·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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In this month’s This Green Life, Sheryl Eisenberg investigates book trading sites.

Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability are joining forces with some cities to help them voluntarily report their greenhouse gas emissions and other climate change-relevant data, according to an Aug. 10 press release.

Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

Devastating declines of amphibian species around the world are a sign of a biodiversity disaster larger than just frogs, salamanders, and their ilk, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley.

In an article published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers argue that substantial die-offs of amphibians and other plant and animal species add up to a new mass extinction facing the planet.

New report from the National Wildlife Federation.

This comprehensive study by National Wildlife Federation and Princeton Survey Research Associates International reviews trends and new developments in environmental performance and sustainability at 1,068 institutions. It recognizes colleges and universities for exemplary efforts and awards academic letter grades (A through D) for collective, national performance on environmental literacy, energy, water, transportation, landscaping, waste reduction and more. The report analyzes collective trends in the areas of management, operations, and academics.

With 27 percent (more than one quarter) of U.S. colleges (presidents, administrators, and facilities managers) responding, the 2008 survey is the nation’s largest study to date created to gauge trends and new developments in campus sustainability. It was also the first study of its kind when conducted in 2001.

Read the full post at Environmental Capital.

The search engine’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, is investing $10.25 million in a pair of companies working on “enhanced geothermal systems” — basically running water through hot rocks to get steam for electricity.

It’s the latest push in Google’s plan to develop renewable energy that’s cheaper than coal, and which has already led to $30 million in wind and solar investments.

Read the press release.

Thunderbird School of Global Management’s third annual Global Sustainable Innovation Summit opens early registration today. The global competition draws the brightest graduate-level students from top universities around the world, and requires students to develop sustainable and innovative business solutions to real-world challenges presented by sponsoring companies. The winning team receives a $20,000 prize and the title of “Global Champions of Sustainable Innovation.” Last year, the challenge attracted 118 teams from 59 universities in 15 countries. The 2007 championship team was from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Registration is open until noon Oct. 5 to accommodate university start dates around the world. Graduate students enrolled in master’s level business programs can sign up and find information at http://www.sustainableinnovation.thunderbird.edu. Teams will be comprised of three to five students. Early registration ends noon Sept. 20 and is $100 per team. After noon Sept. 20 team registration will be $150.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is seeking to put wind turbines on New York City’s bridges and skyscrapers and in its waters as part of a push to develop renewable energy.

Read the full story in the Pensacola News Journal.

The Escambia County School District is working with the Leadership Pensacola Class of 2008 on its “Live Green Escambia” class project, which is placing about 3,300 recycling bins in 54 schools throughout the district.

Schools that participate in the program will receive 1 cent for every pound of solid waste recycled.

Read the full story in Popular Mechanics.

It’s clear that not enough Americans are recycling their televisions. What’s not so clear is how “green” the recycling process has become — unless it gets a new life in another country. In his biweekly trends column, PM’s senior tech editor crunches the numbers on the real death of the boob tube.

Read the full story in USA Today.

Students arriving on campus this month are seeing green — and not just from the money they’re spending on tuition.

For example, students coming to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will start their school year with the university’s first “Green Move-In.”

Rose Dunnegan, the university’s property manager, says the program follows the success of last semester’s “Green Move-Out.” Student and staff volunteers recycled thousands of pounds of clothing, household items, food and “e-cycling” materials, including cellphones, batteries and computer parts, Dunnegan says.

The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:

• Creating Realistic Expectations for Renewable Energy
• Japan Players Bet Big on Emerging Thin-film Solar
• Inside Renewable Energy podcast: Pickens’ Plan and California’s Proposition 10; Auctioning Environmental Commodities
• Will US Solar Businesses Weather the Coming Storm?
• Why is Community Choice Aggregation So Promising?

Read the press release.

In one of its boldest green initiatives yet, Neenah Paper has contracted to convert wood and fiber waste into steam energy to power its largest fine paper mill. The Neenah Green: Change Comes from Within environmental campaign gave impetus to the development of broader mill-based solutions such as this state-of-the-art facility. Located at the company’s Whiting Mill, the fossil fuel-free steam energy system will be built by Vision Power, a Florida-based independent energy services company, and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2009.