·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

They say that if you want to prepare for parenthood, or just grow up a little, you should get yourself a houseplant. If that goes well, maybe you graduate to a Labrador retriever or parakeet, and then — hooray! — on to full fledged adulthood. It’s at our best that we humans set ourselves apart in the world by tending the lives around us.

Which brings me to Wall-E, the latest Disney Pixar project to grace the big screen, and whose plot revolves around the last living plant on a destroyed Earth. The flora in question is a single, generic, mangy sprout. And yet for the remainder of the human race, now living in space on the Axiom luxury “starliner”, the little plant is more than the genetic key to restoring Earth. It’s the first wobbly step toward regaining humanity and adulthood after 700 years of infantile space living.

Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

You’ve no doubt heard about the “greening” of many American cities, in which mayors, neighborhoods, and citizens are adding more green space, comprehensive recycling service, emissions reduction and energy efficiency programs, bike trails, green buildings, alternative energy, gardens…you name it. The international group Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), which provides cities with the technical assistance to go green, reports growing steadily from its founding in 1990 until 2007, when membership suddenly doubled in a single year to more than a thousand governments worldwide; some 350 of those are in the US, and they’re not the usual suspects.

An increasingly diverse cross-section of American cities are taking bold steps and actually reshaping themselves in a new, lower carbon-emitting mold. We looked across the country and chose a handful of cities that are taking the most ground-breaking, innovative approaches to confronting climate change. We looked for initiatives that are practical, relatively easy to implement, and as easy to replicate. The unsung, forward-thinking locales on this list just might surprise you.

The September 2008 issue of Biodiesel Magazine is now available. Highlights include:

• 2008 Proposed Biodiesel Plant List
• Paying a Premium
• Proving the Collocation Concept
• Plantation-Scale Oil Production
• Improving the Bottom Line On the Front End
• Argentina’s Burgeoning Biodiesel Industry
• A Hedging Exercise in Biodiesel
• Ensuring Biodiesel Quality Through Lab Analysis
• ASTM Blend Specifications: What Do They Mean?

EPA and the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) are accepting applications for the Ninth Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards Program.

Winners are honored for outstanding accomplishments in programs, projects or technologies that reduce air pollution emissions.  Applicants are judged in five awards categories: (1) clean air technology; (2) community development/redevelopment; (3) education/outreach (4) regulatory/policy innovations; and (5) transportation efficiency innovations.

In addition, winners will be recognized in two special award categories. The Gregg Cooke Visionary Program Award is given to the air quality project or program that successfully blends two or more of the five existing awards categories. The Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award recognizes one individual for his or her outstanding achievement, leadership, and commitment to promote clean air and achieve better air quality.

All applications for the awards should be postmarked on or before September 19, 2008.  The awards will be announced in spring 2009.

The CAAAC is an independent policy committee that provides advice to EPA on air issues.

Information on applying for the awards:  http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/clean_award.html

Read the press release.

High energy prices are double-teaming with environmental concerns to prompt broad conservation efforts, with seven in 10 Americans saying they’re trying to reduce their “carbon footprint,” chiefly by driving less, using less electricity and recycling.

More controversial are policy responses to the nation’s energy problems: Majorities in this ABC News/Planet Green/Stanford University poll support oil drilling in protected coastal and wilderness areas.

Most support higher taxes on oil company profits, stricter fuel efficiency rules for cars and controls on trading by investors that may affect gas prices. And 44 percent favor building nuclear plants — while not a majority, the most in 28 years.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Chains are seizing a chance to bolster environmental credentials, and gain a tax advantage, by installing solar roof panels before a Dec. 31 deadline.

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

Defining Ecodesign Through Awards
By Jonathan Bardelline
http://greenbiz.com/podcast/2008/08/06/defining-ecodesign-through-awards
Jane Savage, a judge for the International Design Excellence Awards, speaks with GreenBiz Radio about highlights from the ecodesign category and the key aspects of quality green designs.

Energy Efficiency Saves Dell $3M
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/07/energy-efficiency-saves-dell-3m
Dell’s three-tiered plan to neutralize its carbon footprint has reached its goal five months early and saved the company $3 million, Dell said.

IKEA to Invest $77 Million in Clean Tech, Could Result in Solar Sales in Stores
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/08/ikea-invest-77-million-clean-tech-could-result-solar-sales-stores
IKEA’s Greentech venture arm plans to invest $77 million in clean tech startups in the next five years with an eye to selling solar panels or other marketable solutions in stores, using them within the company or having suppliers use them.

Method Incentivizes Supply Chain Energy Efficiency
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/06/method-incentivizes-supply-chain-energy-efficiency
Method Products plans to shake up its carbon offset program with a new initiative targeting its supply chain. The company will divert some of the money it spends on carbon offsets to help its suppliers become more energy efficient.

Aon Offers Green Building Insurance, Allstate Tests E-Payment, Eco-Contribution Program
By Leslie Guevarra
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/07/aon-offers-green-commercial-building-insurance-allstate-tests-e-pay-eco-contribution
The Aon Corporation is offering a green insurance option for commercial property policyholders, and Allstate Insurance Company is expanding a market test of a paperless billing and pay process that’s paired with a conservation contribution program.

Building CSR into the Supply Chain
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/05/building-csr-supply-chain
Firms that work directly with factory managers to help suppliers take ownership of corporate social responsibility issues have a better chance of effectively addressing concerns about labor practices, the environment and worker health and safety, a new study says.

Nissan’s ECO Pedal Pushes Back When Driving’s Inefficient
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/07/nissan-eco-pedal-when-driving-inefficient
The car maker plans to start adding its new ECO Pedal to vehicles next year. The system gives drivers physical and visual feedback when they surpass the ideal fuel use limit.

Johnson Controls Helps Green Olympic Venues
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/05/johnson-controls-helps-green-olympics
Johnson Controls’ green building and efficiency solutions are up and running at 18 Olympic stadiums and supporting facilities, the firm said.

Chicken Manure to Power Chinese Farm
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/06/chicken-manure-power-chinese-farm
A chicken farm north of Beijing will use biogas from chicken manure to generate power and heat.

Green Allure for College Grads
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/06/green-allure-college-grads
A new poll suggests that today’s college students are hoping for a job after school with an eco-friendly company, rather than a conventional one.

LG and Waste Mgmt. Partner to Tackle E-Waste
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/05/lg-and-waste-mgmt-partner-tackle-e-waste
LG Electronics and Waste Management will partner to open more than 160 recycling centers across the country to handle masses of unwanted electronics.

HP’s Business Products Earn SmartWay Shipping Logo
http://greenbiz.com/news/2008/08/08/hps-business-products-earn-smartway-shipping-logo
All of the carriers shipping HP’s business computing, printing and server products are now SmartWay compliant.

The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits
http://greenbiz.com/resources/resource/the-dollars-and-sense-green-retrofits
This study looks at why some organizations green an old structure instead of building a new one.

Pilot Summary Report: Building Capabilities to Implement CSR Management Systems
at ICT Suppliers in China
http://greenbiz.com/resources/resource/pilot-summary-report-building-capabilities-implement-csr-management-systems-ict-s
This report from Business for Social Responsibility is based on recently completed pilot projects that sought to break through barriers to improving factory conditions.

How Banking Became Green
By Victoria Pennington
http://www.greenbiz.com/feature/2008/08/11/how-banking-became-green
Similar to the sub-prime loan fallout, banking institutions around the world are taking environmental risks very seriously, fundamentally changing the way the industry operates.

Going Green From the Inside Out
By Brandi McManus
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/08/11/going-green-from-inside-out
TAC recently embarked on six-month initiative to train 5,000 employees about energy demand across the globe and the challenges that go along with meeting it. Employees also got the chance to calculate their own carbon footprint, which had an impact on the amount of energy they use at home and at the office.

Carbon-Free Energy, Cutting Poverty in Half: Mr. Gore, Meet Mr. Edwards
By Joel Makower
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/08/02/carbon-free-energy-cutting-poverty-half-mr-gore-meet-mr-edwards
Former vice president Al Gore has challenged Americans to commit to producing 100 percent of electricity from “renewable energy and clean carbon-free sources” within 10 years. And former senator John Edwards launched a Half in Ten campaign “to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent within 10 years.”

Better (Red) Than Dead
By Marc Gunther
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/08/04/better-red-than-dead
There’s a fair bit of cynicism out there about Product (Red), the celebrity-inspired idea that we can help poor victims of AIDS in Africa by going shopping.

Naming the Problem in Order to Solve It
By Brad Allenby
http://www.greenbiz.com/column/2008/08/10/naming-problem-to-solve-it
Framing the environmental challenges that we face as simply as possible allows people to act, even if ineffectually; frame it as the complex adaptive system that it is, and people go back to television. But rethinking how we discuss climate change solutions may result in rethinking how we think about the problem at all.

Date and Time: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. with reception to follow
Location: 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC

In 2006, the state of New York passed a law requiring green cleaning in schools. In 2007, Illinois passed a similar law. Now, activists in more than a dozen states are planning to introduce legislation requiring schools to protect the health of students and staff by implementing green cleaning programs.

Please join Healthy Schools Campaign and advocates from around the country for a special Green Clean Schools National Summit, building on this momentum to bring health-promoting green cleaning laws to every state in the nation.

The summit will bring together national organizations, corporate leaders, state-level activists and concerned individuals to develop state-specific strategies with lessons learned from previous successful efforts. Summit attendees will have the opportunity to learn about model legislation, see sample materials, discuss responses to common objections and get updates on policy and product development.

Perhaps most importantly, the summit will connect local activists and national organizations to build strong, effective state-level coalitions.