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 from the Associated Press.
The standard ways of cleaning water are not designed to snare the tiny amounts of prescription drugs that survive digestion, and then, with a flush of the toilet, begin their journey toward America’s taps.
Stone-Buhr Flour Company today announced the general availability of the first certified sustainable all-purpose wheat flour in the Western United States. The product has been placed in the top 300 retailer locations in the Pacific Northwest.
Read the full story in Building Design and Construction.
Speakers at the first Green Real Estate Summit, which took place March 5, 2008, at the Practising Law Institute (www.pli.edu) in New York City, confirmed that relationships between real estate parties and the documents that govern those relationships are evolving in response to the need for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Read the full story at News.com.
To make ethanol, you want to make vinegar first, according to ZeaChem.
The biofuel start-up, which has moved from Colorado to Silicon Valley, says it has come up with a method of making cellulosic ethanol that results in close to 40 percent more fuel per ton of wood chips than competing processes. By 2010 or so, the company hopes to be producing ethanol commercially for 80 cents a gallon at wholesale. That could translate to anywhere from $1.10 to $1.50 at the pump, depending on a host of factors.
For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.greenercomputing.com/enewsletter.
How to Choose a Greener Graphics Card
By Andrew Binstock
http://www.greenercomputing.com/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=55714
Graphics cards are an often overlooked aspect of PC energy efficiency, and can be significant energy hogs. But with some simple rules of thumb and online tools, you can match a user’s needs with the performance of a card and lower power consumption, heat generation and your price tag.
Report Urges Energy Efficient Strategy for Network Equipment Vendors
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55708
In-Stat released market research Monday that found that switch vendors who adapt to energy efficiency soonest will develop a competitive edge,
Green IT Consulting Market to Approach $5B in 5 Years
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55699
Energy-efficient computing is no quick-blossoming trend, according to new research by Forrester that predicts the demand for green IT consulting will grow from $500M this year to $4.8B in 2013.
U.K. Small Businesses Not Yet on Board with WEEE: Survey
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55693
One year after the introduction of the WEEE regulations covering electronic waste disposal in the U.K., a survey by NetRegs has found that many smaller businesses here are still unaware of the legislation.
Sony Takes First in Greenpeace Green IT Survey; Still has a Long Way to Go
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55689
By producing the only products to score over the 50 percent mark in a survey of business and consumer electronics products, Sony’s Vaio notebook and a Sony Ericsson mobile phone and PDA were the most environmentally friendly models on the market — but the results show just how far the industry as a whole has to come.
N. American Companies Lag in Greening IT: Survey
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55682
A survey from Info-Tech Research Group shows a gap in attitude and Green IT adoption rates between global and North American companies.
Microsoft Pushes Energy Efficiency at CeBIT
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55677
In an opening day keynote speech, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer touched on cutting data center energy use.
Climate Savers to Launch European Green IT Campaign at CeBIT
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55663
The industry-led initiative will kick off its work on the continent at the massive IT and telecom trade show next week; CeBIT will be emphasizing energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies of all kinds, and plans a special ‘Green IT Village’ at the event.
Green Computing: Using IT Automation to Achieve Energy Efficiency
http://www.greenercomputing.com/tools.cfm?LINKADVID=97419
This report from Enterprise Management Associates explores the many ways that IT managers can address the growing concern about energy waste from business data needs while lowering operating expenses and increasing profitability.
The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:
Read the full story from the Ithaca Journal via the Responsible Purchasing Network.
Cornell University has joined Tompkins County, the City of Ithaca and five other educational institutions and governmental agencies to form the Finger Lakes Environmentally Preferred Procurement Consortium, New York’s first “green” consortium to purchase environmentally preferable products. The other four members of the consortium are Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
Read the full story from the Responsible Purchasing Network.
RPN member Yale University has developed a set of Sustainable Event Guidelines to help campus event organizers reduce the environmental impact of gatherings they host. The Guidelines offer advice on energy use, transportation, waste, materials and food. Events will receive gold, silver, or bronze ratings based on implementation of specified action items such as partnering with local food banks or soup kitchens to donate leftovers and using 100 percent paperless advertising.
Dates: May 19-22, 2008
Location: Sheraton Baltimore City Center, Baltimore MD
Early registration has been extended until March 19, 2008. Visit the web site for more information or to register.
The National Environmental Partnership Summit is an interdisciplinary gathering of environmental professionals and assistance providers from diverse sectors all over the country and world.
This year’s theme – “Accelerating Environmental Performance: Pathways to Action” – reflects our commitment to provide concrete examples of environmental leadership attained by businesses and government programs. Most importantly, these case studies will show you how your business or program can do the same.
Throughout the week, the 2008 Summit will provide examples of environmental leadership that will inspire you to take action. The conference will offer Track Topics on: Environmental Assistance; Results in Research & Technology; Measurement, Metrics & Indicators of Environmental Performance; Energy Reduction Tools & Techniques; Sustainable Consumption; Greening Your Business; Policy & Legislation; Behavioral Change & Information Outreach; Climate Change Success Stories.
Read the full story in the Omaha World-Herald.
A regional effort at publicizing ways to prevent pollution and reduce waste is recognizing Union Pacific Corp.’s fuel conservation training and rewards program for locomotive engineers.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
Cereplast (Hawthorne, CA) has signed a multiyear supply contract with extruder Pace Industries Inc. (Reedsburg, WI) to supply that company with its Compostables resin for use in custom sheet and roll products for the graphic arts industry. The Compostables line replaces the majority of petroleum-based resin with plastics derived from various starches, including corn, wheat, tapioca, and potato.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
Using $20 million in financing from Royal DSM N.V.’s venture arm, Tianjin Green Bio-Science Co. will build a manufacturing site for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) in the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA). Produced through fermentation by microorganisms, PHA is an alternative to other bioplastics such as PLA, which is derived from polylactic acid by way of plant sugars. To date, the main proponent of PHA has been Metabolix (Cambridge, MA), which, along with its partner Archer Daniels Midland, will begin operating a new PHA plant this year in Clinton, IA, with an announced capacity of 110 million lb.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
The conclusions of a risk assessment of brominated flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) are to be published in the European Union (EU) Official Journal, which should enable a smooth transition of the material through the REACH registration procedure. The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) legislation entered into force in the EU on June 1, 2007.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
On the basis of augmented energy efficiency, Wisconsin has given approval to Rex Materials Inc. for financial incentives for injection molders and extruders who apply the company’s TCS barrel heating system on their machines. Madison, WI-based Focus on Energy will provide payments based on existing machine specifications for the Rex TCS technology, paying $50/kilowatt of existing heaters, up to 50% of the total installation cost.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
A new closed-loop custom processing service to recycle post-industrial scrap packaging strapping into reusable polymer is helping one British processor to reduce landfill and save raw material. Developed by the compounding division of Luxus Ltd. (Louth, England) for Plastic Extruders Ltd., a processor of polypropylene (PP) strapping for the packaging industry, the process uses melt-reclamation technology. The strapping is extruded from homopolymer PP with a special stabilization package that helps reduce moisture absorption.
Read the full story in E The Environmental Magazine.
A group of energy campaigners want to use California’s energy expertise to create a freely available U.S. export, with China as its first port of call. Booming but struggling, China is in the middle of its own energy drama and trying to regain control over escalating demand. Barbara Finamore, director of the China Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), explains: “When the government looked at the results of our audit, they couldn’t believe there was so much energy-efficiency potential available at such a low price. The Californian model is one the Chinese really want to emulate.”
Read the full story in E The Environmental Magazine.
Greenpeace International recently surveyed environmental responsibility among consumer electronics companies, and released the findings during last week’s CeBIT information technology fair in Hanover, Germany. While the group gave kudos to Sony, Apple, Nokia and other companies for greening their product lines, it also said the industry as a whole has a long way to go toward comprehensively reducing toxic substances and increasing energy efficiency and recyclability.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
A national program has reached a major milestone: 1 million switches have been removed from scrapped vehicles, according to a Feb. 29 release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The millionth mercury switch was removed through the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program, a collaboration of EPA, automobile manufacturers, steel makers, scrap recyclers, automotive recyclers, states and environmental groups.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
Proposed Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is now open for its second public review.
The standard will provide minimum requirements for the design of high-performance new commercial buildings and major renovation projects, addressing energy efficiency, a building’s impact on the atmosphere, sustainable sites, water use efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. It is being developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman recently announced that combined, the departments will invest up to $18.4 million, over three years, for 21 biomass research and development (R&D), and demonstration projects.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
“A Decade of Children’s Health Research” summarizes important findings funded through $127 million in grants. The studies were done in response to an executive order issued in 1997.
Dates: April 15-17, 2008
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Conference agenda and registration
The first International Biomass Conference & Trade Show aims to facilitate the advancement of near-term and commercial-scale manufacturing of biomass-based power, fuels, and chemicals. Plan to learn and share information on biorefining technologies for the production and advancement of biopower, bioproducts, biochemicals, biofuels, intermediate products, and coproducts –through general sessions, technical workshops, and an industry trade show.
