
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36611
Wal-Mart began using a scorecard last week that will rate its suppliers’ progress on making product packaging more sustainable in its bid to reduce overall packaging 5 percent by 2013.

GM Starts Big Push to Green Its Chinese Operations
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36608
As part of a wide-ranging effort to drive sustainable growth in China, General Motors will fund a $250 million research center in Shanghai, and the automaker’s Chinese division has launched a three-pronged strategy to address its environmental impacts.

Global Wine Industry to Tackle Carbon Footprinting
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36603
Sensing an opportunity to expand markets and boost its brands and image, the global wine industry plans to explore the calculation of its carbon footprint.

New Online Resource Gets the Skinny on Eco-Labels
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?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.

Air France Pledges $3 Billion a Year to Cut Carbon Emissions
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36595
In an effort to cut fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, Air France plans to spend about $2.94 billion a year on improving its fleet.

Energy Dept. Gives Up Plan to Build Clean-Coal Power Plant
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36616
Facing ever-increasing costs to build what would have been the world’s largest clean-coal power plant and carbon sequestration facility led the U.S. Department of Energy to scrap its plans for the Mattoon, Ill., site.

Act Now Brings Its Sustainability Skills to Publicis Groupe
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36617
By merging with Publicis’ Saatchi & Saatchi S network, the consultancy led by Adam Werbach will boost the organization’s sustainability services and further engage with companies seeking to green their practices.

Design Green Alliance Hopes to Boost Sustainable Furniture
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36586
The newly-formed Design Green Alliance offers sustainable furniture makers and vendors sales and marketing opportunities to increase their presence in the industry.

Hawaii Poised to Become Big Green Power Player
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36609
Costco Wholesale boasts the distinction of having the two largest solar energy installations in Hawaii, a state that could become a major player in tomorrow’s renewable energy market.

Calif. Crafts Path to Greener Chemistry
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36615
The state EPA has released a report with 818 ideas addressing how to reduce the impact of toxic chemicals on people and the environment.

California Green Chemistry Initiative — Phase 1, Options Report
http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/reports_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=97055
Through more than 800 ideas, the California Environmental Protection Agency hopes to encourage the state to create the country’s first comprehensive chemical policy. Cal/EPA outlines the ideas in a report issued yesterday, the first phase of the California Green Chemistry Initiative, an effort aimed at reducing the impact of toxic chemicals on the state.
The Greening of Transport, One Mile at a Time
By Sarah Fister Gale
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=36605
With the soaring cost of fuel and transportation’s dramatic impact on the environment, companies have no choice but to look at logistics as a place to go green. Some successful initiatives rely on small common sense programs that deliver incremental results, such as reduced idling or more direct truck routes.

Secondary Packaging: A Silent Threat to the Environment
By Dennis Salazar
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=36610
While direct contact, retail and primary packaging has been receiving all of the attention and well deserved scrutiny of the world, secondary packaging, without much attention at all, has been quietly filling our landfills.

The Importance of Measuring Building Energy Use
By The Importance of Measuring Building Energy Use
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=36593
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.

Marc Gunther on Corporate America:
My Florida Trash Tour
http://greenbiz.com/Blogs/marcgunther.cfm

David Wigder’s Green Marketing Strategies:
Green Content Syndication: Part II – Top Environmental Diggers
http://greenbiz.com/Blogs/marketinggreen.cfm

Read the full story in the New York Times.

The Irish have embraced the use of cloth bags to carry groceries, encouraged by a 33-cent tax on plastic ones.

Presented by:
Dr. Susan Kieffer
Professor of Geology and Physics
Center for Advanced Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract: Large-scale natural disasters–such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and floods–have occurred intermittently throughout geologic time. A unique new process is unfolding on Earth, one in which human activities are of the same, or greater scale, as natural geologic processes. Our activities, and the waste from these activities are leading to “stealth disasters”, such as contamination and loss of soils and fresh water, pollution of the oceans and atmosphere, and ecosystem destruction. Unlike most natural disasters, the onset of stealth disasters is gradual, but the consequences can be relatively immediate. I will review some mega-scale processes and their effects in the past, and compare present conditions and possible outcomes. We must always live with and adapt to the inexorable course of natural disasters because we can’t control the course of these events, but we have the potential to change the course of stealth disasters.

WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8th
WHERE: Illinois Waste Management & Research Center, Champaign IL
Stephen J. Warner Conference Room

Via Metal Finishing Weekly.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of new revisions to its guidance manual of appropriate and reliable methods for testing and monitoring hazardous waste. The updated version of the manual, Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods (also known as SW-846), contains 43 new or revised analytical methods that may be used for monitoring hazardous waste and other requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The EPA is also able to assist facilities in reporting under the Toxics Release Inventory Program (TRI). EPA is providing an information service to the public through its TRI Internet site (www.epa.gov/tri). The TRI ECSS-FAQ (Enterprise Customer Service Solution – Frequently Asked Questions) service provides more than 130 answers to questions most frequently asked by TRI users. To access this service, visit the “TRI Frequent Questions” Web page at http://tri.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/tri.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php.

For more information on the revised SW-846 manual, or to obtain a list of available health and safety compliance assistance tools, please visit the NASF website at www.nasf.org.

EPA and its water and wastewater partners are learning more and doing more to confront serious challenges related to rising energy costs. A new guidance, Ensuring a Sustainable Future: An Energy Management Guidebook for Wastewater and Water Utilities, will help utilities systematically assess their current energy costs and practices, set measurable performance improvement goals, and monitor and measure their progress over time.

Steadily rising energy costs and associated environmental effects have made energy use one of the most pressing challenges facing water utilities. Energy management is also at the heart of efforts across the industry to ensure that water and wastewater systems are operated in a sustainable way.

The guidance follows the successful Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology embodied in environmental management systems and other utility management tools. It was developed with the help of utilities that are successfully confronting their own energy challenges using this approach. It will serve as a step-by-step guide to help utilities systematically manage their energy programs over time.

For an electronic copy of the handbook: http://www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/bettermanagement_energy.html

Read the full story in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Some participants displayed electric cars; others heard music played on recycled instruments. In one way or another, more than 1,750 colleges and other groups highlighted climate change on Thursday as part of a nationwide project called Focus the Nation.

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

• Research Project Compares Two Solar Hot Water Systems
• The State of Green Business in 2008
• Inside Renewable Energy podcast: Advancements in Next-Gen Biofuels; Economic Benefits of Extending the PTC
• Project Better Place’s Announcement is Story of the Year
• Sen. Finance Committee Adds Renewable Energy Tax Credits to Stimulus Bill

Summary: Students read the article “Challenging Assumptions about Lead and IQ: Effects Increase, Not Decrease, in Older Children” and conduct a chelation experiment to simulate how lead can be removed from the body. Includes lab activity.

EHP Article: “Challenging Assumptions about Lead and IQ: Effects Increase, Not Decrease, in Older Children”
EHP Student Edition, August 2005, p. A324
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/113-5/ss.html#chal

Objectives: By the end of this lesson students should be able to:

1. describe the chemistry of how a chelating agent such as succimer can remove lead from the body;
2. set up and conduct experiments involving weighing solids, measuring liquid volume, and making solutions;
3. explain the formation of a chemical precipitate; and
4. list sources of lead contamination in our environment and some of its health effects.

Visit the website to download this lesson: EHP Science Education Website