Monday, November 29, 2004

[Solvents] TURI Helps Cleaner Win Euro Eco-Label The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (www.turi.org, TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell has helped a cleaning supply company be awarded the first European Union Eco-label in North America. TURI’s Surface Solutions Laboratory, under the direction of Carole LeBlanc, provided the technical assessment necessary for Cogent Environmental Solutions of Caledon, (www.ecogent.ca, Ontario, Canada), to receive the European Eco-label for an all-purpose cleaner. The voluntary label is designed to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment and help European consumers – both public and private purchasers – to easily identify them. The Eco-label license allows Cogent to use the official Flower logo on its Ecogent General Purpose Cleaner (Chemspec, of Baltimore, Md.) to promote the product to more than 375 million consumers in the European Union. [Source: CleanTech] 12:06:11 PM Google It!    [Environmental health] Study Links 200 or More Diseases to Pollution Doctors from the University of California and the Boston Medical Center have released findings linking common chemical pollutants to at least 200 different human diseases. The study, which compiled data from hundreds of previous studies, shows strong correlations between various common pollutants and a wide range of diseases, including asthma, testicular atrophy, cerebral palsy, kidney disease, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, dermatitis bronchitis, hyperactivity, deafness, sperm damage and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Pollutants also were linked to 37 different types of cancers. [Source: E: The Environmental Magazine] 12:04:57 PM Google It!    [Venture capital] Greening Venture Capital In the wake of the dot-com bust, forward-thinking investors have been in search of the next big thing to revolutionize the economy while lining their own pockets. Many venture capitalists seem to be banking on the so-called “clean tech” sector—start-ups committed to sustainable practices and products, embracing such industries as alternative energy generation and water purification. Clean-tech companies are also emerging in the sustainable agriculture, manufacturing and transportation sectors. Today, the deals are flowing as both individual “angel” investors and well-established venture capital (VC) funds are vying for their piece of “clean tech.” [Source: E: The Environmental Magazine] 12:03:38 PM Google It!    [Great Lakes] IU scientists study toxins in Great Lakes Indiana University scientists are leading a federal effort to track the fluctuation of PCBs, pesticides and other toxins in the Great Lakes basin. IU recently received a $3.5 million Environmental Protection Agency grant to continue operating a network of instruments on the five lakes -- Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior -- which are the world's largest source of fresh water. The study is part of a cooperative effort with Canada to measure pollutants coming from the air. IU has operated the network since 1994. [Source: Indianapolis Star] 12:00:56 PM Google It!    [Hospitals] Hospital's green bill of health Boulder facility gets environmental distinction for energy use, design. [Source: Denver Post] 11:40:02 AM Google It!    [Hospitals] Memorial Hospital of Carbondale Earns High Distinction from EPA Memorial Hospital of Carbondale (IL) recently received the "Energy Star" award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the second year in a row. To qualify for the award Memorial Hospital of Carbondale (MHC) volunteered for the EPA's Web-based energy efficiency pilot program for hospitals. Nearly one hundred hospitals participated. Tom Stewart, MHC facilities director, used the Energy Star rating tool to submit energy performance data for comparison against other hospitals on a nationwide rating scale of 1-to-100. MHC scored over 75 in the pilot. Only hospitals with a validated score above 75 are eligible to be designated as an Energy Star building. 11:35:58 AM Google It!    [Environmental policy] Report warns about politicizing science Presidential appointments to senior science and technology posts should be filled more quickly and without regard to political affiliation, according to a report from the nonpartisan National Academies. The full report is available at http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309092973?OpenDocument. [Source: MSNBC] 11:32:37 AM Google It!    [Automotive industry] Green light for 60-mpg cars in U.S. A California company planning to import 60-mpg cars popular in Europe said Monday that it had cleared the final government hurdle: a certificate of compliance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [Source: MSNBC] 11:30:54 AM Google It!    [Brownfields] From acres of trash to piles of cash Landfills in Camden and Pennsauken would be renewed by housing and recreation, but a firm's approach has critics. [Source: Philadelphia Inquirer] 11:27:49 AM Google It!    [Green building] Developers see 'green' for new housing project In the end, the James Griffin Garden Rowhouses will provide spacious, luxurious homes for five Merriam Park families. But the proposed housing project is as much about two St. Paul natives giving back to their hometown, demonstrating the qualities of an environmentally friendly residential development and honoring a trailblazer. [Source: St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press] 11:26:06 AM Google It!    [Schools] Students receive energy award Saving energy produces the dual benefits of reducing expenses and protecting the environment. Students at San Bernardino's San Gorgonio High School fully understand the connection between conservation and monetary considerations, thanks to trainers from the Energy Education Program Influencing Children. Taking their energy lessons beyond the classroom, students earned the school the 2004 Earth Apple Award from the Alliance To Save Energy and its Green Schools Program. Winning top honors in the nationwide K-12 competition brought both distinction and a new digital camcorder to the school. [Source: San Bernardino (CA) Sun] 11:15:03 AM Google It!    [Flame retardants] Flame Retardant PBDE Found in Lake Michigan, Adding to Concerns Concentrations of a flame retardant banned by many European countries have been found in Lake Michigan and are increasing, adding to concerns over previous findings that the chemicals were showing up in supermarket foods and women's breast milk. [ENN Water Channel] 10:31:52 AM Google It!    [Federal government] The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Results of a survey of employee satisfaction in federal government agencies. The survey used "opinions of over 100,000 federal employees to rate 28 federal agencies and nearly 200 subagencies in the executive branch." Browse rankings by agency, demographic, or "best in class" for categories such as pay and benefits. Includes a FAQ, survey analysis, and fast facts. From the Partnership for Public Service and the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. [Librarians' Index to the Internet] 10:23:26 AM Google It!    [Environmental policy] New Approaches Needed In Managing FAA's Hazardous Materials Program Hazardous Materials Source: Department of Transportation New Approaches Needed In Managing FAA's Hazardous Materials Program "Our objective was to assess whether the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) execution of its Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Program was adequate to ensure industry's compliance with HAZMAT regulations. To do this, we focused our audit on FAA's (1) administration of HAZMAT enforcement cases, (2) efforts to ensure that HAZMAT regulations address the unique environment for shipments of HAZMAT by air, and (3) efforts to prevent unauthorized HAZMAT from being carried on board passenger aircraft."  Read the report [PDF] [ResourceShelf's DocuTicker] 10:22:35 AM Google It!    [Automobile industry] Canada's Most Fuel-Efficient Vehicles for 2005 Announced Automobiles--Canada Source: Natural Resources Canada Canada's Most Fuel-Efficient Vehicles for 2005 Announced Today See Also: Just Released, 2005 Fuel Consumption Guide [ResourceShelf's DocuTicker] 10:20:50 AM Google It!

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