·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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A full-color, graphic version of this newsletter is available online at http://www.greenerbuildings.com/enewsletter

Green Buildings & Social Equity: Don’t Forget the Janitors
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/feature/2008/10/16/social-equity
As the issue of green collar jobs begins to take hold, so too does the issue of social equity. It’s bolstered by a number of nonprofit advocacy groups and labor unions. Interestingly, green buildings are right in the middle of it all.

The First Step to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission is Measurement
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/column/2008/10/16/the-first-step-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emission-measurement
Greenhouse gas emissions are a main driver of climate change. Christopher Ratcliff, the president, principal and director of sustainability for the Ratcliff architectural firm, takes a look several protocols to measure GHGs and shares a calculating tool he devised.

Largest Fuel Cell Plant in U.S. Goes Live at Pepperidge Farm
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/16/pepperidge-farm
Pepperidge Farm, FuelCell Energy Inc. and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund dedicated a new 1.2-megawatt fuel cell power plant at the cookie company’s state-of-the-art bakery in Bloomfield.

Great River Energy, Proximity Hotel Awarded LEED Platinum Ratings
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/15/gre-proximity-leed-platinum
Great River Energy’s new headquarters is the first building in Minnesota to earn LEED Platinum status, and the Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro in North Carolina are the first businesses in the hospitality industry to achieve the USGBC’s highest rating.

Illinois Medical Building Earns the State’s First Green Globes Rating
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/16/green-globes-med-building
The Remington Medical Commons project became the first office building in Illinois to be certified as environmentally friendly under the standards set by the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating and assessment system.

Green Building on Upswing Despite Down Market: Report
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/13/green-building-upswing-despite-down-market-report
Building green is a market advantage in tough times and eco-friendly construction continues to grow even in the current economy, according to a new report.

Rocky Mountain Institute, AASHE, Colleges Seek Best Weapons to Battle Climate Change
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/15/rmi-aashe-colleges
The Rocky Mountain Institute and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education are partnering with a dozen colleges to study best practices in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other strategies to battle climate change.

Applied Materials Cuts Ribbon on 2-MW Solar Power System
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/10/applied-materials-solar
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger presided over the dedication ceremony of a 2-megawatt solar power system at Applied Materials, one of the largest corporate installations of its kind in the country.

A Dozen PNC Bank Branches Earn LEED Certification
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/14/pnc-branches-earn-leed
Twelve Green Branches of the PNC Financial Services Group have received LEED certification, bringing the firm’s total of eco-friendly buildings to 55.

Schools in Miami, San Francisco, Chicago to Vie for Green Makeover
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/08/green-makeover-for-schools
A public school in each of the three major markets will win a green makeover worth $250,000 in an environmentally friendly contest whose chief sponsors are EcoMedia and the CBS Corporation

San Jose Sets Green Standards for New Buildings
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/13/san-jose-sets-green-standards-new-buildings
The city of San Jose has approved environmentally friendly building standards to reduce energy and water consumption in new residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

San Francisco Rolls Out Rainwater Harvesting Drive
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/10/10/san-francisco-rainwater-harvesting
San Francisco has joined a small but growing number of communities that promote rainwater harvesting and clarified city rules to permit capture of the resource for non-potable use.

Green IT Can Make a Splash in the World of Water
By Matthew Wheeland
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/podcast/2008/10/06/green-it-make-splash-world-water
Peter Williams, the Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s Big Green Innovations project, explains how the company’s idea for a new, nonprofit water organization can make managing our most precious resource even more efficient.

“The Noisette Project: Our Journey to Sustainability”
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/resource/the-noisette-project-our-journey-sustainability
This 46-page report details the work of the Noisette Company LLC and its project with North Charleston, S.C., to restore and revitalize 3,000 acres of the city’s historic urban core to create a community that is socially, economically and environmentally sound.

MeetGreen Scorecard and Calculator
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/resource/meetgreen-scorecard-and-calculator
Two tools on the newly launched Best Places to MeetGreen site of Meeting Strategies Worldwide can help planners select meeting sites based on the eco-friendliness of prospective locations and the estimated carbon emissions resulting from air travel.

Read the full story in the Chronicle of Higher Education (may be subscriber access only).

The move toward green publishing comes as colleges increasingly look for ways to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. As alumni magazines cover those green movements on campuses, some editors are looking inward at how they can make the actual pages greener, too.

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.

The fourth edition of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide is now available. The publication provides direction for those who blend, store, distribute, and use biodiesel and biodiesel blends.

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.

More widespread usage of biodiesel took a step forward Oct. 13 when the ASTM International published new approved standards for stronger biodiesel blends.

ASTM International, one of the largest and most highly regarded standards development organizations in the world, officially published the highly anticipated biodiesel blend specifications on its Web site.

The new biodiesel blend specifications include:

• ASTM D975-08a, Specification for Diesel Fuel Oils — used for on- and off-road diesel applications, was revised to include requirements for up to five percent biodiesel
• D396-08b, Specification for Fuel Oils — used for home heating and boiler applications, was revised to include requirements for up to five percent biodiesel
• ASTM D7467-08, Specification for Diesel Fuel Oil, Biodiesel Blend (B6 to 20) — a completely new specification that covers finished fuel blends of between six (B6) and 20 (B20) percent biodiesel for on- and off-road diesel engine use
• ASTM D6751-08, Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels — used to control pure biodiesel (B100) quality prior to blending with conventional diesel type fuels, was revised to include a requirement that controls minor compounds using a new cold soak filterability test

Indoor Mold:  Better Coordination of Research on Health Effects and More Consistent Guidance Would Improve Federal Efforts.  GAO-08-980, September 30.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-980
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08980high.pdf

Indoor Mold: Ongoing and Recently Completed Federal Research Activities (GAO-08-984SP, September 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-08-980.  GAO-08-984SP, September 30. [Internet only]
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-984SP/

Read the press release.

Mayor Manny Diaz of Miami and Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle today announced the formation of the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools, a coalition of mayors seeking to strategically harness the leadership and creativity of mayors across the country to promote the benefits of green schools in their communities. Developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Alliance will work to accelerate implementation of programs supporting the 2007 U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) resolution calling for green schools for all children within a generation.