Thursday, June 09, 2005

[Environmental pollution] "Industrial" Pollutants Reveal a Surprising Origin Radiocarbon dating distinguishes environmental toxins as works of man or nature. [Source: The Scientist] 3:03:14 PM Google It!    [Green lifestyle] Pure Gold The latest "This Green Life" column by NRDC advisor Sheryl Eisenberg deals with the environmental effects of gold mining. 3:02:18 PM Google It!    [Sustainable development] SustainLane US City Rankings San Francisco, Portland, Ore., Berkeley, Calif., and Seattle took the top four spots in a new ranking of 25 U.S. cities based on sustainability practices. Bay Area green group SustainLane created the list after scrutinizing the metropolises based on 12 criteria, including air quality, transportation, green building, and land use. Chicago ranked 8th. [Via Grist Magazine] 3:00:06 PM Google It!    [Climate change] Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents. [Source: New York Times] 2:56:31 PM Google It!    [Alternative energy] Pollution-eating bacteria produce electricity Microbiologists seeking ways to eliminate pollution from waterways with microbes instead discovered that some pollution-eating bacteria commonly found in freshwater ponds can generate electricity. They presented their findings on June 7 at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. 2:55:41 PM Google It!    [Fuel efficiency] Senate Calls on EPA to Improve Automobile Fuel Efficiency Testing Environmental groups are backing a provisional amendment to the recently passed Senate Highway Bill calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve its fuel-efficiency standards testing procedures to bring its published miles-per-gallon tabulations in line with real world driving conditions. [Source: E: The Environmental Magazine] 2:54:41 PM Google It!    [Green building] Earth-friendly Homes: Wake up and smell the Rastra Nancy Hall was looking for a forest-neutral way to construct a house on her 20 already-logged-over acres in Quilcene, Wash. She considered other darlings of the alternative-materials scene, but in the end chose Rastra -- blocks of insulated concrete foam. [Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer via Grist Magazine] 2:47:30 PM Google It!    [Meetings] 9th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference American Chemical Society Date: June 20-24, 2005 Location: Washington, D.C. International meeting focuses on the design, development, and implementation of chemical processes and products that reduce or eliminate hazardous substances in a way that is feasible and economically viable. 2:39:54 PM Google It!    [Health care facilities] Health Care Guide to Pollution Prevention Implementation Through Environmental Management Systems Guide to implementing an EMS that minimize the environmental impacts of medical waste incineration, persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), and hazardous material use and disposal. [Source: GreenBiz.com] 2:37:36 PM Google It!    [Publishing industry] Canadian Publisher Blazes Carbon-Neutral Trail in North America New Society Publishers, an activist press focusing on sustainability issues, has become the first publisher in North America to become carbon neutral. [Source: GreenBiz.com] 2:36:51 PM Google It!    [Alternative energy] Windmills Power Mohawk Paper Mills Mohawk Paper, a family-owned paper manufacturer, has announced it will begin using 45 million kilowatt hours (kWh) pollution-free wind power annually to run its two mills in New York, as well as a newly purchased facility in Ohio. [Source: GreenBiz.com] 2:36:05 PM Google It!    [Schools] Revving Up Green Machines Researchers are looking into new ways to make cars run more efficiently with less impact on the environment. [Source: Science News for Kids] 2:34:42 PM Google It!    [Environmental health] Gender Measure: Pollutant appears to alter boys' genitals Infant boys who were exposed in the womb to modest concentrations of certain common plasticizers and solvents developed genital changes including smaller-than-normal penises, a new study finds. [Source: Science News] 2:33:33 PM Google It!    [Climate change] New WRI, Ceres report highlights investor tools for assessing climate change The World Resources Institute (WRI) and Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental groups seeking ways to align investment dollars with social and environmental responsibility, recently released a report designed to help investors analyze business risks and regulatory uncertainties associated with global climate change. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News] 2:32:31 PM Google It!    [Hazardous waste site remediation] A radical solution for environmental pollution Nature abounds with examples of bacteria that can thrive in extreme situations -- surviving on toxic chemicals, for instance. In a paper published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) May 25, University of Michigan researchers show how some bugs manage to do that: by harnessing other potentially harmful chemicals known as free radicals to degrade the toxins they live on. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News] 2:31:41 PM Google It!    [Nanotechnology] Rice unveils 'green' microcapsule production method Chemical engineers from Rice University have developed a fundamentally new approach -- the most environmentally sensitive yet devised -- for making tiny hollow spheres called microcapsules. Microcapsule research is one of the most active fields in applied nanotechnology, with dozens of companies either developing or using the tiny containers -- usually smaller than living cells -- to deliver everything from drugs and imaging agents to perfumes and flavor enhancers. In research appearing on the cover of this month's issue (Vol. 17, Issue. 9) of the journal Advanced Materials, Michael Wong and his research group describe an approach for making microcapsules that involves mixing a solution of polymer and salt with tiny particles of silica that contain just a few hundred atoms apiece. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News] 2:30:31 PM Google It!    [Agriculture] Energy Efficiency Programs in Agriculture: Design, Success, and Lessons Learned This January 2005 report reviews a total of 52 existing programs promoting energy efficiency in the U.S. agriculture sector. The report provides an overview of each program, determining the motivation for the program and evaluating impacts and successes. The report also culls lessons learned and provides recommendations for future programs in the agricultural sector. [Source: ClimateBiz.com] 2:28:46 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Sustainable Buildings Industry Council workshops The Sustainable Buildings Industry Coucil is offering a series of workshops in conjunction with the EcoBuild America conference, which is being held in Orlando, FL on June 20-23, 2005. 2:26:04 PM Google It!    [Grants] Enterprise Foundation Green Communities Initiative Green Communities is a five-year, $555 million initiative to build more than 8,500 environmentally healthy homes for low-income families. Created by the Enterprise Foundation / Enterprise Social Investment Corporation in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Communities will transform the way America thinks about, designs, and builds affordable communities. The initiative provides grants, financing, tax-credit equity, and technical assistance to developers who meet Green Communities criteria for affordable housing that promotes health, conserves energy and natural resources, and provides easy access to jobs, schools, and services. Funding information and applications are at http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/resources/green/getstarted.asp. 2:17:45 PM Google It!

© Copyright 2005 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 10/25/2005; 12:10:46 PM.