·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story in the New York Times.

Most coal byproduct dumps in the U.S. are unregulated, but they contain chemicals that threaten health.

On December 22, 2008, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant’s retention pond failed, creating a tidal wave of water and fly ash which destroyed several homes and ruptured a major gas line in a neighborhood located adjacent to the plant in Harriman, Tennessee. It is estimated that approximately 3.1 million cubic feet of fly ash and water were released on to land adjacent to the plant and into the nearby Clinch and Emory River. There is now concern about the potential effects of this spill on the quality of water, air and soil in the region.

From its extensive environmental health and toxicology resources, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) has compiled a Web page of links to chemical information on fly ash and medical journal articles on the ash’s possible human health effects, http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/coalashspill.html. These resources provide background information on fly ash, also known as coal ash, which is a by-product of burning coal in power plants to generate electricity.

Links to public health information from local and federal authorities responding to this incident are also included. Contact information for local community assistance is listed on the TVA Internet site, http://www.tva.gov/.

For more information on TOXNET and other NLM environmental health and toxicology resources, please visit http://tox.nlm.nih.gov.

HP Ups E-Waste Efforts, Offers Easy Cash for Reusable Electronics
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news/2009/01/07/hp-offers-cash-reusable-electronics
After more than a billion pounds of electronics recycled or reused, Hewlett
Packard is stepping up the program, announcing a buyback and recycling program
for computers, accessories and other electronics.

The Top Green Computing Stories of 2008
By Matthew Wheeland
http://www.greenercomputing.com/blog/2008/12/28/the-top-green-computing-stories-2008
The past year has brought a sea change in the world of IT, with big changes
underway in every aspect of computers’ lifecycles, as well as increasing
awareness of the power of the computer age to address larger environmental
issues.

Will Your Data Center Have to Pay a Carbon Tax?
By Preston Gralla
http://www.greenercomputing.com/blog/2009/01/05/will-your-data-center-have-pay-a-carbon-tax
One of the centerpieces of President-elect Obama’s energey plan is a
cap-and-trade program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050.
That means that enterprise may eventually have a cap put on the amount of
greenhouse gases they emit, and would have to pay if they wanted to exceed those
emissions. Would that mean you’ll have to pay what amounts to a carbon tax for
an inefficient data center?

The Top Ten Predictions for Green IT in 2009
By Preston Gralla
http://www.greenercomputing.com/blog/2008/12/30/top-ten-predictions-green-it-2009
Expect 2009 to be a breakout year for Green IT, with it taking a central role
not just in IT departments, but in the enterprise as a whole. The economic
meltdown, a big new stimulus package, and advances in technology will all
combine to put green IT directly at the center of how corporations operate.

Universities Feeling the Pinch on Computing Energy Costs
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news/2009/01/06/universities-computing-energy-costs
In response to exponential growth in computing needs — and the resulting growth
in energy bills — the world of higher education is taking a serious look at
energy management and green IT strategies.

Green IT Growing, Slowly, Despite Recession
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news/2009/01/05/green-it-growing-despite-recession
A survey by Computerworld magazine found that money, not environmental issues,
will drive the shift to more energy-efficient technologies in the coming year,
and small efforts with big paybacks may take center stage.

Pacific Northwest’s E-Waste ‘Paradigm Shift’ Launches Jan. 1
http://www.greenercomputing.com/news/2008/12/31/pacific-northwest-ewaste-program
A new “E-Cycling” program passed into law in Oregon and Washington takes effect
on New Year’s Day, requiring electronics manufacturers to recycled old hardware,
and promising to spur the growth of responsible e-waste disposal.

EPA’s Group Policy Objects Tool for Power Management
http://www.greenercomputing.com/resources/resource/epa-ez-gpo-power-management
The Environmental Protection Agency’s EZ GPO tool provides Group Policy Objects
for centrally configuring power management settings in a fleet of desktop and
laptop computers.

TIA’s E-Cycling Central
http://www.greenercomputing.com/resources/resource/tias-e-cycling-central
This website from the Telecommunications Industry Association helps you find
reuse and recycling programs across the country, as well as helpful tips on what
to look for in an electronics recycler.

Starting With the End: Designing Products for Reuse
By Sarah Fister Gale
http://www.greenercomputing.com/podcast/2008/12/24/starting-with-end-designing-products-re-use
Milliken and Co. has long subscribed to the belief that waste and pollution cost
money. Sustainability Director Bill Gregory speaks to GreenBiz Radio about how
the carpet industry is joining together to improve carpet recycling and the ways
in which end-of-life thinking has led to new products.

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

• The German Perspective, Part 1: Difficulties in Climate Negotiations
• Abu Dhabi: The New Prince of Solar Technology?
• 2008 Wrap-up: RenewableEnergyWorld.com Keeps Growing and Growing
• Inside Renewable Energy podcast: 2008: A Benchmark for Renewable Energy
• Solar Market Efficiency: Riding the Sustainability Wave Home?
• Solar Stocks in 2008: A Look Back
• The Future of Wind Power: Perspectives on Global Wind

Read the full story at News.com.

Hewlett-Packard has decided to offer people in the United States money in exchange for their old tech equipment, the company announced Tuesday.

The PC maker has had a recycling program for years that lets consumers determine the value of their old tech equipment, then receive a credit for that value toward a new HP or Compaq brand product.

This new recycling program does not require people to buy anything to realize a monetary gain from giving HP their old tech equipment, though they are responsible for postage when mailing in the item. The shipping costs associated with a “Premium Service,” in which FedEx picks up the old electronics, are taken out of HP’s check to the consumer.