·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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FedEx Aims for 30 Percent Biofuels by 2030
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/30/fedex-aims-30-percent-biofuels-2030
FedEx wants a third of its jet fuel to come from biofuels by 2030, the company’s
chief executive said Wednesday in a speech delivered during a U.S. Chamber of
Commerce event.

Green Becoming a ‘Tiebreaker’ in Shopping Decisions, Survey Finds
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/30/green-becoming-a-tie-breaker
Green product attributes are evolving into an important brand differentiator for
consumers and can serve as a tiebreaker for shoppers evaluating similar
products, according to results of a new study from the Grocery Manufacturers
Association and Deloitte.

Seven Aveda Products Earn Cradle-to-Cradle Certification
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/28/aveda-products-cradle-cradle-certification
Beauty product company Aveda has earned Cradle-to-Cradle certification not only
for seven of its products, but it’s also earned the designation of a
Cradle-to-Cradle company for its operations-wide efforts on energy, materials,
recycling and environment.

U.S. Wind Power Industry Installs More Than 2,800 MW in Q1 2009
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/29/us-wind-power-industry-q1
The wind energy industry in the United States installed 2,836 megawatts of new
generating capacity through the end of March, bringing total installed
generating capacity in the country to 28,206 MW, the American Wind Energy
Association announced.

Teijin to Cut Back Plastics Development, Focus on Green Chemistry
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/30/teijin-cut-back-plastics
Teijin, a Japanese company with businesses ranging from plastics to aircrafts to
pharmaceuticals, plans to halve its sales of polyester, PET and polycarbonate
while increasing other business divisions like bioplastics and recycling.

Corporate Green Power Buyers Reach Purchasing Goal a Year Early
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/28/green-power-buyers-reach-goal
The Green Power Market Development Group, a consortium of industry-leading
companies founded by the World Resources Institute, announced that its members
have purchased enough renewable energy to displace a large coal-fired power
plant.

Despite Health Risks, Packaged Food Industry Continues to Use BPA
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/29/food-industry-continues-use-bpa
A new report from Green Century Capital Management and As You Sow rates CPG
companies on their responses to replacing BPA: the highest grade was a C, and 13
out of 20 companies surveyed received failing grades.

Intel, PepsiCo, Kohl’s Top EPA’s List of Green Power Buyers
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/27/intel-pepsico-kohls-green-power-buyers
The U.S. EPA has released its latest list of the country’s top 50 buyers of
green energy. Intel hangs onto its top spot as Kohl’s doubles its green power
purchases and some new faces, including Wal-Mart and Motorola, make it onto the
list.

California Sets First Low Carbon Fuel Standard in U.S.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/24/california-sets-first-low-carbon-fuel-standard-us
The carbon content of transportation fuels sold in California must be reduced 10
percent by 2020 under rules set by state regulators that also call for counting
emissions generated by the business of producing and delivering fuel of all
types to consumers in the Golden State.

Norway Explores Banning Cars in Climate Fight
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/04/28/norway-banning-cars-climate
A proposal from the country’s Finance Minister this weekend would halt all sales
of fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2015 as a way of spurring the development of
clean car technologies.

Cracking the Mystery of Green Jobs
By Paula Hendricks
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/04/29/cracking-mystery-green-jobs
As a first step to understanding the world of green jobs and the green economy
– not to mention as a way of knowing where to find a green job — we first have
to know exactly what makes a job green. The answer is more complicated than you
might expect.

Clean Technology and the Aroma of Emerging Opportunity
By Joel Makower
http://greenbiz.com/blog/2009/04/29/cleantech-and-emerging-opportunity
Joel Makower writes from the annual gathering convened by the cleantech venture
fund VantagePoint Venture Partners, which is meeting in Northern California’s
wine country this week.

It’s Time to Re-Think Nukes
By Marc Gunther
http://greenbiz.com/blog/2009/04/27/time-to-rethink-nukes
If climate change is the greatest threat facing mankind, what are the odds of
the big environmental groups rethinking their longstanding opposition to nuclear
power?

The War Over Eco-Labels
By Joshua Saunders
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/04/28/the-war-over-eco-labels
If you have walked the aisles of your favorite retailer recently, you may have
noticed that the number of environmental claims and eco-labels continues to
increase. From self-declared, manufacturer-invented eco-labels to third-party
labels, there is no lack of variety. In the eco-label industry, there is a
constant battle over which type of label is best.

Tricks of the Trade for Landing Green Jobs
By Sarah Fister Gale
http://www.greenbiz.com/podcast/2009/04/29/tips-tricks-finding-green-job
Peter Beadle, the founder of GreenJobs.com, talks to GreenBiz Radio about the
ways in which finding a green job is just like finding any other — and the ways
green jobs are different.

Transforming the Market: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/energy-efficiency-buildings
Governments and the global building sector must radically cut energy consumption
now in order to hit targets some 40 years hence for curbing climate change, says
a new report from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Seeking Safer Packaging from Food Companies
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/seeking-safer-food-packaging
This report from Green Century Capital Management and As You Sow looks at the
ways that major packaged-foods companies are working to remove BPA from
products, and grades them on their performance.

Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

Spurred by the Obama administration’s call to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil by adopting alternative energy sources and increasing energy efficiency, green is rapidly becoming the color of choice across all facets of the federal contracting community.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $4.5 billion for the General Services Administration to make federal buildings more energy efficient and $4.5 billion for the Department of Energy to develop smart-grid technologies for the energy infrastructure.

Read the full story in E The Environmental Magazine.

You’d never recognize them. Every year thousands of “re-tired” American school buses turn up in developing countries, but aside from the trademark shape and flashing lights, these “chicken buses” show few signs of their former lives as sturdy movers of students. In Guatemala, for example, the new owners transform each standard yellow school bus from stodgy schoolmarm to pop diva with elaborate multicolored hot-rod-like paint jobs and plenty of chrome. Women’s names such as Carmencita, Esmeralda or Norma replace, for example, “Allegheny County Schools” on the buses’ sides. The core of the country’s transit system, they roar along the highway carrying people, produce and livestock.

At first glance, it seems like an environmental victory to squeeze the maximum life out of such equipment, the automotive equivalent of sending old sweaters to Goodwill. Yet, though the external transformation is dazzling, the internal machinery of these buses remains the same. As heavy black smoke blows from tailpipes — filled not only with global-warming pollution but also soot and other contaminants that cause more immediate health problems — it becomes clear that this form of reuse and recycling has a dark side.

The May 2009 issue of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) award-winning Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) E-Bulletin is now available. Read this month’s issue to learn about:

• ITP Save Energy Now Workshops in India
• Data center energy efficiency awards presented by DOE and the Uptime  Institute
• Applying for a Save Energy Now energy assessment
• Two upcoming ITP co-sponsored energy conferences
• The Spring 2009 issue of Energy Matters, which focuses on DOE’s assessment software toolsNew Thursday Webcasts in May
• An AIRMaster+ Specialist Qualification opportunity in June
• The DC Pro software tool suite and new fact sheet
• New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Request for Proposals
• How to pre-register at Grants.gov for quicker access to funding opportunities
• These upcoming events: Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency;  Pacific Rim Conference on Ceramic and Glass; ASHRAE Annual Conference;  32nd International Association of Energy Economics’ International  Conference; Society of Plastics Industry International Plastics Showcase; International District Energy Association’s 100th Annual  Conference; Biomass ‘09: Power, Fuels, and Chemicals Workshop; American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s 2009 Summer Study on Energy  Efficiency; and GovEnergy 2009.
• ITP project opportunities, software tools, technical publications,  and more.