Wednesday, May 17, 2006

[Nanotechnology]Environmental Groups Want Nanotech Sunscreens Pulled from Market Sunscreens made with submicroscopic particles pose a health hazard and should be recalled, environmental groups said Tuesday in asking the government to increase regulation of growing uses of the science of nanotechnology. [ENN Business Headlines] 3:41:26 PM Google It!    [Recycling] U.S. Random House Vows to Use 30 Percent Recycled Paper Leading U.S. publisher Random House plans to invest millions of dollars to raise the proportion of recycled paper it uses to print books to at least 30 percent from under 3 percent at present. [ENN Business Headlines] 3:40:12 PM Google It!    [Solar energy] Solar-powered furniture to be featured at ICFF Source: Furniture World, 5/16/06. New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) is one of six colleges from around the world invited to exhibit at the 18th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), May 20 - 23, in Manhattan. NYIT's exhibit, Furniture for a Solar Home, will feature six original prototypes developed by over 45 undergraduate interior design students. The six high-tech furniture pieces challenge many assumptions of current sustainable design thinking by advancing a new model that suggests interior furnishings become principal participants in the overall energy and material strategy -- both for solar and non-solar homes. NYIT's sofa, for example, has photovoltaic panels on the back that collect the sun's energy, which is used to power two lamps and a high-pressure fan system integrated beneath its cushions, providing for the user's own heating or cooling needs. [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) Environmental News] 3:34:42 PM Google It!    [Corporate environmental responsibility] "The Case for Sustainability" Project -- Call for Submissions I'm pleased to announce that we have just issued the request for submissions for the "Case for Sustainability" casewriting project. [Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward] 3:31:48 PM Google It!    [Climate change] Why Aren't Americans 'Very Worried' About the Climate? It was barely six weeks ago that Time magazine warned us to "Be Worried. Be Very Worried" about climate change. So, why aren't we? [Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward] 3:29:43 PM Google It!    [Ethanol] New York State Backs Cellulosic Ethanol A $20 million program in the New York state budget is slotted for the development of a cellulosic ethanol pilot facility in New York State, Governor George E. Pataki announced, renewing his call for the adoption of his energy independence plan to reduce U.S. dependence on imported energy by boosting the production of clean, renewable fuels. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com] 2:49:58 PM Google It!    [Renewable energy] Pennsylvania Invests $10 Million for Clean Energy Projects Governor Edward G. Rendell announced Pennsylvania will create jobs in the alternative energy industry and provide affordable, reliable energy for Commonwealth businesses and residents by investing $10 million in new clean energy projects. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com] 2:48:38 PM Google It!    [Biodiesel] Chevron Invests in 100 mgy Galveston Bay Biodiesel Chevron, through its subsidiary, Chevron Technology Ventures LLC (CTV), has taken an equity position in Galveston Bay Biodiesel LP (GBB). The Houston-based company is constructing a biodiesel production and distribution facility in Galveston, Texas, said to have the potential to produce 100 million gallons per year (mgy) of clean-burning renewable fuel -- an amount that more than doubles this country's current production volume of biodiesel. It is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com] 2:46:48 PM Google It!    [Solar energy] First Condo Project in New England to Use 100% Solar Power With support from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and Conservation Services Group (CSG), ground is being broken for what may well be the first new condominium construction project in New England that is all solar, according to Johnson Square Builders, the developer. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com] 2:45:06 PM Google It!    [Renewable energy] Winners of $125,000 Ignite Clean Energy Competition Announced The Finals of the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition have been awarded to energy entrepreneurs in solar, hydro-power and waste processing by a panel of industry leaders and venture capitalist judges who were convinced by the winners that their businesses can make clean energy that is competitive with conventional energy. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com] 2:43:07 PM Google It!    [Ethanol] America and Brazil Intersect on Ethanol The United States and Brazil share many things: a hemisphere, a dedication to promoting democracy and human rights and the vigor that comes from being multiethnic societies. Those of us who have long wished that these two important countries of the Americas would establish a true partnership have seen encouraging signs recently. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com] 2:36:59 PM Google It!    [Grants] FY 2006 Request for Proposals - Source Reduction Assistance Grants Program for Seven of the Regional Pollution Prevention Program Offices Seven of EPA's Regional Pollution Prevention (P2) Program offices anticipate having up to $163,000 available, per region, in fiscal year 2006, to fund projects supporting source reduction/pollution prevention and/or resource conservation activities through this request for proposals. Proposals for Region V are due by June 19, 2006. 2:34:26 PM Google It!    [Awards] The Science and Practice of Ecology and Society Award The Science and Practice of Ecology & Society Award is an annual award given to the individual or organization that is the most effective in bringing transdisciplinary science of the interactions of ecology and society into practice. The year 2006 will be the inauguration of this award. Examples of possible winners include, a high school teacher who develops a special curriculum, a mayor with initiatives and actions for her/his town based on scientific concepts, a journalist who brings scientific insights to a broader audience, or a NGO group who facilitates local knowledge production in rural communities. The purpose of this award is to recognize the importance of practitioners who translate the scientific findings and insights of the scholarly community to practical applications. We want to identify innovative practitioners so that their story can be an example for others. The Award The award consists of 1000 Euro and an article in Ecology and Society devoted to this person or organization. This article will be written by those who send in the nomination. Who can be nominated? A person or organization that has succeeded in translating transdisciplinary science theory into practice. Who nominates? Any academic scholar or group of academic scholars can nominate a person or organization. An accompanying letter will argue why this person or organization is an exemplary example of the interface of practice and science in the domain of ecology and society. Where to submit nominations? The deadline for nominations will be July 1, 2006. Nomination letters can be sent, preferably electronically, to Dr. Marco Janssen, Email: Marco.Janssen@asu.edu. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402. 2:29:51 PM Google It!    [Mercury] EPA OIG Audit Identifies Need to Implement Mercury Monitoring Plan Monitoring Needed to Assess Impact of EPA's Clean Air Mercury Rule on Potential Hotspots, Report No. 2006-P-00025 [Report - PDF, 33 pages] [At a Glance - PDF], May 15, 2006. [Source: BeSpacific] 2:24:23 PM Google It!

© Copyright 2006 Laura L. Barnes. Last update: 6/6/2006; 3:14:10 PM.