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 TwitterRead the full story in the Chicago Tribune.
More than a dozen Illinois power plants store toxic coal ash in sludge ponds similar to the one that burst and spread contaminated muck over 300 acres of eastern Tennessee last month, according to a Tribune review of federal records.
Read the full story from the Associated Press.
Dozens of foreign species could spread across the Great Lakes in coming years despite policies designed to keep them out, causing significant environmental and economic damage, a federal report says.
Read the full post at Sustainable IT.
While organizations are finding plenty of ways to enhance their products on the inside to be more Earth friendly, some companies are also literally thinking outside the box by making their product packaging greener.
Case in point is Dell, which has announced a new approach to computer packaging that will save the company an estimated $8 million or more while eliminating some 20 million pounds of packaging materials over the next four years.
Read the full post at Sustainable IT.
Odds are your company is tightening its belt for the upcoming year, given the sad state of the economy. Fortunately as a member of the IT department, you have the opportunity to help in the effort — if you’ve resolved to do so.
Following are some New Year’s resolutions to help your organization not only rein in energy waste but save money in the process. These resolutions shouldn’t represent major changes to your IT operations, though they will require some time, and in some cases, an up-front monetary investment. However, the return on the time and money spent should prove worthwhile and perhaps help set the stage for more investments in efficiency down the road.
Read the full post at Sustainable IT.
At CES today, Motorola unveiled a new phone with a unique environmentally responsible design: The plastic housing of the Moto W233 Renew is made of plastics from recycled water bottles, according to the company, and is itself 100 percent recyclable. Moreover, the company says the device is the world’s first carbon-neutral phone.
Read the full story from GreenBiz.
In a big year for green initiatives, it’s inevitable that there will be some big greenwashes as well; and as part of an onslaught of year’s-end lists, the Greenwash Brigade on American Public Media’s Marketplace has tallied their list of the most notable green flops of 2008.
Out of the Fryer & Into the Vegawatt: Used Cooking Oil Helps Power Restaurant
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/06/vegawatt
A Massachusetts firm says its new device called the Vegawatt can help
restaurants save money by converting used vegetable oil from fryers into fuel to
produce electricity and hot water.
Green Building Predictions for 2009
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/blog/2009/01/05/green-building-predictions-2009
Leanne Tobias takes a look ahead and offers her predictions for the green
building industry in 2009.
Sustainable Buildings Put Tenants within Reach of LEED-CI
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/blog/2009/01/08/sustainable-buildings-can-reach-leed-ci
Companies seeking U.S. Green Building Council LEED Commercial Interiors (CI)
certification for their leased office spaces should make sustainability a
fundamental part of their site selection process, says Michael Merritt.
Defining Sustainability
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/blog/2009/01/05/defining-sustainability
There are scores of different terms for something that many of us refer to as
sustainability: corporate responsibility, sustainable development, corporate
citizenship, environmental sustainability, corporate sustainability and green
business. And there are hundreds of different definitions for the terms. Robert
Pojasek offers guidance on defining sustainability – and making it operational -
in the corporate world.
Fast-Tracking Green Economic Recovery: Some Advice for the New Congress
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/blog/2009/01/06/fast-tracking-green-recovery
As the 111th Congress gets under way this week, the key task will be developing
a fast-track economic stimulus program – ideally one that emphasizes
sustainability, says Leanne Tobias.
Energy, Green Groups Call for Stimulus to Jumpstart Economy, Efficiency
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/05/green-stimulus-economy-efficiency
Environmental and energy groups, including the association that represents
almost 70 percent of the country’s utilities, made their pitch to Congress
before year’s end as talks accelerated about the stimulus package being crafted
by the incoming administration.
Grand Canyon Visitor Center Goes Solar
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/08/grand-canyon-goes-solar
The roof and grounds of the Visitor Center near the Grand Canyon’s South Rim
will soon host some 84 solar panels that will help power the building frequented
by an estimated 4.5 million sightseers a year.
Plumbing and Standards Groups Unite on Water Efficiency
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/08/plumbing-groups-unite-water-efficiency
Five national plumbing trade, manufacturing, product and standards groups have
agreed to join forces to research and develop water efficient plumbing.
McDonald’s to Become Both Time and Energy Efficient
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/05/mcdonalds-becomes-energy-efficient
No one can deny that McDonald’s food service is fast, but up until now it hasn’t
been very energy efficient. The company’s 32,000 stores spend $1.5 billion each
year on cooking, lighting, heating and cooling.
Back to the Green Future: Panels Tell of Bringing New Life to Historic Buildings
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/07/new-life-for-historic-buildings
Island Press, the Trust for Architectural Easements and the U.S. Green Building
Council are launching a series of talks featuring experts on architecture,
preservation, planning, finance, real estate and related fields who’ll focus on
the importance of adaptive re-use to green the built environment.
Xcel Charts Its Course for Energy Efficiency in Colorado for 2009
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/05/xcel-energy-efficiency
Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility company, has mapped out an ambitious
energy efficiency plan for 2009 that the firm says would save an amount of power
equivalent to that generated by a new unit at a coal-fired plant.
Indiana Hospital to Install Green Roof Atop New Tower
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/01/05/indiana-hospital-green-roof
Ball Memorial Hospital will plant a 30,000-square-foot green roof on its new $87
million extension called South Tower.
Closing The Loop For Carpeting
By Jonathan Bardelline
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/podcast/2009/01/07/closing-the-loop-for-carpeting
For more than 15 years Zeftron Nylon’s 6ix Again program has collected and
recycled waste commercial carpet, turning used nylon 6 – a type of nylon that is
infinitely recyclable – into brand new nylon. Richard Radke, Zeftron’s marketing
specialist, spoke with GreenBiz Radio about Zeftron’s Cradle-to-Cradle
certification and how it’s 6ix Again program helps find alternate uses for
unwanted carpet.
Jerry Yudelson’s Top Ten Predictions for Green Building
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/resources/resource/jerry-yudelsons-top-ten
Green building consultant Jerry Yudelson offers his Top 10 list of green
building trends for 2009.
Read the full story in Discover Magazine.
A legacy of the Argonne National Laboratory’s early foray into atomic energy lies buried here on its campus, about 25 miles southwest of Chicago. Although solid wastes from all sorts of experiments have been sealed in a landfill, certain liquids, mostly chlorinated solvents, still taint the water that runs under the site. The ongoing attempt to remove these contaminants occupies an enormous experimental facility that covers four acres and looks like a forest.
