- Home
- Featured (Page 169)
Featured
Business Energy Checkup is an interactive resource on the Alliance to Save Energy’s website. It can help you identify the benefits and costs of a wide range of energy efficiency options. As it guides you through the five stages of the U.S. EPA’s Energy Star Buildings program, it shows you how to to reducing operating costs and lowering air pollution emissions. There is a similar program for homes. [sorry this link is no longer available] [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
Jamaica, one of the Caribbean’s principal tourist destinations has been leading the charge toward environmentally sustainable tourism for some time. In November, ’98, the 84-room Negril Cabins Resort became the first in the world to achieve Green Globe certification, closely followed by Sea Splash Resort, Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, and Sandals Negril Resort & Spa. Green Globe’s standards were introduced to Jamaica through a USAID-funded project, EAST (Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism), which is implemented through the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association. SGS, one of the world’s largest certifiers, provides independent assessment of environmental improvements. EAST generates awareness and understanding of the benefits of auditing and the use of environmental management systems in business operations. It also teaches Jamaicans the technical skills which are necessary to run a successful EMS programme. According to Negril Cabins Resort owner, Maxi Bell, “Our preparations for certification have helped immensely in terms of the overall management and environmental efficiency of the hotel. The environmental improvements have already paid back in terms of the cost of operating the hotel, and in terms of the well being of the property and grounds.” Located next to Jamaica’s largest and best preserved wetlands with its hundreds of rare […]
Read More
Green Century Funds and Franklin Research & Development have filed resolutions with ARCO and Exxon respectively to halt plans for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The resolutions are part of a campaign including USPIRG, Greenpeace and the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union (ILWU). One of the big sustainable business news stories this month was the speech ARCO CEO, Mike Bowlin, gave “on the last days of the Age of Oil” (News Briefs). Interesting. The campaign to designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness (closing it to oil drilling) has been going on for about 15 years.
Read More
Santa Monica, California is the first city in the world to have all its municipal power needs supplied by renewable energy. The City Council voted unanimously to purchase five MW of power from Commonwealth Energy – the equivalent to supply 5,000-6,000 homes. The power will come from geothermal plants located in Sonoma County. Clean energy will cost Santa Monica only about five-percent more. lori@ceert.org Source: Green Power Notes: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
Santa Monica, California is the first city in the world to have all its municipal power needs supplied by renewable energy. The City Council voted unanimously to purchase five MW of power from Commonwealth Energy – the equivalent to supply 5,000-6,000 homes. The power will come from geothermal plants located in Sonoma County. Clean energy will cost Santa Monica only about five-percent more. lori@ceert.org Source: Green Power Notes: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
After pioneering such large-scale, megatourism destinations as Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Cancn, Mexico is promoting the small-is-beautiful approach of ecotourism. Local guides are being trained throughout the country and some of its state tourism offices. Oaxaca and Veracruz, for instance, are at the forefront of marketing Mexico’s natural destinations. The new book, Mexico: Adventures in Nature guides travelers to environmental destinations in which your visit is a vote for conservation and local economic well-being. Until recently, most of Mexico’s protected areas and biosphere reserves were simply off-limits to tourism. Either the government tried to keep areas “tourist-free” because of the lack of park guides, or the areas themselves were too remote from the main tourism corridors to attract visitors. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
In addition to environment benefits, energy efficiency and pollution prevention have other significant business payoffs. A growing list of case examples are online at the American Council for Energy Efficiency website. “Making Business Sense of E2 and P2”, by
Read More
Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol will create one to two million jobs in environmentally-related fields in the European Union over the next 11 years, according to Ritt Bjerregaard, European Commissioner for Environment and Nuclear Safety. At least 3.5 million people in the European Union presently work in such jobs. Energy-efficient technologies, renewable energy sources and taxes on conventional energy sources will all create jobs. “Estimates show the job potential of wind energy can be as high as 320,000 jobs, and that of biomass production to 1,000,000 jobs,” Bjerregaard said. She predicted that it would be mainly small and medium-sized companies that will create these new jobs as they change production processes. Companies that use clean technologies and innovative solutions will gain competitive advantage as they save costs, avoid pollution, use fewer resources such as energy and water. Their expansion will lead to job creation. Bjerregaard says, “Studies in Germany and the U.K. show that cleaner cars and more and better public transport systems not only improve urban air quality but also create employment. Similarly, increased activity in recycling and the provision of green spaces result in new businesses opportunities and thus new jobs.” She predicts organic farming and sustainable forestry […]
Read More
You can run an environmental management system (EMS) gap analysis on Greenbridge Management’s website. Save your results and track your progress. The diagnostic tools are accompanied by extensive “how-to” tips, references, sample procedures, list of environmental issues across industries, and discussion forum. green@greenbridge.com http://www.greenbridge.com
Read More
The oil industry is heavily subsidized at US$114.6 billion a year. If we included the costs of securing and protecting oil supplies, extracting and processing it, gas would cost $15.14 per gallon. The International Centre for Technology Assessment released a report which examined over 40 cost factors associated with gasoline production – adding up to $1.69 trillion per year. The U.S. government spends $1.6 billion yearly on regulatory oversight, pollution cleanup and liability costs connected to the oil industry. The U.S. Defense Department allocates $55-95 billion a year to safeguard the world’s petroleum resources. Most state income taxes are based on oil firms’ lower federal tax bills, which result in companies paying US $123-323 million less in state taxes. The renewable energy and energy conservation industry sectors are concerned that the subsidies distort the free market and make renewables less economically competitive. They call for leveling the economic playing field, either by giving them the same subsidies, or by withdrawing the subsidies from the oil industry. FROM Gallon Environment Letter
Read More
Loading...