·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story from Environmental Leader.

In recent years, technology advancements have made it easier to telecommute, a green move that many governments are encouraging, CIO Today reports.

Via the Responsible Purchasing Network.

Finding green lighting just got easier, thanks to the City of San Francisco’s new SF Approved Lighting guide.  The guide will help institutional purchasers of bulbs, tubes, or ballasts to:

• Find over 700 energy-efficient, long-lasting lighting that has the least amount of toxic mercury.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs or compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each CFL’s lifetime.
• Safely dispose of lighting.

The comprehensive list is the first resource in the nation to list mercury levels of lightbulbs by major manufacturers–who are not themselves required to indicate how much toxic mercury is in their products.

San Francisco City Departments are required to purchase only “SF Approved” lighting from this list, screened for their environmental benefits, cost, reduced toxicity, and performance.  The list is available online for others to use as well.

Via Librarians’ Internet Index.

EPA Fugitives
URL: http://www.epa.gov/fugitives/

“Defendants charged with environmental crimes or violations of the U.S. Federal Criminal Code sometimes flee the court’s jurisdiction. … When these circumstances occur, the defendants become fugitives from justice. … [These] wanted posters identify fugitives sought by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. Each one provides a brief case summary and instructions on how to report information related to their identity and/or current location.” From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Now, more than ever, government agencies throughout California need to fulfill green building and climate change mandates. From retrofitting  buildings for energy efficiency to setting up a basic recycling program, to understanding California’s new green building codes and climate change regulations, the Green California Summit & Expo (Sacramento Convention Center March 16-18, 2009) will bring you all the information, insight and networking you need to get the job done.

This unique event is where the policymakers and government agencies, facilities managers, architects, engineers and product suppliers meet together to learn about cutting edge technologies and how to negotiate a path to reducing greenhouse gases, water conservation, reducing pollution and the host of other environmental initiatives and regulations.

The Summit, now in its third year, is developed under the auspices of an advisory board co-chaired by Secretary of State and Consumer Services Rosario Marin and Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency Linda Adams. Complete education program and Expo with over 200 exhibitors is all part of the event.

Group discounts available. For information and to register, go to:  http://www.green-technology.org/gcsummit/ or call 626-577-5700.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

The analysis, which officials plan to finish next year, will identify how much bacteria can discharge into the river without exceeding safety standards.

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

• Early-stage Companies Tightening Belts
• Massachusetts Governor Calls for 2,000 MW of Wind by 2020
• Inside Renewable Energy podcast: Tumultuous Times for State Solar Programs
• Where Are the Local Stimulus Packages?
• Going Against the Grain: Ethanol from Lignocellulosics

New cable, satellite and telecommunications set-top boxes that have earned the Energy Star label are at least 30 percent more energy efficient than conventional models. The new specification became effective Jan. 1.

If all set-top boxes sold in the United States met the new Energy Star specification, the savings in energy costs would grow to about $2 billion each year and greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by the equivalent of those from about 2.5 million vehicles.

EPA has worked with cable, satellite, and telecommunications companies that deliver television and video content to homes via set-top boxes, bringing energy and cost savings to their customers. Most set-top boxes are given to the consumer as part of their contract with a service provider, rather than sold independently at retail stores.

AT&T and DIRECTV are the first to sign on as Energy Star cable, satellite and telecommunications partners. These companies have improved the energy efficiency of a significant number of their set-top boxes and will offer newly-qualified boxes to subscribers or upgrade boxes already in homes. Cisco, Motorola, and Pace plc. are the first manufacturers to offer Energy Star qualified set-top boxes.

Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 50 different kinds of products, new homes as well as schools and commercial buildings. Products that have earned the Energy Star prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the government. In 2007 alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved more than $16 billion on their utility bills while reducing the annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 27 million vehicles.

More information on set-top boxes: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=settop_boxes.settop_boxes

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.

Greenline Industries, a biodiesel process technology provider, is developing a new process to esterify free fatty acids without using acid catalysts, according to the company’s Senior Process Engineer Gaurav Shah. He couldn’t give details on exactly what approach Greenline Industries’ new esterification process will use, but said in a couple of months, once patent protection is in place, the company will provide more details.

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based Flometrics Inc., an aerospace, medical, and consumer products engineering company, plans to launch a biodiesel-powered unmanned rocket from the Mojave Desert in California later this winter. The company recently tested B100, obtained from a local retail fuel pump, in a RocketDyne LR-101 rocket engine and found the performance of biodiesel to be within 4 percent of RP-1 kerosene rocket fuel, the propellant that the rocket engine originally was designed for, according to Steve Harrington, chief executive officer of Flometrics.

Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.

Warnings about biofuels contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) production are based on a set of assumptions that may not be correct, according to a paper recently published by researchers at Michigan State University. “Biofuels, Land Use Change, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Some Unexplored Variables” by Hyungtae Kim, Seungdo Kim and Bruce Dale, was published online by the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Underwriters Laboratories Launches Green Verification Service
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/26/underwriters-labs-launches-green-service
The venerable product safety testing service is launching an environmental
claims verification service, UL Environment Inc. The new unit was created to help companies and the public make sense of green claims and provide
manufacturers with transparency and credibility in the marketplace.

California’s Green Innovations: Steady Momentum, Plenty Work to Do
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/26/californias-green-innovations
The second annual California Green Innovation Index compiles a wide array of statistics, showing how the state is making progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions from a number of sources.

Wal-Mart Cuts Ribbon on Giant PV Array in Mexico, Canada’s First Green Store Prototype
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/22/wal-mart
Wal-Mart’s international operations have installed the largest photovoltaic
solar power system in Latin America and opened Canada’s first store to serve as a high-performance prototype for green building.

New IBM Consulting Service Finds Savings Throughout Supply Chains
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/23/ibm-consulting-supply-chains
IBM’s SNOW consulting offering gives a holistic look at supply chains,
identifying ways to cut costs and lower environmental impacts, from product materials to distribution routes.

Clorox Expands Green Works Line, Gives $470K to Sierra Club
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/20/clorox-expands-green-works-line
Clorox has added biodegradable wipes to its line of Green Works cleaners and announced how much it is giving the Sierra Club as part of their marketing relationship.

Sainsbury’s Aims to Turn All Food Waste into Biofuel
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/23
Sainsbury’s, Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain, kicks off a major
biofuel initiative in Scotland and vows to stop sending all its U.K. food waste
to landfill by summer.

New England Firm Says Its New Waste-to-Energy System is a GEM
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/01/gem
The IST Energy Corporation has launched a mobile green waste-to-energy
conversation system and says its new GEM can serve any site that produces at least two tons of trash a day.

Casdex, CinnaWorks Partner in Digital Archiving Deal
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/23/casdex-cinnaworks
Casdex Inc. and CinnaWorks, the largest franchisee of the Cinnabon brand, are partnering to digitally archive the pastry retailer’s HR records.

General Electric to Open Ecomagination Centre in Masdar City
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/01/ge-ecomagination-centre-masdar-city
Masdar City, planned to be the world’s first carbon neutral and zero waste city, will include an Ecomagination Centre for research and development of energy efficient products and solutions.

The Climate Group to Develop Low Carbon Cities in China
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/21/low-carbon-cities-china
The Climate Group plans to develop 15 to 20 low carbon cities in China as part of the organization’s drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and battle climate change.

REI Adopts Bluesign Standard for Product Sustainability
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/22/rei-bluesign-product-sustainability
REI will begin using Bluesign Technologies’ research into textile raw materials, chemical components and processes to inform product design and sourcing choices.

Masdar Institute Becomes a Member of the MIT Energy Initiative
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/20/masdar-institute-mit
The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology of Abu Dhabi has become the inaugural founding public member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative, MIT announced yesterday.

Vital to Business Survival: Reading the Signs of Change
By Brandi McManus
http://www.greenbiz.com/feature/2009/01/26/building-business-sustainability
In this era of heightened environmental awareness, the ability to recognize the transformational power of the green movement — and act on it — can be the difference between life and death for a business. Brandi McManus’ four-part series “Growing a Green Corporation: Meeting the Next Great Disruptive Challenge of the 21st Century” begins today with a look at the perils of failing to recognize disruptive change.

Abu Dhabi’s Green Ambitions: An Emirate Focused on Energy
By Marc Gunther
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/23/abu-dhabi-green-ambitions
As the World Future Energy Summit comes to a close, Marc Gunther writes of Abu Dhabi’s green vision — and how the emirate, whose vast wealth is based on oil, is focused a path toward a sustainable future.

Delaware Town Becomes First U.S. City to Use Cars for Grid Power
By Ariel Schwartz
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/22/newark-de-uses-cars-grid-power
Earlier this month, the Delaware town of Newark became the first U.S. city to
use Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology. V2G relies on an electricity-powered
vehicle to store energy and improve grid reliability.

Schwarzenegger Petitions Obama to Terminate EPA Emissions Ruling
By Leslie Guevarra
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/21/california-seeks-clean-air-act-waiver
With President Barack Obama barely a day in office, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger lost no time in writing the nation’s new chief executive to ask that he direct the EPA to favorably reconsider the Golden State’s request for a Clean Air Act waiver — a move that would allow California and 13 other states to enforce tougher laws to reduce auto emissions.

Carbon Accounting Amid Corporate Silos: Will It Add Up?
By John Davies
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/22/carbon-accounting
For sustainability and environmental executives, measuring what you want to manage is the key to success and a company’s carbon footprint is no different. John Davies talks with Groom Energy CEO Jon Guerster about bridging the corporate disconnect between those who measure and those who manage emissions.

Rethinking Dining, From Kitchen to Compost
By Sarah Fister Gale
http://www.greenbiz.com/podcast/2009/01/22/rethinking-dining-from-kitchen-compost
Xanterra Parks and Resorts operates has more than 20 locations at national and state parks. In line with its connection to nature, Xanterra has been taking steps to lower its environmental impacts. Chris Lane from Xanterra spoke with GreenBiz Radio about how the company is greening up its dining facilities, from lightbulbs to menu items to compost piles.

State of the 2009 Sustainable Meeting Industry
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/state-2009-sustainable-meeting-industry
This first report looking at the state of sustainable meetings gives an overview of trends and forecasts, with ideas and recommendations for greening meetings.

Defining, Estimating and Forecasting the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries in the U.S. and Colorado
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/defining-estimating-and-forecasting-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency-indust
This report estimates and forecasts the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries for the U.S. and Colorado, including definition, current size and composition and expected growth under three policy scenarios.