L.I. Duck Farms Struggle With Water Regulation
Read the full story in the New York Times.
The Jurgielewicz family property, believed to be the only major free-range duck farm in the United States, struggles to control wastewater.
February 25, 2008
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The latest issue of GreenBuzz
For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.greenbiz.com/enewsletter.
Toys ‘R’ Us Adopts Tighter Standards for Toxics in Products
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55606
Amid the growing concern about contaminants in children’s toys and products, Toys “R” Us enacted new standards for lead, PVC and cadmium use in its products.
Mumbai’s Largest Mall Gets Energy Retrofit Through Clinton Climate Initiative
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55613
Under the first project through the CCI’s Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, run by the Clinton Climate, India’s Inorbit Mall will work to cut its energy use.
Philips’ Green Product Sales Jump by a Third
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55609
Royal Philips Electronics boosted the sales of its green products by 33 percent in 2007. Green products accounted for 20 percent of the company’s revenues last year.
Intel Tops List of 100 Best Corporate Citizens
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55618
CRO Magazine revamped the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list to put more weight on performance related to climate change and the environment.
Henkel and ASU to Tackle Life Cycle Impact Analysis
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55624
Henkel, a Germany-based corporation that makes products such as Soft Scrub and Dial soaps, made a three-year commitment to work with the university’s Global Institute of Sustainability to measure product environmental impacts from cradle to grave.
U.K. Gov’t. Policies ‘Block Supermarket Sustainability’
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55629
Conflicting and poorly enforced government policies and guidance are preventing the development of a sustainable food system in the U.K., an independent advisory body has said.
Wal-Mart Joins Group Working to Reduce Pollution Around Ports
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55623
In the latest of a string of moves to clean up port communities, Wal-Mart partnered with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation, committing to reduce the emissions from ships and vehicles bringing goods destined for its stores.
U.K. Campaign Aims to Raise Visibility of Office Waste
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55625
Envirowise’s One Bin Day campaign aimed to make office workers see and think about what their office throws away.
Climate Change Causing ‘Shift’ in Corporate Mindsets: U.N.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55619
The U.N. Environment Program’s Year Book 2008 illustrates how more business leaders are beginning to view climate change as an opportunity, rather than as a liability, leading to the emergence of a green economy.
Portland Named America’s Greenest City
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55612
San Francisco, Boston, Oakland, Calif., and Eugene, Ore., rounded out the top five greenest cities from Popular Science magazine.
Green-e to Certify Offsets for Consumers
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55607
Green-e, the country’s first certification program for carbon offsets, will launch a program to ensure that the products sold to offset activities such as flying or driving have been verified at each step.
How To Operate as an Environmentally Aware Organization
http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/reports_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=97242
The report is a step-by-step guide helping companies evaluate their operations, calculate their carbon footprint and take action.
Motivated Employees Make Sustainability Initiatives Sustainable
By Tilde Herrera
http://greenbiz.com/news/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=55634
When a company, large or small, decides to assess and improve its environmental performance, having employees on board to support and extend the project can make the difference between success and failure.
Five Tips to Reduce Your Fleet’s Emissions
By Karen Healey
http://greenbiz.com/news/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=55617
Companies of all shapes and sizes are starting to take a serious look at the environmental impacts of their vehicle fleets. Whether you’re running 10 hybrids or 10,000 Peterbilts, here are a handful of simple suggestions that can make a big impact.
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Move Over, Oil, There’s Money in Texas Wind
Read the full story in the New York Times.
After breakneck growth the last three years, Texas has surpassed California as the top state for wind power.
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The latest from RenewableEnergyAccess.com
The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:
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Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation Grants
LIGHTING UPGRADES
The Foundation’s seven indoor lighting programs have assisted schools, libraries, child care centers, park districts, colleges & universities, county historic courthouses, and public safety facilities in hundreds of communities throughout Illinois embrace cleaner energy and lowered utility bills by the simple act of replacing old lights with high efficiency light bulbs and controls. The Foundation’s indoor lighting programs for K-12 Schools, Park Districts and Public Libraries ended in 2007. For 2008, the Foundation is launching new indoor lighting programs to upgrade lighting systems in public safety and historic county courthouses. The Foundation’s only outdoor lighting program also ended in 2007. The LED Traffic Signal Programs provided municipalities higher quality, more energy efficient LED traffic signals at a lower cost to taxpayers.
Every Foundation dollar granted to support lighting upgrades has leveraged nearly another dollar of energy efficiency investment from other sources.
Benefits of upgrading to efficient lighting systems:
- Improved lighting quality
- Reduced operating and maintenance expenses
- Saved energy, leading to less pollution in Illinois communities
New Grant Opportunities
HISTORIC COUNTY COURTHOUSES
The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, with the support of the Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners, encourages all counties that operate historic courthouses and public safety buildings to apply for funding through the Foundation’s new 2008 Historic County Courthouse and Public Safety Lighting Upgrade Grant Program. Upgrading to energy efficient lighting saves energy, cuts operating costs and improves indoor lighting quality.
County courthouses designated as historic by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency or other government agency are eligible to apply for funding to pay for energy-saving upgrades to lamps, ballasts and/or controls in existing indoor lighting systems. Grants are up to $700 per kilowatt of electricity reduction in electricity demand that the lighting upgrade, as installed, yields. Grants will be limited to no more than $40,000 for any one historic courthouse building.
Lighting Upgrades bring improved lighting quality for courthouse employees and visitors while decreasing operating and maintenance expenses. The Foundation’s lighting upgrades save energy, help create cleaner Illinois communities, and serve as an energy efficiency model from which the community can learn.
County governments and 501(c)3 organizations that own and operate historic county courthouse buildings may apply for funding through this program.
You may download our 2008 Lighting Upgrade Grant Program for Historic County Courthouse Building Brochure and Application to learn about this new program. This program was developed with the encouragement and endorsement of the Illinois Association of County Board Members and Commissioners (IACBMC). Application forms may also be downloaded from the IACBM website: www.ilcounty.org. The application deadline is March 14, 2008.
If you have questions about this grant program, please contact Lisa Starks at Illinois Clean Energy (312-372-5191), lstarks@IllinoisCleanEnergy.org) or Kelly Murray at IACBM (217-528-5331), (iacbm@msn.com).
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PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES
The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, with the support of the Illinois Municipal League, encourage all municipalities that operate public safety buildings to apply for funding through the Foundation’s new 2008 Public Safety Lighting Upgrade Grant Program. Upgrading to energy efficient lighting saves energy, cuts operating costs and improves indoor lighting quality.
This is the Foundation’s second program developed with the encouragement and endorsement of IML. IML previously worked with Illinois Clean Energy to design the LED Traffic Signal lighting upgrade program to help overcome the higher up front costs of LED traffic signal bulbs.
Local government agencies (including municipalities, villages, townships, fire protection districts & county sheriffs) are eligible to apply for funding to pay for energy-saving upgrades to lamps, ballasts and/or controls in existing indoor lighting systems. Grants are up to $500 per kilowatt of electricity reduction in electricity demand that the lighting upgrade, as installed, yields. Grants will be limited to no more than $30,000 for any one public safety building and no more than $120,000 for any unit of local government.
Stand-alone public safety buildings such as fire and police stations are the most common type of public safety building. Multiple use buildings that provide public safety services along with other government services (e.g., city halls that house police departments) are eligible to apply for this program so long as public safety related functions comprise a minimum of 40% of total building square footage.
Lighting Upgrades bring improved lighting quality for public safety employees and visitors while decreasing operating and maintenance expenses. The Foundation’s lighting upgrades save energy, help create cleaner Illinois communities, and serve as an energy efficiency model from which the community can learn.
You may download our 2008 Lighting Upgrade Grant Program for Public Safety Building Brochure and Application to learn about this new program. This program was developed with the encouragement and endorsement of the Illinois Municipal League (IML). Application forms may also be downloaded from the IML website (www.iml.org). The application deadline is March 14, 2008.
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MSU and News/Talk 760 WJR partner in Web resource for Great Lakes environmental issues
MSU and News/Talk 760 WJR radio have launched a Web site called “Greening of the Great Lakes.”
The goal of the Web site is to provide information and insight into the organizations committed to making the Great Lakes region a leader in environmental practices. It’s designed to be an online resource for anyone interested in learning about the Great Lakes region, related environmental issues and ways that they can protect the environment.
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