Thursday, April 06, 2006

[Air] Clean Air Excellence Awards A teenager from Utah is showing major corporations that energy efficient and environmentally friendly cars are an option. A bike magazine is doing its part to promote clean transportation by giving away bikes in 20 cities. And, a citizens' advisory council is working with an oil refinery to solve clean air issues. These three are part of 16 projects by individuals, state and local governments, or organizations that were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their efforts at the sixth annual Clean Air Excellence Awards ceremony. "This year's competition showed us an impressive range of individuals, businesses, local governments, and other entities working to improve air quality," said William L. Wehrum, acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. "We are honored to recognize them for their ability to create and implement effective projects and programs to reduce air pollution." The Clean Air Excellence Awards program recognizes and honors outstanding, innovative efforts that make progress in achieving cleaner air. The program was established in 2000 at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC), a senior-level policy committee that advises EPA on issues related to implementing the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The six categories of awards and this year's awardees are below. Clean Air Technology Alternative Maritime Power, Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, Calif. Hybrid Bus Program, King County Metro Transit, Seattle, Wash. ATmaP(TM)'s Elimination of Solvent-Borne Adhesion Promoting Primers, FTS Technologies and DaimlerChrysler Body-on-Frame Engineering, Flint, Mich. PowerFrame(TM) Grid Technology, Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc., Milwaukee, Wis. Community Development/Redevelopment Transit Oriented Development Program, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, Ga. BikeTown, Bicycling Magazine, Rodale Inc., Emmaus, Pa. Education/Outreach ConocoPhillips Billings Citizen Advisory Council, ConocoPhillips Billings Refinery, Billings, Mont. Pioneering Full-Scale Electric Vehicle Motor Sports to Promote Energy Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Automobiles, Brent Singleton, Odgen, Utah Students Fueling the Future Fuel Cell Education Program, Students Fueling the Future Inc., Southport, N.C. Regulatory/Policy Innovations Tippecanoe Laboratories Flexible Permit, Eli Lilly and Company, Tippecanoe Laboratories and Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Office of Air Quality, Indianapolis, Ind. Port of Seattle Air Quality Program, Port of Seattle, Seattle, Wash. The Kansas City Regional Clean Air Action Plan, Mid-America Regional Council, Kansas City, Mo. Transportation Efficiency Innovations UPS Fuel Conservation, Technology and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program, UPS, Atlanta, Ga. Niagara Falls State Park -- "Green Parks Program," New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Transportation Demand Management Program, City of Aspen, Colo. Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award David G. Hawkins, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C. 3:29:46 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Biodiesel Basics: How to Run Your Car on Used Salad Oil For financial, political and environmental reasons—including the fact that we may soon reach the peak of oil production, after which fossil fuels will get increasingly expensive—Americans are trying out biodiesel, both in their vehicles and (mainly in the Northeast) for home heating. [Source: E: The Environmental Magazine] 3:25:27 PM Google It!    [Fuel efficiency] Fed Finally Tightens Mileage Rules for SUVs and Pickups In response to a call from President Bush to start weaning America from its petroleum addiction and reducing Middle East oil imports as much as 75 percent by 2025, the federal government has finally implemented a long-awaited bump in gas mileage standards for light trucks such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickups. Under existing standards, automakers' 2006 model year light trucks must meet an average of 21.6 miles per gallon (mpg). The new rules call for bumping the fuel economy standard up to 22.2 mpg. [Source: E: The Environmental Magazine, 4/4/06] 3:23:16 PM Google It!    [Energy policy] Energy secretary ditches science advisers The US Secretary of Energy, Samuel Bodman, has decided to disband the Department of Energy's principal independent advisory board on scientific and technical matters. The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), which has existed in one form or another since 1978, will end after a final meeting this spring. Bodman made the decision about a month ago in a closed-door meeting with senior staff, says department spokesman Craig Stevens. [Source: Nature, 4/6/06] 3:17:27 PM Google It!    [Renewable energy] Agriculture Interests Push Ambitious Renewable-Energy Goal Farm and forestry groups are throwing their support behind the new "25 x '25" campaign, which advocates that 25% of energy in the U.S. come from "America's working lands" by 2025. [Source: Grist Magazine via ClimateBiz.com, 3/24/06] 3:15:45 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Soy-based Biodiesel Praised in Ohio On tour of a biodiesel processing plant that was said to have produced the most biodiesel in the U.S. in 2005, Ohio Governor Bob Taft and Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Fred Dailey praised the partnership between Cincinnati-based Peter Cremer North America, DaimlerChrysler, and Ohio farmers for enabling new Jeep Liberty vehicles with diesel engines produced in Toledo to be fueled by soy-based biodiesel when they are driven off the lot. [Source: Renewable Energy Access, 4/4/06] 3:13:58 PM Google It!    [Energy conservation] Help the UI Campus Save Energy! The Energy Subcommittee of the Committee on a Sustainable Campus  Environment (CSCE) is seeking letters of inquiry from anyone with an idea for a project or program for the use of funding from the Clean Energy Technologies Fee. The deadline is April 18. Please visit http://www.iss.uiuc.edu/DocumentArchive.asp or http://www.iss.uiuc.edu/Articles/Documents/000096.document.doc for application and rules or e-mail Jen Walling (jwalling@uiuc.edu ) for a copy of the application. 3:11:41 PM Google It!    [Meetings] Illinois Water 2006 The Illinois Water Resources Center will host Illinois Water 2006: "Preparing for the Future" on October 3-5, 2006.  We are seeking paper, poster and session submissions from water professionals on topics related to water resources in Illinois and the Midwest.  Students are also encourage to submit abstracts and can compete for paper and poster prizes. Abstracts due April 28, 2006. 3:08:27 PM Google It!    [Hybrid vehicles] Dow Chemical Powers Texas Facility with Hybrid Locomotives The Dow Chemical Company has is applying hybrid technology to fuel locomotives at the company's Freeport, Texas, facility. [Source: GreenBiz.com, 3/28/06] 3:06:47 PM Google It!    [Grants] State Partnerships to Accelerate Industrial Energy Efficiency and "Save Energy Now" The Department of Energy (DOE) Golden Field Office (GO) is seeking applications on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), for State Partnership Projects under the State Energy Program (SEP) in accordance with 10 CFR part 420 to accelerate industrial energy efficiency and “Save Energy Now.” DOE is inviting States to submit applications as outlined in this funding opportunity announcement to implement specific DOE EERE deployment activities and initiatives. Funding of approximately $1,000,000 will be available under this opportunity in fiscal year 2006. Projects may be proposed with performance periods of 12 to 18 months. The estimated amount of DOE funding for individual awards is set forth in Part II – Award Information of this announcement. The cost match requirements are outlined in Part III – Eligibility Information. 3:04:24 PM Google It!    [Grants] FY 2006 Request for Proposals, Pollution Prevention Grants Program Under the authority of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, EPA anticipates that approximately $4.1 million will be available to support Pollution Prevention (P2) Grants to States, Tribes, and Intertribal Consortia in FY 2006 for prevention activities during FY 2006 - 2007. These grant dollars are targeted at State and Tribal technical assistance programs that address the reduction or elimination of pollution by businesses across all environmental media: air, water and land. Since the inception of the grant program, EPA has awarded over $84 million to eligible recipients. 3:01:15 PM Google It!    [Climate change] Climate science: The son also rises The two Roger Pielkes can be obstructionist pains in the neck, say their colleagues. So why is this likeable father-son pair such a welcome addition to the debate on global climate change? Kendall Powell clears the air. [Source: Nature, 3/30/06] 2:58:09 PM Google It!    [Grants] DOE Issues Solicitation for On-Board Vehicular Hydrogen Storage R&D A solicitation has been announced for hydrogen storage technologies in support of the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. The solicitation calls for research and development of new materials and concepts, as well as engineering science and analyses, for on-board vehicular hydrogen storage. Two parallel announcements for national laboratories and for non-laboratories will be made, with a total of $6 million available under both announcements, subject to Congressional appropriations. Awards are anticipated at $400,000 to $2,000,000 per award over two to five years. 2:53:19 PM Google It!    [Biofuels] Hawaiian Utility Looks Inward for Energy Hawaii's major electric utility, feeling the sting from a nearly 100 percent reliance on imported and increasingly expensive energy, is looking inward to the Islands' considerable biomass and biofuels potential to reinforce its energy supply. Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) this week asked the ethanol industry to supply its renewable fuel for use in HECO's new Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station. [Source: Renewable Energy Access, 3/24/06] 2:50:19 PM Google It!    [Environmental health] Study: Poor, Minority Children At Greater Risk For Exposure To Toxic Pollutants While environmental pollutants constantly swirl around children in all walks of life, past research has shown that children in poor, minority populations are disproportionately likely to be exposed to harmful toxins such as lead and agricultural pesticides. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News, 3/28/06] 2:36:23 PM Google It!    [Clean energy] Researchers: 3-D Imaging To Enable Clean Energy Technologies Ohio State University researchers have invented a technique to record three-dimensional scans of the gases and solids that mix inside boilers and other industrial processing reactors. The end result could be better monitoring of reactor systems, including power plants. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News, 3/28/06] 2:34:37 PM Google It!    [Energy efficiency] Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance Launches Website The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), a regional alliance of business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote energy-efficiency policies and practices in this fast-growing region, is furthering its mission with the launch of its new website. The site includes information about the organization and its partners, energy-efficiency tips for consumers and businesses, and listings of upcoming energy-related events. It provides state energy office contact information for the states in SEEA’s region: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,Tennessee, and Virginia. The site also features information from a recent SEEA workshop in Atlanta on new energy-efficiency tax credits authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Visitors to the site can review workshop proceedings and learn how to save on home, vehicle, and business energy bills while also reducing their federal income taxes. 2:32:26 PM Google It!    [Ethanol] City's flex-fuel cars finally going green In 1997, St. Paul started buying a fleet of cars that could run on fuel made with 85 percent ethanol, a move aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, but the city hasn't been able to get that type of fuel until now. [Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press, 3/27/06] 2:29:18 PM Google It!

© Copyright 2006 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 5/9/2006; 10:36:30 AM.