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Tuesday, May 09, 2006
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From seeing a stadium laser light show to receiving an x-ray, radiation
is part of our lives. That's why EPA is launching RadTown USA, a
new web site that uses an animated town to provide basic information on
radiation in the environment. RadTown USA is a virtual community
showing the wide variety of radiation sources commonly encountered in
everyday life. The RadTown site features houses, a school,
stadium, construction site, flying plane, moving train and much more to
highlight and explain the many common sources of radiation.
The information is organized in a series of easy-to-understand fact
sheets, with links to additional information resources. Every
fact sheet includes the types of radiation sources at the location, the
important roles that federal, state and local governments play in
protection and control, and normal steps that individuals can take to
protect themselves, such as applying sun block or installing radon
detectors in homes.
11:12:22 AM Google It! 
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Steel recycling has reached a
20-year high. The number of buildings meeting green building
standards doubled last year. Paint and coating manufacturers now
reclaim 97 percent of all waste solvents for further use. The
forest products sector now leads all manufacturers in use of
co-generation, a highly efficient process that creates heat and
electricity from a single source. These are just a few of the
environmental performance trends highlighted in a new EPA report
released today.
The 2006 Sector Strategies Performance Report is a joint product of
EPA's partnerships with some of the nation's most important economic
sectors. Collectively, these sectors contribute nearly $2.1
trillion to the gross domestic product and $5 billion in environmental
spending each year.
"Environmental responsibility is everyone's responsibility – and today
I'm pleased our nation's economic leaders are taking this motto to
heart," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "By working
with our partners in industry, President Bush and EPA are promoting the
innovative solutions that make sense for our environmental and economic
well-being."
Through EPA's Sector Strategies Program, more than 20 national trade
associations – representing 12 major sectors of the U.S. economy – are
working with the agency to improve their environmental performance
while also reducing unnecessary administrative burden. The
participating sectors represent more than 780,000 facilities in
manufacturing (cement, forest products, steel, metal casting, metal
finishing, paint and coatings, shipbuilding, and specialty-batch
chemical) and non-manufacturing sectors (colleges and universities,
construction, ports, and agribusiness).
Using government and industry data, as well as case study examples, the
report provides a 10-year portrait of environmental performance for
each sector. It tracks each sector for their record in reducing
water discharges, air emissions, waste generation, toxic chemical
releases, as well as their accomplishments in recycling and energy and
water efficiency.
The data reveal areas where sectors are improving and where more effort
is needed to achieve environmental goals. For example, the forest
products, iron and steel, and cement sectors are some of the nation's
most energy-intensive industries. While all three registered
improvements in energy efficiency over the 10-year period, their trade
associations (the American Forest and Paper Association, the American
Iron and Steel Institute, and the Portland Cement Association) have set
industry goals that would net further energy savings and reduce
greenhouse gas intensity.
The report also provides a first-time look at how EPA's Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI) data can be used to target the greatest hazard
reduction opportunities when managing chemicals. EPA is using
toxicity-weighted scores to show release trends for higher impact
substances. This information can serve as a tool for future
strategic planning. The 2006 report also describes how sectors
are turning would-be wastes into material and energy inputs, and how
trade associations are helping their members improve environmental
operations.
11:08:52 AM Google It!
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The University of California has announced Greenscanner, a site
designed to be used by mobile devices to get environmental information
about products just from providing a UPC number. [Source: ResearchBuzz,
4/30/06]
11:05:27 AM Google It!
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it has published
a new test procedure ruling to gauge energy efficiency in distribution
transformers, which are normally placed on telephone polls or are
housed underground, taking electricity from the electricity grid and
supplying it to homes and commercial buildings at the required voltage.
11:00:43 AM Google It!
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The board of directors of the
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. has unanimously approved
the association's new electronics recycling operating practices. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News, 4/27/06]
10:57:09 AM Google It!
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GreenBiz founder Joel Makower's report on how the health-care industry is starting to green up its act. [Source: GreenBiz.com]
10:46:17 AM Google It!
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Looking for energy-saving tips
and case studies for the agriculture and food processing sectors? The
California Efficiency Partnership's Flex Your Power program offers this online guide.
The information-rich guide includes chapters on everything from
planning an energy program to on-the-farm-energy use to lighting,
boilers, and HVAC systems. Also find success stories from Mission
Foods, Fetzer Vineyard, and Sara Lee, among others. [Source: GreenBiz.com]
10:42:57 AM Google It!
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Representatives from Sun Microsystems, AMD, and other industry leaders
met with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Lawrence Berkeley
Labs at a recent working group to define a standard metric to measure
energy efficiency in server technology. [Source: GreenBiz.com, 4/17/06]
10:41:04 AM Google It!
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The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, McAfee School of
Business in Jackson, Tenn., and Whittemore School of Business and
Economics at the University of New Hampshire have partnered to sponsor
a new international business award for environmental, health, and
safety (EH&S) management. [Source: GreenBiz.com, 4/18/06]
10:38:21 AM Google It!
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Global internet service leader Yahoo! has joined the Santa Clara Green
Power, a voluntary renewable energy program offered to all residential,
commercial, and industrial utility customers in Silicon Valley.
[Source: GreenBiz.com, 4/19/06]
10:35:44 AM Google It!
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A new survey shows that smaller companies are less likely that publicly
traded companies to adopt formal stewardship programs because of a lack
of resources. [Source: GreenBiz.com, 4/21/06]
10:33:06 AM Google It!
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Business for Social Responsibility, the leading U.S.-based global
nonprofit business organization focusing on corporate social
responsibility, has agreed to jointly develop a new leadership training
program with the Global Institute For Tomorrow, an Asian think-tank.
[Source: GreenBiz.com]
10:27:23 AM Google It!
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© Copyright
2006
Laura L. Barnes.
Last update:
6/6/2006; 3:14:07 PM.
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