·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Want an insider’s look at what it takes to protect America’s environment and human health? Check out EPA’s new blog, “Greenversations,” authored by EPA employees stationed around the country.

Encouraging environmental dialogue, Greenversations features EPA employees sharing their unique perspective on environmentalism and personal experiences in protecting and improving our nation’s water, land, and air. Bloggers will give a behind-the-scenes look at activities that are often not publicized but greatly affect how the agency protects our environment. Readers of Greenversations are in turn encouraged to comment on blog entries, entering into green conversations.

With its launch, Greenversations replaces “Flow of the River,” a blog written by EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock. Mr. Peacock will continue to blog, joining other employees on Greenversations.

Join the Greenversation at http://blog.epa.gov/

Read the press release.

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a national campaign to help Americans join in the fight against climate change. The campaign, “Change the World, Start with Energy Star” helps people make important energy-efficient changes at home and at work that can add up to significant reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.

We invited you to share your best photos showing our mission to protect human health and the environment. Hundreds of you responded, sending in nearly 750 photos. Entries depicted scenes from around the world, including the United States, Namibia, Malaysia and Antarctica.

An EPA panel of judges chose 10 finalists in each of the three categories and then the public picked the winners. To encourage participation and provide maximum public access, the contest was hosted on the photo sharing site Flickr.com.

We’re pleased to announce the winners, whose photos will be featured in a special gallery on the EPA Web site:

* Enjoying the Environment: Richard Burkart, Battle Creek, Mich.
* Protecting the Environment: Julie Larsen Maher, New York, N.Y.
* Nature and Wildlife: Alex Saberi, London, England

Winning and finalist photos: epa.gov/earthday/photocontest/winners.html

Read the full story in the Washington Post.

California is one of 25 states that have adopted laws that require electric utilities to use more renewable resources, and that has sent utilities scrambling to line up wind and solar projects across the country. Electric utilities that have long relied on coal, nuclear energy and natural gas to power their generating plants are buying into biomass projects from Minnesota to Virginia, solar plants in the deserts of California and Arizona, and wind farms from Maine to West Texas.

Read the full story at News.com.

Whether you’re a hard-nosed business school grad or an eco-minded consumer, keeping track of what’s what in green tech can be a daunting task. We’re here to help point you in the right direction.

Read the press release.

Get energy-smart this Earth Day with the Federal Trade Commission’s new publication, EnergyGuidance: Appliance Shopping With the EnergyGuide Label. The publication explains how consumers shopping for appliances can use the yellow EnergyGuide labels – recently revised so they are easier to use – to help them compare the energy use of different models. It even includes a sample label consumers can peruse before they shop.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

If you’re worried about BPA, here are some ways to spot it and avoid it.

Read the press release.

On Earth Day, students on 300 college campuses served by Sodexo will line up to get their meals in a new way – without using a plastic tray. The move was introduced by Sodexo as part of the company’s commitment to reduce negative impact on the environment; going trayless saves thousands of gallons of water each day and reduces electricity and chemical use.

Read the press release.

In celebration of Earth Day, Yahoo! today announced the launch of a “Free Is Good” campaign aimed at motivating its online community of more than 500 [million? -- the press release says 500, but I don't think that's what they mean -- LB] users worldwide to reduce their impact on the environment through reuse.

Read the full story and view the photos at News.com.

Around the neighborhood, I’m known as the “green guy,” always happy to explain the difference between solar electricity and solar hot water. In honor of Earth Day, I’ve assembled a photo gallery with some tips on how to green up your home, from electronics to fuels, without hiring an architect.

Read the press release.

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced a new agency approach to encourage the mainstream adoption of green building practices. This strategy offers a multi-faceted approach to reducing the environmental and public health impacts of buildings and building-related products through their complete life span.

Read the full story in the Northwest Indiana Times.

If you vote for a Democratic president this fall, be prepared to buy new light bulbs.

Both Democrats competing for their party’s nomination in the presidential primary — U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — have proposed “phasing out” traditional incandescent bulbs as part of their energy-efficiency platforms.

But it’s just one bullet point from lengthy environmental platforms both have released. As Earth Day 2008 rolls around today, observers say environmental issues are playing a more visible role in the campaigns of the presidential candidates than in years past.

EPA is rolling out an important management tool for small drinking water and wastewater systems. Today at the National Rural Water Association Rally, Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced the availability of Check Up Program for Small Systems (CUPSS). This user-friendly computer-based program assists owners and operators in developing and using plans for maintaining their systems and providing service to their customers.

“Through effective and efficient management, small utilities are supporting the lifeblood of their communities — their water,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “CUPSS will assist our partners by giving them a tool to better preserve and enhance America’s precious water resources.”

Administrator Johnson emphasized that CUPSS, with the support of our partners, will make a difference and help bridge the growing financial gap faced by small drinking water and wastewater systems as they repair, and replace infrastructure.

The program uses information provided on the system’s assets, operation and maintenance activities and financial status to produce a prioritized asset inventory, financial reports and a customized asset management plan. Asset management programs support informed budget discussions, boost efficiency of the utility, and improve customer service by ensuring clean and safe water at competitive prices.

CUPSS was developed by the Office of Water as part of the agency’s Sustainable Infrastructure Initiative. The effort received input from a large stakeholder workgroup, including representatives from several states, the National Rural Water Association, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, and Environmental Finance Centers.

The CUPSS program and all supporting materials are available for immediate download. Kits including the material will also be available in May. For more information on CUPSS, including program downloads and ordering information, visit http://www.epa.gov/cupss. EPA’s newly updated web site for small public water systems is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/smallsystems.

Read the full story at News.com.

China is the Saudi Arabia of waste heat, according to Roger Ballentine, president of Green Strategies.

Read the full story at News. com.

Want to green your life in honor of Earth Day on Tuesday? Good luck. There’s seemingly no limit to the potential catch-22s of trying to do the right thing by the environment.

Read the full story and view the photos at News.com.

Studies show some shoppers will pay more for “green” products. But it’s not always clear what seemingly eco-friendly labels mean–or who’s creating the standards.

In the U.S., some companies develop their own labeling systems, which is faster than setting up industrywide standards but also can be less transparent, according to critics. For example, printer companies haven’t established an independent system, but Canon is assigning its “Generation Green” mark to some printers.

To address confusing product claims, the Federal Trade Commission is reworking its green labeling guidelines for the first time in nearly a decade.

The following third-party labels, created by sources independent of product suppliers, are either industry benchmarks or are gaining in popularity. These icons can be found on the packaging of electronics and other everyday products. Where noted, directories of qualifying products are found online.

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

Green IT Can Be Virtually Free
http://www.greenbiz.com/radio/radio_third.cfm?NewsID=55903
As IT needs take up an ever-bigger part of companies’ energy bills and purchasing budget, the costs of maintaining computers based on their performance per dollar are growing exponentially. Ken Brill of the Uptime Institute spoke with GreenBiz Radio about the surprisingly easy ways to drop IT costs while improving performance.

Nike Works to Green its Supply Chain in Asia
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55890
Nike has teamed with four contract factories in China and Vietnam to help the facilities become more energy efficient.

Hearst Tower Aims for Zero Waste with Recycling, Composting Programs
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55904
The Hearst Corporation’s headquarters has started a composting program aimed at keeping 95 percent of its food waste out of landfills.

Energy Efficiency Interest Grows But Investment Remains Flat: Report
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55888
Facility managers are more aware of the benefits of energy efficiency improvements than ever but investment levels have not enjoyed a similar increase, according to a new survey from Johnson Controls and the International Facility Management Association.

Waste Mgmt. Breaks Ground on Second Canadian Waste-to-Energy Plant
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55884
Waste Management broke ground on its second Canadian landfill gas-to-energy facility as part of its goal of building 60 new renewable energy facilities by 2012.

DHL to Cut Emissions by 30 Percent by 2020
By Andrew Charlesworth, BusinessGreen
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55899
Program includes vehicle and aircraft fleets replacement, buildings overhaul and staff training.

Hilton’s European Hotels Cut Energy Use by 10 Percent in 2007
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55910
More than eighty Hilton hotels across Europe collectively cut their energy use by 10 percent and water consumption by 5 percent last year.

Businesses Should Consider Climate Risks: Report
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55912
Some impacts of climate change are unavoidable but businesses can evaluate potential risks and try to reduce them, according to a new report.

Canada Could be First to Call Bisphenol A Toxic
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55905
Health Canada is expected to label bisphenol A, a common chemical in reusable water bottles, baby bottles and numerous other items, as a toxic chemical, prompting retailers to purge their shelves of BPA-containing items.

Four Aveda Ingredients Certified Cradle to Cradle
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55880
The Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency assigned uruku and sandalwood, rose and lavender oils the certification after a three year assessment.

Bush Reverses Climate Policy
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55907
President George W. Bush set a new national goal of stopping the rise of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by 2025.

Americans Trust Green Claims, But Support Government Oversight: Survey
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55897
The 2008 Green Gap Survey found that while about half of U.S. residents think companies are being truthful in their green messages, even more would support increased government regulation of green claims.

Marks & Spencer a Green Winner, BP Biggest Greenwasher: Survey
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=55896
A survey of UK opinion makers reveals what companies are seen as the biggest green winners and greenwashers, and what people think are the motives behind greener business.

Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products
http://www.greenbiz.com/reference/webguide_record.cfm?LinkAdvID=97783
The World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development have partnered to provide reliable, impartial and technically “easy-to-understand” information to assist sustainability officers and business procurement managers, especially major purchasers of wood and paper-based products, in their purchasing decisions.

Trying To Turn Coke Green
By Marc Gunther, Fortune
http://greenbiz.com/news/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=55915
CEO Neville Isdell is an environmentalist, but making The Coca-Cola Co. sustainable is harder than it looks.

Growing the Eco-Patent Commons to Truly Promote Green Innovation
By Nancy Edwards Cronin
http://greenbiz.com/news/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=55892
The launch earlier this year of the Eco-Patent Commons marked a big step forward in information-sharing among greentech companies; despite its significant promise, the Commons needs some small improvements to truly become a powerful building block for innovation.

Joel Makower’s Two Steps Forward
A Deeper Dive into the Business of Water
http://greenbiz.com/Blogs/makower.cfm

Marc Gunther on Corporate America
Turning Coke Green
http://greenbiz.com/Blogs/marcgunther.cfm

David Wigder’s Green Marketing Strategies
Shifting from Product Placement to Engagement in Green
http://greenbiz.com/Blogs/marketinggreen.cfm

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Global warming is the star in a festival of one-acts.

Via Docuticker.

EPA Opens Chemical Risk Assessment to Corporate Lobbying
Source: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled a new process for assessing the health risks of new chemicals that allows chemical manufacturers and other industries to play key roles. As a result, it will be much easier to inject corporate influence into public health determinations that should be purely scientific, according Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The overhaul of the EPA “Integrated Risk Information System” became effective on April 10, 2008, the day it was announced. EPA said the changes “created several important opportunities” for affected interests to weigh in “at key points throughout the nomination and assessment” of new environmental contaminants. One hallmark of the changes is pushing government research to the side in favor of outside research which is largely industry-funded. As a consequence –

• Affected corporations will be intimately involved in each step of EPA’s risk assessment and will be able to know what staff are assigned to which work, making the agency “research plan” vulnerable to political manipulation through the appropriations process;
• The Defense and Energy Departments will have a formal role on how pollutants, such as the chemical perchlorate, are evaluated. In addition, these agencies could declare a particular chemical to be “mission critical” that would allow them to control how “data gaps” are to be filled. All intra-and inter-agency communications on risk assessments are deemed “deliberative” and thus confidential;
• The White House Office of Management and Budget would control both the substance and timing of final decisions on chemical risk assessments.

+ Read the EPA press release
+ See Senator Barbara Boxer’s vow to hold oversight hearings
+ Look at the new 13-step IRIS process (PDF; 65 KB)
+ Scan EPA’s FAQ explanation (PDF; 19 KB)
+ Review George Gray’s background

Read the full story at News. com.

The much-heralded clean-tech revolution needs a bigger army.

The absence of technical and managerial talent in the clean energy sector is putting a strain on the development of the industry, a survey finds.

Read the press release.

GreenYour Media LLC today announced the beta launch of GreenYour.com – the first search-based tool that allows you to fill in the blank for whatever you seek to green. Whether you want to green your lighting and your heating, or your dating and your voting, GreenYour guides you from important facts and actionable tips to cutting-edge products you can click and buy – allowing you to cross items off your green “to do” list.

The LIVE GREEN Teacher Grant program, a Discovery Education program presented by General Motors, challenges middle school teachers to develop innovative ideas for furthering environmental and energy sustainability. Teachers will identify an issue or problem, create a plan to address it, and integrate the topic into classroom teaching.

Earn a $1,000 LIVE GREEN grant – 40 grants will be awarded to teachers for the most forward-thinking ideas. In addition, the 40 recipients will be treated to an exciting online professional development program designed to help them reach their school’s specific green initiatives, including a free digital camera to document and share the experience!

Think about your vision, apply for a LIVE GREEN grant, and pass on a brighter future to your class.

Read the press release.

Everyone is talking these days about “going green” and sustainability. And they’re also asking: “What does sustainability really mean? I’d like to go green and help the planet, but how?” EPA can define it, but actions speak louder than words!

From April 20-22, EPA is going to SHOW America what sustainability is all about. EPA is hosting its annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall, where more than 50 college teams from across the country will display their innovative solutions for an environmentally sustainable future.

U.S. EPA has compiled a list of collection events associated with the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.

Read the press release.

On April 21, EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Green Grid to promote energy efficiency in small computer rooms. This event recognizes the innovative efforts of EPA and the Information Technology (IT) industry to promote the “greening” of computer facilities. The effort begins with evaluating an existing EPA computer room for ways to optimize energy efficiency, then finding ways to standardize processes and performance measures. Ultimately, the goal of this partnership is to share best practices for replication with other governmental agencies and industry stakeholders. Future partnerships between EPA, federal partners, and associations will help design and build our way into a green federal IT infrastructure.

Read the full story from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

U.S. residents spent $8 billion on flowers in 2006, but many of the beautiful blooms we purchased were hiding an ugly past. Flowers sold in the United States are generally grown on large farms and treated with massive amounts of pesticide; this not only endangers the health of farm workers, but also pollutes local air and water supplies.

Read the full story in Water and Wastewater News.

Growers on California’s Central Coast are finding it more difficult to protect the Earth when the need to ensure food safety conflicts with environmental rules aimed at improving water quality and wildlife habitat.

Read the full story in Water and Wastewater News.

The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) announced the publication of State Wetland Protection: Status, Trends and Model Approaches, which examines state-level efforts to protect wetland resources.

The Chicago Tribune RedEye has compiled a list of green tips and facts in honor of Earth Day.

Read the full post at the Chicago Tribune’s Julie’s Health Club blog.

Lombard parents who idle their minivans and SUV’s while waiting to pick up their kids from school on Tuesday could be the targets of a little “Earth Day intervention.”

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

The bag wars have begun.

Disposable plastic bags, which are made of petroleum, are under siege these days. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year and only about 1 percent are recycled, according to the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization that focuses on environmental issues.

And that, as Earth Day is celebrated Tuesday, is cause for concern.