·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story at GreenBiz.com.

My last post covered the Dean Foods announcement about their Horizon Natural line … this post covers another, quieter announcement:  Green Seal recently announced they’re rolling out a certification program for personal care products.

This is a good move, and I’m starting to think Green Seal may be the certification program to watch in the coming years. They have now established standards for 40 product groupings in seven categories, ranging from paints and coatings to alternative fuel vehicles and, now, to soaps and shower products. Their process is fairly stringent, manufacturers seem to respect them, and they appear to be in this for the long haul.  They’re also going after the right product categories. Sixty percent of the population told us in our Eco Pulse study they’re looking for greener products.  When we asked in what categories they’re looking for greener options, personal care products was the No. 3 category, chosen by a little over half the population.

Read the full post at Green, Inc.

The process of making textiles can require several dozen gallons of water for each pound of clothing, especially during the dyeing process. Amid tightening environmental regulations and a push to save money, companies are working to reduce the waste.

Read the full story in Scientific American.

A study linking a pesticide in fish to diabetes adds to the growing chorus of studies suggesting that environmental contaminants may play a role in the widespread disease.

Read the full story in Scientific American.

Daniel Smith remembers when he first tried to sell a bamboo floor. The San Francisco entrepreneur thought his woodlike product was attractive and durable, but when he took samples to a Dallas trade show in 1994, the reaction wasn’t quite what he had hoped for. No one believed the plant’s round stalks—then most familiar in the U.S. as the stuff of backyard torches—could be turned into a smooth, lasting floor.

Read the full story in Scientific American.

The National Association of Governors is the latest legislative group to support the American Institute of Architects‘ goal of zeroing out new and renovated buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The NGA — which is convening in Biloxi, Miss., for its annual meeting — endorsed the AIA goal as part of a resolution on energy efficiency and conservation. The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties have also endorsed the AIA goal by vowing to integrate provisions related to the built environment in their energy policies.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Over the last month, I have traveled extensively visiting manufacturers across a wide spectrum of industries. During these discussions, there has been a recurring theme: Manufacturers have become more aware of the potential liabilities involved in making green claims.

Since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed three complaints against retailers in early June, manufacturers have certainly taken notice and are re-evaluating the way they introduce environmental claims.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

In Las Vegas, the [second-]biggest desert city in the U.S., and still one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation, the local water utility is offering cash incentives to replace water-sucking lawns with drought-resistant landscapes.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Concrete — the main downstream product for cement — is the world’s second most consumed material behind water, but its recycling rate varies wildly by region.

The Netherlands, for example, banned concrete waste from entering landfills so nearly all concrete is recycled. On the other end of the spectrum, data suggest Spain and Portugal recover just a fraction of the construction and debris waste generated in the two countries.

A coalition of cement companies called the Cement Sustainability Initiative wants to reduce the concrete landfill rate to zero by boosting awareness of the benefits of reusing concrete in a new report, “Recycling Concrete.”

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Window film is cool stuff. Literally. It reflects the sun and insulates buildings. It is used to keep buildings cool on hot, sunny days, and to keep heat from escaping in cold climates.

According to an article published on FacilitiesNet in 2006, window film can reduce heat penetration up to 80 percent and improve insulation by as much as 32 percent for single-pane windows, or as much as 23 percent for double-pane glass. Anecdotal evidence repeatedly notes increased employee comfort from the decreased solar glare and better insulation.

Given these benefits, several of this year’s Climate Corps fellows have been looking at the possibility of installing window film at our sites. [Editor's note: Katie is assigned to Sodexo.]

Read the full story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ask any student on a college campus where the “green crowd” hangs out, and she will be able to tell you.

At the University of Pennsylvania, she might point you to the aspiring poets of the Kelly Writers House, the artistic students in the Furness Library, or maybe the earthy adolescents at the Lovers & Madmen Coffee Lounge down the street.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

An unusual collaboration of marine ecologists and fisheries-management scientists have produced a global assessment of the world’s saltwater fish stocks.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

The program, which offered cash to people who traded in old cars for ones with higher fuel economy, was said to have exhausted its available funds, leaving its future in question.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

With a steelmaking history that dates to the days of the railroad barons, Pueblo may be heading to a second act.

Read the full post at Green, Inc.

In May, Amazon introduced the electronic book reader Kindle DX, touted as a new way to read textbooks, newspapers and other large documents. This fall, six colleges and universities will test the technology in a pilot, which includes making the textbooks for certain courses available online.

The Kindle DX (for “deluxe”) is searchable and portable, a plus for students accustomed to toting heavy backpacks. But there is another reason that some institutions jumped at the chance to try it out: the technology could substantially reduce their use of paper.

Read the full post at Green, Inc.

While the phrase R and D is familiar to most readers, the path from idea to innovation to established technology almost always involves two more D’s — with the full cycle being research, development, demonstration, deployment. Now an intensifying fight is brewing over just how many D’s are included in President Obama’s pledge to invest $150 billion over 10 years to propel energy innovation.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Wisely directing climate change policy and investment toward energy efficiency has the potential to cut as much as half of the recommended greenhouse gas emissions reductions through 2050 while also generating saving for consumers and businesses, according to the latest analysis of proposed climate legislation.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

I have been thinking for some time about companies including sustainability credentials in picking who they want as their customers.

I know, I know, readers who are sustainability practitioners are thinking now that they would get laughed out of town (or the office) if they went out to the sales force and told them not to do business with certain companies. But bear with me on this.

It is not a concept without precedent. Most companies ask about sustainability credentials in RFPs and many go on to include those credentials as a component of selecting vendors. With BT, in our capacity as a vendor, we certainly get asked about it all the time by potential customers and, as a subject matter expert, I am often called upon by potential customers to talk about our activities.

Obviously companies feel in a stronger position to state requirements as a potential customer than as a vendor, but from a sustainability perspective why shouldn’t it be important both directions?

Eighty Chicagoans will receive critical job training funded by an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today at a Chicago press conference. These workers will be trained for various environmental jobs, including the clean-up of so-called “brownfields,” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants, turning sites from rundown eyesores to revitalized, productive properties. Workers will also be trained to weatherize buildings, lowering energy costs and reducing wasteful energy usage.

“The Recovery Act is not only helping to train individuals for good jobs in their communities, it’s helping them rebuild a lasting foundation for prosperity.  By restoring undeveloped lots through the Brownfields program, or weatherizing buildings to lower energy costs, these workers will generate new economic possibilities, bringing new opportunities and jobs here,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.  “EPA is providing solutions in these challenging economic times, and making clear that – in Chicago or anywhere else in the country – protecting our health and our environment is a great way to rebuild our economy.”

OAI, Inc., a Chicago non-profit, will receive a $499,047 grant to train 80 workers for green jobs. The grant is provided through EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program. OAI plans to place at least 75% of its graduates in environmental technician jobs. OAI will work with an Employer Advisory Council, including the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation, and DNR Construction, Inc., to place graduates in environmental jobs.

EPA established the Brownfields Job Training Program to help residents take advantage of jobs created by the assessment and cleanup of brownfields and to ensure the communities reap the benefits from brownfields redevelopment. The target areas for this grant include the 9th and 24th wards in Chicago’s South Side and seven south-Chicago suburban communities, according to OAI. After evaluating the local labor market, the City of Chicago identified a need to fill a growing number of positions in weatherization and site clean up.

Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant, including mine-scarred lands or sites contaminated by petroleum or the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs. EPA’s Brownfields Program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites.

EPA expects to announce additional brownfields and job training grants across the country in the coming days.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at Recovery.gov.

Additional information on EPA Region 5 brownfields activities is available at http://www.epa.gov/r5brownfields.

Information on ARRA brownfields job training grants and other EPA Brownfields activities under the Recovery Act: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/eparecovery/index.htm

Information on brownfields job training grants: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/job.htm