Wednesday, February 23, 2005

[Schools] Battery Recycling RBRC's school curriculum program provides an engaging and educational way to teach students the importance of recycling rechargeable batteries. The lesson plan uses batteries as the basis for developing student's math, science and history skills. By offering a series of interactive experiments and thought-provoking exercises, the program teaches students' about the merits of battery power, safety tips, and how to properly recycle batteries to keep our environment clean and livable. 12:07:10 PM Google It!    [Grants] Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund promotes social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. The Fund offers grants through programs focused on four areas: democratic practice, with a focus on civic engagement, effective government, access and inclusive participation, and transparency and accountability; sustainable development, including combating global warming and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity; peace and security, with a focus on responsible U.S. global engagement and mutual understanding between Muslim and Western societies; and human advancement. The Fund makes grants to nonprofit organizations globally, nationally, and locally in its home city of New York. Geographic focus varies with each area of interest. Most of the Foundation's grant programs accept applications throughout the year. 12:05:11 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Summer 2005 Hands-On Workshops & Fall Immersion Program in Sustainable Design Known for its innovative semester programming, the Ecosa Institute now offers a series of four-week summer hands-on workshops in sustainable materials and techniques. These intensive workshops are for those who are looking for an in-depth experience at a deeper level of knowledge than is offered in shorter programs. These programs are designed for students, architects, designers, builders and others who are interested in exploring ways of reducing impacts on our environment. For more information go to www.ecosainstitute.org. Hands-On Exploration of Sustainable Building Materials & Methods May 16 - June 10, 2005 Prescott, AZ Guest Speaker: Pliny Fisk Permaculture and Water in Arid Regions July 11 - Aug 5, 2005 Prescott, AZ Guest Speaker: John Todd Total Immersion Program in Sustainable Design August 29 - December 16, 2005 Prescott, AZ Guest Speakers: Glenn Murcutt, Edward Mazria, Paolo Soleri, Sim Van der Ryn 12:02:52 PM Google It!    [Alternative energy] Coca-Cola Japan Powers Plant with Energy Derived from Coffee and Tea Residues Coca-Cola Central Japan Co. has begun operating a methane fermentation system at its Tokai plant in Aichi Prefecture. The system produces energy from waste materials such as coffee grounds, used tea leaves, and wastewater sludge. This is the first attempt to introduce such a system in the Japanese soft drink industry, and is being carried out as a joint research project of the company and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, an agency of the Japanese national government. [Source: GreenBiz.com] 12:01:37 PM Google It!    [Energy efficiency] DOE Partners with Auto Industry on 12 New Energy-Efficiency Projects The U.S. Department of Energy is joining forces with major industry players to fund 12 new projects that will increase the energy efficiency of passenger and commercial vehicles while maintaining low emissions. The projects, with a total value of $175 million (50%, or $87.5 million contributed by the private sector) will focus on development of advanced combustion engine and waste heat recovery technologies. [Source: GreenBiz.com] 12:00:50 PM Google It!    [Smart growth] A-Hundting We Will Go Karen Hundt, an urban planner in Chattanooga, Tenn., doesn't call what she does "sustainable development."  That term, she says, scares people off, associated as it is with "tree huggers."  (Sigh.)  But whatever you call it -- smart growth, good planning, etc. -- it's catching on.  The biggest obstacle, she says, is outdated public policy.  She reflects on her battles to change such policy, what you can do to help, and where to find good books on the subject -- in InterActivist, today on the Grist Magazine website. 11:57:16 AM Google It!    [Meetings] Webcast on Green Building in Health Care Green Building Webcast Thursday February 24, 2005, 1:00 Central Standard Time (2 ET, noon MT, 11 PT) Building Design & Construction is offering a "Healthcare Goes Green" teleconference that features several luminaries from the Green Guide's Steering Committee. 11:08:28 AM Google It!    [Hazardous waste site remediation] New bacteria eats toxic waste Utah State University researchers recently discovered a new bacteria that is a natural cleanser for contaminated soil. The bacteria, now being used around the world, is an inexpensive and highly effective solution to pollution. [Environmental Protection Magazine] 11:06:53 AM Google It!    [Pesticides] Office of Pesticide Programs 2004 Annual Report - Taking Care of Business: Protecting Public Health and the Environment Pesticides--United States Source: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs 2004 Annual Report - Taking Care of Business: Protecting Public Health and the Environment "The principal business of EPA's Pesticide Program is protecting human health and the environment, but the Agency also must help ensure that society has access to pesticides and the benefits they can provide. [ResourceShelf's DocuTicker] 10:54:00 AM Google It!    [Meetings] CleanTech track presentation, "What It Means to Be Green in Europe," Part of National Manufacturing Week Conference, March 7-10, 2005, Chicago, IL The American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2005 National Manufacturing Week Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois March 7-10, 2005. A talk on "What It Means to Be Green in Europe: New Opportunities for Chemical Manufacturers and Responsible Consumers" will be held as part of the CleanTech track of the conference Tuesday, March 8. The European Union (EU) has initiated a labeling effort known as 'The Flower'. Designed to make product selection easier for the environmentally-conscious, the EU Eco-label scheme covers a diverse range of 21 product groups, including cleaners, and is expanding into services such as tourist accommodation. The Flower is part of a broader strategic goal of promoting sustainable consumption and production as well as a wider approach on Integrated Product Policy (IPP), according to the European Union Eco-labelling Board's (EUEB), and is not meant as a barrier to trade. This talk, presented by the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) will describe the labeling process. In September 2004, TURI's Laboratory was instrumental in securing the right to display the Flower label for the first cleaning product made in North America, a joint Canadian and American venture. For more information, go to the National Manufacturing Week Conference website. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 10:52:30 AM Google It!    [Meetings] ENVIRONMENT '05 Conference & Exhibition, March 7-9, 2005, Milwaukee, WI The Federation of Environmental Technologists will be holding their annual Conference & Exhibition March 7-9, 2005 at the Milwaukee Hilton City Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Some highlights of the conference are: air regulatory updates including an afternoon devoted to NR445 MMSD water quality initiative project management training 8-Hour HazWoper seminar Environmental, Health & Safety Primer Storm Water Permitting workshop Train the Environmental Trainer seminar (NEW this year) For more information and to register, check out the website listed below. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 10:51:29 AM Google It!    [Meetings] Institute of Clean Air Technologies Conference & Workshops, March 7-10, 2005, Baltimore, MD The Institute of Clean Air Technologies (ICAC) will be holding the Clean Air Technologies and Strategies Conference & Workshops March 7-10, 2005, at the Syndham Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. The conference will provide practical approaches to meeting upcoming requirements to reduce SO2, NOx, SO3, PM and HAPs (mercury, VOCs, etc.) for both electric power and industrial facilities and will feature papers providing compliance solutions for multipollutant legislation, CAIR, industries affected by NOx SIP Call, Hg MACT, and Industrial Boiler MACT. Several of the country’s policy leaders that are participating in important policy decisions at the National and State levels will provide perspectives on their vision for current air policies. There will be a series of optional workshops offered on March 7 and 8: Industrial Source NOx SIP Call Implementation Mercury Control Availability: What’s for Sale? EPA Monitoring Data Checking Software (MDC) Training (free) Power Sector SO3/Condensables Measurement and Control SCR Engineering and O&M Workshop (additional fee to attend) The technical conference sessions and exhibition will include the following topics: Mercury Control – Full Scale Test Results & Technology Development Multipollutant Control – Field Experience Industrial Control Applications – VOC, Refinery NOx, SCR for Turbines Emissions Measurement – Hg Progress, SO2 Advancements, Industrial MACT NOx Control – O&M, Control Hybrids, and Strategies SO2 Control – Enhancements & New Installations New Power Plant Air Pollution Controls – IGCC & Advanced Controls for Pulverized Coal Exhibition includes more than 25 Control/Measurement Vendors For more information visit the ICAC website or call (202) 457-0911 . [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 10:51:00 AM Google It!    [Sustainable product design] Low-cost Technology for Environment-Friendly Plastic Developed Osaka Gas Co. said Friday it and an ally have developed a low-cost manufacturing technology for a new environmentally friendly but highly heat-resistant plastic that can be recycled with a special type of bacteria. [ENN Business Headlines] 10:38:38 AM Google It!    [Green building] Eco Depot If business at the Eco Depot is any indication, the Spokane area is gradually starting to embrace environmentally friendly building. [ENN Business Headlines] 10:37:53 AM Google It!    [Science resources] Science.gov Now Offering Alert Service Resources, Reports, Tools, Lists, and Full Text Documents Science--Alert Tools Source: Science.Gov Science.gov Now Offering Alert Service The new alert service from Science.gov that we mentioned yesterday is now live! We're looking forward to trying them out. "From the Science.gov homepage (www.science.gov), individuals can set up an account and let Science.gov do the searching for them. Each week, up to 25 relevant results from selected information sources will be sent to the subscriber's email account. Results are displayed in the Alert email and in a personalized Alert Archive, which stores six weeks of alerts results. In the Archive, past activity can be reviewed and Alert profiles edited. Individuals can choose specific sources to monitor, or select the ?All Sources? option. Science.gov drills down into hard-to-find research information collections, spanning more than 47 million pages of government R&D results. More than 1,700 government information resources and 30 databases on a wide variety of scientific topics are available ? all in one place and searchable with just one search tool."  [ResourceShelf] 10:36:59 AM Google It!    [Environmental policy] Where Would The Cuts Be Made Under The President's Budget? Federal Budget FY 2006 Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Where Would The Cuts Be Made Under The President's Budget? An Analysis Of Reductions In Education, Human Services, Environment, And Community Development Programs "This analysis provides estimates of cuts in a number of specific programs or closely related program areas that are consistent with the Administration’s plans for domestic discretionary spending. These estimates are based on information that the Administration has released, including background information provided to the Congressional budget committees. That information enables analysts to calculate (through simple addition and subtraction of the Administration data) the levels of funding proposed by the President’s budget for 57 categories of domestic programs over the next five years and how these levels differ from current funding levels, adjusted only for inflation." [ResourceShelf's DocuTicker] 10:22:35 AM Google It!    [Alternative fuels] First Hybrid SUV Makes List of Top Twelve Green Vehicles The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) issued its eighth annual environmental guide to cars and trucks, "ACEEE's Green Book Online," in mid-February, and for the first time a sport utility vehicle (SUV) made the top-twelve list. Of course, it's a hybrid-electric SUV. [EERE Network News] 10:21:57 AM Google It!    [Energy efficiency] EPA Launches Clean Energy Partnerships with 12 States and D.C. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched two new clean energy partnerships with states in mid-February: the EPA-State Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects and the Clean Energy-Environment State Partnership Program. [EERE Network News] 10:21:28 AM Google It!    [Grants] DOE Offers $1 Million to Help Industries Save Energy DOE released a solicitation in mid-February to award up to $100,000 to industrial facilities to carry out "Plant-Wide Assessments" of energy use. A total of $1 million is available, and proposals are due by May 3rd. [EERE Network News] 10:20:49 AM Google It!

© Copyright 2005 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 10/25/2005; 12:09:24 PM.