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Shannon Glynn is one of 50 college students at Biosphere 2 (Arizona) participating in Columbia University’s “Earth Semester,” an innovative four-and-a-half-month, 16-credit undergraduate program. Since 1996, more than 250 students from around the world have participated in the program. Stellar faculty and students are chosen through a rigorous application and interview process–no slackers here. The days are long and the work is hard. A typical day begins with a hike around campus, followed by morning classes such as Conservation Biology, Planetary Management and a course in Law, Politics and the Economics of Global Change. Lectures and research occupy the afternoons and evenings. Originally constructed as a miniature version of Earths biosphere, the $200 million glass-and-steel structure covers three acres and contains five wilderness biomes: a coastal desert, a marsh, a savanna, an equatorial rainforest and an artificial ocean. In 1991, eight people passed through an airlock to spend two years as human guinea pigs in the land-locked space station. Although things went well for the first year, the second was plagued by a mysterious drop in oxygen, high levels of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, and massive crop failures. Regarded as pseudoscience by many academics, the Biosphere was finally shut […]
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The San Francisco-based nonprofit Investors’ Circle (IC) is a relatively exclusive club; it requires its members have at least $1 million ready to go to work. Its 160 members, chosen on an invitation-only basis, have circulated $44 million in investment capital among 100 socially-responsible companies. IC, founded in 1991, holds two Social Venture Fairs each year, and 15 startups lucky enough to survive the cut (thousands apply) are allowed to make presentations to an audience they know have checkbooks ready. According to Jeanne Trombly, IC’s manager of west coast operations, some members have inherited wealth, others are cashed-out entrepreneurs or foundation fund managers. “We have members who aren’t savvy in venture capital investing, but they have the tools, the means and the money,” says Trombly, who adds that IC holds regular investment seminars and other programs. At IC’s Social Venture Fairs, the “hit rate” for new investments ranging from $25,000 to $3 million is 44 percent, considered to be extremely high in the world of investor capital. According to Bruce Holm, CFO of Agra Quest, an agricultural biology company that made a pitch at a recent fair, “After the presentation, we were swarmed by interested potential investors. Mike Korchinsky, president […]
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Volvo’s new S80, available in Europe, is the first car to be put through the paces of life cycle analysis. Its five-cylinder engine of 140 bhp is rated at EEG 93/116 for fuel consumption; it weighs 1,500 kg and has a top speed of over 200 km/h. Volvo’s Environmental Priorities System analyzes the environmental impact of every material element in the vehicle including mining, production of raw materials, transportation of the products, vehicle manufacture, what the vehicle will consume during its use, and finally, its disposal. The Volvo MOTIV Chemical Database details the environmental and health effects of each chemical used in the manufacturing of its cars, as well as 2000 chemicals the company will not use such as CFCs, halogens, and chlorinated paraffins. The company has started the “Environmental Car Recycling in Scandanavia” program which dismantles vehicles to minimize environmental impact and finds markets for recycled materials. A bi-fuel version of the S80 will be introduced this year, which will run on a choice of methane (natural gas or biogas) or petrol.
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Even with the growth currently occurring in many renewable energy sectors, DOE predicts only an 8 percent share of world energy use through 2020, according to its International Energy Outlook for 1998. As long as oil prices are low, it will be difficult to make much more progress, although the Kyoto protocol has increased interest. DOE expects renewable consumption to increase by 67 percent (from 1995), or 8 percent of the total market. The major increase will be in developing nations, where major hydro projects are in the works. The report notes positive developments such as Enron’s purchase of Zond and Tacke, BP’s plans to exceed solar sales of $1 billion a year within a decade, and Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to invest $500 million in renewables over the next five years. North America: renewable energy use will increase by 1.3% annually, to 10% of total energy use. In the U.S., municipal solid waste, wind and biomass will lead growth; wind capacity will double. In Canada, there will be a 30% increase in hydro between 2010-2020. Despite a range of Canadian initiatives, DOE expects only a small part of total energy needs will be met from renewables. Western Europe: renewables […]
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Two U.S. Navy facilities in Virginia will be the first beneficiaries of a Department of Energy program to place performance-based geothermal heat pump projects at federal facilities throughout the nation. DOE expects the contracts to provide $500 million in jobs while saving 20-40 percent in energy consumption at each site. Any of the 500,000 federal sites in the U.S. may use the contracts. During the term of the contract, the selected companies finance and implement the projects in exchange for a percentage of the energy cost savings. After the contract expires, the government keeps all remaining cost savings. DOE expects to save close to $10 billion.
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Speaking at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) meeting in Cambridge, MA., ARCO CEO Mike Bowlin said the world is entering “the last days of the Age of Oil.” Bowlin listed increasing problems with smog and a growing perception that fossil fuels are to blame for much of the world’s environmental problems, as two of the reasons for the change to new energy sources. “Ten or fifteen years from now there still will be a large and healthy market for oil – of course. But it is also true that the market share for oil will diminish, as the demand for other forms of energy grows.” Bowlin said, “The energy equations of the 21st Century, focusing on alternative fuels, will leave oil and gas companies with a critical choice: embrace the future and recognize the growing demand for a wide array of fuels or ignore reality and slowly – but surely – be left behind.” Full text of speech: http://www.arco.com/spark/1999-02Cambridge/index.html
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U.K.-based Earthwatch Institute has published a helpful five-step business guide for understanding and integrating biodiversity into environmental management systems (EMS). The free 28-page guide provides the business case for protecting biodiversity and offers a five-step process: * understanding business operations and setting priorities; * developing a matrix of potential impacts on habitats and species; * prioritizing the most critical impacts; * determining how an EMS can address these issues; * integrating the action plan into business processes. Why should business care about biodiversity? The guide points out that many companies depend on biological resources and that biodiversity “services” companies in ways that cannot be replaced, such as flood control and pest management. Moreover, it says, “part of your supply chain may affect biodiversity directly or indirectly.” info@uk.earthwatch.org Download in PDF format: [sorry this link is no longer available] FROM Green Business Letter
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The Colorado Public Utilities Commission passed new regulations which require the state’s two investor-owned utilities to disclose price and fuel source information as part of customer billing. The amounts of coal, natural gas, and other fuels must be itemized. Coal accounts for 93 percent of the electricity generated in the state. Making this information transparent to customers may encourage them to sign on to green power options.
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You’ll meet scientists, economists, and forest communities promoting non-timber forest products (NTFP) on the NTFP-Biocultural-Digest listserv. They discuss sustainable forest crops including edible ferns, mushrooms, maple syrup, palms, gums and latexes, edible nuts, fragrances, medicinals, and more. Over 600 people participate from 25 countries. To subscribe: majordomo@igc.org. Leave the subject line blank; in the body of the message type subscribe ntfp-biocultural-digest
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The California Energy Commission approved over $21.3 million for 14 renewable resource power plants. This is 30 percent of the $540 million renewables fund. Payments will be in the form of subsidies for power generated from the plants once they are completed. The facilities total 90 MW in capacity, including 62 MW from 100 new wind turbines, 22 MW from four landfill gas projects, and 3.8 MW from a agricultural waste biomass project. Source: Sustainable Energy Coalition Weekly Update: kbossong@cais.com
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