Browsing environmental news sources so you don't have to. Contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu) with questions, comments, and suggestions.
Follow ENB on TwitterRead the full story in the Epoch Times.
A partnership between politics and science in an effort to clean up Canadian waters is gaining momentum in the new session of Parliament.
Chris Metcalfe, a professor in Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University, brought cutting edge science to explain the effects of “subtle contaminants” such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) to Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
Read the full story in the Jackson Citizen Patriot.
As Michigan moves to energize its economy, the wind and sun might help power a transformation. State politicians are looking to draw at least 10 percent of the state’s energy from alternative sources. That’s good for the planet — and for workers who might land jobs in new industries
Read the full story in the Ann Arbor Business Review.
Cleaning up the Great Lakes wouldn’t just help the environment. It would also be good for the economy.
Restoring the Great Lakes – controlling invasive species, addressing sewage contamination, cleaning up toxic waste and restoring shoreline – would create $50 billion in economic benefit from a $26 billion cleanup investment.
That’s according to a recent report commissioned by a coalition of business and environmental organizations and conducted by the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.
Read the full story in the Toledo Blade.
While a number of Great Lakes public officials and environmental activists are crying foul over President Bush’s proposed budget for the 2009 fiscal year, U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said the $7.14 billion his agency would get “represents government at its best.”
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
Sustainability initiatives are taking on greater urgency for consumer products companies as consumers, retailers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and their own employees push for an increased focus on environmental and social issues. We recently attended the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) first annual Environmental Sustainability summit to find out what a difference a year makes.
Read the full story at News.com.
As the market grows for eco-friendly consumer products, the processes used to manufacture and package them are also becoming greener.
Innovations in bioplastic, for instance, are creating packaging that looks like any plastic made from petroleum, but can be buried in the ground and disappear in months without a toxic trace. Wal-Mart, Target, and Trader Joe’s are helping to drive the adoption of plant-based plastic packaging.
Read the full story at Fox Business News.
When the Philadelphia Eagles launched its “Go Green” campaign in 2003, it was the first and only professional athletic team to take a stand on a major environmental initiative. Over the next five years, the sports sphere would develop into a springboard for green endeavors, with the New England Patriots and New Jersey Nets some of the latest teams to join the eco-friendly bandwagon. Even the Super Bowl has been bitten by the green bug. And some argue that the young trend is here to stay, predicting large-scale environmental programs will play an important role in the future of athletics.
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
Wal-Mart’s packaging scorecard, that rates suppliers on their sustainability, has gone live. The idea was unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006 and put through a trial phase for the past year. Wal-Mart has set the goal of a five percent packaging reduction by 2013. The company has also planned a scorecard system for electronics products.
Read the full story at vnunet.com.
For almost as long as the concept of business has existed it has been characterised as a highly competitive, even combative, sphere of human activity where a dog-eat-dog win-at-all-costs mentality is crucial to success. It is an enduring caricature that has come to define the public perception of corporate leaders as ferociously competitive, committed and often ruthless individuals who would sell one of their kidneys if it meant beating their competitors to a deal.
Yet according to growing numbers of experts the last five years has seen the remarkable, and largely underreported, emergence of a new breed of business execs who, while remaining as fiercely competitive as their predecessors are also increasingly willing to collaborate with rivals.
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
As business ramps up for 2008, sustainability is top of mind for C-level executives and IT managers. It is now a major focus for organizations, and execs are considering how it pays, how it doesn’t and where it counts to make changes. In 2007, many discovered that sustainable practices can strengthen their reputation, improve employee morale, deliver cost savings, and benefit the environment.
Where do you begin and what is a logical, easy first step? Reducing PC energy waste. Below are 10 reasons why greening your IT department is an important starting point toward sustainability. The number-one reason is, of course, the bottom line.
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
For 2008, The Carbon Disclosure Project has issued a request to over 3,000 of the world’s largest corporations to measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and report their strategy for dealing with climate change. Corporations have been asked to respond within four months, and the information will be launched in September on the CDP website.
Applications due Mar 31, 2008.
This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals for projects that will provide key nonfederal audiences with an opportunity to attain a greater understanding of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data and other related data and information. This announcement is consistent with the purposes of the TRI as stated in the Environmental Protection and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) 42 U.S.C. 11023. EPA believes that the best way to promote greater understanding of the TRI data and other related data and information is to provide financial assistance for a project to determine the most effective means of increasing awareness and providing access to TRI and other toxic chemical information to other non-federal organizations. For example, EPA believes that public health organizations are in a better position than EPA to more effectively communicate pertinent TRI information to their members or constituents in clinics, health research, and local governments.
Can you picture what it means to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 1 million metric tons? News stories are packed with measurements of greenhouse gas reductions, but it can be difficult to understand them until now. EPA’s new Greenhouse Gas Calculator helps you turn greenhouse gas savings into more easily understood everyday terms.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
Researchers at MIT and Texas Instruments have unveiled a new chip design for portable electronics that can be up to 10 times more energy-efficient than present technology. The design could lead to cell phones, implantable medical devices and sensors that last far longer when running from a battery.
For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.climatebiz.com/enewsletter.
Banking Giants Develop ‘The Carbon Principles’
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36625
Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley drafted the framework for assessing carbon risks in the financing of coal-fired power plant projects.
Global Wine Industry to Tackle Carbon Footprinting
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&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.
Ports Ranked Among Biggest U.S. Polluters, Progress Slow: Study
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36626
New research from Energy Futures finds that ports for container ships are among the biggest sources of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and that recent efforts to curb pollution are not yet making a noticeable difference.
Clean Sky Initiative Plans to Green European Planes
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=55557
A $2.3 billion European Union research project hopes to put cleaner aircraft in the sky starting in 2015.
Energy Dept. Gives Up Plan to Build Clean-Coal Power Plant
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&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.
Hawaii Poised to Become Big Green Power Player
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&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.
Global Carbon Market Grew by 80 Percent Last Year, Study Finds
By Kate Martin, Edie News
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36633
Growing government interest in cutting carbon emissions has led to the rapid expansion of the global carbon market, according to the U.S.-based Worldwatch Institute.
Europe’s Lead on Climate Change: Too Much or Too Little?
By GLOBE-Net
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=36637
The European Union’s Climate Action Plan announced last month have left many EU member countries feeling unfairly burdened and threatened by economic hardships.
Selling Sustainability
By Anna Clark
http://climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?Page=1&NewsID=36639
Sustainability champions who underestimate the human factor can never facilitate genuine change in their organizations. If you learn how to sell people on your green idea, you’ll make your company more competitive and create a cleaner world at the same time.
U.S. Container Ports and Air Pollution: A Perfect Storm
http://climatebiz.com/sections/toolsresources_detail.cfm?LinkAdvID=97225
This study by Energy Futures Inc. examines the actions underway to reduce air pollution at the 10 largest container ports in the U.S. to identify specific environmental problems.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Budget cuts and old habits may interfere with good intentions.
Read the full story at News.com.
Dell chief Michael Dell and other high-profile technology company CEOs descended on the nation’s capital Wednesday with a message for policymakers: do more to encourage energy-efficient practices, but don’t spell out specific standards for the products that companies like theirs build.
Read the full story at News.com.
When Benjamin Brown, the CEO of Web start-up MakeMeSustainable.com, hands you his business card, it’s got “green” written all over it.
Rather than bleached white, it’s the color of a supermarket bag and has a green fingerprint printed on the back.
Brown’s not the only Web entrepreneur going with the recycled paper look. A growing number of tech and media entrepreneurs are trying to enter the booming green-tech industry via the Web.
Read the full story in Occupational Health and Safety.
OSHA has issued a new compliance directive for occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). The directive, OSHA Instruction CPL 02-02-074, Inspection Procedures for the Chromium (VI) Standards, was effective January 24, 2008.
Read the full story in Waste Age.
Alpine Waste & Recycling, Commerce City, Colo., has offered to reward Denver-area hotels with one month of free recycling service for every month they divert at least 50 percent of their waste from local landfills. The offer is in collaboration with Denver’s efforts to promote environmentalism during the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
Read the full story in Waste Age.
Atlanta-based Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) has announced that Sony will expand its efforts in the RBRC Call2Recycle program by inserting branded collection bags into product packaging for each custom Sony VAIO notebook computer. The Call2Recycle program is a national cell phone and rechargeable battery recycling program.
Read the full story in Waste Age.
Houston-based Waste Management has launched www.thinkgreen.com, an interactive Web site to further educate the public about the business of handling the nearly five pounds of waste that the average citizen produces each day. The site also highlights how certain technologies are recovering resources and protecting the environment.
Read the full story from the Worldwatch Institute.
Growing interest among national and regional governments in curbing carbon emissions has led to rapid expansion of the global carbon market.
Policymakers worldwide are recognizing the true costs of carbon emissions for our economy and our environment. These markets could not have taken off without strong policy leadership. But while many U.S. states are taking action, the national government is falling notably behind by not setting a national cap on carbon emissions.
Read the full story from the Worldwatch Institute.
China is beginning to take advantage of an unusual energy source: cow gas. Cows emit a significant amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, when they belch and flatulate. According to People’s Daily, the world’s largest cow-dung methane power plant started operation on January 21 in China’s Inner Mongolia region. With an investment of 45 million RMB (roughly $US5.7 million) from the country’s largest milk producer, Mengniu Dairy, the plant is able to supply 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to the national power grid.
Read the full story from the Worldwatch Institute.
The new U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), signed into law last month as part of the revised Energy Bill, sets high goals for the U.S. biofuels industry. It calls for the production of 36 billion gallons of biofuels—mainly ethanol and biodiesel—annually by 2022, with 21 billion gallons coming from so-called “advanced biofuels,” which can be produced using a variety of new feedstocks and technologies. Of this, roughly 16 billion gallons is expected to be from “cellulosic biofuels,” derived from plant sources such as trees and grasses.
But are these biofuels targets realistic, and can they be met without serious impacts on the nation’s farmlands, forests, waterways, and rural communities? The answer is complicated, but fortunately the RFS bill contains a few key caveats that can be used to “stop the buildup” if things go wrong.
Read the full story in Building Design & Construction.
L.L. Bean’s new Hunting and Fishing Store in Freeport, Maine, is modeled after a traditional Maine hunting lodge, features numerous green features: operable windows for natural ventilation, 100% stormwater treatment, salvaged wood, and 97% recycling of construction waste. The project, designed by Arrowstreet Inc., Somerville, Mass., will seek Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) rating system.
Read the full story in the Daily Journal of Commerce.
Gallons of fuel sold, pounds of canola crushed and number of stations built – these are all ways the Oregon biofuels industry could count its progress.
But the companies within the sector keep their data so close to the vest that there’s no solid number the state can track. So Nikola Davidson, director of the Northwest Biofuels Association, can only speculate that, “in terms of biofuels, Oregon is the absolute leader in the Northwest.”
Read the full story in Water & Wastewater News.
The New York City Council passed legislation on Jan. 30 to advance the implementation of green design elements into the city’s streets, parks, and other public spaces and into existing and new development projects.
By adopting “green infrastructure” solutions, such as green roofs, permeable pavement, wetland restoration, and smarter design of street tree plantings, stormwater can be captured where it falls and used to green the city, instead of overwhelming sewers and flushing raw sewage into city waterways. The legislation ensures that the city will follow through with the initiatives outlined in Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030, by requiring the development of a city-wide Sustainable Stormwater Management Plan focusing on such measures. The mayor is expected to sign it into law.
