·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story in the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.

Want to hear a big loud laugh? Hang around Matt Childress when gas hits $6 a gallon.

He doesn’t have it in for people who stick with the gas-powered engines, but he’s pretty pleased with his Twike, a Swiss-designed, German-built electric motorcycle that uses no gas, emits no fumes and offers a sedentary driver or passenger a chance to pedal for a while.

For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.greenbiz.com/enewsletters/2008/greenbiz/index.html.

Infusing Sustainability Into a Mammoth Supply Chain
By Tilde Herrera
http://greenbiz.com/podcast/2008/06/05/infusing-sustainability-into-a-mammoth-supply-chain
Wal-Mart’s Matt Kistler recently joined GreenBiz Radio to offer insight into working with its behemoth supply to design products and packaging to be more environmentally friendly.

Businesses Come ‘Together’ to Fight Climate Change
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/06/businesses-come-together-fight-climate-change
Cities, non-profits and businesses launched a climate change action campaign for U.S. consumers on World Environment Day. The program promotes energy-saving products and services, and aggregates the carbon dioxide and monetary savings of those participating in the initiative.

Verizon Call-Routing Center One of Three Facilities Awarded for Using Combined Heat and Power
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/06/verizon-combined-heat-and-power
A Verizon call-routing center, South Carolina energy plant and the University of New Mexico are using combined heat and power systems that have cut energy use by at least 20 percent.

TerraPass Launches Customizable Carbon Offsets Program
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/06/terrapass-launches-customizable-offsets-program
The company has developed a way to let its customers choose which types of offset programs they purchase; CEO says the move is a sign of a growing, more stable carbon market.

Hilton, Cox Communications Announce Sustainability Plans, Programs
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/05/hilton-cox-communications-announce-sustainability-plans-programs
Cox’s New England operations are on their way to meeting the company’s energy reduction plans, and Hilton has set a number of five-year goals.

DOE Taps Manufacturers to Advance Wind Power
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/05/doe-taps-manufacturers-advance-wind-power
The Dept. of Energy joined forces with GE, Vestas, Siemens Power Generation, Clipper Turbine Works, Suzlon Energy and Gamesa Corp. this week in a bid to grow wind energy production high enough to account for a fifth of total generation by 2030.

BT Makes a Big Climate Commitment
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/03/bt-makes-a-big-climate-commitment
The telecom behemoth wants to cut its carbon emissions intensity 80 percent below 1996 levels by 2020 through energy efficiency, purchased low carbon power and on-site renewable energy generation.

Economy and Energy Edge Environment as Top Consumer Concern: Survey
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/05/economy-and-energy-edge-environment-top-consumer-concern-survey
Most Americans and Britons believe the environment was in better shape five years ago, according to the 2008 ImagePower Green Brands Survey, which also discovered that Whole Foods and Body Shop were deemed the greenest brands. Participants ranked the environment behind economic and energy issues in terms of concern.

With Investment, Millions of Blue and White Collars Can Be Turned Green
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/04/with-investment-millions-blue-and-white-collars-can-be-turned-green
In the creation of a green economy, a wide variety of occupations throughout the country can become green jobs. A new report looks at just a few jobs that can receive a boost from green investments.

GM Phases Out Gas Guzzlers for Fuel Efficient Cars
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/04/gm-phases-out-gas-guzzlers-fuel-efficient-cars
Reeling from a tough economic environment and a general public thirsty for more fuel efficient cars, General Motors announced plans Tuesday to shift away from large trucks and SUVs toward a beefed up portfolio of gasoline-sipping and electric cars. A strategic review of its Hummer brand could lead to an overhaul or sale.

HP Licenses High-Efficiency Solar Tech to Speed Innovation
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/04/hp-licenses-solar-tech-speed-innovation
The partnership with Livermore-based Xtreme Energetics will couple HP’s transparent transistors with Xtreme’s highly efficient solar panels, and enable solar system to migrate from rooftops to building facades and other new locations.

Postal Services Around the Globe to Begin Tracking Emissions
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/06/03/postal-services-begin-tracking-emissions
The 24 member mail delivery services that make up the International Post Corporation have announced a pilot program aimed at measuring, scoring and reducing overall emissions from the global trade in mailed goods.

Job Opportunities for the Green Economy
http://greenbiz.com/resources/resource/job-opportunities-green-economy
The Political Economy Research Institute provides a snapshot of some of the jobs than have the potential to be turned into green jobs as the country invests in green issues like mass transit, wind power and building retrofits.

Corporate Green Teams: Sustainable Business from the Bottom Up
By Quynh Nguyen
http://greenbiz.com/feature/2008/06/08/corporate-green-teams
When corporate sustainability initiatives spring up organically from employees’ own motivation, the results can include more than just shrinking a company’s footprint. Three companies highlight the different stages of how a green team evolves.

The Greening of Design, from A to D
By Joel Makower
http://greenbiz.com/column/2008/06/03/the-greening-design-a-d
The greening of design is gaining interest, and I’m not simply talking about our fast-approaching conference on the topic, Greener by Design.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

A scientist whose discoveries promised great increases in efficiency for a number of technologies found that companies showed little interest in redesigning their products.

Read the full post at EcoGeek.

One person’s trash is another’s treasure – including waste heat. The Green Machine is ElectraTherm’s solution to creating inexpensive electricity from just such a source. It pulls waste heat to heat liquid, which turns to vapor, which rotates a turbine, which creates emissions-free electricity. The cost is about $0.04 per kWh during the three-year “payback” period, and less than $0.01 per kWh thereafter. Cheeeeep.

Read the full story at Science Daily.

A strain of marine bacteria produces large amounts of bright red pigments that can be used as a natural dye for wool, nylon, silk and other fabrics, scientists in California are reporting. The dyes from Mother Nature’s palate also have an anti-bacterial effect that could discourage harmful bacteria from growing on socks, undergarments, and other clothing, they report in a new study.

Read the full story in ES&T News.

A rapidly growing body of research has raised concerns about the safety of phthalate plasticizers found in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products, cosmetics, and medical devices. Now, scientists are gaining new insights by looking not just at the parent compounds but at their metabolites as well.

Read the full story in Sustainable Facility.

You’ve cut your electricity bills by 10 percent. The chiller is operating smoothly, lights are off after hours, the building automation system is working on schedule — overall, you have a pretty efficient building. Compared to what? That is the ultimate question. While your utility bills may be lower this year, how do you know what an ideal target is? How are other buildings your size, occupancy and location operating?

One way to find out is to call up facility managers in your area, compare the scope of your buildings, and analyze your utility data together. But this is a burdensome, time-consuming endeavor – if the other facility managers are willing to share their building’s information, or if they have it at all!

Read the full story at News.com.

BlueFire Ethanol expects to start construction of a plant within weeks that will convert landfill waste into the fuel ethanol.

CEO Arnie Klann on Thursday provided a timeline for the company’s trash-to-ethanol projects at the Jeffries Global Clean Technologies conference, saying that there are two other larger plants already being pursued.

Read the full story in Congressional Quarterly.

Last week the Senate took up a sweeping climate change bill in what many hoped would be a historic debate. But it ended up fizzling quickly, and now any efforts at comprehensive global warming legislation will likely be shelved until next year.

Read the full post at Governing.com’s 13th Floor blog.

Cities fighting to be the greenest in the land should look to Victoria, British Columbia, for some tips.

In April, we wrote about cities hiring sustainability or energy directors to encourage departments to turn off lights and shut computers when they’re not in use. Fayetteville, AR, is doing a lot in that regard.

But Victoria is doing additional things I hadn’t heard about elsewhere. I observed a few this week while walking around Canada’s “fittest city.”

Read the press release.

Rowan chemical engineering students may help make a drug that eases the pain of arthritis sufferers gentler on the environment.