·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full post from Chelsea Green Publishers.

Times are tough, and chances are your local public library has been feeling the pain.

Look, they were there for you in high school when you were broke and looking for the entire Michael Crichton backlist. They were there when you needed to get your hands on the latest Sue Grafton (but you kind of didn’t want it on your bookshelf). And do I even need to mention Harry Potter? Well, now’s your chance to give a little back.

In a first for book publishers, Chelsea Green is offering librarians a “Wish List” donation registry, allowing friends and patrons to donate new books to their library at a 40% discount with FREE shipping! All types of libraries are eligible to participate, including public, school, academic, and special libraries. And as a Thank You gift, when you order a book for your favorite library, we’ll even ship your personal book order for free. It’s a Win-Win.

If you’re a library and you’d like to apply now, click here.

Read the full post at Sustainable IT.

Servers can now earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star label in recognition of their green qualities, but most observers aren’t expecting this program to cause substantial changes in how enterprises buy servers anytime soon.

Read the full post at Sustainable IT.

As more organizations worldwide come to see the value of investing in eco-friendlier hardware, PC vendors are jockeying for the right to lay claim to the greenest wares. Proving a central weapon in this battle is the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry. Plenty of companies are finding the tool invaluable for finding green machines that meet their particular needs. The problem is, some vendors — intentionally or otherwise — might be abusing the system to make themselves and their wares look greener.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that nearly 17 percent of all single-family homes built nationally in 2008 earned EPA’s Energy Star label, up from 12 percent in 2007. Both home builders and home buyers are continuing to invest in high performing homes that save consumers money on their utility bills and help protect the environment.

Every year more Americans decide to cut their energy bills and help keep the air clean in their communities by buying a new home that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. Features like properly installed insulation, high-performance windows and high efficiency heating and cooling can reduce home energy needs by 20 to 30 percent, saving American families thousands of dollars on their utility bills,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Even in a difficult market, the interest in Energy Star qualified homes keeps rising. We’re helping builders and homebuyers to protect the environment, safeguard our health, and move the country into a low-carbon energy future.”

In addition, market share for Energy Star qualified homes was 20 percent or greater in 15 states in 2008, including Ariz., Colo., Conn., Hawaii, Iowa, Ky., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Okla., Texas, Utah, and Vt.

Nearly 940,000 Energy Star qualified homes have been built to date, with more than 100,000 of these constructed in 2008. In 2008 alone, American families living in Energy Star qualified homes locked in annual utility bill savings of more than $250 million — saving over 1.5 billion kWh of electricity and 155 million therms of natural gas while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of nearly 350,000 cars annually.

To earn the Energy Star label, homes must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by EPA. Typically they include energy-saving features such as:

• Effective Insulation Systems
• High-Performance Windows
• Tight Construction and Ducts
• Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
• ENERGY STAR Qualified Lighting and Appliances

More information about Energy Star qualified homes: http://www.energystar.gov/HomesMarketIndex

Read the full post at Green Tech.

Yahoo thinks its plan for a new data center could eventually help the company achieve carbon-neutral status without having to resort to the purchase of carbon offsets.

Read the full story in the Seattle Times.

You’ve changed all of your light bulbs to those energy-saving twisty kind, you faithfully recycle your newspapers, glass and plastics, and you’ve even installed a low-flow toilet.

You may be feeling as green as Kermit the Frog, but there’s one big area that you may have overlooked for conversion: the kitchen.

Now is a good time to review some steps cooks can take to develop kitchen habits that are more environmentally friendly.

Read the full post at Wired Campus.

Summer is a time to take a step back and review campus policies while fewer students are on campus. As you do, please consider this parable of the inventor and the trucker.

Please join: BSI Group and Environmental Protection
Topic: Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Your Business – Recognizing and Mitigating Your Risk

Date: Wednesday – July 22, 2009
Time: 2 PM (EST) 11 AM (PST)
Register Today at: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=151982&s=1&k=27E8DE9FDE52C2669BD89BF100EACC70

Overview: In April, EPA issued a proposed rule requiring covered facilities to submit annual reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In May, legislation designed to establish a regulatory framework for a national carbon cap-and-trade system was introduced. Impact of general debate on climate change to business is no longer academic but present and real. This presentation will discuss how GHG emission poses a risk as well as an opportunity in today’s business environment and offer insights to how organizations can best position themselves in an evolving GHG regulatory framework and a carbon-constraint economy.
Specifically, the session will address:

• Evolving GHG regulatory landscape in North America
• Current development of regional initiatives
• Key legal implications to business operation
• Basic steps towards entity emission inventory and reporting
• Role and benefits of independent verification in entity emission reporting

This presentation will be presented by Wilhelm Wang and moderated by Lisa Williams, Editor of Environmental Protection.

Speakers: Wilhelm Wang, Product Manager for Business Sustainability with BSI America, Inc
Mr. Wilhelm Wang is the Product Manager for Business Sustainability with BSI America, Inc. Wilhelm has over 25 years of experience in environmental, occupational health and safety compliance and product regulation management in various manufacturing and service industries. He holds professional certification and credential as a management system auditor for quality, environmental, health, safety, as well as various social accountability, GHG emission inventory, and corporate reporting standards.

A Q&A session will be held during the last 15 minutes of the Webinar.
Date: Wednesday – July 22, 2009
Time: 2 PM (EST) 11 AM (PST)
Register Today at: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=151982&s=1&k=27E8DE9FDE52C2669BD89BF100EACC70

Date: Jul 22, 2009

Time: 2:00 pm ET

Read the press release.

Supporting rigorous professional training for future leaders in the field of sustainable development, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced today grants totaling $7.6 million to nine universities in seven countries to establish new Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) programs.

Read the full story in Scientific American.

Several years ago biochemists studying marine ecosystems noticed something unusual: a sponge thriving in the middle of a coral reef that was dying from a bacterial infection. The researchers identified a substance made by the sponge that defended it from harmful microbes and realized it was a natural antibacterial molecule called ageliferin. Ageliferin can break down the formation of a protective biofilm coating that bacteria use to shield themselves from threats, including antibiotic drugs.

Read the full story at Scientific American.

The American chestnut tree, which towered over eastern U.S. forests before succumbing to a deadly fungus in the early 20th century, appears to be an excellent sponge for greenhouse gases, according to a new study.

If scientists can develop a fungus-resistant version of the tree, the chestnut could play a key role in the battle against climate change, Purdue University scientists say.

Read the full story at Scientific American.

Last month we reported on bald eagles and other birds found dead after a rat eradication project in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. The National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., has confirmed that the birds were casualties of brodifacoum, the poison used in bait scattered around Rat Island by helicopter.

Read the full post at Green, Inc.

Deploying technology on a grand scale to alter the planet and combat global warming — that is, the concept of geoengineering — has had scientists brainstorming for some time. Ideas vary, from spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere, to seeding the oceans with iron, to launching a giant reflective sunshade into space.

A more modest geoengineering concept is to build “synthetic trees” — essentially high-tech towers with special absorbents that scrub carbon dioxide from moving air, and then hold it until it can be processed and stored.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

[Editor's note: This blog is part of a series from the 2009 Climate Corps fellows. The program, from partners Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Net Impact, pairs MBA students with companies to identify energy efficiency opportunities and develop actionable strategies that help host companies reduce costs, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.]

The fruit is always fresh.  The foggy haze retreats.  The sun shall shine brightly.  My endorphins rage after the ascent.

So has gone my climb into the world of grocery retail.

With nationwide profits at around 1.6 percent and average energy spend at 1.3 percent, the grocery retail industry has long recognized the benefits of energy efficiency.  The low-hanging fruit is long, long gone.  The industry largely recognizes that improvements in carbon footprinting and energy management are vehicles for discovering opportunities to implement any of a sea of new energy efficiency technologies or process improvements that promise very positive net cash flows.

Ahold, where I am working as a Climate Corps fellow, is an international group of quality supermarkets based in the U.S. and Europe. Its U.S. stores include Giant-Carlisle and Stop and Shop/Giant-Landover. In 2008, Ahold’s net sales topped €25.7 billion (US$36.4 billion).

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Today, more than ever, organizations are focused on environmental and social responsibility as a strategic objective. IBM’s 2009 survey of 224 business leaders worldwide shows that 60 percent believe corporate social responsibility has increased in importance over the past year. Only 6 percent say it is a lower priority. These responses defy the conventional wisdom that the new economic environment dilutes CSR focus.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

A day after granting California the authority to regulate vehicle tailpipe emissions as part of its efforts to address climate change, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to create tougher rules to reduce air pollution from U.S.-flagged large ships.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Retailers that put green practices to work at their facilities can save tens of millions of dollars a year by managing resources and waste more aggressively, according to SSA & Company.

Read the full story at GreenerDesign.

I recently attended a small but enthusiastic gathering of sustainable design practitioners at the Designer’s Accord town hall meeting held in Boston. There was no shortage of passion in the room and there were plenty of good ideas to share, but the consensus amongst all was clear: if sustainable design was challenging to practice in a good economy, it’s even more difficult in a bad one.

Read the full story at GreenerDesign.

Cargill has taken full ownership of NatureWorks, the manufacturer of Ingeo bioplastic, after Teijin decided to no longer be a part of the joint venture.

Read the full story from GreenerComputing.

Headlines abound with stories of branded technology being fished out of rivers and landfills in developing nations leaking toxic metals into the water supply. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates roughly 400,000 tons of e-waste goes to recyclers every year, and that up to 80 percent of the materials sorted for recycling end up in operations in China, India, Southeast Asia and West Africa where it is disassembled and burned or dumped.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, declares Mark Newton, the senior manager of environmental sustainability at Dell Computers, the computer manufacturing giant based in Round Rock, Texas.

Read the full story at GreenerComputing.

Greenpeace International today released the 12th edition of its quarterly Guide to Greener Electronics scorecard, ranking the 17 manufacturers on their achievement of environmental goals.

Nokia once again remained in the top position, with a score of 7.45 points out of a possible 10, while Samsung held on to second place with its score of 7.1. Sony Ericsson moved further up in the rankings, retaining its third-place score but improving that number to 6.5, up from 5.7 in the March 2009 rankings.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is extending the comment period by 60 days on its proposed rule revising the national Renewable Fuel Standard program, commonly referred to as RFS2. The original comment period was to end on July 27, 2009 and will now end on September 25, 2009.

The proposed rule would dramatically increase the volume requirements for renewable fuels, establish four categories of renewable fuels, and require some renewable fuels to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to the gasoline and diesel fuels they displace. These revisions were mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

With the 60-day comment period extension, EPA seeks to provide the public adequate time to provide meaningful comment while finalizing and implementing the standards in a timely manner.

More information and instructions on submitting comments: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/index.htm.

Read the full story in the Boston Globe.

It is a miniscule slice of the state’s $27 billion budget – less than $1.5 million to fund an obscure environmental agency at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

But the Toxics Use Reduction Institute is part of a state-mandated program that has reduced the use of hazardous substances by local manufacturers 41 percent in its 20-year history. That funding has been eliminated, and the institute’s 18 employees do not know where their next paycheck will come from – or whether it will come at all.

Read the press release.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced an award of $1.5 million to the Center for Clean Tech Entrepreneurship at the Tech Garden to establish a clean energy business incubator program that will provide business support to accelerate the successful development of early-stage, clean energy technology companies in Central Upstate New York.  Through this award and other ongoing efforts, NYSERDA is building the capacity to foster innovative clean energy companies, grow the clean energy industry in New York, and expand the State’s “green collar” workforce.

Read the full story in the Denver Post.

The federal government is carving out public land in Colorado and five other Western states for fast-tracked development of commercial solar power plants, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday.

The goal is to have 13 commercial- scale solar power plants under construction by the end of 2010, Salazar said.

Read the full story in Environmental Factor.

The scientific statement “Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement,” which was announced at a news conference June 10 by Robert M. Carey, M.D., president of The Endocrine Society, and published in the journal Endocrine Reviews, marks an important step forward for research on endocrine disruption. The article reviews the data on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and human health and identifies research needs and data gaps. This statement was developed because of the society’s belief that there is concern for human health from exposures to EDCs (see related story).

Via Environmental Factor.

The July 1 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) develops the theme “Climate Change Is Here,” with a Focus article on climate change abatement strategies and a Spheres of Influence feature exploring the challenge of adapting to climate change already underway.

Highlights from the issue include the following studies:

• Toxicology — Examining prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke and risk of cardiovascular disease later in life
• Infectious Disease — Modeling the impact of warmer temperatures, elevated humidity and heavy precipitation on the spread of West Nile Virus in the U.S.
• Reproductive Health — Evaluating the association of arsenic exposure and increased risk for development of gestational diabetes
• Health Policy — Reporting a cost-benefit analysis of measures to reduce lead paint exposures in terms of reduced cost for healthcare, crime control, special education and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) treatment
• Exposure Science — Measuring serum perfluorooctanoic acid levels in residents near a Teflon manufacturing plant in the Ohio valley

Toxicogenomics — Using genomewide analysis to characterize the aryl hydrocarbon receptor regulatory network in the presence and absence of xenobiotic stimulation