·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Pity that old cell phone languishing in a drawer. It’s missing out on a fascinating afterlife.

Most discarded phones in the U.S. are simply forgotten amid household clutter. A smaller number of handsets make it to a collection center for recycling or a reselling facility. For those phones, their fates can vary from being sold to consumers in developing countries to being melted down for metals like gold and copper.

But getting more consumers to think about their old phones the way they look at an empty soft drink can, as a product to be recycled, isn’t so easy.

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

• New York Wind Could Get Big Boost from Utility Merger
• DOE Helps States Foster Gigawatt-level Renewable Energy Developments
• Inside Renewable Energy podcast: Energy Equity: Diversifying the Market with New Incentives
• Geothermal Heat Pumps

Read the full story in Technology Review.

In an effort to promote the adoption of solar technology, United Solar Ovonic of Auburn Hills, MI, has teamed with a major roofing company to create a metal roof system that generates electricity from sunlight. The partnership offers seven different prefabricated systems, ranging in capacity from 3 to 120 kilowatts. Tests show that the solar roof panels are rugged and can withstand winds in excess of 160 miles per hour.

All via Librarians’ Internet Index.

Graywater Reuse and Rainwater Harvesting
“Graywater refers to the reuse of water drained from baths, showers, washing machines, and sinks … for irrigation and other water conservation applications. Contrary to common belief, graywater is not a ’safe’ product — it contains bacteria and other potential pathogens. Consequently, the potential reuse of graywater is a public health issue, not a water conservation priority.” Includes discussion of water quality issues for gray water and harvested rainwater. From Colorado State University Extension.

Grey Water: Recycling Water at Home
Fact sheet about “various health and environmental risks involved if you don’t use grey water [waste water from non-toilet plumbing systems] safely.” Topics include never using “black water” (water that has come in contact with toilet wastes), common contaminants in gray water, health risks from different water sources, irrigation systems, and improving gray water quality. From Better Health Channel, State of Victoria, Australia.

Recycling Gray Water for Home Gardens
“Gray water is all the non-toilet wastewater produced in the average household. … Although gray water does not need extensive chemical or biological treatment before it can be used in the garden as irrigation water, it still must be used carefully” because it usually contains contaminants. This paper describes how much gray water can be used in a home garden, precautions, and how to transport the gray water. From University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension.

Read the full story at ScienceDaily.

Scientists who have determined how much carbon is stored annually in upper Midwest forests hope their findings will be used to accelerate global discussion about the strategy of managing forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

A full-color, graphic version of this newsletter is available online at:
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/enewsletter

Water Savings 101: Top 10 Tips for Commercial Buildings
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/feature/2008/09/11/water-savings-101-top-10-tips
By Tommy Linstroth, Sustainable Facility
As the hurricane season begins to bring torrential downpours, it makes folks forget that wide swaths of the country are still suffering through persistent drought and low water levels. Fortunately, many savings opportunities are low  cost or no cost, and the majority can be handled in house.

What Can Architecture Learn From Nature?
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/column/2008/09/08/what-can-architecture-learn-from-nature
By Brett Holverstott
By following the principles of biomimicry, architects and designers are making highly efficient structures and systems, from buildings that cool themselves to solar panels …

Rob Watson Joins GreenerBuildings.com Staff
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/02/rob-watson-joins-greenerbuildings
The ‘Founding Father’ of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system joins the editorial team as executive editor of GreenerBuildings.com, guiding the growth of the site’s coverage of the greening of the commercial real estate industry.

Schools are Big Winners in USGBC Awards of $2M in Research Grants
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/11/school-research-wins-big-USGBC-grants
Research projects on the effects of lighting, green building attributes and ventilation on K-12 students will receive the lion’s share of $2 million in grants this year from the Green Building Research Fund of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Updated Green Seal Cleaning Products Standard Focuses on Kids, Vulnerable Populations
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/09/updated-green-seal-standard
Protecting the health of school-age children and other sensitive and vulnerable populations is a key focus of latest version of the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Industrial and Institutional Cleaners, the organization said releasing its updated guidelines.

Big Growth Spurt in U.S. Schools Going Green
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/08/29/big-growth-spurt-us-schools-going-green
Almost 1,000 school buildings have met or are seeking LEED certification, bringing more than 8 million square feet of campus space under LEED certification and another 90 million square feet into the LEED pipeline as projects registered with the U.S. Green Building Council, the council said.

The First Green Globes Rating in Oregon Goes to Head Start Pre-School
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/08/the-first-green-globes-rating-oregon
A 5,000-square-foot Head Start pre-school in eastern Oregon has become the first building in the state to receive an eco-friendly rating from the Green Building Initiative under its Green Globes environmental assessment system.

TRIRIGA Markets System to Measure, Reduce Carbon Footprint of Buildings
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/03/tririga-markets-system-measure-reduce-carbon-footprint-buildings
By Leslie Guevarra
Real estate management software developer TRIRIGA is going to market with a system that enables firms to measure, manage and reduce the carbon footprint of buildings in their portfolio, the company said.

Wal-Mart Ramps Up the Green Factor at New Stores in Canada
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/08/28/wal-mart-ramps-up-green-factor-new-stores-canada
New Wal-Mart stores in Canada will slash energy consumption by 30 percent under a high-efficiency design program that takes effect in February.

Interest in Green Offices Wanes in London Amid Tough Economic Times
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/04/green-offices-wane-london
Energy efficiency and other green issues have moved to last place among the concerns of U.K. firms seeking rental office space in Central London amid challenging economic times, according to a study commissioned by property consultancy heavy-hitter Knight Frank.

Green Windy City Landmark Buildings, Architectural Gems Honored
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/09/05/green-windy-city-landmark-buildings
Projects to green and repurpose the 84-year-old Florsheim Shoe Company Building, create a striking infill in the heart of a historic district and add eco-friendly elements to two other stately structures have received the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence.

What Facility Managers Need to Know About LEED Lighting Control Requirements
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/feature/2008/07/31/what-facility-managers-need-know-about-leed-lighting-control-requirements
By Scott Jordan, Sustainable Facility
Lighting control can be a key component of LEED projects, particularly when retrofitting existing buildings, due to the ease of installation of solutions like occupancy sensors and lighting control panelboards that facilitate a schedule-based lighting control system.

Green Seal Environmental Standard for Industrial and Institutional Cleaners (GS-37) – Fourth Edition
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/resource/green-seal-standard
Protecting the health of school-age children and other sensitive and vulnerable populations is a key focus of the updated version of the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Industrial and Institutional Cleaners.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Building Research Fund Grants
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/resource/usgbc-green-building-research-grants
Research projects to study the effects of lighting, green building attributes and ventilation on K-12 students will receive about a quarter of the total $2 million available in grants.

Read the full post at EcoGeek.

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and owner of Wikia, just went all ecogeek on us. Wikia focuses on creating deep-diving wikis in particular subjects (usually extraordinarily dorky subjects, like Star Wars or World of Warcraft.) But today Wikia launches a whole new wiki devoted to and only to the environment at green.wikia.com.

Read the full story from News.com.

Energy efficiency has always been a serious consideration of the tech industry. But executives from Cisco Systems and IBM here Tuesday said it’s become crucial as their customers are aware of rising energy costs.

One of their key areas of focus is the data center, or the room where a company houses its computer servers and data-storage hardware. Power usage related to data centers doubled from 2000 to 2006 to comprise about 1.5 percent of the energy Americans use annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Silicon Valley Leadership Group President Carl Guardino said that if the growth continues as expected, then U.S. companies will need 10 more power plants to generate their added electricity by 2012.

That’s why tech executives are examining new ways to design data centers and improve existing ones.

National Pollution Prevention Week starts Monday, September 15 and runs through September 21. The 2008 theme is “Pollution Prevention – Where Sustainable Practices Begin.” For more information, visit:

• U.S. EPA P2 Week site
• U.S. EPA P2 Week press release
• Michigan Department of Environmental Quality