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1999 is a pivotal year for residential energy codes in the United States. The International Code Council, which develops model codes for states and localities to adopt, is trying to resolve a conflict between its energy code and a new residential code. The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is used as a model by dozens of states, but the new International Residential Code (IRC) has its own energy standards which are weaker than the IECC. If states start using the IRC, new homes will be less energy efficient. A contentious set of hearings are set for March and September. In general, energy codes are too weak. If you’d like to get involved, contact the Alliance to Save Energy. Bill Prindle: brindle@ase.org http://www.ase.org David Eisenberg, at the Development Center for Appropriate Technology is also working on greening building codes: DCAT@azstarnet.com
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A new U.S. EPA brochure, to be distributed to 100,000 supermarkets, is intended to inform people about pesticides and how to minimize their exposure to pesticides in foods. Seven mainstream food industry groups pressured the EPA to leave out any mention of organics. As a result, the final product provides little useful information (and is a waste of a lot of trees). Conventional food groups didn’t want to “alarm” the public by recommending organic foods. An official from Grocery Foods Manufacturers, one of the groups which objected to the word ‘organic’ said, “We don’t think it’s appropriate to put a brochure like this next to the carrots and broccoli” because it promotes one food over another. The draft version read, “some pesticides have been shown to cause health problems such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other toxic effects in laboratory animals.” It presented organics as an alternative to foods grown or processed with chemical pesticides. The final version says, “while pesticides have important uses, studies show that some pesticides cause health problems at certain levels of exposure.” “Your grocer may be able to provide you with information about the availability of food grown using fewer or no pesticides.”
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Former Chrysler Corp. CEO Lee Iacocca has lined up 90 dealers to sell his new electric bicycles and may take his company public in a year. He unveiled the first electric bikes from his company, EV Global Motors at the recent National Auto Dealers Association meeting. The bikes, which are being shipped now, will be sold at automobile dealerships and other locations in Arizona, California, Florida and Hawaii. The basic model costs $995; a deluxe version is $1,300. Next year, the company will produce an electric scooter, to be followed by a tandem bike and a small delivery EV. His “vision,” is to get EVs into families via the youth, then later sell them larger EVs, “maybe a minivan.” EV Global Motors: http://www.evglobal.com Source: Calstart News
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U.S.-based consulting firm HVS Eco Services has published the ECOTEL Resource Guide: The Hotel Industry’s Tool for Environmental Success. . It lists hundreds of environmental product vendors, a directory of and case studies on hotels that have earned the “Ecotel” certification, and an events calendar. The company plans to distribute it to hotels and resorts worldwide. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Community investing is thriving thanks to big-hearted investors. The idea is to direct a portion of one’s portfolio, say five percent, to affordable housing, microenterprises, or social/environmental ventures that can’t get investment capital through conventional channels. Investors receive a “charitable” financial return, typically 0-4 percent, plus the knowledge they have lifted others in need. Many community investing options are structured to be very low risk – hard to beat when traditional markets are taking a pounding. The nonprofit Calvert Foundation offers pooled community investments to add convenience and further lessen risk. It also has a database of direct community investment opportunities. 800-248-0337 [sorry this link is no longer available]
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After eight years of organic industry advocacy, the USDA changed its meat labeling policy. Now, certified organic meat products – beef, poultry, eggs – may carry the word ‘organic’ on the label, along with all other food categories. Organic Trade Association:http://www.ota.com
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How do you encourage the use of “green power” in a state like Pennsylvania that has limited renewable energy resources? Green-e certified power products must derive at least 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. In California, Green-e certified products have won the lion’s share of the growing competitive power market. For states like Pennsylvania, Green-e is working on a mechanism to include energy efficiency as part of its certification program. The program would work like this: power marketers would obtain energy savings by investing in efficiency measures in a given service area and customer type. These “negawatts” could then be used as part of the marketer’s certification requirements. For example, if the marketer sells one million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in a year, 500,000 of them would have to be “green”. If the marketer can buy 400,000 kWh of wind power and 100,000 of energy efficiency savings, he would qualify under the Green-e program. Green-e Plus would allow marketers to offer energy efficiency above and beyond their 50 percent-green requirement through co-marketing agreements with Energy Star equipment manufacturers and other marketing innovations. Alliance to Save Energy:Bill Prindle: bprindle@ase.org[sorry this link is no longer available]Green-e: http://www.green-e.org
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The Environmental Finance Center – sponsored by EPA Region 9 and based at California State University/Haywood – serves as a resource center for environmental entrepreneurs, investors, financial managers, and small business owners. The Center’s latest publication is Financing Environmental Technology: A Funding Directory for the Environmental Entrepreneur. 510-749-6867 FROM Co-op America’s Connections
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The Environmental Finance Center – sponsored by EPA Region 9 and based at California State University/Haywood – serves as a resource center for environmental entrepreneurs, investors, financial managers, and small business owners. The Center’s latest publication is Financing Environmental Technology: A Funding Directory for the Environmental Entrepreneur. 510-749-6867 FROM Co-op America’s Connections
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U.S. DOE and EPA are sponsoring smart growth development at two model cities, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Mesa del Sol/Albuquerque, N. Mexico. Mesa del Sol was chosen as an opportunity to demonstrate to the nation how to successfully plan and design from the beginning and from the ground up – a large-scale new community with a projected population of 90,000 and more than 60,000 jobs. The 13,000-acre parcel is the largest tract of undeveloped land near an urban center in the U.S. The DOE grant will support the design of a set of tools which will guide cities and regions in their search for smart growth and sustainable economic development strategies. The computer tools will foster community participation in complex decision-making processes, and provide highly visual images of future growth scenarios. These scenarios can be linked to powerful software programs which help measure fiscal impacts to local government, desired land/use transportation linkages, positive impacts of compact urban form and planned/phased development, energy and resource conservation, and econometric models for sustained balanced economic growth. Cornell University’s Work and Environment Initiative Program is working under an EPA grant to integrate eco-industrial development there. Ed Cohen-Rosenthal, Director of WEI, sees Albuquerque as a case […]
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