Tuesday, February 08, 2005

[Energy efficiency] EPA's List of Most Energy Efficient Buildings Nears 2000 Almost 2000 of the nation’s most energy efficient buildings have earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR, saving an estimated $200 million annually and reducing approximately six billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the emissions of 500,000 cars.  The buildings qualifying as ENERGY STAR use about 40 percent less energy without compromising comfort or services. Currently 1,964 buildings nationwide qualify for the ENERGY STAR, representing nearly 400 million square feet.  ENERGY STAR buildings protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using energy more efficiently. Among the top performing buildings are more than 900 offices and 400 public schools.  Supermarkets, medical offices, hospitals and hotels account for another 655 labeled buildings.  These labeled buildings can be found every states and the District of Columbia.  States that are home to the most ENERGY STAR qualifying buildings include Texas, with more than 250 qualifying buildings, and California, with more than 500 qualifying buildings.  In 2004, more than 700 buildings received the ENERGY STAR label, the largest increase since the program began.  More than 50 percent of the buildings joining the program were supermarkets or grocery stores.  More information and a complete list of buildings, by state, is available online at http://www.energystar.gov/buildings2004 . Buildings earn the ENERGY STAR by scoring a 75 or higher on EPA’s 100-point national energy rating scale.  The average of all buildings qualifying for ENERGY STAR through 2004 is 84.  These buildings must also meet industry standards for comfort and indoor air quality, as verified by a professional engineer.  For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit:  http://www.energystar.gov  or call 1-888-STAR-YES. 12:38:18 PM Google It!    [Alternative energy] USDA, EPA, DOE, Announce Renewables Initiatives EPA/USDA Partnership for Renewable Energy Systems EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have announced a new interagency partnership to support agricultural and business-based renewable energy systems. The agreement provides for EPA technical support to USDA in reviewing systems for methane gas recovery via anaerobic digestion of animal waste. EPA also will consult on technical guidelines for USDA rural development initiatives encouraging more state-of-the-art digester technologies. USDA and EPA are also investigating expanding support to other areas. For more information, visit USDA's press release at http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/ls//8.html USDA/DOE Solicitation for Biomass Projects USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announce the availability of fiscal year 2005 funds and solicit applications for financial assistance for research, development, and demonstration of biomass based products, bioenergy, biofuels, biopower, and related processes. This funding opportunity is intended to promote greater innovation and development related to biomass, and to support federal policy calling for greater use of biomass-based products, feedstock production, and processing and conversion. The funding solicitation's focus is on development and demonstration projects that lead to greater  ommercialization. Pre-applications are due by February 15, 2005. For full details, read the complete solicitation at: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/ls/9.html 12:36:35 PM Google It!    [Schools] Environmental Education Week: April 10-16, 2005 Billed as the "largest organized education event for the environment in U.S. history," Environmental Education Week is a week-long educational prelude to Earth Day 2005 (April 22). The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) hopes to enlist 400,000 educators and 15 million students to focus on environmental learning during the week of April 10-16. Some of NEETF's suggested activities for the week include holding special classes and discussions, taking environmental measurements, starting a schoolyard habitat or gardening project, bringing a speaker into class to talk about environmental issues, and taking an educators' training course. NEETF asks participating organizations to sign up (at no charge) for Environmental Education Week so it can track participation in the initiative. 12:34:17 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Regional Seminars on Sustainability Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Marshall Hall, Eastern Michigan University A FREE educational seminar on socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable issues. This seminar will include discussions and presentations on Energy Efficient Design and Education, Green Technology, and Green Building. For more information or to register visit http://www.recycleannarbor.org or contact: Jason J. Bing Recycle Ann Arbor 2420 S. Industrial Hwy Ann Arbor MI 48104 E-mail: jason@environmentalhouse.org 12:28:57 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Making the Connection: New Strategies for Great Lakes Public Education & Communication Dates: February 23-25, 2005 Location: East Lansing, MI Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center Michigan State University Workshops will include communications and education strategies, hands-on sessions with evaluation experts, a chance to review and critique the Great Lakes Forever pilot campaign, and an opportunity to collaborate on future public education efforts, (including the Great Lakes Forever campaign) in the region. Registration fee of $125 includes all meals and shared accommodations (2 per room). Single rooms are available for an additional $75.00  (per person) To Hold Your Spot and Register:   Contact Willow Russell at Biodiversity Project, email: wrussell@biodiverse.org, or call 608.250.9876 12:21:15 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Global Climate Change Teacher Institute, July 2005 On July 11-16, 2005, Michigan Technological University's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences will hold a Global Climate Change Teacher Institute for middle and high school teachers. The institute will involve teachers in physical, chemical, and biological research on global atmospheric change, using the Great Lakes ecosystem as the classroom. The goal of the one-week course is to provide teachers with knowledge, classroom and field experiences, and educational resources to engage students in real-world study of global climate change and its effects on forest ecosystems. The institute will be taught by faculty and scientists from Michigan Technological University. Educators will participate in research to measure the impacts of global climate and atmospheric changes. Through hands-on data collection and analysis, field trips, and lab experiences, educators will obtain new knowledge and skills that will prepare them to design and implement a teaching unit and research experience for their middle and high school students. Educators will explore innovative teaching ideas by sharing ideas and strategies with other educators. This intensive, interactive institute is designed to provide educators with standards-based professional development, and the time to plan, discuss, and reflect on their teaching. Cost: $600 per participant includes 3 graduate credits, meals, lodging, field trips, and all instructional materials. Application deadline: Friday, April 8, 2005. Location: The institute will take place at Michigan Tech's Ford Forestry Center, located forty miles south of the university's campus in Houghton, Michigan. For more information, contact Joan Chadde, course coordinator, at (906) 487-3341 or jchadde@mtu.edu. 12:17:15 PM Google It!    [Smart growth] New Report Sees Opportunities for Smart Growth A new report by The Brookings Institution sees a "vital opportunity" to reshape future development, given that nearly half of the built environment in the year 2030 will consist of buildings that haven't yet been constructed. Toward a New Metropolis: The Opportunity to Rebuild America, released by Brookings this month, projects that the nation will need about 427 billion square feet of built space in 2030, compared with 300 billion square feet in 2000. About 19 percent of future requirement will be met by the replacement of existing space, another 30 percent by new space, and the remainder by existing space. Download the full report at http://brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20041213_rebuildamerica.htm. 12:14:50 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Process Design and Waste Minimization Workshop, March 17-18, 2005, Piscataway, NJ Intelligen will be offering a two-day workshop on process design and waste minimization at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey on March 17-18, 2005, and at other locations/dates around the globe during 2005. The course is intended for scientists and engineers that are interested in the following topics, as they relate to integrated Biochemical, Specialty Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Food, Consumer Product, Water Purification, Wastewater Treatment, Mineral Extraction, Pulp and Paper, and related processes: Process Modeling and Optimization (of batch and continuous processes) Wastewater Treatment, Water Purification, and Water Recycling Pollution Prevention and Control Calculation and Reporting of VOC Emissions Process Economics Scheduling of Batch Operations Throughput Analysis & Debottlenecking Process Optimization [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 12:01:03 PM Google It!    [Environmental policy] Bush Seeks Nearly 6 Pct Cut in Environment Funding WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency budget by nearly 6 percent to $7.57 billion in fiscal 2006 by targeting a program that helps cities replace aging sewage systems. [Reuters: Science] 11:55:29 AM Google It!    [Environmental policy] Quinn the Green Quinn the Green February 7, 2005 Dear Editor, Next week, the Illinois General Assembly will consider legislation to require government agencies to inform residents of any toxic substances in their water or soil. One might think our government is looking out for us already, but that hasn’t been the case. Just ask Jana Bendik. This brave, previously healthy Downers Grove teenager was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a disease linked to toxic chemicals. For years, Jana cooked with, washed in and drank poisoned water. This tragedy is compounded by the awful fact that state government bureaucrats knew for 10 years about the toxic hazard in Bendik’s water, but never told her family. A recent investigation showed that hidden toxins, hazardous materials, and medical waste products often seep into groundwater without local residents knowing about it. And there are countless toxic hot zones across Illinois in unsuspecting residents’ backyards. That would change, though, under the proposed “Toxic Chemical Disclosure Act” (House Bill 290), the top environmental reform bill facing the General Assembly this session. Sponsored by Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago), this reform would require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to use individualized notices, an easy-to-use online database, and newspaper announcements to warn citizens living within 2,500 feet of hazardous waste and toxic contaminants of their proximity to the deadly substances. Much of this information is already available to the public, but government bureaucrats have dropped the ball in getting the information out to those who need it most. Thanks to our Illinois Constitution, the people of our state are among the only in the country to have an express right to live in a “healthful environment”. The Toxic Chemical Disclosure Act is a commonsense way to help us carry out this fundamental constitutional mandate. No resident would be left in the dark about the poisons in their midst again. If you agree with our fundamental right to know when there are deadly contaminants in the water we drink, cook with or bathe in, please visit our website www.CleanWater.il.gov and contact your state legislators to urge a “yes” vote on HB 290, the Toxic Chemical Disclosure Act. Sincerely, Pat Quinn Illinois Lieutenant Governor - Rich Miller [The Capitol Fax Blog] 11:47:54 AM Google It!    [Alternative energy] 500 Hours Achieved in Biomass Power Generation An Osaka-based company on Friday succeeded in generating electricity with biomass fuels for 500 consecutive hours, one of the longest records in the world, at a test facility in Yamaguchi City, company officials said. [ENN Business Headlines] 11:23:11 AM Google It!    [Green building] NAHB Affirms Commitment to Green Homes Two weeks ago, at the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) renewed its commitment to support mainstream home builders who are going green. [ENN Press News] 11:13:23 AM Google It!    [Green building] Easier to be green? [WSJ.com]: By far, the most talked-about topic in the architecture universe is how to reduce the environmental impact of everything from summer cottages to skyscrapers. And there are some remarkable examples -- some would say exceptions -- of progress. The question is, will high energy prices turn those exceptions into the rule? [Gil Friend] 11:00:11 AM Google It!    [Green building] More on the Cost of Green The latest New Bottom Line is now posted: More on the Cost of Green: Why Green Building is Good Business Guess what? It's as true about business strategy, product design, industrial processes, food system and transportation infrastructure as it is about buildings. As Neal Pierce of the Washington Post comments, 'It seems obvious: the reason only a tiny percentage of new American buildings and retrofits aren't green isn't cost. It's lack of ingenuity or knowledge of new construction techniques -- architects and builders wed to the 'same-old,' lenders leery of anything unconventional. The fault also lies with national leaders unwilling to tell us in clear terms that a nation secure economically and environmentally and against foreign threats, means energy savings across the board -- efficient and sustainable buildings included. It's a message our current president apparently doesn't comprehend, at least won't articulate.' But that's a story for another time. [Gil Friend] 10:57:54 AM Google It!    [Alternative energy] Industry roadmap: Retrofitting US economy for solar power The Solar Energy Industry Association roadmap 2030 (PDF). I can't find the total cost of the roadmap. Regardless, this is a classic market-state program. It radically increases the opportunity of US citizens by reducing dependencies. Freedom of action enhances opportunity formation. Want an industry of the future? Retrofitting the US economy for solar power is one. Flash forward 10 years. If energy prices then are volatile (as they are likely to be given the rise of global guerrillas), a state that has incentivised the construction of a decentralized energy infrastructure will be put at an amazing advantage. Systemic shifts take time. The advantage goes to the early adopter. My future opportunity, and yours, is being diminished by a state that doesn't value decentralized energy and prefers to spend its coin on military power. [John Robb's Weblog] 'nuff said. [Gil Friend] 10:57:03 AM Google It!

© Copyright 2005 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 10/25/2005; 12:09:18 PM.