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Citigroup is switching from virgin to 30% postconsumer recycled copy paper, demonstrating that companies can make very real environmental improvements without adding costs. “We’re especially excited about this because it is a simple, yet effective change, says Tom Murray, Alliance for Environmental Innovation (part of Environmental Defense) the group that helped them make the switch.This change applies to Citibank, Global Corporate and Investment Bank, and Global Investment Management locations in the US. The recycled paper costs the same or less than the virgin paper the company had been using.As the world’s largest financial services firm, this small change will result in big benefits: savings of 6,700 tons of wood each year, enough to build 500 average single family homes in the U.S. It will also generate annual savings of 1,000 tons of solid waste, 19 million gallons of wastewater pollution, and 2,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.Environmental Defense (ED) and Citigroup hope that other financial service firms will follow to reduce the environmental impacts of their paper use. Virgin copy paper is still the norm in the paper-heavy financial services industry. ED helped Citigroup procure recycled paper at a price equivalent to virgin paper and also helped them develop an […]
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by J.K. FairchildEach day, thousands of trees from the urban forest that stand in the way of commercial development will be removed in the name of progress. Land will be cleared to make room for new buildings and parking lots, causing trees to be cut down. They will most likely be chopped into pieces and sent to the landfill as solid waste. According to Steve Bratkovich, Forest Products Specialist, US Forest Service, “The equivalent of 3.8 billion board feet from municipal trees alone, is annually either landfilled, burned, chipped or left to rot. This is roughly equivalent to 30% of the US annual hardwood lumber production.” To use some of this waste, Marcus von Skepsgardh founded PAL’s Tree Recycling Yard, a nonprofit urban tree recycling program in the San Francisco Bay area. Nationally, PAL’s offers a prototype of a workable urban tree recycling operation and locally, it provides a source of recycled and salvaged wood products for the public, while offering an alternative destination for urban trees and logs otherwise headed for landfill. The end results include substantial landfill diversion, valuable uses for urban waste wood, green building materials, reduced demand for virgin timber, conservation of natural resources, increased public […]
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Amory Lovins dispels the many criticisms about the promise of hydrogen that have popped up lately.
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This small Canadian company's stock is soaring, mostly thanks to soy milk.
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*News and Events DOE Awards $75 Million for Advanced Hydrogen Fuel Cells DOE Promotes Smart Energy Use at Atlanta Forum Missouri-Rolla Leads as American Solar Challenge Nears End DOE to Fund Half of New York Superconductor Cable Project Court Ruling Adds Uncertainty to California Ethanol Market Ford Report: Company to Fall Short of SUV Fuel Economy Goal*Energy Connections2003 Shaping Up as Third-Warmest Year on RecordDOE Awards $75 Million for Advanced Hydrogen Fuel CellsDOE announced on July 17th that it will award a total of $75 million to 13 firms and educational institutions for research in advanced fuel cells for vehicles and buildings. The projects will tackle such technical challenges as fuel reformers (to convert common fuels into hydrogen), more durable fuel cell components that can withstand higher temperatures, methods to manage heat and moisture within fuel cells, recycling of expensive platinum catalysts, and replacement of platinum catalysts with less-expensive metals. DOE also recently awarded $21 million to 11 firms and universities for hydrogen storage, production, and sensor technologies. See the July 17th press release: [sorry this link is no longer available]All together, DOE has awarded $96 million this year in support of the President’s FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiatives, and […]
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*News and Events DOE Kicks Off New “Smart Energy Campaign” State Energy Collaborative Seeks Energy Efficiency Projects Twenty Solar Cars Now Racing Along Historic Route 66 McKnight Foundation to Provide $8 Million for Renewables U.K. Seeks 6,000 Megawatts of Offshore Wind Power*Site NewsSolar Living InstituteDOE Kicks Off New “Smart Energy Campaign”Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said on July 9th that all Americans should practice smart energy use, and he launched a new DOE public awareness campaign to educate businesses, homeowners, and consumers on ways they can cut energy bills. The Smart Energy Campaign emphasizes DOE’s new Energysavers.gov Web site and features a series of public service announcements and a four-city Smart Energy Tour led by Secretary Abraham. The tour began on July 9th at Long Island City, New York, and wound through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 10th. The campaign will be supported by electric utilities through announcements inserted into utility bills, and DOE is encouraging state governors and the media to support the campaign. DOE will also hold a series of regional summits on energy use, with the first to take place in Atlanta. See the press releases from July 9th, 10th and 14th on […]
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*News and Events DOE Awards $89 Million to 19 States for Home Weatherization New Large Wind Power Plants Planned for New York, Washington New Catalyst Produces Hydrogen from Biomass Without Platinum Research Institute Advances Grid Connection Technology Indiana Fuel Terminal Offers Biodiesel, Easing Distribution Thirty Solar Cars to Race on Route 66 Starting July 13th*Energy ConnectionsU.S. Energy-Related Carbon Emissions Increased in 2002DOE Awards $89 Million to 19 States for Home WeatherizationDOE announced on July 1st its award of $89.4 million to 19 states for energy efficiency improvements to homes of low-income families. Low-income families spend an average of 14 percent of their income on energy, compared with 3.5 percent for the average American. The grants were awarded to Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [sorry this link is no longer available]Weatherization reduces an average home’s energy costs by $215 a year. The program, which is administered through the states and 970 local agencies, gives a priority to low-income households with elderly members, people with disabilities, and children. See DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program Web site at:[sorry this link is no longer available]New Large […]
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*News and Events Xcel Energy Plans 450 Megawatts of Wind Power for Minnesota Helios Solar Airplane Crashes During Test Flight Wave Power Plant Now Supplying Denmark’s Electrical Grid Corn-Derived Plastic Provides Deli Packaging in U.S. Grocery Onsite Energy Cuts Energy Costs at Food Processing Plants Texas and Florida Schools Win Middle School Science Bowl*Energy ConnectionsNatural Gas Crisis Ahead: DOE Encourages Smart Energy UseXcel Energy Plans 450 Megawatts of Wind Power for MinnesotaXcel Energy has selected three wind power projects totaling 450 megawatts in capacity as part of its portfolio of new energy projects to meet its customer’s power needs over the next six years. The proposed projects include a 200-megawatt wind plant to be built near Chandler by enXco, a 150-megawatt wind plant to be built in Lincoln County by PPM Energy, and a 100-megawatt wind plant to be built by FPL Energy in Austin. The two larger plants are located inthe southeast corner of the state and the third plant will be located due south of Minneapolis, near the state’s southern border. The three projects were selected as the result of an all-source solicitation issued by Xcel Energy in 2001.“The strong showing of wind power in this bidding process […]
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*News and Events G8 Plans to Boost Energy Efficiency and Renewables Worldwide DOE, USDA, and Interior to Promote Woody Biomass for Energy New Large Wind Power Additions Planned for Oklahoma, Oregon Massachusetts Launches $30 Million Green Power Project World’s First Offshore Tidal Power Prototype Now Operating Hydrogen Group Disputes Study on Potential Ozone Impacts*Site News Virtual-Web Energy Demonstration Construction Center*Energy ConnectionsReport Finds Carbon Emissions Growing Despite Restrictions G8 Plans to Boost Energy Efficiency and Renewables WorldwideThe group of eight leaders of large industrialized countries, known simply as the G8, recently set forth plans to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy development around the world.The early-June G8 Summit, which brought together the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and France, resulted in a document that noted “the need … to support the development of cleaner, sustainable and more efficient technologies.” The document commits to promoting energy efficiency and encouraging rapid innovation and market introduction of clean energy technologies. To increase the share of renewable energy in global energy use, and to accelerate the development of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, the G8 emphasizes collaborative research with an emphasis on achieving competitive energy prices. The […]
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The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) recently released Green Building Guidelines: Meeting the Demand for Low-Energy, Resource-Efficient Homes. The book is the second generation of sustainable residential design guidelines created in cooperation with the National Association of Home Builders. Written in plain language with illustrations, case studies and checklists, the book is targeted for homebuilders just starting to learn about the elements of high performance home design. It encourages builders to think about the issues in an integrated and holistic way. SBIC also offers a Guidelines workshop that addresses site-specific, climatic conditions and typically includes local case studies. sbic@sbicouncil.org www.sbicouncil.org—Portland, Oregon’s Office of Sustainable Development’s Green Building Division recently released a report, “ReThinking Development: Portland’s Strategic Investment in Green Building.” It details the programs they have implemented over the past two years that have accelerated interest and activity in Portland’s emerging green building industry. In early 2001, they set a two year goal of having green building designs for at least 600 housing units and 3 million square feet of commercial and mixed-use development in the city. As of February 2003, 41 commercial and mixed-use buildings, totaling 3.1 million square feet were built green. Portland’s Green Investment Fund and the […]
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