The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), is pleased to announce the availability of its online “Ask an Expert” service for the submission of questions related to electronics and their environmental impacts.

Questions related to electronic waste, or “e-waste” issues, sustainable electronics design, improving electronics manufacturing processes and related topics can be submitted via an online form available at http://www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu/services/askexpert.cfm. SEI staff members will provide one hour of free Internet and/or literature searching related to your sustainable electronics question. Also provided is input from ISTC staff scientists and/or referrals to external contacts for further information on technical questions. Responses can be expected within a week (usually within 1-2 business days). Citizens, organizations, government agencies, businesses, non-profit groups, and academic institutions are all invited to use this free service.

The responses obtained from the Ask an Expert service are meant for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as endorsements by SEI, ISTC or any affiliated organization. Responses are also meant to be starting points for inquirers rather than definitive answers, advice or prescriptions for action. Inquirers must draw their own conclusions based upon the information provided.

In the near future, questions and answers received via this service will be archived and searchable on the SEI web site, www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu. An extensive collection of resources is also under development for the web site, and archived Ask an Expert questions and answers will be integrated into relevant resource collections.

According to the U.S. EPA, Americans own nearly three billion electronic products and continually purchase new ones to replace those deemed “obsolete,” even though about two-thirds of the devices are still in working order. As designers, manufacturers and the general public are becoming more aware and concerned about this issue, SEI’s Ask an Expert service will be one way to address concerns and assist in more sustainable practices.

SEI is a consortium dedicated to the development and implementation of a more sustainable system for designing, producing, remanufacturing, and recycling electronic devices. Members of the consortium include academia, non-profit organizations, government agencies, manufacturers, designers, refurbishers, and recyclers. Specific elements of the SEI include programs for research, education, data management, and technical assistance. SEI conducts collaborative research; facilitates networking and information exchange among participants; promotes technology diffusion via demonstration projects; and provides forums for the discussion of policy and legislation.

For more information on SEI, visit www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu or contact Dr. Tim Lindsey, Associate Director of ISTC, at 217-333-8955 or tlindsey@istc.illinois.edu. For more information on the Ask an Expert service contact Laura Barnes, ISTC librarian at 217-333-8957 or lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu.

ISTC is a unit of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Lead-Free Wheels
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:15:14 GMT
The Lead-Free Wheels Program is partnering with retail tire outlets to make lead-free wheel balancing available to consumers when they purchase new tires. They are also actively working with numerous state and local fleets to phase out the use of lead wheel balancing weights. Site also includes information on sources of lead-free weights, wheel balancing, and lead-free alternatives. A project of the Ecology Center (Michigan).

National Lead Free Wheel Weight Initiative (NLFWWI)
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:11:37 GMT
The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) National Lead Free Wheel Weight Initiative encourages the transition from the use of lead for wheel weights to lead-free alternatives. Wheel weights are clipped to the rims of every automobile wheel in the United States in order to balance the tires. These weights often come loose and fall off. They are either washed into storm sewers and end up in waterways or are gathered during street cleaning and placed in municipal landfills. The weights are susceptible to atmospheric corrosion. Currently, there are no regulatory controls governing the use of lead wheel weights.

Google PowerMeter
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:10:19 GMT
Google PowerMeter shows consumers their electricity consumption in a secure Google gadget. Google is currently testing the product with utility partners in the US, India and Canada.

Know the Number
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:08:42 GMT
The Carbon Counter displays the running total amount of long-lived greenhouse gasses in the earth’s atmosphere, measured in metric tons.

Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:06:51 GMT
The Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator is intended to assist institutional purchasers, including Federal Electronic Challenge (FEC) program participants, in quantifying the benefits of environmentally sound management of electronic equipment. The Calculator estimates the environmental and economic benefits of purchasing EPEAT-registered products, in addition to improvements in equipment operation and end-of-life management practices. Currently this tool is designed to evaluate EPEAT-registered desktop (with a CRT or LCD) and notebook computers. For end-of-life, users can calculate the benefits of reuse and recycling of computers as well as mobile telephones.

TranAtlas
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:03:18 GMT
This interactive map uses a Google Maps interface to display: Existing and planned alternative fueling stations; Alternative fuel production facilities; Light-duty vehicle density; Roads and political boundaries. Users can customize the map display, print, and query the underlying data.

Climate Change Portal
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:00:46 GMT
This portal includes links to reports and other technical literature on the subject of climate change and how it affects water supply. Developed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, so the focus is California, but there is a lot of good, general information here.

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:10:10 GMT
The report summarizes the science and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It focuses on climate change impacts in different regions of the U.S. and on various aspects of society and the economy such as energy, water, agriculture, and health.

Practice Greenhealth
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:11:09 GMT
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment.

Top 25 Green Energy Leaders
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:05:40 GMT
It is no longer enough to just conserve energy. More and more corporations, government agencies and entire cities are making large, long-term commitments to ensure that the power they do use comes from renewable sources. To recognize these trendsetters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes a quarterly list of the top American users of green power: organizations that generate their own renewable energy, buy it from suppliers, or purchase offset credits to compensate for their traditional energy use.

Life-Cycle Environmental and Economic Decision-Making for Alternative Biofuels
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:58:54 GMT
The specific aims of this program are to develop and apply methods to study the life-cycle health, environmental, resource, and economic impacts and performance of the various pathways from biomass to fuel use. This program will produce a comprehensive framework for assessing both the benefits and impacts of biofuel technologies for environmental quality, human health, natural resources, and local, regional and global economies. This effort includes methods development, data collection, information management, and decision-support tools.

GoodNanoGuide
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:53:17 GMT
The GoodNanoGuide is a collaboration platform designed to enhance the ability of experts to exchange ideas on how best to handle nanomaterials in an occupational setting. It is meant to be an interactive forum that fills the need for up-to-date information about current good workplace practices, highlighting new practices as they develop.

Green Building Sherpa
June 9, 2009 at 12:26 pm
An online directory of environmentally friendly products, services and information pertaining to building design, construction, management + operation.

Flexible Solar Power Shingles Transform Roofs From Wasted Space To Energy Source
June 9, 2009 at 9:59 am
A transparent thin film barrier used to protect flat panel TVs from moisture could become the basis for flexible solar panels that would be installed on roofs like shingles.

Climate TechBook
Tuesday, June 09, 2009 8:43 AM
The Pew Center’s Climate TechBook serves as an information resource on technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from across the economy, including: overviews of greenhouse gas emissions from the key economic sectors: electricity, transportation, industry, residential and commercial, and agriculture; technology overviews for broad technology areas, such as buildings and biofuels; and fact sheets that provide background information about specific technologies, the current status of the technology, cost information, policy options to promote the technology, and obstacles to further development and deployment.

Given this trend, it seems appropriate to launch a resource collection on the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) site focused specifically on e-waste issues. The GLRPPR Electronic Waste Sector Resource will include links to relevant legislation, news, events, funding opportunities, and contacts. This resource list is under development, so if you are aware of resources for e-waste programs in your state, please feel free to send links to Joy Scrogum for potential inclusion in this new resource list. An RSS feed is available for the Electronic Waste Sector Resource so you can be aware of new resources as they are added.

GLRPPR is a member of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) a national network of pollution prevention information centers. Another P2Rx center, the Western Sustainability Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) has also developed a P2Rx Topic Hub on Electronic Waste. This is linked to within the new Sector Resource on the GLRPPR site and is also available on the main GLRPPR Topic Hub page.

The “Toolkit” section includes calculators to help save energy, water, and money, as well as a Toxics Search tool to find out whether there’s a potential for exposure while using a particular product, and how that can affect your health. The “Community” section of the site includes links to Consumers Union campaigns, forums and resources for further information, as well as blogs on cars, food safety, green homes, and safety.

For further information on SB 2313, as well as a link to the resulting Public Act (095-0959; the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act), see the Illinois General Assembly web site.

In October 2006, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm issued Executive Directive No. 2007-6, “Promotion of Green Chemistry for Sustainable Economic Development and Protection of Public Health,” that established state policy encouraging the use of safer, less toxic, or non-toxic chemical alternatives to hazardous substances and the research, development, and implementation of Green Chemistry in Michigan.

The DEQ has been given primary responsibility to implement the Green Chemistry Executive Directive, including establishing a Michigan Green Chemistry Program and convening a Michigan Green Chemistry Roundtable. The Roundtable, which is comprised of experts representing business, academia, environmental interest groups, and the public, had significant input into the development of the Action Plan and will be participating in the implementation of the Michigan Green Chemistry Program.

Source: Michigan DEQ, 9/15/08.

Opening remarks Oct. 7 at 8 a.m. will be provided by EPA Region 5 Deputy Administrator Bharat Mathur, EPA Office of Research and Development Assistant Administrator George Gray and EPA Nanotechnology Manager Jeff Morris. The conference agenda includes over 100 presentations and poster sessions.  About 40 exhibitors will be represented at the poster session the evening of Oct. 9. Registration for the entire event is $475.

Partner agencies represented at the conference include the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Science Foundation, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Energy and University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Lakes Centers for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health. Find more information at http://emsus.com/nanotechconf/index.htm, or contact EPA’s Warren Layne (layne.warren@epa.gov, 312-886-7336) or Charles Maurice (maurice.charles@epa.gov, 312-886-6635).

For more upcoming events, see the GLRPPR Calendar.

The INFORM web site provides information on current projects, including Waste Prevention: Extended Producer Responsibility, Cleaning for Health, and INFORM Media, the organization’s effort to spread environmental literacy by “making strategic use of video and the web to reach a greatly expanded audience with critically important information about how to preserve the environment and protect human health.” Thus far, INFORM has produced “The Secret Life of Cell Phones” as part of its media project, with future videos planned to focus on paper, jeans, antibacterial soaps and single-use plastic bottles.

The INFORM site also provides publications and topical RSS feeds. New site features reportedly “coming soon” will include blogs and a “tools and calculators” section.

• Wind Power: According to Sustainable Energy Ireland, “wind energy provides electricity to the equivalent of 40 million European citizens, and wind farms in Ireland supply enough clean green power to support over 146,000 users.” Their web site provides an interactive map of existing wind farms in Ireland (as of April 2007). A recent post on the Green Tech Blog (“Ireland: Where Wind Power is King” by Michael Kanellos) discusses the great potential for further wind farm development on the island, both on and offshore.
• Cultivate Living and Learning Centre: The Cultivate Centre in Dublin serves as a hub for environmental activities and ideas. Their web site provides a green map of Dublin; environmental workshop listing; a directory of schools, businesses and other organizations in Ireland that are teaching or training and have principles of sustainability rooted in their mission and strategies; information on energy issues and climate change; and a host of other resources. The themes addressed in their educational programs include green building, permaculture and organic gardening, renewable energy, energy conservation, and rethinking urban design and planning.
• Cleaner Greener Production Programme (CGPP): This program of Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency encourages Irish business and industry to produce goods and services in more environmentally friendly ways. That agency defines “Cleaner Greener Production” as “the application of integrated preventive environmental strategies to processes, products and services to increase overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment, for example: (1) Production processes: conserving raw materials and energy, eliminating toxic raw materials and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes (2) Products: reducing negative impacts along the life cycle of a product, from raw materials extraction to its ultimate disposal (3) Services: encouraging and supporting the development of higher environmental performance in the service sector, by incorporating environmental concerns into designing and delivering services.”

The Chicago Edition of Ideal Bite also reports that the InterContinental Chicago is offering a green valentine hotel package for $219 a night and up, February 14-16. They also recently featured information on Ellie Thompson, a Chicago jewelry designer that uses reclaimed metals and fair-trade gems to create wearable works of art, if you’re considering jewelry for your special someone. The national Ideal Bite also offers additional information on organic flowers.

New American Dream’s Conscious Consumer Marketplace can also help you find environmentally and socially responsible Valentine’s Day gifts, such as flowers, chocolate, and jewelry. TreeHugger has also compiled a Valentine’s Day Gift Guide.

Finally, consider an electronic card instead of a paper one. For example, the National Wildlife Federation has Valentine’s Day e-cards available.