Browsing environmental news sources so you don't have to. Contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu) with questions, comments, and suggestions.
Follow ENB on TwitterThe Dow Chemical Company recently recognized the inaugural winners of its Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge – an awards competition established to encourage and promote solutions to the world’s most pressing social, economic and environmental problems. Graduate students and their professors from around the globe were recognized at a ceremony held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The Richard C. Bartlett Award is presented annually by the National Environmental Education Foundation to an outstanding teacher who has successfully integrated environmental education into his or her daily curriculum. The 2010 prize will be given to a high school teacher who can serve as an inspiration and model for both students and colleagues. The winner receives a $5,000 award and a trip to Washington D.C. where he or she meets with representatives from the environmental education community to further his or her education network. Do you know a teacher who stands out among the rest? If so, please nominate him/her for the 2010 Richard C. Bartlett Award. Nominations will be accepted through January 15, 2010. Learn more or submit your nomination.
Read the full story at GreenerDesign.
Axion Polymers has announced a design competition for its new product, a 100 percent recycled content plastic sheet called Axfoil.
The sheet is made with recycled polystyrene, identified by the number 6 resin code. While rarely accepted in recycling systems in the U.S., number 6 plastic can be recycled back into itself.
Read the full story in the Daily Illini.
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, or ISTC, held the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards at the I Hotel, 1900 S. First St., on Wednesday. Various companies and organizations throughout the state were awarded for their dedication to improving the environment through conservation and energy efficiency.
Read the full post at Dot Earth.
Google rolled out a new initiative today honoring efforts to use Google Earth to improve the human condition or the home planet.
An essay, poem and photo are among the winners of this year’s Rachel Carson Contest. The third annual intergenerational contest reflects Carson’s efforts through her writings to have adults share with children a sense of wonder about nature and help them discover its joys. This year, dance was a new category for entries.
The winners include an essay titled “A Fish with a Crab;” a poem called “Place of Peace;” a mixed media entry entitled “Pop-pop’s Garden;” untitled photo of a sunset on a beach; and a video by the Intergenerational School, Judson Park Assisted Living and the Shaker Nature Center.
Intergenerational teams, including the young and the old, explored the natural world to create their projects. Finalists in each category were selected by an intergenerational team of judges. The finalists were judged based on originality, its intergenerational teamwork and how the project brought the team in touch with the natural world.
The public selected the winners. More than 1,600 individuals from all over the country and world cast their ballots for the winners. The contest was sponsored by EPA, Generations United, the Dance Exchange, Inc. and the Rachel Carson Council Inc. Carson is considered the founder of the contemporary environmental movement.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/2009/
Entry deadline December 31
Since 1971, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sponsored the President’s Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA). The program recognizes young people across America in grades K-12 for projects which demonstrate their commitment to the environment. To be eligible to compete, a student or students, sponsored by an adult, must submit to their local EPA regional office evidence of a completed project, as well as a completed application. Young people in all 50 states and the U.S. territories are invited to participate in the program.
http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya/index.html
Entry deadline December 4
The National Council for Science and the Environment is calling on high school students to submit articles on the new green economy. Articles should be 500 words in length and may be opinion pieces, research showcases or articles that detail community programs. The content should be designed to express personal perspectives and experiences, identifying key issues and solutions. Selected articles will be published in a six-page insert distributed at the 10th National Conference: The New Green Economy and included in the online Encyclopedia of Earth. The winners will also be published online in Solutions, a magazine focused on sustainable environmental solutions.
http://ncseonline.org/conference/greeneconomy/cms.cfm?id=3302
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Philips has the first entry in an Energy Department contest to build a more efficient 60-watt light bulb.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a series of steps to increase protections against and raise awareness of lead-based products in our environment and communities, particularly to prevent lead poisoning in children. The steps announced today are:
“As both EPA Administrator and as a mother, my highest priority is protecting our children from environmental threats in the places where they live, play and learn. Lead is still present in many of our neighborhoods, but we can limit exposure to children and adults by working together on comprehensive actions like these,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re committed to giving our nation’s children the fullest protection possible, and giving parents clear assurance that their children are safe from harm.”
The additional requirements on lead-based paint that EPA intends to propose are the result of a settlement of litigation brought by the Sierra Club, the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning and other stakeholder groups in 2008. The settlement calls for proposed revisions to the 2008 rule governing lead safe work practices used during repair, remodeling and renovations to reduce exposures to lead-based paint hazards for young children, the most sensitive population, as well as for older children and adults.
EPA will propose to expand lead safe work practices and other protective requirements for renovation and painting work involving lead paint to most buildings built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned for residential use. Under the proposed requirements, renovation firms would have to conduct tests to ensure that lead levels in dust comply with EPA’s regulatory standards after certain renovation, repair, and painting activities are performed and provide information to building occupants on the lead safe work practices utilized during renovations.
The agency is proposing that lead safe work practices be required at the vast majority of residential buildings and public and commercial buildings undergoing exterior renovations that involve lead-based paint. EPA will determine whether renovations in the interior of public and commercial buildings create hazardous levels of lead dust.
EPA will undertake at least three separate rulemakings to expand coverage and strengthen requirements of the 2008 Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which will be available for public comment.
EPA will also pursue a ban on the manufacture and distribution of lead tire weights in response to a 2009 petition from the Ecology Center, the Sierra Club and other NGOs requesting that the agency establish regulations prohibiting the manufacture, processing, and distribution of lead tire weights. Lead weights are used predominately in the tire replacement market to balance tires of autos and light trucks in the United States. They can fall off tires and then break down and contaminate soil, wash into sewers, or end up being transported to municipal landfills or incinerators. EPA estimates that 2,000 tons of lead from tire weights are lost from vehicles and ultimately end up in the environment each year. Tire weights without lead are already being used and can be effectively substituted.
Finally, in order to further educate the public on the potential dangers of lead poisoning, EPA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are soliciting creative videos from the public for a lead poisoning prevention video contest.
The three agencies are interested in videos that convey easy, low-cost steps that can be taken to prevent childhood lead poisoning and inspire individuals and communities to change their behavior to prevent exposure to this harmful chemical. Examples of possible video topics include:
The deadline for entries is October 1, 2009 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The winners will be awarded cash prizes in the amount of $2,500 (1st prize), $1,500 (2nd prize) and $1,000 (3rd prize). Winning videos will be featured on EPA, CDC and HUD’s Web sites. Winners will be announced during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 25-31, 2009.
Lead causes a variety of adverse health effects, including brain and nervous system disorders, high blood pressure and hypertension, and reproductive problems. For children, even low levels of exposure to lead can cause a host of developmental effects such as learning disabilities, decreased intelligence, and speech, language, and behavioral problems, which can impact children for a lifetime.
More information on today’s announcements: http://www.epa.gov/lead/
Make-It-Green is turning great ideas that improve lives and help our planet into actual products. Submit your idea before June 30th, and if it’s chosen, you could see your product on store shelves and get a share of the sales. Make-It-Green is an initiative of Yahoo Green.
Celebrate nature by photographing it wherever you are. Then, enter the best of your photos in the National Wildlife Federation’s 39th annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. $25,000 in cash, including two Grand Prizes of $5,000 each, and other prizes will be awarded to the winners in three separate divisions: Professional, Amateur and Youth.
Award-winning entries will be published in the 2009 December/January issue of National Wildlife® magazine, and all winners will be featured in the magazine’s online PhotoZone. In return for your $15 entry fee, you will receive a one-year membership to National Wildlife Federation, including a subscription to the magazine (current NWF members excluded). You can submit as many as 20 images in any combination in seven categories. For more details about how to submit your photos and other information, read the official rules. Deadline is July 20.
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will recognize young people from across the country at the 2008 President’s Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) ceremony today. These students have made outstanding contributions to environmental protection through projects that help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and protect America’s waters.
“The President joins me in honoring these students for leading the way towards a brighter future for their communities and our planet,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “In each of these amazing projects we see our country’s future for clean energy, preservation, healthy communities and a well-protected planet.”
The 10 individuals or teams of students who will be awarded are from Derry, N.H.; Pittsford, N.Y.; Moscow, Pa; Lewisville, N.C.; Chesterland, Ohio; Edmond, Okla.; Scottsbluff, Neb.; Provo, Utah; San Leandro, Calif.; and Kenai, Alaska.
These dedicated youth developed projects in both urban and rural settings that involved hundreds of community members, educators, policy makers and national celebrities in environmental science research, community recycling, wetlands and coastal ecosystem education and restoration, energy conservation and climate change education campaigns.
Winners were selected from among applicants to EPA’s 10 regional offices. Regional EPA panels judged the projects on environmental need, accomplishments of goals, long-term environmental benefits and positive impact on local communities. The panels also consider project design, coordination, implementation, innovation and soundness of approach.
PEYA has been presented annually since 1971 to honor students in kindergarten through 12th grade who design and implement innovative environmental projects.
More information on winners and project descriptions: http://www.epa.gov/peya/peya2008.html
A gardening tool that runs on propane, a climate education program that engages students and teachers in strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions at school, and a Tribe’s smoke management program are just three of the winners of EPA’s Clean Air Excellence Awards. For the ninth year, EPA is honoring 15 recipients from across the United States for their environmental achievements in community action, education, and science and technology. These innovative air quality programs provide environmental benefits and create green products and jobs.
“Each year, our Clean Air Excellence Award winners offer amazing new examples of how we keep our air safe and clean,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This year’s winners have built on that tradition of innovation to show what is possible in protecting human health and the environment.”
This year’s award recipients were selected from 125 applicants and represent achievements in five categories: clean air technology, community action, education/outreach, regulatory policy innovations, and outstanding individual achievement.
The awards program, established in 2000 at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, annually recognizes and honors outstanding innovative efforts to help make progress in achieving cleaner air. Award-winning entries must directly or indirectly reduce pollutant emissions, demonstrate innovation, offer sustainable outcomes, and provide a model for others to follow.
Information on all award winners: http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/clean_award.html
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (formerly the Waste Management and Research Center) is accepting applications for the 2009 Governor’s Sustainability Awards. Applications must submitted by May 29, 2009 for consideration.
ISTC has changed the name of the award from the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award to the Governor’s Sustainability Award. The new name better fits the mission and goals of the agency (ISTC) and of the State. In addition, we have updated the award criteria to better coincide with the variety of sustainable activities and projects that improve our environment that applicants may have implemented.
There is also a new category for media outlets this year. If your company has either done a project to make your business operation more environmentally sustainable or your station or paper has reported on sustainability issues in your community, then please consider applying in the media category.
Any Illinois public or private organization is eligible to apply for an award. Only one application for a Governor’s Award will be accepted per facility. Each application will be judged on its own merit and not in direct competition with other applications.
To be considered for an award, projects must meet the description of sustainability and must have been implemented within the 2008 calendar year. The most widely quoted definition internationally is in the 1987 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development – that sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The US EPA says sustainability efforts “create and maintain conditions under which [humans] and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.”
Activities that will be considered for a Governor’s Award may include, but are not limited to:
AASHE is now accepting applications for its 2009 Sustainability Leadership Awards, to be presented the Greening of the Campus VIII Conference (Sept. 20-23 in Indianapolis, IN). Four Campus Sustainability Leadership Awards will be presented. The Campus Sustainability Leadership Award recognizes the institutions that have made the greatest overall commitment to sustainability as demonstrated in their governance, curriculum and research, operations, campus culture, and community outreach. Applications are due July 1, 2009.
The Science and Practice of Ecology & Society Award is an annual award given to the individual or organization that is the most effective in bringing transdisciplinary science of the interactions of ecology and society into practice. Examples of possible winners include, a high school teacher who develops a special curriculum, a mayor with initiatives and actions for her/his town based on scientific concepts, a journalist who brings scientific insights to a broader audience, or a NGO group who facilitates local knowledge production in rural communities.
The purpose of this award is to recognize the importance of practitioners who translate the scientific findings and insights of the scholarly community to practical applications. We want to identify innovative practitioners so that their story can be an example for others.
The Award
The award consists of 1000 Euro and an article in Ecology and Society devoted to this person or organization. This article will be written by those who send in the nomination.
Who can be nominated?
A person or organization that has succeeded in translating transdisciplinary science theory into practice.
Who nominates?
Any academic scholar or group of academic scholars can nominate a person or organization. An accompanying letter will argue why this person or organization is an exemplary example of the interface of practice and science in the domain of ecology and society.
Where to submit nominations?
The deadline for nominations will be July 1, 2009. Nomination letters can be sent, preferably electronically, to Dr. Marco Janssen, Email: Marco.Janssen@asu.edu. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402.
ACEEE is proud to announce the opening of nominations for the 2009 Champion of Energy Efficiency Awards. Presented at ACEEE’s 2009 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry conference, these awards recognize leadership and accomplishment in the energy efficiency field. Winners will be selected based on demonstrated excellence in the following categories:
Research and Development (R&D):Excellence in research and development including baseline or background research, as well as R&D of products and practices.
Energy Policy: Excellence in energy policy including writing, educating, promoting, or supporting energy efficiency in energy policy, at the federal, state, or local level.
Implementation and Deployment: Effective design and implementation, including achievement of significant impacts on energy use.Leadership: Exceptional personal leadership demonstrated in the development, implementation, or growth of important energy efficiency initiatives.
Nominations will be made by peers and the final awards will be chosen by the ACEEE Board of Directors Awards Committee. To access the nomination form, please visit http://aceee.org/about/09sschampform.doc. For more information on the awards and to read about previous winners in the industry sector please visit http://www.aceee.org/about/awards.htm#Industry or contact Lori Nachman at Champions@aceee.org.
The 2009 Champions awards will be presented at the 2009 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry in Niagara Falls, New York scheduled for July 28-31, 2009 at the Conference Center Niagara Falls. The “Industry” Summer Study is the premier energy efficiency conference in its field, and draws leading academics, energy efficiency professionals, government representatives, researchers, and policymakers.
Display and judging of entries in UIUC’s Sustainable E-Waste Design Competition occurred today on the Quad. I was tremendously impressed with the ingenuity and creativity of the particpants. There were some really innovative projects that not only used materials that would have otherwise been landfilled, but also were functional, useful, and attractive. I don’t envy the judges. They’ll have some tough decisions to make this afternoon.
For more information about the competion, see the competition website. The Daily Illini also ran a story about the contest in their April 2 issue.
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (formerly the Waste Management and Research Center) is accepting applications for the 2009 Governor’s Sustainability Awards. Applications must submitted by May 29, 2009 for consideration.
Entry deadline: April 30, 2009
IC Bus is offering a free hybrid school bus to the winning school in a student essay contest on “green” practices at school. In addition, the winning student will receive a $5,000 scholarship and the faculty sponsor gets $3,000 for educational materials K-12 students are invited to submit 500-word essays describing their school’s efforts to “go green.” Essays will be judged on demonstration of commitment to environmentally conscious practices, demonstration of commitment to environmentally friendly transportation and creativity. http://www.americasgreenestschool.com/
Climate Culture invites college and universities to apply for its America’s Greenest Campus contest, which aims to motivate institutions to reduce the carbon footprint of their students, faculty, alumni, and staff. Institutions have until October 5, 2009 to get as many campus members to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible. Carbon Culture will keep track of the number of people participating from each school and will award up to $10,000 to two winners – the school with the most participants and the school with the most carbon reductions per participant.
To date, nearly 5,000 teens nationwide have taken part in this year’s Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational program and contest that inspires and empowers middle and high school students to learn about the environment and take a stand to improve it. In the second of three initial rounds of competition, 17 teams in 15 states have been awarded $10,000 each for their outstanding entries.
A visually arresting look at the plight of the Polar Bears, and a fact-filled journey through the deterioration of our water supply, earned Grand Prize awards in the 2008 Mobile Learning Institute Earth Day Challenge, sponsored by The Pearson Foundation and Nokia. The Challenge is a global, environmental filmmaking competition that provides young people the chance to share their views on the earth’s future and the importance of combating climate change.
The 2008 Grand Prize Winners are The Earth is Warming, University High School, Orlando, FL; and Water Pollution, Plaquemines Parish, Belle Chasse, LA. They will receive technology and support worth up to $25,000, including digital arts technology and a workshop for up to 60 students in their school. All winners also receive a copy of An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. A complete list of the runners-up is included below. They will also receive digital technology and copies of An Inconvenient Truth. The winning videos can be viewed at www.earthdaychallenge.org.
The Green Youth Award is an annual program sponsored by the Illinois EPA that recognizes the outstanding and innovative efforts of youth in Illinois who are working on environmental and conservation friendly projects. Eligible projects involve one or more of the following categories: waste reduction, prevention or reduction of pollution in the air (climate change/global warming), land or water; restoration, preservation or enhancement of natural areas; and energy or water efficiency. Applications are due by March 20, 2009 and can be obtained online at www.epa.state.il.us/green-youth/index.html or by calling 217-557-7826. The Awards ceremony will be on Earth Day, April 22 in Springfield at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
BCLC, in partnership with the Siemens Corporation, will honor three U.S. communities with the 2009 Siemens Sustainable Community Awards. One small, medium, and large community each will receive an award.
The nomination deadline for the awards is fast-approaching — all submissions must be received by 5:00 Eastern Time on Friday, January 30, 2009.
Now in the final months for entries, the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is encouraging middle school students across the United States to kick off 2009 by “going green” and implementing environmental change in their local communities. The website for this entirely web-based challenge, http://www.wecanchange.com, is host to lots of kid-friendly activities such as virtual interactive labs, an eco-footprint game, an environmental IQ quiz, online journals, video clips-plus many more resources for both students and adult advisers.
Read the special section of American College & University.
Many entrants of the 2008 Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities are in the first few years of their green-cleaning programs and are initiating new ideas, thinking outside the box, and enabling the strategies that will define green cleaning at their education institutions.
In this special awards program, an expert jury of green-cleaning professionals chose eight education institutions whose green-cleaning programs are off to a great start in their cleaning efforts to protect health without harming the environment. The jury named a Grand Award winner in each of three categories: school districts, colleges and universities. It also gave one Honorable Mention in the school district category, one in the colleges category and three in the universities category.
Judging criteria were based on the comprehensiveness and quality of the program, and how well each education institution followed the following five steps, as outlined in the second edition of The Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools:
- Use green-cleaning products.
- Use green equipment and supplies.
- Adopt green-cleaning procedures.
- Use green paper and plastic products.
- Share the responsibility.
The eight winners showcased in the following pages show how much one education institution can accomplish in just a few years. These schools have beefed up their recycling programs, reduced their cleaning chemical inventories, improved their maintenance procedures and actually changed the marketplace by partnering with vendors that specify green-cleaning products.
The Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award is awarded annually by the National Environmental Education Foundation to an outstanding teacher who has successfully integrated environmental education into his or her daily education programs. The award is given to a 5th-12th grade educator who can serve as an inspiration and model for others. A $5,000 cash award is provided for the recipient to continue their work in environmental education. Do you know a teacher who stands out among the rest? If so, please nominate him/her for the 2009 Richard C. Bartlett Award. The nomination deadline has just been extended to February 13, 2009! To learn more or submit your nomination visit http://www.neefusa.org/bartlettaward.htm.
MTV Switch and Ashoka GenV have launched the Dream It. Do It. Challenge. Come up with a creative idea for how you can make our planet cooler or greener and MTV Switch will help you launch your own environmental project or “venture.” Ashoka GenV will give you support and even seed funding of up to US$1,000 to put your ideas into action.
The best projects may be featured in a half hour MTV documentary scheduled for Earth Day 2009. Also, The Lemelson Foundation will award five project leaders a trip to Boston, USA to take part in a roundtable discussion on climate change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Eligibility Criteria
Assessment Criteria
Grants will be awarded to projects that best meet the following criteria:
General Guidelines
Read the full story in the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.
The environmental measures initiated by students at the READY Program – turning off lights when no one is in the room, laminating hall passes to save paper, recycling whatever they can – are probably saving the school some pennies.
But they’ve also brought in some real money to the school and the students.
The six-student team was chosen a winner in the Lexus Eco Challenge competition, which asks middle and high school students to design and implement environmental programs to make a difference in one of three categories: land, water, or air/climate.
The prize – $10,000, with $7,000 of that to be split among the students. The school – an alternative-education program run by the Regional Office of Education – gets $2,000, and English teacher Shannon Olison, whose class entered the challenge, gets $1,000 to spend on educational programs or school supplies.
EPA’s Aging Initiative, Generations United, and the Rachel Carson Council, Inc. are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Rachel Carson “A Sense of Wonder” Intergenerational Essay, Photography, and Poetry Contest.
The contest was designed to increase environmental stewardship and public awareness of environmental issues. This year, the theme is commemorating the 100th anniversary of environmentalist Rachel Carson’s life. The contest’s intergenerational approach reflects Carson’s efforts through her writings to have adults share with children a sense of wonder about nature and help them discover its joys. All teams included both a person under age 18 and a person 50 years of age or older.
More than 140 individuals submitted entries to the Rachel Carson contest. Participants came from all over the US and the world and included intergenerational teams of families, neighbors, friends, and senior centers. Finalists in each category were selected by an intergenerational team of judges. Winners were then selected by public voting on the Aging Initiative website. More than 1,500 individuals cast their votes for their favorite entries.
The categories are Photography, Essay, Poetry and Mixed (Photo, Essay and Poetry).
Read the full story in Water & Wastewater News.
On Oct. 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the 2008 National winners of the Clean Water Act Recognition Awards during the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC), in Chicago, Ill. This is the 23rd year of the program and the 22nd year EPA recognized municipalities and industries for outstanding and creative technological achievements in wastewater treatment and pollution abatement programs.
The Aspen Institute has opened nominations for the second annual Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Awards. These awards, created by members of the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network, recognize and reward excellence for those making a real and concrete contribution to innovation, implementation, and communication of energy and environmental solutions. The deadline for nominations is October 31, 2008. Nominations can be made at www.aspeneeawards.org.
Projects that include empowering residents to clean up New Orleans East for a safe return after Hurricane Katrina and developing a tool to target high-risk homes with lead contamination in Durham, N.C., are winners of EPA’s first Environmental Achievement Awards. Twelve award recipients include community-based organizations, universities, and state and local governments from nine states.
“We all have a stake in ensuring that our air is cleaner, our water is purer, and our land is better protected,” said Granta Nakayama, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “These organizations are making a positive impact in their communities by promoting a clean and healthy environment for all people.”
The awards recognize organizations for their distinguished accomplishments in addressing environmental justice issues. EPA received dozens of nominations from across the United States.
For information on recipients of the Environmental Justice Achievement Awards visit: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/awards
The following organizations received awards:
The Constitution has long been interpreted by the courts and understood by most Americans to support comprehensive environmental protections. However, arguments targeting the constitutional legitimacy of environmental laws continue to gain traction in the federal courts. To inform the debate, we invite law students to submit papers exploring current issues of constitutional environmental law.
AWARD: $2000 cash prize and an offer of publication in the Environmental Law Reporter.
TOPIC: Any topic addressing recent developments or trends in U.S. environmental law that have a significant constitutional or “federalism” component. (See sample topics below.)
ELIGIBILITY: Students currently enrolled in law school (in the U.S. or abroad) are eligible, including students who will graduate in the spring or summer of 2009. Any relevant article, case comment, note, or essay may be submitted, including writing submitted for academic credit. Jointly authored pieces are eligible only if all authors are students and consent to submit. Previously published pieces, or pieces that are already slated for publication, are ineligible.
DEADLINE: Entries must be received no later than 5:00 PM ET on April 6, 2009. Email essays (and questions) to Lisa Goldman at goldman@eli.org. You will receive a confirmation by email.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.eli.org/pressdetail.cfm?ID=187
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has announced the winners of the 2009 Sustainability Innovator Awards. From the announcement:
While the College Sustainability Report Card 2009 highlights the schools with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada, sustainability innovators among colleges and universities with smaller endowments also merit recognition.
Accordingly, the Sustainable Endowments Institute solicited nominations for schools not included in the Report Card 2009. The nominations—consisting of a detailed description of sustainability initiatives—recognize schools for either a comprehensive sustainability strategy or a specific category of the Report Card.
The 2009 winners are:
Fix Our Energy Addiction
Win $10,000 for your design idea! The 2009 Next Generation® Competition is seeking bright ideas that focus on Energy. Now in its sixth year, the Next Generation® Design competition recognizes design innovation on all scales from products and interiors to landscapes, buildings, and everything in between. The competition is open to young designers in practice 10 years or less and, whether on your own or in teams, we invite you to submit your smart ideas. The winner will receive the $10,000 seed money to help realize his or her idea, and will be featured in Metropolis magazine.
The online application is now available! Remember the competition deadline is January 30, 2009.
Entries are now being sought for the 2008 President’s Environmental Youth Awards, which recognize individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school) and youth organizations for protecting our nation’s air, water and land.
The program has two components: The regional certificate program and the regional award winner. Regional certificates are awarded by each of the regional offices of the EPA. Each regional office also selects one first place project as its regional award winner, and the sponsor and winner of that award travel to Washington, D.C., to receive their award.
Projects must be postmarked by Friday, October 31, 2008. Program guidelines, eligibility information and applications are available online at http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya/index.html. Regional award winners will be notified in January 2009.
Read the full post at Treehugger.
What’s the eco-conscionable thing to do with a used mattress? Pawn it off on a (really) broke friend? Try to give it to Goodwill or list it for giveaway on the Free page on Craigslist? These options are tough, because the idea of sleeping on a used mattress just strikes most as creepy — it’s like wearing secondhand underwear. So you likely do what most of us do — haul it out to the curb and leave it by the trash for the garbage men. As a result, around 40 million mattresses get flipped into the landfills every year. And let’s face it — the options for eco friendly solutions seem pretty slim.
Enter Architecture for Humanity and Rubicon National Social Innovations: they’ve teamed up to launch the Discarded Dreams design competition bent on reusing that seemingly unrecyclable bedding.
Read the full post at Sustainable IT.
If you’ve got an idea rolling around inside your head for a technological approach to helping the environment, improving education, spurring economic development, or advancing health care, Intel might have $100,000 for you. Just make sure your solution has Intel inside.
Earlier this month, the chipmaker announced its Inspire-Empower Challenge though which it’s calling on individuals and organizations to put forth “the best technology solutions to address four areas of global need – education, healthcare, economic development, and the environment.” Winners for each category will receive $100,000 in seed money to transform their vision into reality.
Thunderbird School of Global Management’s third annual Global Sustainable Innovation Summit opens early registration today. The global competition draws the brightest graduate-level students from top universities around the world, and requires students to develop sustainable and innovative business solutions to real-world challenges presented by sponsoring companies. The winning team receives a $20,000 prize and the title of “Global Champions of Sustainable Innovation.” Last year, the challenge attracted 118 teams from 59 universities in 15 countries. The 2007 championship team was from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Registration is open until noon Oct. 5 to accommodate university start dates around the world. Graduate students enrolled in master’s level business programs can sign up and find information at http://www.sustainableinnovation.thunderbird.edu. Teams will be comprised of three to five students. Early registration ends noon Sept. 20 and is $100 per team. After noon Sept. 20 team registration will be $150.
AIGA, the professional association for design, today issued an ambitious call to the next generation of creative thinkers in its first annual Aspen Challenge, “Designing Water’s Future.” In association with INDEX: and Circle of Blue, the international contest challenges cross-disciplinary student teams to develop design solutions that explore new ways of understanding and responding to the global water crisis.
Read the full story at News.com.
Those worried about the future of the planet needn’t look much further than 12-year-old Elizabeth Rintels and friends for reassurance that young people aren’t just aware of eco-challenges, they’re putting their minds to solving them.
Rintels, of Keswick, Va., created a smart device designed to measure and monitor water usage in the shower. On Thursday, youth marketing and media company By Kids For Kids announced that her invention nabbed the grand prize in BKFK’s “Going Green Challenge,” which called on America’s youth to come up with new eco-ideas for a changing world.
The young innovator was driven to create the “Water Watcher” after learning that cutting her shower time by one minute would save approximately 1,000 gallons of water per year. The product can be fastened to any faucet, signaling a red light and sounding a beep every time a half-gallon of water is used.
Read the full story in The Scientist.
The green carpet was rolled out on August 4 for the first-ever Ecological Society of America (ESA) Student Ecofilm Festival, part of the ESA’s annual meeting in Milwaukee, WI. There was no popcorn in sight, but there was plenty of beer and chips to go around — this is a city founded on brewing, after all.
The Ecofilm Festival was the brainchild of Alan Covich, an ecologist at the University of Georgia and former ESA president. Covich devised the event as a way for students to engage in educational outreach. Young ecologists cum filmmakers were invited to submit 5-7 minute short movies in one of three categories: “methods in ecology,” “pure nature,” and “humans and the environment.” A panel of eight judges — seven ESA members together with the EarthDance Environmental Film Festival’s founding director Zakary Zide — then chose the best film in each category. The winners received a free registration to the meeting, worth $150.
Read the full story at ENN.
At this year’s Media that Matters Film Festival, the winning video in the environment category was an animated film illustrating the impact of electronic waste on both humans and the environment.
The video, entitled E-Waste, was one of 12 films honored in the Eighth Annual Media that Matters Festival. Screenings of this year’s festival will be held in various locations throughout the summer, including Washington D.C. on July 23.
EPA and the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) are accepting applications for the Ninth Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards Program.
Winners are honored for outstanding accomplishments in programs, projects or technologies that reduce air pollution emissions. Applicants are judged in five awards categories: (1) clean air technology; (2) community development/redevelopment; (3) education/outreach (4) regulatory/policy innovations; and (5) transportation efficiency innovations.
In addition, winners will be recognized in two special award categories. The Gregg Cooke Visionary Program Award is given to the air quality project or program that successfully blends two or more of the five existing awards categories. The Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award recognizes one individual for his or her outstanding achievement, leadership, and commitment to promote clean air and achieve better air quality.
All applications for the awards should be postmarked on or before September 19, 2008. The awards will be announced in spring 2009.
The CAAAC is an independent policy committee that provides advice to EPA on air issues.
Information on applying for the awards: http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/clean_award.html
Will you be the one who inspires our next President to take action on climate change? Brighter Planet and 1Sky are introducing the Climate Matters Video Contest to give Americans everywhere the opportunity to inspire our next president to take bold climate action.
“It’s time we had a President who stood up to the climate challenge. Unfortunately, too many of our leaders continue to offer up half-measures when bold steps are required,” said Gillian Caldwell, Campaign Director for 1Sky. “This contest is about inspiring our next President and Congress to take urgent action to tackle the climate challenge and create a healthy, clean energy economy.”
The Climate Matters Video Contest provides all Americans with the chance to have their global climate change message seen by our next president and other political leaders. This October, the top 10 videos will be featured during a Washington, D.C.-based event for the media, Congress and both presidential campaigns. These top videos will also be broadcast to millions via Link TV, FSTV, and online at venues including: www.think.mtv.com, www.joost.com, www.huffingtonpost.com and www.quarterlife.com.
“We know Americans are inspired to take climate action; they’re already taking steps everyday,” said actress and Climate Matters juror Maggie Gyllenhaal. “I’m excited to see what people create.”
The 10 most viewed videos will be judged by a panel that includes: actress Maggie Gyllenhaal; Rory Kennedy, Emmy award-winning documentary producer; Tia Lessin, the supervising producer of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine; Leila and Nadia Conners, the producers/directors of 11th Hour; author Anya Kamenetz; David Jenkins, Government Affairs Director of Republicans for Environmental Protection; Bill Stetson, Producer and Environmental Consultant; Gillian Caldwell, Campaign Director of 1Sky; and Patti Prairie, CEO of Brighter Planet. The winner of the Climate Matters Video Contest will receive a $3,000 Brighter PlanetTM Visa Gift Card; the second and third place winners will receive $1,000 and $500 Brighter Planet Visa Gift Cards respectively.
“We named this contest ‘Climate Matters’ because it matters to each of us and to our children,” says Patti Prairie, CEO of Brighter Planet. “This contest offers Americans everywhere the opportunity to inspire political action on this pressing issue. Participate by making a video or voting with your views at our channel http://vimeo.com/climatematters.”
To enter the Climate Matters Video Contest, contestants can upload a 30- or 60- second video encouraging bold climate change action to the Climate Matters channel on vimeo.com/climatematters. Videos must relate to the topic of climate change and be uploaded between now and September 22, 2008. The winners will be announced on September 29, 2008.
Contestants are encouraged to promote their videos to improve their chances of counting among the final top 10. Viewers can log in to Vimeo to pick their favorite video, as well as enter a drawing on the channel to win a Cannon VIXIA HDV Camcorder.
The U.S. EPA Aging Initiative, in partnership with Generations United and the Rachel Carson Council Inc., invites the public to vote for their favorite submissions for the Second Annual Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Intergenerational Poetry, Essay and Photography Contest. A panel of judges has selected the finalists in four categories: photography, essay, poetry, or mixed media (photography and a poem or essay). Finalists were selected based on originality, creativity, use of an intergenerational team, and ability to capture a sense of wonder.
Keeseh Studio invites students and design enthusiasts to celebrate the pursuit of ecodesign through an international competition to utilize waste material.
A given manufacturing facility creates many copies of a product; therefore they create many copies of their waste material as well. Waste material can be used as raw material for other products or processes; this concept is known as upcycling.
The goal of the competition is to promote upcycling by encouraging the use of wasted materials to generate innovative designs and redefine the standards of environmental sustainability by fostering balance between conservation and development. This competition will provide a stepping stone to help educate viewers of the vast opportunities and future development of environmentally friendly processes, materials, and products.
All entries must be received digitally or by mail no later than October 1st.
3 entries will win media coverage of their product or process and one will win a cash prize of $1000.
