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U.S. Mayors Call on Congress to Address Climate Change

City Mayors passed a resolution 78-36 to reduce global warming during the U.S. National Conference of Mayors in June. The resolution calls on Congress and the Administration to fully fund the Clean Air Partnership Fund – which provides grants to states and municipalities to reduce emissions – and to support tax incentives and targeted investments that will accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies. They note that scientific evidence demonstrates that global warming is a serious threat and that its impacts and costs are already being felt in the form of extreme weather events adding up to an estimated $140 billion in property damage. The group points to energy and transportation efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, and renewable energy programs as key methods to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to save money, create jobs and strengthen the local economy.

Pennsylvania Cuts NOx by 75%

The Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board approved air regulations that will reduce power plant and industrial boiler nitrogen oxide emissions by 75 percent of 1990 levels. Facilities have to meet a cap of 50,000 tons per year by 2003. There are incentives for facilities that reduce emissions earlier and that reductions in nitrogen oxide, heavy metals and sulfur dioxide. Pennsylvania calls on states in the Midwest and South to do the same since it can’t control emissions coming from other states. For some perspective on the quantity of emissions to be reduced through this regulation, the EPA just inked a deal with BP Amoco and the Koch Petroleum Group as part of their flexible enforcement program. According to the EPA, the agreements are the largest to date for clean air reached with companies from the petroleum refining industry. By 2004, the companies will eliminate 49,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions annually from 12 refineries. BP Amoco is expected to spend over $500 million on pollution-control technologies and eco-efficiency improvements; Koch Petroleum Group will invest as much as $80 million at three refineries.

In a bold move, Iceland Group, a U.K. food retailer with 770 stores, announced plans to convert to organic food at no extra cost to customers. The company is starting by using organic produce in its frozen food lines and has established long-term supplier contracts amounting to nearly 40 percent of the world’s organic vegetables (US$13.5 million). The company is donating US$1.5 million to the National Trust, Britain’s largest landowner and charity, to encourage organic farming there, since only three percent of Britain’s farms are organic. About 80 percent of its contracts have been sourced outside of the UK for this reason, angering local farmers. Iceland will absorb the difference in cost between organic and conventional produce to the tune of US$12 million so that the costs are not passed along to customers. Says Chairman Malcolm Walker, “It is our aim to stop organics being a niche market and make it accessible to all income groups.” According to Russell Ford, Iceland’s managing director, the decision was prompted by surveys that show three out of four customers would prefer to buy organic goods if they were competitively priced. Organic food sales are increasing by 40 percent a year in Britain, but […]

Online Environmental Management Training

Starting August 15, you can participate in online environmental management training. It takes about two hours a week to complete this five month practical course. Participants will receive training in state-of-the-art strategies and tools, with an emphasis on “best practices.” The inexpensive course is targeted to senior staff employed in the production or service sector who are responsible for the implementation of environmental protection measures in their companies. Participants will be asked to solve case studies taken from their professional environment and will have opportunities for feedback from trainers and fellow students. It will be offered in English and German. The training course is conducted by CDG, a German NGO that holds business seminars around the world, attracting over 23,000 participants each year. Application Deadline: June 30. Contact: Dr. Bernd Gutterer for more information.

An Assessment of Brownfield Redevelopment Policies

In the report, “An Assessment of Brownfield Redevelopment Policies: The Michigan Experience,” Professor Richard Hula of Michigan State University examines Michigan’s experience with brownfield redevelopment policies. It is a useful guide for federal, state and local government agencies that wish to implement similar policies. Download the report: http://endowment.pwcglobal.com/grants/Richard_Hula.asp

BRE Launches Home Rating System

The UK Building Research Establishment (BRE) has developed an environmental rating system for homes, dubbed EcoHomes. The voluntary certification ranges from pass to excellent based on an independent auditor’s assessment. Auditors examine homes from seven perspectives: energy, transport, pollution, materials, water, ecology/land use, and health/well-being. The certification is available for both new construction and renovated houses and apartments. A companion reference guide, “Green Guide for Housing Specification,” describes the environmental impacts of the various materials most commonly used in home building. http://www.bre.co.uk

WRI Offers Virtual Tour of Green Offices

Designed by Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), one of the leading architectural firms in sustainable design, the World Resources Institute’s offices include many environmental design features. You can learn about the easily available efficient appliances, commercial carpet and flooring products, furniture, lighting, paint, and other products by taking a virtual tour of their 38,000-square-foot office in Washington, DC. They list their suppliers with their contact information. Office doors, for example, are made from wheat straw; reception area floors are made from bamboo and cork. They made extensive use of energy efficient lighting and appliances, along with sensors to cut off or reduce the power supply when products are not in use. To learn more about the design elements used: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Vital Signs 2000 Released

Worldwatch has released Vital Signs 2000: The Environmental Trends That Are Shaping Our Future. The series is known for graphically depicting key trends that often escape the attention of the news media and world leaders. The general conclusion of this year’s report is that severe social and economic inequities are confounding attempts to reverse environmental degradation. “From the global digital divide to the devastating AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics, the trends in Vital Signs 2000 are exposing numerous fault lines between the North and the South, within nations, and between men and women,” says Worldwatch senior researcher Michael Renner, co-author of the report. “At the same time, however, we need an unprecedented level of cooperation to solve global problems.” Third World debt hit a new high of $2.5 trillion in 1999, with some of the world’s poorest nations devoting 30 percent of their national budgets to debt servicing. Developing countries have been hit hard by devastating floods and landslides, worsened by deforestation. The report points to other problematic trends: the proliferation of synthetic chemicals; deteriorating water supplies; and increasing infections from HIV and Tuberculosis. Worldwide, carbon emissions fell .2 percent in 1999, marking a second consecutive year of decline. But much […]

Virtual Emissions Brokerage Helps Retire Credits

Individuals and organizations that want to see emissions permits taken off the market can now purchase them online at Natsource’s Environmental Action desk. Greenhouse gas emission credits and SO2 credits are usually purchased by businesses that use them as a permit to pollute; in this case, purchasing them means making a direct contribution to cleaner air. Says Jack Cogen, President of Natsource, “The Environmental Action Desk caters directly to these groups by leveraging our brokerage expertise in emissions markets and our global reach to create a user-friendly trading structure facilitating retail trades.” Retail trades are conducted on the site via e-mail or fax and are administered by a retail trading expert. Environmental Club students from Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California) purchased the first GHG emissions reduction credits. They bought several hundred tons worth of credits generated by forest sequestration projects in Panama led by Futuro Forestal. The credits are verified by Centro Cientifico de los Tropicos, a nonprofit organization headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Environmental Club will permanently retire the credits. The Center for Neighborhood Technology purchased several tons of SO2 credits. The Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable urban development, will retire the allowances. […]

Partnering For Sustainability

The nonprofit dispute resolution organization IDR Associates has published The Process Of Business/Environmental Collaborations: Partnering For Sustainability. The book focuses on the process of business and environmental collaborations, providing case studies and practical advice to foster activities that meet environmental and economic goals. It covers the range of challenges organizations face when collaborating, from choosing appropriate partners to managing the partnership. Five in-depth case studies highlight how organizations can partner in the face of different motivations and values. The book draws from 40 case studies which are on the website. The case studies describe partnerships that benefit forests, water, land development, and wildlife. IDR: http://www.idrassociate.org. You can order the book through Amazon.com or Quorum Press.

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