·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story at Eco-Geek.

Its wheels are bigger than your car…the driver has to climb a flight of stairs to get to his seat. And, if GE has their way, they might soon be painting it (at least metaphorically) green.

Read the press release.

For the second year in a row, the Ivy League wins the crown as the overall champion conference in EPA’s 2007-2008 College & University Green Power Challenge. Led by the University of Pennsylvania, the Ivy League’s cumulative annual purchase of more than 220 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) has the equivalent environmental impact of avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 32,000 vehicles. This year’s challenge included 40 competing institutions representing 18 different conferences nationwide.

Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

‘Tis the season for magazines to put out their green issues, and it seems like this April there are more green issues than ever before. After scanning the newsstand, we selected six publications that appeal to a range of people–music hounds, new moms, fashionistas, and more. Here’s our take on which issues are worth reading, and which greenwashed* mags are better off going directly into the recycling bin.

Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

An expert in natural burials offers insights on the industry, and simple tips for making funerals more eco friendly.

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

Getting the Most Out of Your E-Waste
http://www.greenbiz.com/podcast/2008/04/24/getting-most-out-your-e-waste
When companies recycle e-waste, they need to ensure that every stage of the recycling process is set up appropriately, from where the waste is sent to how it’s processed. But the effort is worth it. Aside from helping the environment, proper e-waste disposal can be a revenue stream and protect a company’s work.

Kodak Makes Progess on Sustainability Goals
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/24/kodak-makes-progess-sustainability-goals
Kodak has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent since 2002, and has recycled or reused 42 million pounds of waste through a company program, it announced this week. The company also made strides in reducing energy consumption and occupational injuries.

National Grid Wants to Slash Emissions 80 Percent by 2050
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/21/national-grid-wants-slash-emissions-80-percent-2050
National Grid raised its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal from 60 percent to 80 percent by 2050, and plans to add carbon budgets that are tied to financial performance, the company announced.

DuPont Honors Seven Products for Sustainable Packaging
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/22/dupont-honors-seven-products-sustainable-packaging
The company paid homage to sustainable innovations in packaging that included materials that were compostable, biodegradable and made from renewable sources.

Greener Supply Chains a Hot Topic
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/23/greener-supply-chains-a-hot-topic
Executives from Clorox, Gap, Nike and other companies met last week to discuss the perils and lessons learned from trying to manage supply chains that cross geographic, ecological and cultural boundaries during a conference sponsored by the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum.

Earth Day Roundup: Trees, Tips, Reports and More
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/23/earth-day-roundup-2008
The 39th Earth Day has come and gone, and with it came a slew of announcements, initiatives and reports. Herewith, a brief summary of Earth Day ‘08.

Think to Launch Electric Cars in U.S.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/23/think-launch-electric-cars-us
The Norwegian maker of zero-emission cars will bring its City to the United States in 2009.

EPA, NAM Challenge Manufacturers to Cut Energy Use
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/22/epa-nam-challenge-manufacturers-cut-energy-use
The Environmental Protection Agency and National Association of Manufacturers have joined forces to cut energy use by manufacturers by 10 percent.

Sole Technology Discloses Eco-Audit Results, Aims for Carbon Neutrality
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/25/sole-technology-discloses-eco-audit-results-aims-carbon-neutrality
Using data generated over more than seven years, the audit focused on the company’s carbon emissions, waste and water consumption. Sole, the parent of etnies and other action sports clothing and footwear brands, will now use the data to begin trimming its footprint with the intention of becoming carbon neutral by 2020.

Autodesk Program Helps Make Sustainable Design Choices
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/24/autodesk-program-helps-make-sustainable-design-choices
The maker of 3D modeling software has created a program to help designers easily see the environmental aspects of their material choices.

New Report Offers Tips for Truthful, Successful Eco-Labeling
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/21/new-report-offers-tips-truthful-successful-eco-labeling
A study released by Business for Social Responsibility and Forum for the Future looks at the past, present and future of green labeling schemes, and suggests ways for companies to live up to the promises made by their products.

Evian Plans Wetlands Preservation, Adds Recycled Plastic to Bottles
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/25/evian-plans-wetlands-preservation-adds-recycled-plastic-bottles
Three new environmental plans from Evian focus on wetlands protection and making recycled products.

JPMorgan Chase Aims for 20 Percent Carbon Reduction
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/04/24/jpmorgan-chase-aims-20-percent-carbon-reduction
Using its 2005 emissions as a starting point, the company wants to reduce a fifth of its emissions by 2012 and buy offsets to cover emissions from employee travel.

Business Ethics for SMEs
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/business-ethics-smes
This briefing from the Institute of Business Ethics explores what business ethics means for small to medium-sized business enterprises and how they can introduce and support high standards of business practice.

Transparent Supply Chain Sends A Clear Message
By Anne Moore Odell, SocialFunds.com
http://greenbiz.com/feature/2008/04/28/transparent-supply-chain-sends-a-clear-message
Hewlett-Packard recently released a list of its largest suppliers in hopes of increasing accountability from factory floors to consumers’ front doors.

Business Finds Its Place on Earth Day
By Jonathan Bardelline
http://www.greenbiz.com/feature/2008/04/21/business-finds-its-place-earth-day
For companies aiming to latch onto society’s increased focus on the environment, Earth Day is the time to do it. Business participation in the day ranges from sales to teaching tools, and while some actions are more light green than others, many businesses are putting forth real, substantial efforts.

Conscious Consumers in a Nutshell
By Martha Shaw
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/04/28/conscious-consumers-a-nutshell
Most agree that there are millions of consumers out there willing to pay extra for safer, healthier products, and many others who are willing to make earth-friendly choices only because they care about the future or the planet. The truth is, green consumers are a moving target for media planners, and it gets even messier when you factor in the effectiveness of the messaging.

Joel Makower’s Two Steps Forward
Earth Day, Green Marketing, and the Polling of America, 2008
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/04/20/earth-day-green-marketing-and-polling-america-2008

Marc Gunther on Corporate America
Merrill Lynch and “Carbon Farming”
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/04/21/merrill-lynch-and-carbon-farming

David Wigder’s Green Marketing Strategies
Action by Governors Highlights Shifting Sentiment on Green
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/04/24/action-governors-highlights-shifting-sentiment-green

Andy Savitz’s Triple Bottom Line
No Peace For The Guy With A “GetSustainable” Address
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/04/19/no-peace-for-the-guy-with-a-getsustainable-address

Highways and Environment: Transportation Agencies Are Acting to Involve Others in Planning and Environmental Decisions. GAO-08-512R, April 25.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-512R

Read the full story in Technology Review.

Food prices worldwide have risen dramatically in the past few years, due in part to a similarly dramatic rise in the amount of corn used for ethanol production in the United States. Now, in an effort to make food less expensive, experts are calling for limits on ethanol production, subsidies for corn, and more incentives for biofuels made from nonfood sources.

Read the full story in Working Mother.

A communique about the future of our planet was presented at a meeting of the United Nations late last year, issued by more than 150 companies — including several of our 2008 Best Green Companies for America’s Children. Their mandate? Companies across all continents must unite to curb global warming. “Tackling climate change is the pro-growth strategy,” they wrote. “Ignoring it will ultimately undermine economic growth.” Our winning companies need no such convincing. From beauty and family products to retail and tech companies, they’ve already picked up the gauntlet, devoting financial resources and innovative thinking to create inventive and sustainable ways to restore and preserve the earth. Here, we profile these 20 progressive companies that are taking on the tough eco-challenges of business — and in the process building a greener world for our children.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

What if you could make fuel for your car in your backyard for less than you pay at the pump? Would you?

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Starting next month, people in Washington will be able to borrow a bicycle any time they need one with the swipe of a membership card.

Read the press release.

ISO has just approved the creation of a project committee mandated to develop an international standard on energy management.

The standard will provide all types of organizations and companies a practical and widely recognized approach to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs and improve their environmental performance by addressing both the technical and management aspects of rational energy use. The standard is intended to be broadly applicable to various sectors of national economies, including utility, manufacturing, commercial building, general commerce, and transportation sectors, and therefore, could have influence on as much as 60 % of the world’s energy demand.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Fort Bragg, Calif., might use a novel “bioremediation” approach to clean up the lingering pollutant that infests the site of a former lumber mill in the town.

Via Docuticker.

Are We Ready? Preparing for the Public Health Challenges of Climate Change
Source: National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and George Mason University

From press release (NACCHO):

Climate change is a concern to most local public health directors but few have resources to tackle the problem, according to a national survey conducted by National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and George Mason University.

The survey, included in the report Are We Ready? Preparing for the Public Health Challenges of Climate Change, is the first national one of its kind that assesses the perceptions and activities of local public health directors regarding climate change and public health.

More than half of the surveyed directors are concerned about the health effects of climate change on their jurisdictions, though only a small group has been able to make adaptation or prevention a priority.

+ Full Report (PDF; 917 KB)

Read the full story in the Madison-St.Clair Record.

Six years after state and local leaders unveiled a plan to clean up 840 acres of refinery pollution and attract all sorts of industry, those in charge of the project have gone away but the pollution has not.

The cleanup of the former American Oil Company refinery collapsed in 2004, after soil samples revealed contaminants that had not showed up in previous samples.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Never has food moved around the world at the speed or in the amounts it has over the last few years. Now, many say it is time to make shippers and shoppers pay for the resulting pollution.

Read the full story in Environmental Capital.

More fireworks between states and the Feds over U.S. energy policy. But for once, it’s not California rattling sabers. It’s the heart of the oil–and cow–patch.

Texas could be the latest state to flex its muscles against Washington mandates, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Gov. Rick Perry, concerned about high food prices, is considering asking for an exemption for Texas from federal biofuel mandates that call for steadily increasing production over the next 16 years.

Skyrocketing food prices around the world, from more expensive tortillas in Mexico to rice hoarding in Asia, have redoubled concerns about the wisdom of biofuels, already buffetted by doubts over their green credentials. The potential showdown mirrors what is happening in Europe, where countries like the U.K. and Germany have questioned European biofuel mandates.

Read the full story in Environmental Capital.

Europe’s biofuel industry has long complained about U.S. subsidies. Friday, it took its case to the European Union—but the chances of winning a victory look slim.

EU biodiesel producers have been simmering about the $1 per gallon tax credit American biodiesel producers get. EU producers say that distorts the market and, in the words of the biodiesel trade group, “created a severe injury to the EU biodiesel industry.”

Via Docuticker.

Confined Animal Feeding Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions, New Report Finds
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists

Misguided federal farm policies have encouraged the growth of massive confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, by shifting billions of dollars in environmental, health and economic costs to taxpayers and communities, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As a result, CAFOs now produce most of the nation’s beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, even though there are more sophisticated and efficient farms in operation.

+ CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations