Tuesday, November 16, 2004

[Alternative Energy] Biodiesel Offers Potential Environmental, Economic Benefits The message at a biodiesel conference held at the Georgia Farm Bureau on Tuesday was simple: Georgia is ripe for creating a successful new fuel industry. [ENN Energy Channel] 3:48:43 PM Google It!    [Climate Change] Environmental Leaders Predict States, Business Will Force Global Warming Curbs With the re-election of President Bush, state governments and big business will likely be the biggest forces over the next four years to craft new policies and develop innovative technologies aimed at reducing U.S. emissions of the gases scientists say are causing global warming. [ENN Climate Channel] 3:47:55 PM Google It!    [Climate Change] Climate Change Already Affecting the Global Environment, Two Reports Say Global warming has had little noticeable impact in Washington, D.C. Politicians in the nation's capital have been reluctant to set limits on the carbon dioxide pollution that is expected to warm the planet by 4 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit during the next century, citing uncertainty about the severity of the threat. [ENN Climate Channel] 3:47:21 PM Google It!    [Alternative Energy] Incinerator Turns Garbage into Electricity Juan Murphy is perched high above a mountain of urban detritus that just keeps growing. His job is to keep carving away so the heaving trash pile doesn't overtake him. [ENN Recycling Channel] 3:46:47 PM Google It!    [Recycling] Recycled Shipping Containers Make a Splash in Construction Scene The steel cargo shipping containers routinely unloaded at ports like the Port of Hampton Roads one day could be used in the construction of homes, businesses and even office buildings. [ENN Recycling Channel] 3:46:11 PM Google It!    [Corporate Sustainability] Ford's New, 'Earth-Friendly' Plant Wins Grudging Notice from Environmentalists Can a producer of gas-burning, pollutant-emitting vehicles and people concerned about the environment ever learn to like each other? Probably not, but even ardent environmentalists are giving Ford Motor Co. high marks for its newest plant — even if they don't much care for what it makes. [ENN Business Headlines] 3:29:54 PM Google It!    [Environmental Health] EPA Suspends Study on Kids And Pesticides Critics said low-income Floridians might continue to use pesticides -- which have been linked to neurological damage in children -- in their homes to qualify for the project. By Juliet Eilperin. [washingtonpost.com - Health] 3:28:32 PM Google It!    [Energy Efficiency] Accord Set on Efficiency for Cooling The combatants in a fight over how much electricity an air-conditioner should use have reached a truce that could eventually lead to savings for building owners. By By MATTHEW L. WALD. [NYT > Science] 3:19:38 PM Google It!    [Environmental Health] New Tracking Tool for EPA Chemical Health Assessments EPA has introduced IRIS Track, a new online resource that allows the public to follow the development and review of Agency chemical health assessments in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). IRIS is a key database of information on the potential adverse human health effects from exposure to chemical substances in the environment. The database is used both nationally and internationally to provide peer-reviewed human health risk information to decision makers. IRIS currently contains information on potential health effects for more than 500 chemicals. The new IRIS Track feature provides greater transparency to the public regarding the status of IRIS assessments in progress by displaying major milestone dates for chemical health assessments development and review. It enables IRIS users to monitor current status and view projected dates for future milestones for each chemical assessment. The development of IRIS Track is part of EPA’s commitment to improve the IRIS program and to make it more publicly accessible. EPA now publishes an annual IRIS agenda that lists new and ongoing assessments and upcoming IRIS activities More rigorous independent scientific reviews of draft assessments have also been implemented. Reviews are routinely conducted by expert panels in public meetings, where all interested parties may submit additional information for consideration in chemical assessments. These improvements have resulted in an IRIS program that delivers credible and high quality information to a broad user community. More information on IRIS is available at: http://www.epa.gov/iris. To use IRIS Track, visit the website listed below. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 3:06:58 PM Google It!    [Meetings] International Workshop on Alternatives to Toxic Materials in Industrial Processes, January 10-13, 2005, Phoenix, AZ. The 15th Annual International Workshop on Alternatives to Toxic Materials in Industrial Processes, formerly known as the International Workshop on Solvent Substitution, will be held on January 10-13, at the Pointe at Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix, Arizona. This Workshop will keep the tradition of providing practical solutions to finding alternatives for toxic/hazardous materials. As usual, there will a substantial involvement of federal agency representatives and/or their contractors who are charged with finding alternatives and/or overseeing or evaluating their use. An open forum on current and pending regulations and 'green acquisition' requirements will be included. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 3:06:09 PM Google It!    [Environmental Policy] Evaluating Environmental Policies Source: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Faculty Research Working Paper Series "This paper examines the role that program evaluation should play in environmental policy making, distinguishing such research from other types of analysis, including risk assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. It explains the kinds of methodological practices that researchers should use to isolate the causal effects of particular environmental regulations and policies." Full paper (PDF; 506 KB) [ResourceShelf's DocuTicker] 2:57:16 PM Google It!    [Water] Chemicals Linger in Environment, Study Says The chemicals go down the drain, but in the environment they remain. Researchers have found that a complex brew of everyday compounds -- from products as ubiquitous as shampoo, bug spray and even that morning cup of coffee -- lingers in Minnesota waters even after they're showered off or dumped down the sink. [ENN Water Channel] 2:34:02 PM Google It!    [Automobile Industry] Toyota Hybrid Prius Wins European Car of Year Award Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday its Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, has been awarded 2005 European Car of the Year. [ENN Business Headlines] 2:33:03 PM Google It!

© Copyright 2005 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 10/25/2005; 12:07:50 PM.