Thursday, December 29, 2005

[New books] Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads New title from the National Academies Press. Read the executive summary at http://www.nap.edu/execsumm_pdf/11535.pdf. [New from the National Academies Press] 1:17:00 PM Google It!    [Renewable fuel] EPA Issues First Renewable Fuels Standard Ruling: A Collective 2.78% for 2006 The Environmental Protection Agency has announced its first rulemaking under the provisions of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program as authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. [Green Car Congress] 1:13:33 PM Google It!    [Wind power] Wind-Powered Sewage Treatment Plant Cuts CO2 Emissions by 96% TOKYO, Japan, Dec. 29, 2005 - Kakegawa City, together with the Japan Sewage Works Agency, has been recognized by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport for its highly resource-efficient sewage system. [GreenBiz.com] 1:12:14 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Oil recycler asks to make biodiesel fuel A Lindon, UT motor oil recycling company has applied for permission to operate the state's first biodiesel production facility. [Source: Provo Daily Herald] 1:10:54 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Biodiesel Truck Fleet Becomes the Essential Baking Company's Latest 'Baker's Dozen' For 11 years they've been the Northwest's bakery "alternative" by serving delicious, European artisan bread comprised of organic ingredients. This month, The Essential Baking Company is taking another alternative to the streets with the use of its brand new fleet of B99 biodiesel delivery trucks. The bakery sold off its entire fossil-fueled fleet in favor of leasing 13 biodiesel-powered trucks. [Source: PR Newswire] 1:09:04 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] SSF fire department looks into biodiesel Your greasy french fries and heartburn-inducing onion rings may one day help save lives. Come next spring, the South San Francisco Fire Department hopes to begin running one of its fire engines on used vegetable oil — a pilot project to test the cost-effectiveness of biodiesel. [Source: The (San Francisco) Daily Review] 1:06:29 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Soy-based fuel plants to open in PA Pennsylvania's production of soy-based additives to diesel and home-heating oil is set to take a huge leap in the next few weeks with the scheduled opening of two more plants. [Source: Associated Press via the Miami Herald] 1:04:12 PM Google It!    [Sprawl] As Suburbs Grow, So Do Environmental Fears With low population densities, green lawns, big houses and quiet streets, suburbs are some of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. They're also environmentally more worrisome than people realize. USA TODAY's Elizabeth Weise reports, 12/27/05. [SEJ Environmental Journalism Today] 12:31:10 PM Google It!    [Environmental health] 3-D modeling supports perfluorinated theory New 3-D modeling provides further backing to the theory that the PFOA and other fluorochemicals found in the Arctic comes from fluorotelomer alcohols used in stain and grease repellants. [Environmental Health News] 12:29:20 PM Google It!    [Green lifestyle] Thinking green while staying chic Patagonia, the granddaddy of environmentally conscious clothing, is getting more competition as the market for organic and other eco-conscious clothing grows. [Environmental Health News] 12:28:06 PM Google It!    [Biofuels] Governor Orders Southwest Missouri Turkey Oil Plant Closed Because of Foul Odors A foul-smelling plant that turns turkey byproducts into fuel oil was ordered closed by the governor Wednesday until the company finds a way to clear the air. [ENN Business Headlines] 12:17:51 PM Google It!    [Environmental regulation] EPA Eases Permitting Requirements for Small Businesses (Contact: John Millett, 202-564-4355 / millett.john@epa.gov) To avoid unnecessary costs and burdens, EPA will no longer require five types of small businesses to obtain federal operating permits. These businesses include: neighborhood perchloroethylene dry cleaners; small ethylene oxide sterilizers that clean laboratory equipment and other items; chromium electroplaters that make items such as chrome parts for cars and plumbing fixtures; secondary aluminum production sources like car salvage yards; and halogenated solvent cleaners that clean metal parts, electronics and other objects. The operating permit, called a Title V permit, requires a facility to make regular reports on how it is tracking and controlling emissions and to certify each year whether it has met its air pollution requirements. The Clean Air Act states that a small business may be exempted from permits if it is "impracticable, infeasible, or unnecessarily burdensome" for the small facility to meet permit requirements. This action does not change any requirements governing the control of emissions of toxic air pollutants that apply to these facilities -- they are still required to limit their emissions of air toxics. In addition, the air toxics standards governing these businesses already require a detailed accounting of compliance. However, the additional requirements of a permit would be very costly for these small businesses and would not provide additional assurance of compliance. For more information on this action, visit: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t5/fact_sheets/asourceexempt.html. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 12:14:56 PM Google It!    [Environmental regulation] After Extensive Analysis, EPA Removes Methyl Ethyl Ketone from List of Toxic Air Pollutants, but Remains Regulated as VOC (Contact: John Millett, 202-564-4355 / millett.john@epa.gov) After an extensive, multi-year scientific and technical review, EPA has removed methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) from the Clean Air Act list of toxic air pollutants. Declassifying MEK will not compromise public health and may even pose a public health benefit as companies substitute MEK for more toxic or environmentally damaging chemicals. Although removed from the list of toxic air pollutants, MEK remains regulated as a volatile organic compound. Delisting a toxic air pollutant is a rigorous process that involves in-depth analyses and independent scientific peer review to demonstrate there are adequate data to determine that emissions may not reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse health effects. Public comment is also an important component in the decision whether to delist a toxic air pollutant. EPA has removed three other toxic air pollutants from the list: ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (2004), long chain glycol ethers (2000), and caprolactam (1996). EPA denied a petition to delist methanol in 2001. MEK is used as a solvent in the surface coatings industry, specifically in manufacturing vinyl lacquers, some lacquers and acrylics. Industries also use MEK for producing adhesives, magnetic tapes, printing inks, degreasing and cleaning fluids, as a dewaxing agent for lubricating oils and as an intermediate in the production of antioxidants and perfumes. For more information on this action, visit: http://epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3/fact_sheets/mek_fs.html. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 12:13:41 PM Google It!    [Call for papers] Sustainability and Supply Chain Management for Journal of Cleaner Production, Abstracts Due January 28, 2006. The Journal of Cleaner Production is inviting submissions for a special issue of the Journal devoted to Sustainability and Supply Chain Management. The first deadline is an abstract submission by January 28, 2006, with full manuscripts being due in September 2006. Practice-oriented papers and case studies, as well as multi-disciplinary theoretical contributions are welcome including such topics as: Reviews of certain lines of conceptual and theoretical development regarding the intersection of sustainability and supply chain management. Empirical or case studies of companies and other supply chain actors' initiatives that aim to enhance sustainability aspects that may be integrated into supply chain management. Concepts and cases on the integration of particularly relevant sustainability issues into supply chain management. Discussion and evaluation of the relationship between the three dimensions of sustainability in a supply chain perspective Case studies The influence of cultural and global aspects Corporate Social Responsibility Models that support decision making For details, read the complete Call for Papers posted at Clark University's website. [ChemAlliance Environmental News] 12:12:24 PM Google It!    [CCA Treated Wood] Toxic Legacy? Although residential use of a common arsenic-based wood preservative was phased out in 2003, new research indicates leaching from products treated with it could have a long-lasting impact. More from Environmental Science & Technology's Kris Christen, 12/21/05. [SEJ Environmental Journalism Today] 12:05:27 PM Google It!    [Hybrid cars] Why Hybrid Buyers Are Stalling Dealers Buyers of the popular Toyota Prius hybrid, after waiting months to get their cars, now are telling dealers to keep them until next month so the buyers can qualify for what's likely to be a much bigger hybrid tax break in 2006. USA TODAY's Chris Woodyard has the bottom line, 12/22/05. [SEJ Environmental Journalism Today] 12:04:17 PM Google It!    [Energy policy] Layoffs in store at NREL Source: Rocky Mountain News (12/20/05). The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden plans to lay off as many as 100 scientists and researchers, or 11 percent of its total staff, beginning early next month as it faces drastic cuts in its budget. The fiscal 2006 cuts, estimated at more than $20 million, or 10 percent of its $200 million budget in fiscal 2005, are the result of Congress earmarking or diverting a big chunk of federal funds toward other projects. [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) News] 12:02:48 PM Google It!    [Green building] Architects Call for 50% Reduction of Fossil Fuels Used to Construct, Operate Buildings Source: SustainableBusiness.com. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board of Directors has adopted position statements to promote sustainable design and resource conservation to achieve a minimum reduction of 50% percent of the current consumption level of fossil fuels used to construct and operate buildings by the year 2010. [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) News] 12:01:40 PM Google It!    [Wind power] Cape towns generating wind projects Source: Cape Cod Times (12/25/05). Towns across Cape Cod are hopping on the wind power bandwagon. [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) News] 11:59:58 AM Google It!    [Renewable fuels] EPA Launches Program to Increase Use of Domestically Grown and Produced Fuels Source: U.S. EPA. Starting in 2006, Americans will be gassing up with nearly three percent of clean-burning, domestic renewable fuels such as ethanol under new standards issued by EPA. Authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the standard is the first step in EPA's Renewable Fuels Standard Program, which is designed to reduce vehicle emissions and strengthen U.S. energy security by doubling the use of fuels produced from American crops by 2012. For more information on the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/ [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) News] 11:58:57 AM Google It!    [E-waste] Searching for E-Waste Solutions Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (12/26/05). If you bought a new computer over the holidays, there are plenty of places to drop off your household's old computer. But to prevent more of the old monitors, laptops and other items from winding up in landfills, some Midwest states are looking to make sure computer makers get involved in recycling their products. One of the few manufacturers that already helps re-use old computer parts is Texas-based Dell, Incorporated. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Chuck Quirmbach went to a Dell-sponsored recycling center and has this report. [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) News] 11:56:12 AM Google It!    [Environmental policy] States team up on environment Much has been made lately of states surpassing the federal government in fighting pollution and protecting the environment. But the announcement of an agreement by seven Northeastern states to curb power plant emissions demonstrates another, mounting trend in state policy: regional agreements to take on environmental issues. By By Brian H. Kehrl, Special to Stateline.org. [Stateline.org RSS - Energy] 11:45:28 AM Google It!    [Solar energy] Honda Enters Solar Cell Production Business In response to growing demand for environmentally friendly energy sources, Honda Motor Company announced last week that it plans to start mass-producing solar cells in 2007. The company plans to build a thin-film solar cell factory on the site of one of its existing auto plants in southwestern Japan. [Source: E: The Environmental Magazine] 11:43:26 AM Google It!

© Copyright 2006 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 1/11/2006; 3:14:27 PM.