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Energy Star Popularity, Recognition on the Rise

Public awareness of the Energy Star label now stands at 56 percent of U.S. households, according to a nationwide survey of perceptions in 2003 released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday. This is a 15 percentage point increase in awareness over previous years, the EPA said. Commissioned by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, a nonprofit organization that promotes the manufacture and purchase of energy-efficient products and services, the survey shows that in many major markets where local utilities and other organizations use Energy Star to promote energy efficiency to their customers, public awareness of Energy Star averages 67 percent. Energy Star is a federal government backed voluntary program that sets criteria for products and processes demonstrating superior energy efficiency, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs. If just one room in every U.S. home used Energy Star lighting, the change would keep one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, the EPA estimates. The EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) set energy efficiency criteria for products in 40 different categories of products that can bear the Energy Star label in the marketplace. These include appliances, electronics, office equipment, lighting, heating and cooling systems, windows, and […]

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Vermont Senate Votes to Hold Biotech Firms Liable

Vermont Senators voted 28-0 Wednesday to support the Farmer Protection Act (S.164), a bill to hold biotech corporations liable for unintended contamination of conventional or organic crops by genetically engineered plant materials. The debate revolved around patent laws that allow biotech corporations like Monsanto to sue farmers for patent infringement whose fields are contaminated with genetically modified pollen or plant materials. Senator Vincent Illuzzi, a Republican representing Essex-Orleans, illustrated cross-pollination of corn varieties with multi-colored ears of Vermont corn. The vote comes after 79 Vermont towns have passed Town Meeting measures calling on lawmakers in Montpelier and Washington enact a moratorium on genetically modified organisms and 10 percent of Vermont's conventional dairy farmers have pledged not to plant the crops. "The Farmer Protection Act is a pre-emptive strike to stop predatory lawsuits against Vermont's family farmers by biotech companies like Monsanto," said Ben Davis with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG). "Today the Vermont Senate took the first step to defend family farmers from these kinds of intimidation suits and the hazards of genetically engineered crops." VPIRG is among a coalition of groups including Rural Vermont, Institute for Social Ecology, and Vermont Genetic Engineering Action Network who are spearheading […]

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Connecticut Moves to Cut GHG Emissions

Source: PointCarbon.com The Governor of Connecticut, US, has accepted a set of recommendations that are estimated to reduce the states greenhouse gas emissions by 8.5%. The recommendations from Connecticuts Steering Committee on Climate Change includes restoration of the Conservation and Load Management Fund, establishing conservation funds for oil and natural gas, energy efficiency and CHP measures, a renewable energy strategy, forest and agricultural land preservation and more. "Governor Rowland's decision to accept the stakeholder recommendations to cut greenhouse gas emissions will put Connecticut in the forefront of US states taking action to reduce climate change," said Ned Helme, Executive Director of the Center for Clean Air Policy, in a press release. "Connecticut is the first state to develop a comprehensive climate change action plan and immediately translate it into legislative and administrative proposals for implementation." The measures will enable the State to achieve 52% of its overall 2010 goal of stabilizing emissions at 1990 levels, the target established by the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Climate Change Action Plan of 2001, said the press release. "The Connecticut plan also tackles the rapidly-growing transportation sector, calling for path-breaking efforts in transit, smart growth, land use policy, and freight policy, […]

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RAN Targets Largest Banks

After working with Citigroup to develop stringent project financing standards based on sustainable development guidelines, Rainforest Action Network is challenging the 10 largest U.S. financial institutions to follow suit. RAN is calling on the companies to phase out funding for the oil, gas, mining, and logging industries in endangered ecosystems; reduce funding for greenhouse gas producing industries, and work more closely with local populations, among other things. The changes would affect billions of dollars of loans a year. RAN calls on the companies to adopt standards that meet or exceed those of Citigroup, the largest bank, by Earth Day on April 22. The companies include: J.P. Morgan; Bank of America; Wachovia Corp.; Wells Fargo; Bank One; FleetBoston; U.S. Bancorp; SunTrust; Goldman Sachs and John Hancock. "Long-term investments in ecological and social sustainability is the only path to ensure the future health of the global economy," said Ilyse Hogue, a Rainforest director. "The bulk of our financial institutions are behind the global curve in confronting these challenges." After years of criticism from Rainforest, Citigroup in January agreed not to finance projects in "critical natural habitats" unless borrowers show they "will not significantly degrade or convert the critical natural habitat." It also […]

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