·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Projects that include empowering residents to clean up New Orleans East for a safe return after Hurricane Katrina and developing a tool to target high-risk homes with lead contamination in Durham, N.C., are winners of EPA’s first Environmental Achievement Awards. Twelve award recipients include community-based organizations, universities, and state and local governments from nine states.

“We all have a stake in ensuring that our air is cleaner, our water is purer, and our land is better protected,” said Granta Nakayama, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “These organizations are making a positive impact in their communities by promoting a clean and healthy environment for all people.”

The awards recognize organizations for their distinguished accomplishments in addressing environmental justice issues. EPA received dozens of nominations from across the United States.

For information on recipients of the Environmental Justice Achievement Awards visit: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/awards

The following organizations received awards:

1. Anahola Homesteaders Council (Anahola, Kauai, Hawaii)
2. Center for Environmental and Economic Justice (Biloxi, Miss.)
3. Citizens for Environmental Justice (Savannah, Ga.)
4. Communities for a Better Environment (Huntington Park, Calif.)
5. Dillard University, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (New Orleans)
6. Duke University, Children’s Environmental Health Initiative (Durham, N.C.)
7. Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.)
8. Negocio Verde Environmental Justice Task Force (County of San Diego, Calif.)
9. New Mexico Environment Department (Santa Fe, N.M.)
10. Safer Pest Control Project (Chicago)
11. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (Columbia, S.C.)
12. West End Revitalization Association (Mebane, N.C.)

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Renewable energy technologies are facing big challenges because of the credit freeze and plunge in oil and natural gas prices.

The November 2008 issue of Biomass Magazine is now available. Highlights include:

• Acid Trip
• Switchgrass: A Bioplastic Factory
• Plastics From the Prairie
• Proving Out Plasma Gasification
• Betting on Biobricks
• Renewable Hydrogen: Another Option for Future Generations

Read the full story from the Associated Press.

For a newly hatched striped bass in the Hudson River, a clutch of trout eggs in Lake Michigan or a baby salmon in San Francisco Bay, drifting a little too close to a power plant can mean a quick and turbulent death.

The Constitution has long been interpreted by the courts and understood by most Americans to support comprehensive environmental protections. However, arguments targeting the constitutional legitimacy of environmental laws continue to gain traction in the federal courts. To inform the debate, we invite law students to submit papers exploring current issues of constitutional environmental law.

AWARD: $2000 cash prize and an offer of publication in the Environmental Law Reporter.

TOPIC: Any topic addressing recent developments or trends in U.S. environmental law that have a significant constitutional or “federalism” component. (See sample topics below.)

ELIGIBILITY: Students currently enrolled in law school (in the U.S. or abroad) are eligible, including students who will graduate in the spring or summer of 2009. Any relevant article, case comment, note, or essay may be submitted, including writing submitted for academic credit. Jointly authored pieces are eligible only if all authors are students and consent to submit. Previously published pieces, or pieces that are already slated for publication, are ineligible.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received no later than 5:00 PM ET on April 6, 2009. Email essays (and questions) to Lisa Goldman at goldman@eli.org. You will receive a confirmation by email.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.eli.org/pressdetail.cfm?ID=187

Why 2008 is the Year of Green Admissions (PDF, 8 p.)
ConnectEDU

ConnectEDU conducted research to gain insight into student perspectives around going green as they approach college admission; how important are green issues; how will green affect college choice; and how can they be socially responsible during the admission process. The Connect! Green Survey confirmed student interest in green issues; justified green trends in higher education; and opened opportunities to make an immediate impact with green admissions.

The Sustainable Endowments Institute has announced the winners of the 2009 Sustainability Innovator Awards. From the announcement:

While the College Sustainability Report Card 2009 highlights the schools with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada, sustainability innovators among colleges and universities with smaller endowments also merit recognition.

Accordingly, the Sustainable Endowments Institute solicited nominations for schools not included in the Report Card 2009. The nominations—consisting of a detailed description of sustainability initiatives—recognize schools for either a comprehensive sustainability strategy or a specific category of the Report Card.

The 2009 winners are:

• Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT
• Northland College, Ashland, WI
• University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada