Browsing environmental news sources so you don't have to. Contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu) with questions, comments, and suggestions.
Follow ENB on TwitterToday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named the 13 winners of the 2008 Energy Star Small Business and Congregation Awards. This year’s winners are recognized for doing their part to save energy and fight climate change through effective energy management practices and innovative efficiency solutions.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Ten states are about to undertake the nation’s most serious effort yet to tackle climate change, but there are worries that it may fail to reduce pollution.
The Associated Press has a two-part follow-up to their series on pharmaceuticals in wastewater. The articles are:
Read the full story from the Associated Press.
With scientists at odds over the safety of a chemical found in plastic baby bottles, metal cans and other food packaging, consumers got minimal guidance Tuesday about how to protect themselves.
At a scientific hearing, the Food and Drug Administration defended its assessment that bisphenol A — or BPA — is safe, even as the first major study of health effects in people linked it with possible risks for heart disease and diabetes. The debate could drag on for years.
Nearly 40 percent of fish species in North American streams, rivers and lakes are now in jeopardy, according to the most detailed evaluation of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years.
The 700 fishes now listed represent a staggering 92 percent increase over the 364 listed as “imperiled” in the previous 1989 study published by the American Fisheries Society. Researchers classified each of the 700 fishes listed as either vulnerable (230), threatened (190), or endangered (280). In addition, 61 fishes are presumed extinct.
The new report, published in Fisheries, was conducted by a U.S. Geological Survey-led team of scientists from the United States, Canada and Mexico, who examined the status of continental freshwater and diadromous (those that migrate between rivers and oceans) fish.
Read the full story from The Environment Report.
A new program gets businesses and groups to pay towns to switch to alternative energy. Lester Graham reports it’s a little like an “Adopt-A-Highway” program.
See also “Program helps city lights to go green” in the Detroit News.
Buffalo ReUse and the Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) are co-sponsoring the first Great Lakes Building ReUse Conference, November 16 through 18, 2008 in Buffalo, New York. This will be the first regional conference on developing and implementing building deconstruction and other creative solutions to address problems and solutions surrounding vacant and abandoned structures.
Featured presenters include Tyree Guyton of the Heidelberg Project, Detroit Michigan; Jay Williams, Mayor of Youngstown, Ohio; Rick Lowe of Project Row Houses, Houston, Texas and Michael W. Groman of the Philadelphia Green Program.
The conference will include several course tracks to highlight innovative practices in building reuse and vacant property stabilization around the country. You can continue to learn about these issues and to apply what you’ve learned at an optional training titled Designing A Project For Deconstruction which will be held on Wednesday, November 19th. The training will be a mix of presentations, Q&A, a hands-on job-site visit with exercises for participants, and a general forum for discussion.
Participants are also encouraged to attend pre-and post-conference tours of the city which will highlight the important stories of Buffalo and the city’s incredible architecture, as well as stories of both persistent decline and new hope, largely emerging from citizen-led revitalization efforts.
The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo. Please contact us with questions or sign up today for the early registration price.
