- Home
- Featured (Page 139)
Featured
Since last March, when it became clear the USDA would need to create a second draft of its proposed National Organic Program, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) has been furiously working on an industry-initiated set of criteria. The resulting American Organic Standards are now approved and are open to revision over the next 18 months. This gives the industry national guidelines to follow until a federal standard is approved, and will help the industry respond in unison to the USDA’s revision. Currently, organic certification standards are regulated on a state level, but 20 states have no organic agriculture laws or labeling requirements. Research indicates that peoples’ faith in organics depends on a cohesive set of standards regulated on a federal level. From 1994-1999, the organic products industry tripled in size, from $2.3 – 6.5 billion, and is expected to double again by 2003, reaching over $13 billion. http://www.ota.com
Read More
More than $1 billion worth of “green” homes have been built in Colorado during the past two years, far outpacing any other state. About 3,500 green homes have been built at a median price of $230,000 since the kick-off of the “Built Green” campaign by Home Builders of Metropolitan Denver in 1997. Colorado is the first state to offer a statewide “Built Green” designation for its homes. The Green Builder Program of Colorado registers homes based on a 20 category checklist that includes an energy efficiency requirement, and a menu of options addressing a range of “green” items from which the builder must select a minimum number. Colorado is one of six pilot areas for a Fannie Mae program that allows buyers to borrow up to 15 percent of the cost of a home for energy efficiency improvements. Another Fannie Mae program for new construction gives buyers incentives to incorporate energy- and water-efficiency features. http://www.builtgreen.org
Read More
This January, The Low Impact Hydropower Institute will certify hydro facilities that meet “stringent criteria for protection of environmental quality.” The criteria were developed by American Rivers and GreenMountain.com over the past two years, in concert with environmentalists, hydropower officials, government agencies and electricity marketers. Standards involve river flow, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection, recreation, and facilities recommended for removal.
Read More
In September, New York State announced it would sue 17 coal burning power plants in five states for clean air violations. Now, for the first time, the federal government is enforcing the Clean Air Act by filing suit against seven electric utilities in the Midwest and South. The U.S. Justice Department filed the suit on behalf of the U.S. EPA, charging that 17 coal-fired power plants illegally released massive amounts of air pollutants for years. Under the Clean Air Act, older plants were not required to upgrade their air pollution control equipment in exchange for not increasing capacity. The EPA contends the plants did not live up to this agreement. The EPA hopes to force the facilities to upgrade pollution controls to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and smog. Separate lawsuits have been filed against American Electric Power, Cinergy, FirstEnergy, Illinois Power, Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company, Southern Company, Tampa Electric Company or their subsidiaries, along with an administrative action against the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Clean Air Act authorizes civil penalties of up to $25,000 for each day of violation at each plant prior to January 30, 1997, and $27,500 […]
Read More
President Clinton announced that as of January 1, 2000 companies will be required to report the release of even small amounts of 27 persistent, bioaccumulative toxics – such as dioxin, mercury, PCBs – into the air or water. These are the first reporting mandates for dioxin, a toxic byproduct of waste incineration and chemical and pesticide manufacturing that has been linked to cancer and birth defects. Currently, companies must publicly report discharges only if they handle more than 25,000 pounds or emit over 10,000 pounds of the chemicals a year. The new rules mean companies must report if they use as little as 100 pounds a year, and for some particularly toxic chemicals, 10 pounds a year. Companies that produce as little as a tenth of a gram of dioxin each year must disclose. Industrial toxic pollution has fallen by almost 50 percent in the decades since public right to know rules for chemical releases took effect. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) lauded the rules which close a “major loophole” in the federal right to know program. Since the thresholds were previously so high, many of the most toxic chemical releases were not reported. USPIRG noted that the […]
Read More
Green architects dream of a client with deep pockets, impeccable taste, imagination, an open mind and a healthy respect for the environment. Lucas Letterman Digital Arts, a company formed by George Lucas to develop new high tech headquarters in San Francisco’s historic Presidio, “is one of the most fun clients we’ve ever worked with,” says Bill Browning of Rocky Mountain Institute’s Green Development Services. “They’re committed and passionate about the environment and employees’ quality of life, and extremely creative. They’re cost conscious, of course, but they’re a well-capitalized company, so if it makes sense they’ll say let’s do it.” The 1800-acre Presidio, a former army base, is the first urban national park in the U.S. Six parcels are being commercially developed to cover the costs of purchasing the land. The Presidio has set sustainability as one of three major criteria by which all proposals to develop the parcels are judged. The Letterman Digital Center combines just about everything in the green development cookbook, from energy-efficient construction to low-impact stormwater management. And at nearly a million square feet, with one of the world’s most famous corporate tenants, it promises to be an excellent showcase for the power of green thinking. One […]
Read More
The EU Council of Environment Ministers formally accepted commitments from the Japanese and Korean auto manufacturers associations to cut CO2 emissions from new cars to an average of 140 grams/km by 2009. European automakers made a similar agreement a year ago. This means new vehicles will attain the equivalent of 50 miles per gallon. The Commission is examining whether to extend the directive to light commercial vehicles. Further, as of 2001, all cars must carry a label indicating its carbon dioxide emissions and fuel efficiency. The information must also be included in promotional material. Volkswagen, Europes largest automaker, is already doing this. In the U.S., California’s next set of stringent air quality rules go into effect in 2004, but three gas-powered cars already qualify: Ford’s model year 2000 Crown Victoria, Honda’s 2000 Accord, and Nissan’s 2000 Sentra. Hondas and Nissans cars require low-sulfur gasoline to achieve reduced emissions, which is widely available only in California. EPA has been planning to finalize regulations that would make low-sulphur fuel accessible throughout the U.S. by 2004, but recently 12 governors asked the agency to extend the deadline from 2004 – 2007 to help small refineries find the least costly technology to reduce sulfur […]
Read More
Rocky Mountain Institute has been building industry acceptance for its Hypercar concept since 1991. Its ultralight, ultra-low-drag body with hybrid-electric drive yields radically better fuel economy. Many car manufacturers now incorporate at least some elements of the car. But compromises were still diluting the concept’s full potential, and the more serious companies got about Hypercar-like designs, the more secretive and less accessible they became. So began the long, strange trip of Hypercar Inc., a for-profit venture that spun off from RMI this summer. A lead investment from VTZ, a Swiss investment fund that specializes in green technologies enabled HCI to begin formal operations in August. The company will develop and apply new technology and business models to the automotive industry. It is working with industry partners to produce a “technology demonstration vehicle” and is examining potential markets such as the “lifestyle market of Generation X and Y customers.” Source: Rocky Mountain Institute Newsletter HCI’s website is under construction. In the meantime, you can learn about hypercars at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
In Canada, Ontario Power Generation Inc.(OPG) completed the worlds largest spot trade in greenhouse gas emission reduction credits. It purchased credits from Zahren Alternative Power Corporation (ZAPCO) which produces electricity from landfill gas at 20 locations around the U.S. The trade is equivalent to the reduction of 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. OPG (formerly Ontario Hydro) is the fifth largest electricity producer in North America and owns 69 hydro, six fossil and five nuclear facilities. The company has voluntarily committed to stabilize its greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels as of the year 2000. This purchase facilitates technology upgrades, improved energy efficiency and use of cleaner fuels. In the UK, a greenhouse gas emissions trading system has been introduced that will supplement its Climate Change Levy, a tax on industrial energy consumption that starts in April 2001. There are three categories in the trading system: UK firms that accept absolute government limits; firms with negotiated Climate Change Levy agreements; and firms with concrete greenhouse gas emissions reduction proposals. Companies will receive tradable permits based on their annual emissions limit. Twenty-five companies, including BP Amoco and National Power, expressed support for the program.
Read More
Last month, we highlighted Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Technologies which is opening 300 energy retail stores across India. Enersol Associates, Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit is also working to make solar systems available and affordable. Enersol works with the Asociacion para el Desarrollo de Energia Solar (ADESOL) in the Dominican Republic and Honduras to train interested local residents to be solar technicians. The technicians form independent small businesses, which purchase PV equipment, often on credit, then design and sell PV systems suited to the needs and financial capacity of their customers. About 10,000 households enjoy solar energy as a result. Since only a small minority of households can afford to purchase a system, Richard Hansen, founder of Enersol, established SOLUZ Inc. which leases PV systems rather than sells them. SOLUZ uses private capital to own and maintain the PV systems and customers pay only a monthly service fee for electricity ($5-20). The Greenstar business model, just getting underway, uses another innovative approach. The Greenstar Corporation’s first investment is in a small rural Palestinian village in the West Bank. A typical $100,000 investment supplies 4kW of solar power for electricity and water purification, a health clinic, wireless communication and computers connected to […]
Read More
Loading...