·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
• • • • •

Read the full story in Consulting & Specifying Engineer.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has announced a new initiative to assist the healthcare industry reduce energy costs and improve the environment while enhancing the treatment of patients. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities often use energy intensive equipment and processes to deliver patient care. The New York Energy $mart Focus on Healthcare will assist healthcare facilities in identifying cost-effective investments in energy efficiency that will improve overall energy performance.

Read the full story at GreenerComputing.com.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels last week signed into law the state’s first mandate for electronics recycling.

The signing of H.B. 1589 makes Indiana the 19th state in the country to implement electronics waste regulations in the absence of a federal standard. The Indiana e-waste law forces manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of their products.

Manufacturers of video display devices, such as TVs, computer monitors and laptops, must recycle 60 percent by weight of their sales of those products. They are required to register with the state by April 2010 and must include a plan describing how they will meet their recycling targets. They can count the recycling of other electronics, such as printers, keyboards and VCRs, toward their recycling goals. Manufacturers must report their progress at the end of each program year for state review. In the third year, the state will impose penalties for noncompliance.

Read the press release at Building Design & Construction.

The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, has announced a global program developed in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), called the Climate Positive Development Program. The program will support the development of large-scale urban projects that demonstrate cities can grow in ways that are “climate positive.” Climate Positive real estate developments will strive to reduce the amount of on-site CO2 emissions to below zero.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

With demand for gasoline, and the ethanol that goes into it, expected to rise, oil companies are trying to benefit.

Read the full story in Technology Review.

Waste gasification, a process for converting garbage into fuel and electricity without incinerating it, may be a step closer to large-scale commercialization. Last week, Houston’s Waste Management, a major garbage-collection and -disposal company, announced a joint venture with InEnTec, a startup based in Richland, WA, to commercialize InEnTec’s plasma-gasification technology.

Via Docuticker.

New Report Shows Strong Potential, Economic Benefits for Renewable Energy in Southeast U.S.
Source: World Resources Institute

More than 25 percent of the Southeast U.S. region’s electric power could come from locally-available renewable energy supplies by 2025, according to findings released today by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), and Southface.

Prompt policy action to develop these resources can also create tens of thousands of new jobs, attract more regional energy investment, and help protect regional air and water resources.

“The Southeast has a strong portfolio of renewable energy resources that offers several economic and environmental advantages over traditional electric power generation,” said Eliot Metzger, a project manager at WRI and an author of Local Clean Power, the first in a three-part series of reports about energy opportunities in the Southeast United States.

+ Local Clean Power (PDF; 1.4 MB)

Via Docuticker.

Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America
Source: Brookings Institution

America’s carbon footprint is expanding. With a growing population and an expanding economy, America’s settlement area is widening, and as it does, Americans are driving more, building more, consuming more energy, and emitting more carbon. Rising energy prices, growing dependence on imported fuels, and accelerating global climate change make the nation’s growth patterns unsustainable.

Metropolitan America is poised to play a leadership role in addressing these energy and environmental challenges. However, federal policy actions are needed to achieve the full potential of metropolitan energy and climate solutions.

+ Full Document (PDF; 594 KB)