SoCal Nature Blog

Build a School Garden

2010-08-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Starting a community garden in an elementary school provides educational value, as well as parent involvement -- and delicious, fresh food!

El Nino to La Nina - water Talks

2010-07-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

Green Job Wizard is a directory of career certifications for more than 400 jobs. I've put this directory together to encourage people to continue learning -- and benefit from their efforts -- by adding job certifications to their knowledge and skill level.

Continuing education is important to optimize good decisions -- such as conservation of natural resources, energy and use of natural materials vs. toxins.

Check it out... if you know of other quality certification programs, please let me know at carolyn((at))solutionsforgreen.com (Which (solutionsforgreen.com) is a directory of green companies -- and who knows this might be good job hunting ground for people with good job certifications!)

:-) Carolyn

Excellent tips

2009-12-04T10:38:00.001-08:00

Bain & Co.. Video of Winning in Turbulence, tips for reducing costs and improving sales..

in reference to: Bain & Company: Winning in turbulence < Hot topics < Consulting expertise (view on Google Sidewiki)

California Green Solutions

2008-11-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

This blog has been forwarded to my main website, CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com in order to keep all info in one spot. I'll be transferring these articles to the website... eventually :-) Carolyn

Petitions to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Under Clean Water Act in California

2007-03-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release, February 28, 2007
CONTACT: Miyoko Sakashita, (415) 436-9682 x 308
Conservation Group Petitions to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Under Clean Water Act

Ocean Acidification From Carbon Dioxide Emissions Threatens Marine Life

SAN FRANCISCO— Today the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the state of California to regulate carbon dioxide pollution under the federal Clean Water Act. The petition marks the first step towards regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, cement kilns, oil refineries, and other industrial sources due to the adverse effects of carbon dioxide pollution on the ocean.

Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas, and not only contributes to global warming but also causes ocean acidification. The ocean absorbs CO2, which reacts with seawater to make it more acidic—thus altering the chemical composition of the ocean. Approximately half of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning and cement production over the past 200 years has been absorbed by the oceans.

Carbon dioxide pollution has already lowered average ocean pH by 0.11 units, with a pH change of 0.5 units projected by the end of the century under current emission trajectories. These changes are likely to have devastating impacts on the entire ocean ecosystem.

The primary known impact of acidification is impairment of calcification, the process whereby animals such as corals, crabs, abalone, oysters, and sea urchins make shells and skeletons. Many species of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which form the basis of the marine food web, are also particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. Laboratory studies have shown that at carbon dioxide concentrations likely to occur in the ocean in the next few decades, the shells of many marine species dissolve, killing the organisms. Absent significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, ocean acidification will accelerate, likely ultimately leading to the collapse of oceanic food webs and catastrophic impacts on the global environment.

“Ocean acidification is as grave a threat to the health of our planet as global warming,” said Miyoko Sakashita, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity who specializes in ocean issues. “Fortunately, the Clean Water Act provides the tools to regulate carbon dioxide pollution, which will help address not only ocean acidification but also global warming.”

While the Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush administration has taken the position that carbon dioxide cannot be regulated as a “pollutant” under the Clear Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency already lists pH as a “pollutant” in its Clean Water Act regulations. Because CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, lowering the pH of seawater, carbon dioxide emissions therefore can and must be regulated under the Act.

Today’s petitions, submitted to California’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards, seek the listing of all ocean waters under the jurisdiction of the state as “impaired” due to the lowering of pH from the absorption of carbon dioxide pollution. Under the Clean Water Act, states must create a list of water bodies that are being degraded or not attaining water-quality standards and set limits on the input of pollutants into these bodies of water to prevent further degradation. In this case, the Clean Water Act would require limits on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to ocean acidification.

“Until Congress passes legislation explicitly aimed at substantially reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the Clean Water Act is very likely the best legal mechanism for curtailing these emissions that are destroying our oceans as well as our atmosphere,” said Sakashita.

The Center for Biological Diversity will shortly be submitting similar petitions to all other states that have jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act over ocean waters. Legal action under the Clean Water Act is also being prepared against some of the nation’s largest carbon dioxide emitters for polluting activities that are contributing to ocean acidification.

A copy of the petition and other information on ocean acidification can be found at http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/marine/acidification.html.

###
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national conservation organization with more than 32,000 members nationwide dedicated to protecting endangered species and wild places.

New Water Supply Coalition pushes for water supply infrastructure

2007-02-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Advocates for new water supplies nationwide have come together to form the New Water Supply Coalition to push for expanded federal support for water supply infrastructure. The Washington DC-based coalition of public water agencies and water industry companies will seek congressional support for the development of new water supply projects nationwide including water recycling, seawater and brackish groundwater desalination and groundwater reclamation projects.

The New Water Supply Coalition is an expanded organization that grew from the U.S. Desalination Coalition (www.usdesal.org), formed in 2002, to seek federal funding for the construction of seawater and brackish groundwater desalination projects. The U.S. Desalination Coalition has several major public water agency members from Florida, Texas and California. The U.S. Desalination Coalition raised congressional awareness of the nation’s looming water supply crisis and successfully sought the introduction of legislation in the 109th Congress that would have provided $200 million in funding for desalination projects.

“Our growing national population and the challenges posed by climate change make the development of new water supplies a critical priority for our nation,” said Hal Furman, Executive Director of the New Water Supply Coalition. “We have the technology to develop new water supplies if it becomes a national priority, but time is of the essence.”

Current members of the Coalition include:
∑ American Water
∑ Eastern Municipal Water District (CA)
∑ El Dorado Irrigation District (CA)
∑ Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
∑ Honolulu Board of Water Supply
∑ JEA – Jacksonville, FL
∑ Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
∑ San Diego County Water Authority
∑ San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (CA)
∑ ST. John’s River Water Management District (FL)
∑ South Florida Water Management District
∑ Southwest Florida Water Management District
∑ Texas Water Conservation Association
∑ West Basin Municipal Water District (CA)

The New Water Supply Coalition is currently drafting new legislation that would authorize public water supply agencies to issue tax credit bonds to help finance construction of new water supply infrastructure. Eligible projects under the program envisioned by the Coalition would include: coastal seawater and inland brackish groundwater desalination plants, water recycling projects, and groundwater contamination clean-up projects that create new water supplies. The Coalition will be seeking congressional sponsors to introduce this legislation in the 110th Congress now in session.
For more information about the New Water Supply Coalition visit www.newwatersupply.org.

A study finds climate change will further reduce Colorado River flows.

2007-02-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

Global warming will worsen drought and reduce flows on the Colorado River, a key water source for Southern California and six other Western states.

The study, prepared by a National Research Council committee, paints a sobering picture of the future as the water needs of a rapidly expanding population test the limits of a river system further strained by the effects of climate change.

The authors concluded that there was no easy solution. Such measures as conservation, desalination and water recycling will all help, they said, but won't offer a panacea.

The report, which examined climate modeling and tree-ring data, reaffirms a more pessimistic assessment of river hydrology that has emerged in recent years.

Scientists have concluded that historically the Colorado River system, which supplies water to 25 million people and several million acres of crop and ranch land, has been drier and more prone to severe drought than was the case in the early 20th century, when the river's flows were divvied up among the seven states in the basin.

That period, it turns out, was unusually wet, prompting an overly generous estimate of how much water would be available to farms and cities. Ancient tree rings, which provide graphic evidence of past precipitation patterns, indicate it had been three centuries since the basin was last awash in that much water.

Orange County begins desalting system

2007-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

The Irvine Ranch Water System
is beginning a project to remove naturally occurring salts and any residue of agriculture fertilizers – nitrates – in an area mostly north and west of the old El Toro Marine Corps base.

The desalter project uses five wells to pass the water through a series of filters to remove any salts and nitrates. It will provide enough water to serve 50,000 people.

Every year, the desalter system will process enough water to cover a soccer field a mile deep. The well holes are 12 to 16 inches in diameter and will draw water from depths of 180 to 1,015 feet in a water-laden zone of sand and rock. Once the water is processed, it will be piped into the district’s drinking water purification system.

The project will continue until the salt and nitrate levels in the groundwater meet state and federal standards.

The desalter project parallels a Navy project on the old air base to remove solvent that was used to clean aircraft parts and has polluted a plume of groundwater.

Once that water is cleaned, it will be recycled and used for landscaping and toilets in office buildings. None of that water is to be used for drinking. The Navy project is expected to take 30 years. The desalter project may take longer,

AltBuild Building materials and design expo - May 18-19

2007-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

Alt Build Alternative building materials & Design expo

Over 100 exhibits will feature manufacturers of green building materials, landscape and water conservation products, retailers, interior design products & furnishings, utility companies, non-profit organizations and city and state agencies.

Free admission
Free seminars throughout the day.
Friday, May 18th and Saturday, May 19
Santa Monica Air Center - Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Food Contamination Incidents Mushroom

2007-02-22T09:11:00.000-08:00

Food supply...

One of California's major industries is food production, so is important to monitor the state of the business. Sustainable practices apply to food production, and are critical to our health and well being. Daily decisions must be made that honor quality, regional production, and green distribution.

IN THE SPACE OF EIGHT days, peanut butter, fresh cantaloupe, baby food, chicken strips and now mushrooms have all been recalled because of suspected or actual contamination. A call to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was unreturned.

BJ's Wholesale Club announced a voluntary recall of its prepackaged, private-label brand "Wellsley Farms" mushrooms yesterday after testing turned up possible trace amounts of E. coli bacteria. In a news release, the company said it had received no reports of illness, and recalled them as a precaution.

On Monday, Kraft Foods recalled its Oscar Mayer grilled chicken breast strips after it was found to contain Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause listeriosis, a rare but serious infection. There have been no reported cases of illness linked to the chicken. Kraft is advising consumers via a news release to return products with a "Best When Used By" date of April 19 for full refund.

Last Friday, Dole recalled cantaloupes that had been imported from Costa Rica, found to contain life-threatening salmonella. No illness was reported. Also on Friday, Hain recalled jars of Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast baby food because they may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, a life-threatening illness. No contamination or illness has been reported.

On Wednesday of last week, ConAgra recalled Peter Pan peanut butter as well as Wal-Mart's Great Value peanut butter after 300 people in 39 states were sickened by salmonella.

Relatedly, the USDA announced earlier this week that it was implementing the first changes to its meat and poultry plant inspections program in a decade.

Plants with a history of problems will receive greater scrutiny, and conversely, processing plants that have better records of meat and poultry handling will see fewer inspections for contamination from E. coli, salmonella and other germs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are an estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States, the vast majority of which are mild and cause symptoms that last a day or two. Some cases are more serious, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, and those with weakened immune systems.

Dole Corporate Wellness Toolkit

2007-02-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

The Dole Nutrition Institute

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA. – February 21, 2007 – The Dole Nutrition Institute today announced the launch of a Corporate Wellness Toolkit that businesses can use to promote nutritious diets and healthy lifestyles among their employees. The Dole Corporate Wellness Toolkit packages components of Dole’s own successful employee wellness program that was implemented in October 2003 at the company’s Westlake Village, CA corporate headquarters. Since its launch, Dole’s employee wellness program has garnered official recognition, earning Dole the California Fit Business Award in the 1,000+-employee category.

“We created the Corporate Wellness Toolkit as a resource for our business partners who want to join the wellness bandwagon but don’t know where to start,” said Marty Ordman, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “We offer a co-branded nutrition newsletter, healthy food service recipes, nutrition tip hold music, signage, kiosks, videos and much more.”

Other components of Dole’s employee wellness program include:

Recipes from its “Model Cafeteria,” including fish entrees, vegetarian/vegan selections and healthy desserts.

37 table tents providing health, fitness, and nutrition tips.

Free afternoon crudités plus a vending machine that dispenses a free healthy snack to each employee daily. Dole employees can use the their employee card key to access a variety of healthy choices including juice, raisins, baby carrots, grapes, dates, fruit bowls and other healthy items.

Onsite Yoga, Boot Camp and Strength and Tone fitness classes

Subsidized Personal Trainers.

A state-of-the art fitness room with cardio machines, strength-training equipment and free weights as well as men’s and women’s locker rooms.

Dole Nutrition News, a monthly electronic newsletter containing the latest nutrition research, public policy updates, recipes and diet & fitness advice. Sign up today at www.dolenutrition.com.

Healthy signage encouraging stair use.

Looping atrium videos, produced by the Dole Nutrition Institute, on various relevant health topics.

A “Lunch & Learn” program offers regular seminars on health-related topics ranging from meditation to diabetes to fitness training.

“Junk-Food Free” vending machines are stocked with healthy snack substitutions like nuts, dried fruit, protein bars and baked chips.

According to Ordman, the Dole Corporate Wellness Toolkit is another example of the company’s commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles and the benefits of a nutritious diet. The company also is a founding member of the National 5 A Day for Better Health Program and is a leader in developing technology-based nutrition education programs for children.

For more information about the Dole Employee Wellness program, go to dolenutrition.com.

Dole Food Company, Inc, with 2005 revenues of $5.9 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged foods and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.

This release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations, are generally identifiable by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends" and similar expressions. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied herein include weather-related phenomena; market responses to industry volume pressures; product and raw materials supplies and pricing; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; economic crises and security risks in developing countries; international conflict; and quotas, tariffs and other governmental actions. Further information on the factors that could affect Dole's financial results is included in its SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K.

For more information please contact:

Marty Ordman, VP Marketing & Communications
Dole Food Company
818-874-4834
www.dole.com

US Business Council for Sustainable Development

2007-02-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

Mission: Promoting Sustainable Development by Creating Value through Action, Establishing Networks and Partnerships, and by Providing a Voice for Industry.

The US BCSD creates value through:
* Initiatives that foster sustainable development
* Networks and partnerships
* Forums that provide a voice for business

Members
BakerBotts
Baker Hughes
Battelle Pacific NW National Laboratory*
Blasland, Bouck & Lee
Cemex
ConocoPhillips*
Conservation Capital
Cook Composites and Polymers (CCP)
The Dow Chemical Company*
Holcim
Hydrodec
Lafarge
Marathon Oil Co.
RETEC Group
Shell
Temple-Inland*
Thompson & Knight
URS

The US BCSD is supported by member dues and through the Foundation for Sustainable Development; a non-profit corporation dedicated to charitable and educational promotion of sustainable development.

The primary work of the US BCSD is to deliver projects that demonstrate the business value of sustainable development. Projects are member-led and are designed to create value through economic returns and environmental and social benefits. The US BCSD leverages industry resources with matching funds from government, foundation, and partner organizations.

Membership in the US BCSD is by invitation, but any company dedicated to sustainable development is invited to contact us at (512) 892-6411.

...I'm cuious...and the more I read, the more curious I get.

United States Business Council for Sustainable Development
4425 South Mopac, Bldg. II, Suite 202
Austin, Texas 78735
Telephone: (512) 892-6411

World Business Council for Sustainable Development...makes statement...

2007-02-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

World Business Council for Sustainable Development members have issued a statement of intent about finding better ways to do business. Now we watch for action.

Through the statement, the business leaders, all members of the Development Focus Area Core Team (FACT), pledge “to play our part in building capacity and empowering people so they have the opportunity to move out of poverty and into the formal economy.”

Intending to help create new businesses, new markets, new suppliers, new employees and new customers among the world's low-income segment, the FACT members strongly believe that “if these efforts are to be substantial and sustainable, they must also be profitable. Our major contribution to society will therefore come through our core business activities.”

While business is the engine of economic growth, it also needs a favorable investment climate to scale up its contribution to development. The statement highlights the following priorities for collaborative action between business, government and civil society: a fair and competitive global market that is non-discriminatory, effective legal and regulatory frameworks, support for small and medium enterprises and investments in core infrastructure.

With this statement the business leaders invite government and civil society leaders “to work with us to create an environment of mutual advantage where business success goes hand in hand with successful societies the world over.”

Some of the signatory members include senior managers from AES Corp, Anglo American, BP,GE, Toyota, ane Unilever.

Through its Development Focus Area, the WBCSD is seeking to:

Raise awareness of the business contribution to development, helping business and non-business stakeholders understand what is possible by providing case studies, guides and tools that advance the understanding of what business can and cannot do to address development challenges and opportunities.

Advocate for improvements to the investment climate working collaboratively with multiple stakeholders to create a more enabling business environment and seek out synergies between official development assistance and foreign direct investment.

Move into action – working with WBCSD members, its Regional Network partners and other stakeholders to broker new business ventures that are both good business and good for development. A key element in this work is a partnership agreement with Netherlands development agency SNV to broker real and sustainable business in the Andean and Central American regions of Latin America.

“Beyond a narrow range of experts, companies now need to get their broad employee base engaged and motivated to work towards sustainable development in their daily jobs and develop their ability to interact meaningfully with a range of key stakeholder groups.” Cristina Garci a-Orcoyen, CEO, Fundacion Entorno-BCSD Spain

The regional BCSDs (Business Council for Sustainable Development) and partner organizations, extending from Europe, Africa and the Americas to Asia and Oceania, are united by their shared commitment to provide business leadership for sustainable development in their respective country or region.

US Business Council for Sustainable Development
Andy MANGAN, Executive Director
Tel: +1 (512) 892 6411
Fax: +1 (512) 892 6443
E-mail: Mangan@usbcsd.org
Web site: www.usbcsd.org

ECO2 plastic recycling plants for Northern and Southern California

2007-02-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. Feb 8, 2007 -- ECO2 Plastics, eco-friendly recycling company announced that it is ready to launch its recycling operations in California.

The company intends to use its financing to ramp up its recycling plant in Northern California to full-scale operation and begin development on a second plant in Southern California. ECO2 Plastics longer-term plan is to own and operate plastic recycling plants worldwide. Their proprietary technology gives them the ability to produce high-quality recycled plastic flake at a low cost, while minimizing environmental impact.

ECO2's typical recycling plant can produce 9,000 lbs. of clean plastic flake per hour. A similarly sized water-based plant consumes up to 4,500 gallons of water per hour, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, then disposes the water, chemical contaminants, paper and plastic residue back into the environment. ECO2 uses no water and delivers the same high quality recycled plastic flake without the waste or chemicals found in existing water-based processes. ECO2's patented and patent-pending recycling process enables the Company to be the lowest-cost producer of recycled plastic flake, affording it the highest profit margins.

ECO2 will build a recycling plant in Riverbank, near Modesto, and on building a second plant in Southern California. The company's strategy is to own and run plastic recycling plants.

Rod Rougelot is the company's CEO. ECO2 was formerly named ITEC Environmental Group. Itec Environmental Group Inc. was approved for a $2 million low-interest loan from the California Integrated Waste Management Board through the Recycle Market Development Zone Loan Program.

Rod Rougelot, CEO of ECO2 Plastics
Eugene McColley, co-founder of Roaring Fork Capital Management, one of ECO2's investors.
Lawrence A. Krause, Principal of KW Securities Corporation

BACKGROUND:

The National Nuclear Security Administration - Kansas City Plant developed a process that uses liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide to blast oil residue off of empty plastic motor oil bottles. With this process, which produces no waste streams, both the residual oil and clean plastic can then be reused.

The Kansas City Plant patented this process and licensed the technology to Itec Environmental Group, which used it to develop a plastics recycling system called the ECO2. Itec has been able to use this system to recycle not only motor oil bottles, but almost every other type of consumer plastic as well. ECO2 has proven to be superior to conventional plastic recycling methods because it produces no waste, generates cleaner and more marketable plastic, and can recover residual oil for recycling, which no other system can do.

Not only is the ECO2 system more environmentally friendly and less expensive, but it creates a better product. Though originally intended for cleaning used oil bottles, this technology can completely remove glue, labels, oil and dirt from plastic containers as well. It also eliminates all odors, making the plastic cleaner, more marketable and more profitable than plastics cleaned with water-washing. ECO2 generates FDA-approved clean plastics, which are in high demand in the plastics industry, especially for use in produce packaging.

Because of this technology transfer effort, Itec has been able to commercialize the ECO2 recycling method and start up a promising new company that has captured the interest of both the plastics industry and environmental waste management organizations.

Contact: George Bohnert, (816) 997-5069, gbohnert@kcp.com

SOURCE: http://www.er.doe.gov/Accomplishments_Awards/flc/2006.htm

NWF Plan to use native plants for biofuel

2007-02-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

The National Wildlife Federation has announced a proposal to help farmers switch to growing native grasses, trees, and other plants that have the potential to double energy yields per acre, with just a fraction of the energy needed to produce corn-based ethanol.

The Biofuels Innovation Program would provide financial and technical assistance to landowners to produce native perennial energy crops and crop mixes in a manner that protects the nation's soil, air, water and wildlife. The growing of these dedicated energy crops would help support the development or expansion of facilities that use the material for biofuels, electricity, heat, or bio-based products. The program could be enacted under the energy title of the Farm Bill of 2007.

Our native grasses which are so important to wildlife have been disappearing but this program provides an important incentive to plant mixes of natives that can do double duty for energy and wildlife.

The program would support production of switchgrass for ethanol, it would also support jojoba for biodiesel, mixed prairie grasses for gasification to generate electricity, trees or grasses for “co-generation” of electricity, and other alternative energies. The plants used must be perennials native to the United States, and not have the potential to become invasive.

The Biofuels Innovation Program provides an incentive to grow our energy future in a way that provides multiple benefits for farmers, wildlife, hunters and anglers and energy users. It's a win-win-win plan.

MIT launches Laboratory for Sustainable Business (S-Lab)

2007-02-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

As a world leader in business, engineering and science, MIT is uniquely positioned to define the risks and opportunities involved in creating sustainability-based business models for the future.

S-Lab will teach future CEOs and business leaders the challenges of implementation and how the science of sustainability can be best communicated to policymakers and citizens.

Key to addressing sustainability, says Locke, is in re-defining it. "Up until now we have considered aspects of sustainability -- climate, energy, water, food, poverty, and social development -- in isolation," he says. "S-Lab is developing an integrated framework to consider the system-wide dynamics of human society along with tools and methodologies for measuring and monitoring sustainability efforts and their applications."

Interactive computer-based simulations will enable students to play the role of entrepreneurs seeking to maximize their profits investing in companies that impact the environment.

SOURCE: Greenbiz.com

UC Berkeley establishes Energy Biosciences Institute for Biofuel research

2007-02-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

Energy Biosciences Institute is a partnership led by UC Berkeley to find clean, sustainable sources of energy and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Oil giant BP will give $500 million and California has pledged $40 million to the center.

UC Berkeley will team up with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to develop fuel from plants, improve the extraction of oil from existing reserves and find ways to keep carbon from entering the atmosphere.
This is the first research laboratory dedicated to the development of alternative fuels. California claims to be the world center for biofuels research. A building to house the institute will be built on UC land at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Officials of both universities said they expect the institute to begin operating by June. The institute will be part of a broader effort by the UC to develop alternative fuels from hydrogen, helium, wind and solar energy.

BP has agreed to provide $50 million a year for 10 years to the institute, an unusual partnership between the universities, the oil company and state and federal governments. As many as 50 BP employees will work at the two campuses. Much of what the institute develops will be made available to the public, but BP will retain exclusive control over certain discoveries.

Steven Chu, who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997 and is director of the Lawrence Berkeley lab, said the institute would take a team approach with scientists from different disciplines collaborating in as many as 25 groups. The institute will create the new discipline of "energy biosciences" and will offer instruction to undergraduate and graduate students in the hope of nurturing a new generation of experts in alternative fuels.

"This is our generation's moon shot," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.

EPA's Top 25 Green Power Partners

2007-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

EPA's Top 25 Green Power Partners is listed in order of purchase volume:

1. Wells Fargo & Company
2. Whole Foods Market
3. U.S. Air Force
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. Starbucks
7. DuPont Company
8. U.S. Department of Energy
9. Vail Resorts Inc.
10. HSBC North America
11. Cisco Systems Inc.
12. Staples
13. New York University
14. The World Bank Group
15. University of Pennsylvania
16. IBM Corporation
17. Carbonfund.org
18. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
19. NatureWorks LLC
20. Sprint Nextel
21. Safeway Inc.
22. Pennsylvania State University
23. Kohl's Department Stores
24. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
25. The Tower Companies

The EPA Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the use of electricity from fossil fuels and to diversify America's fuel supply.

Ideas wanted; giant CO2 vacuum cleaner for the atmosphere!

2007-02-10T17:23:00.001-08:00

LONDON (Reuters) - Airline tycoon Richard Branson announced on Friday a $25 million prize for the first person to come up with a way of scrubbing greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere in the battle to beat global warming.

Flanked by climate campaigners former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and British ex-diplomat Crispin Tickell, Branson said he hoped the prize would spur innovative and creative thought to save mankind from self-destruction.

"Man created the problem and therefore man should solve the problem," he told a news conference to reveal the Virgin Earth Challenge.

"Unless we can devise a way of removing CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the earth's atmosphere we will lose half of all species on earth, all the coral reefs, 100 million people will be displaced, farmlands will become deserts and rain forests wastelands."

Ideas wanted; giant CO2 vacuum cleaner for the atmosphere!

2007-02-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

"Man created the problem and therefore man should solve the problem," he told a news conference to reveal the Virgin Earth Challenge.

Alt energy Players and Policies...to come!

2007-02-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

In recent months, venture capitalists have met with most of the 2008 presidential candidates, members of Congress, and officials in the Bush administration and the Energy Department, pushing their ideas for things like tax subsidies and efficiency requirements.

PLAYERS:
Cleantech Group, a research and trade organization representing venture investors in alternative energy.

Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization, noting that the investors are also major potential donors: Ken Cook, president

In 2006, venture capitalists put $727 million into 39 alternative energy start-ups, compared with $195 million in 18 such firms for 2005, according to the National Venture Capital Association. More than a third of the 2006 investments went to technologies related to ethanol, a gasoline alternative that is made from corn and other plant material.

One venture-backed ethanol start-up is Altra, a 50-employee company based in Los Angeles. It offers a twist on ethanol production by making the fuel from nonedible plant matter, producing what is known as cellulosic ethanol....John Denniston, a partner at the Silicon Valley investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers invested in Altra.

Kleiner Perkins has formed the Greentech Innovation Network to bring together entrepreneurs, scientists, academics and policy makers.

The National Venture Capital Association has a committee focused on energy policies.

The most visible lone ranger and one of the most outspoken is Vinod Khosla, a founder of Sun Microsystems and now a partner at Khosla Ventures.

POTENTIAL GOVERNMENTAL POLICY CHANGES:

* Government could require that cars be able to run on either ethanol or gasoline, requiring that 70 percent of new cars sold in the United States by 2010 be able to use more than one type of fuel.

* Government could mandate that 10 percent of gas stations have at least one ethanol pump

* Government could set up a national carbon trading system that would increase demand for ethanol by forcing companies to find greener alternatives to oil and gas.

* Government could change the so-called blender’s credit, a 51-cents-a-gallon subsidy that goes to the company that mixes gasoline with ethanol, typically one of the major gas companies. This money could go to producers. The subsidy to rise when the price of oil falls, or drop when oil prices rise.

Datacenter utility savings are being coordinated in California

2007-02-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

PG&E Pushes for High-Tech Energy Savings
Source: GreenBiz.com

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2007 -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today that it is leading the formation of a nationwide coalition of utilities to discuss and coordinate energy efficiency programs for the high tech sector, focusing on data centers.

"We have developed program and service offerings for the information technology industry, and sharing our knowledge with other utilities will drive energy savings and environmental benefits more widely in this rapidly expanding market," said Roland Risser, Director of Customer Energy Efficiency at PG&E.

PG&E offers a comprehensive portfolio of program and service offerings for the high tech sector, including financial incentives for customers who pursue energy efficiency projects in their data centers. The company was the first to offer incentives for virtualization and server consolidation, a program that is prompting customers to remove underutilized computing equipment using virtualization technology.

PG&E has already undertaken coordination efforts with Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric so that program offerings are consistent across the state, and is now reaching out to utilities in key markets across the country.

"The Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and Northeast are on the top of our list, because these areas have the greatest concentrations of data centers," said Mark Bramfitt, High Tech Segment Manager for PG&E.

California considering banning the incandescent lightbulb by 2112

2007-02-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/16589248.htm">

SACRAMENTO -
Decrying the inefficiency of the common light bulb, a Democratic Assemblyman from Los Angeles wants California to become the first state to ban it - by 2012. Assemblyman Lloyd Levine says compact fluorescent light bulbs are so efficient that consumers should be forced to use them. The compact bulbs use a quarter the energy of a conventional light.

"Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," said Levine, who represents Sherman Oaks. "It's time to take a step forward."

Levine is known for his environmental bent. Last year, he authored legislation to require large supermarkets to recycle plastic bags. Schwarzenegger signed that bill but has not yet taken a position on the light bulb bill.

Levine isn't the only one who's seen the light. Democrat Jared Huffman, who represents San Rafael, is working on a similar bill.

The idea has annoyed some Republicans, who say people should be allowed to make their own choices about which bulbs to buy. But Levine, who heads the Assembly's Utilities and Commerce Committee, points out that the new bulbs are so efficient that electric utilities give them away.

He said replacing one 75-watt incandescent light bulb with a 20-watt compact fluorescent bulb would prevent 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere by electric plants. Carbon dioxide is a major component of the gases that most experts believe are responsible for global warming. Consumers could also save $55 over the life of a single bulb.

California Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

2007-02-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

I think we've got a head of steam! Alternative technologies have come of age. We have the technology...now we need the will. How many more cliches can I apply? We'll see... ;-) But seriously, folks -- here are the resources to help you green your business or home -- or both!

Database of State Incentives for renewable and efficiency - CALIFORNIA LINK

Fascinating compilaton of state-by-state rebates, incentives, programs to assist conversion to alternative energy sources! Highly recommended source for marketing and consumer research.
California's list page includes:

Green Building Incentives
Leasing/Lease Purchase
Local Grant Programs
Local Rebate Programs
Personal Deductions
Production Incentive
Property Tax exemption
State Loan Program
State Rebate Programs
Utility Grant Programs
Utility Loan Programs
Utility Rebate Programs
Alternative Fuel and Vehicle Incentives
Rules, Regulations & Policies
...and Related Initiatives:

Green Power Network
Wind Powering America

Best Practices manual for environmentally preferable purchasing

2007-02-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing for Green California

BEST PRACTICES MANUAL

Access chapters of the Manual from the navigation bar on the right.
I Introduction
II Existing Laws, Mandates, and Guidelines
III Acquiring Environmentally Preferable Products

Finding existing Environmentally Preferable Products

Guiding Principles

Questions to ask before purchasing a product include:

Is the product less hazardous?

Is it reusable or more durable?

Is it made from recycled materials? Do we really need to buy a virgin product when the recycled version is just as good?

What happens to the product at the end of its life? Can it be recycled? Will the manufacturer take the product back? Will it need special disposal?

Does it conserve energy or water?

What is needed to properly maintain and/or operate this product?

Have its environmental attributes been certified by a non-biased, widely-accepted source?

Available Products and Sources

The California Department of General Services develops and administers contracts for goods and services that have environmental attributes. Many of these contracted products and services are healthier and safer for people, and protect the environment. Local governments have access to these contracts as well.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency maintains a Database of Environmental Information for Products and Services - a tool to make it easier to purchase products and services with reduced environmental impacts. Environmental information on hundreds of products and services is included in this database.

... And SoCalGREEN is bring this information into focus for Southern California. We give California green companies visibility in our own region...so that together we can grow and green our own backyards.

Removing uranium from drinking water

2007-02-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

Uranium is a natural substance that leaches into rivers due to mining and other natural resource activities.

Moab, Utah is the site of a uranium mine that has caused concern that the Colorado River could be endangered.

Atlas Corporation operated a uranium mine near Moab, Utah and the byproduct of mining left a ten-million-ton pile of radioactive tailings. The pile is located less than 1,000 feet from the Colorado River. Proximity of the material to the watershed has been a concern. The US Senate has authorized the US Department of Energy to begin cleanup of these tailings with a budget of $22.8 million. In 2007 the uranium tailings will begin to be moved 15-20 miles away from the river. The project is expected to be completed by 2017.

Uranium Waste Pile Makes Colorado River Most Endangered

WASHINGTON, DC, April 14, 2004 (ENS) - "The Colorado River is not yet the most polluted river in the country, but it could become so if the current problems are allowed to fester," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, announcing that the Colorado tops the organization's annual Most Endangered Rivers list. "A concerted national solution is necessary to problems that reach far beyond the banks of the river."

The most dangerous situation on the Colorado River is the Atlas uranium milling site across the Colorado River from Moab, Utah. There an estimated 110,000 gallons of radioactive groundwater seeps into the river each day from an unlined riverbank impoundment where some 10.5 million tons of radioactive waste is stored. Ammonia is also leaching into the waters of the Colorado River from the tailings pile.

Radioactive dust from the piles, dispersed by the persistent local winds, settles far from the sites. The piles produce radon gas, a deadly substance that has caused a five-fold increase in lung cancer among uranium miners.

American Rivers and its partners would like to see the waste moved away from the river, which supplies drinking water for 25 million people, including residents of Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

SOURCE: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2004/2004-04-14-01.asp

RMD Operations, LLC, a sister company to Water Remediation Technology, LLC (WRT)

April 27, 2006

Arvada, Colorado – RMD Operations, LLC, a sister company to Water Remediation Technology, LLC (WRT), has been issued a Radioactive Materials License by the State of California for the storage, removal and handling of natural uranium from
drinking water.

RMD Operations is the first company to obtain this license in California, a requirement for systems removing uranium from drinking water. WRT provides cost-efficient processes for the removal of radium, uranium and other contaminants
from water in conjunction with the safe disposal of
the treatment residuals by RMD. The license format
is an innovative multi-site approach that will apply
to all of WRT/RMD’s water treatment operations in
California.

No chemicals are added and no liquid
waste is generated, the radioactive residuals will be
transported to a licensed facility outside the State of
California. WRT’s complete solutions represent the
simplest and most effective processes for meeting
regulatory compliance. Available on a cost-pergallons
treated, long-term contract basis. For more
information, visit our website at www.wrtnet.com, or
call us at (303) 424-5355

Children clean up their school pollution problems

2007-01-31T20:28:00.000-08:00

Green Squad
http://www.nrdc.org/greensquad

A website co-developed by Natural Resources Defense Council and Healthy Schools Network for middle-schoolers to help them investigate the school environment. Find the environmental problems, compare them to your school, and use the fact sheets to improve the environment at your school. There is also a Parent-Teacher Room and virtual library to help with the investigation.

www.nrdc.org/greensquad/ptr/intro.asp

http://www.healthyschools.org/www.nrdc.org/greensquad/ptr/intro.asp

Kids Against Pollution
http://www.kidsagainstpollution.org/index.html

Kids Against Pollution (KAP) is a multinational network of active youth dedicated to solving and preventing pollution problems through interactive educational projects and events in order to protect children's health and the planet. Poverty and prejudice are interconnected with pollution issues and therefore are part of KAP's mission.

Kids for Saving Earth
http://www.kidsforsavingearth.org

A website to help students and teachers learn about toxics that harm children and the environment.

Children's Health Protection
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/homepage.htm

Provides the latest information on children's health and environmental hazards, including research, publications, health programs, news items, and links to over 50 other organizations. Go to Children, IAQ, Asthma, Molds, Radon, or Schools for more detailed information.

SOURCE: WRPPN P2 Listserv: siegel@ittn.org

What is sustainable fashion: Polyester vs Cotton vs Fast Fashion?

2007-01-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

A very interesting article from the New York Times….
January 25, 2007

Can Polyester Save the World?

Sweaters and T-shirts that often cost less than a sandwich are found in stores like Primark who are leaders in the fast-growing “fast fashion” industry, selling cheap garments that can be used and discarded without a second thought. Teenagers love the concept. Old Navy and Target started the trend in the US since it allows them to economically update styles with speed.

But clothes — and fast clothes in particular — contribute carbon emissions that cause global warming. Both production and upkeep contribute to those emissions, says a report from Cambridge University, "Well Dressed?"

The report explores how to develop a more "sustainable clothing" industry — a seeming contradiction in an industry where fashions change every few months.

Suggestions: that people lease clothes and return them at the end of a month or a season, so the garments can be lent again to someone else and supplement that source with more durable clothing that can be worn for years.

Consumers looking for green products tend to focus on packaging and chemicals, issues that do not fit with fashion marketing.

"Natural" fibers like cotton, are seen as environmentally green. While organic cotton production is exemplary in the way it avoids pesticides, cotton garments waste energy because they must be washed frequently, use high temperature water, and generally require tumble-drying and ironing. Sixty percent of the carbon emissions generated by a simple cotton T-shirt comes from the 25 washes and machine dryings it will require, the Cambridge study found.

In contrast, a polyester garment takes more energy to make, since synthetic fabric comes from materials like wood and oil. But upkeep is far more fuel-efficient, since polyester cleans more easily and dries faster. Over its lifetime, a polyester garment uses less energy than a cotton T-shirt.

Treating cotton so that it does not absorb odors, reducing washing temperature from 122 degree F to 105 or below 98 degrees would save energy, but will require changes in washing machines and detergents.

Retailers could lease clothes for a season (just as wedding stores rent tuxedos) or buy back clothes for recycling. This would call for more enduring designs, fabrics and attitudes.

To cut back the use of carbons and make fashion sustainable, consumers will have to own less...and that is a difficult attitudinal shift.

Consumers have shown a willingness to pay more for clothes and jewels produced with social equality, the challenge now is to transfer that consumer strategy into the fashion world.

Remedy for Delta salt that affects SoCal drinking water

2007-01-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

Salt has been a problem for years in the California Delta, and state officials are embarking on what could be a decades-long mission for a low-salt south estuary that will help farmers whose crops suffer as well as Californians who rely on drinking water pumped from the region.

UPDATE: Jan 23, 2007
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/01/23/18350955.php

"In Senator Simitian’s proposed SB27, a peripheral canal bill, would finish off the California Delta as we know it...water would be diverted directly from the Sacramento River through pumps to contractors and municipal users in Southern California without passing through and refreshing the Delta first. These fresh water flows, set at 2006 water export levels, would be diverted from ever entering the California Delta, thereby permanently altering Delta water quality in ways that would finish off our fragile pelagic fisheries and that would also bring great harm to Delta area agriculture.

And if freshwater is diverted from the Delta for direct delivery to Southern California, Delta area needs such as an ongoing and sustained levee maintenance program, emergency preparedness for catastrophic events, protection of local agriculture, wildlife, and habitat, and planning for sea level rise all become secondary in importance. Why? Because water reliability will be secured for the more populated portions of the state at the expense of local Delta stakeholders.

CONTACT:
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta
Making the Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable by 2010!
Barbara [at] restorethedelta.org
http://www.restorethedelta.org
ph: 209-479-2053
PO Box 691088
Stockton, CA 95269

Jerry Yudelson Makes Green Building Predictions for 2007

2007-01-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

Jerry Yudelson, leading green building consultant, the author of three books on the subject of green buildings, green building marketing and green developments, released 2007 predictions for major developments in the green building industry this coming year.

Yudelson, who chairs the industry's annual conference, Greenbuild, the world's largest green building gathering, said, "As a consultant to this industry, I have a great vantage point to see what's happening and likely to occur in the coming year. I wanted to release these predictions to encourage others to share their expectations for the growth of green buildings."

Here are Yudelson's predictions:

1. The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) new "LEED for Homes" standard will debut with more than 5,000 homes registered in the program within the first six months, representing the commitment of 50 builders at an average of 100 homes.

2. Green homebuilding will soar, due to the pent-up demand by buyers looking to save energy and builders looking for an edge in the marketplace among the so-called "Eco-Elite" buyers. Also, the availability of Federal $2000 per home tax credit for energy-efficient homebuilding through the end of 2009 should provide an incentive.

3. Cumulative LEED certifications under all systems will top 1,000. The advent of USGBC's "portfolio" program for "volume-build" organizations such as banks, national retailers and similar organizations should swell the numbers of LEED-certified buildings quickly.

4. Cumulative LEED project registrations under all systems (excluding single-family homes) will approach 10,000. This will put us well on track to achieve USGBC CEO Rick Fedrizzi's late-2006prediction of 100,000 LEED-registered commercial building projects by the end of 2010.

5. More than 50 additional cities will adopt some form of green building ordinance or mandate, as more cities start to implement their commitment to the "U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement" and as the political agenda in Washington DC changes, to put more emphasis on energy efficiency and climate change issues.

6. More than 10 additional states will adopt incentive programs or mandates for their own buildings. There are now more than 15 states now with specific green building programs. Because of the Democratic takeover of several governorships and state legislatures, these actions will likely occur in the first half of 2007. Look for additional strong actions in California, Oregon and other states where "pro-green building" governors were returned to office.

7. More than 30 additional LEED Platinum projects will be certified, effectively tripling the number of such landmark buildings. People are beginning to figure out that LEED Platinum is achievable, with a little luck and good planning, as well as some budget tolerance for renewable energy systems.

8. Attendance at Greenbuild 2007 in Los Angeles this fall will top 20,000 for the first time. (As a long-time conference participant, even I was surprised that more than 13,000 paid registrants turned out for Greenbuild 2006 in Denver.) The far greater population in Southern California and the growth of the green building industry in general will play a role in growing the total attendance for Los Angeles this fall more than 50%.

9. LEED will register more than 100 non-US and non-Canadian projects for certification for the first time. We see a general interest in LEED from office developers in China, India and other countries, wanting to appeal to multinational tenants, as well as government programs that want to green their projects in the absence of clear national standards.

10. The number of LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) will grow by 15% or more, to a total exceeding 38,000 by the end of 2007. As a LEED national faculty trainer, I am amazed at how we continue to sell out each workshop, with most attendees wanting to take the LEED AP exam. Considering that there are more than 100,000 real estate agents in the U.S., I see no end to the growth in the number of LEED APs.

About Jerry Yudelson
Jerry Yudelson is a former Board Member of the U.S. Green Building Council, a national nonprofit with more than 7,300 corporate and institutional members. He also serves on the national standards committees for both LEED for New Construction and a companion standard, LEED for Core and Shell development. He has trained nearly 3,000 people in the LEED green building assessment framework since 2001.

About Yudelson Associates
Yudelson Associates, Tucson, AZ, http://www.greenbuildconsult.com, was formed in 2006, with a mission of "growing the business of green building" and facilitating sustainability initiatives in higher education and the corporate world. Yudelson is a leading national authority on green buildings and corporate sustainability, with three books on green marketing and more than three dozen articles to his credit in the past three years. He is the senior editor of the iGreenBuild web site, http://www.igreenbuild.com. In 2004, Yudelson was honored as "Green Building Advocate of the Year" by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

U.S. Climate Action Partnership pressures Bush to act on global warming

2007-01-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2007 -
The U.S. Climate Action Partnership - unveils its climate change initiative.

The coalition includes the CEOs of industrial comporations including Alcoa (AA), Caterpillar (CAT) DuPont (DD) and General Electric (GE) as well as financial services firm Lehman Brothers (LEH). Other members the coalition are utilities PG&E Corp. (PCG), FPL (FPL) and Duke Energy (DUK), Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense, World Resources Institute and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. SOURCE: January 20, 2007 Green Wombat post titled "Wal-Mart Backs Corporate Drive for U.S. Global Warming Legislation" http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/01/walmart_backs_c.html

A Call for Action

Their solutions-based report, titled "A Call for Action (PDF- 623 KB), is the result of a year-long collaboration. It lays out a blueprint for a mandatory economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection.

Key points include:

We Know Enough to Act on Climate Change

The Challenge is Significant, But the United States Can Grow and Prosper in a Greenhouse Gas Constrained World

We Need a Mandatory, Flexible Climate Program

We believe the US Climate legislation must include the following design principles:

Account for the Global Dimensions of Climate Change

Recognize the Importance of Technology

Be Environmentally Effective

Create Economic Opportunity and Advantage

Be Fair

Encourage Early Action

Their recommendations:

Congress Needs to Enact Legislation as Quickly as Possible

The Environmental Goal
U.S. legislation should be designed to achieve the goal of
limiting global atmospheric GHG concentrations to a level
that minimizes large-scale adverse climate change impacts
to human populations and the natural environment, which
will require global GHG concentrations to be stabilized over
the long-term at a carbon dioxide equivalent level between
450–550 parts per million.

Take a Stepwise, Cost-Effective Approach

Cap and Trade is Essential

Establish Short and Mid-Term GHG Emission Targets

Complementary Policies and Measures Will be Necessary

Scope of Coverage and Point of Regulation of the Cap and Trade Program

The members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership pledge to work with the President, the Congress, and all other stakeholders to enact an environmentally effective, economically sustainable, and fair climate change program consistent with our principles at the earliest practicable date.

Salesforce.com offsest carbon footprint

2007-01-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

Salesforce.com (CRM)is paying cold hard cash to offset the greenhouse gases produced by its corporate operations in 2006. The bill comes to $126,000, or about $6.40 per ton of carbon emitted.

The Web-based software company announced an initiative to neutralize its contribution to global warming by funding alternative energy and forest conservation projects.

Salesforce.com worked with the non-profit Cool Air Cool Planet and Native Energy, a Native American owned renewable energy company, to calculate that the San Francisco tech company's data centers, offices and corporate travel produced about 19,700 tons of carbon last year.

To compensate, the company's Salesforce.com Foundation will help finance wind farm projects in Alaska and South Dakota Salesforce.com will also work with Makiraforest Conservation International to preserve the ecologically endangered Makira rain forest in Madagascar.

Cool Air Cool Planet: http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/
Native Energy: http://www.nativeenergy.com/

SOURCE: January 16, 2007 Green Wombat post titled "Salesforce.com Goes Carbon Neutral" http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/01/saleforcecom_go.html

2009 California auto emissions labeling mandate

2007-01-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

California cars will be required to exhibit greenhouse gas emission labels in 2009.

In February, the California Air Resources Board will hash out the label's details. The 2005 implementation law requires all new California cars and trucks, beginning in 2009 to carry a prominent label listing a Global Warming Index rating.

The label must compare "the emissions of global warming gases from the vehicle with the average projected emissions of global warming gases from all vehicles of the same model year," according to the law. The label must also contrast a car's greenhouse gas emissions with the vehicle that model year that contributes the least to global warming.

SOURCE: January 19, 2007 Green Wombat post titled "California Cars to Get Global Warming Ratings" http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/01/global_warming_.html

President directs federal agencies to improve energy efficiency

2007-01-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

President Bush issued an Executive Order on January 24, 2007, instituting new guidance for energy efficiency, use of renewable energy and reduction of environmental impact throughout the federal government.

The President's executive order calls upon all federal agencies to "improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the agency, through reduction of energy intensity by (i) 3% annually through the end of fiscal year 2015, or (ii) 30% by the end of fiscal year 2015, relative to the baseline of the agency's energy use in fiscal year 2003" and "ensure that (i) at least half of the statutorily required renewable energy consumed by the agency in a fiscal year comes from new renewable sources, and (ii) to the extent feasible, the agency implements renewable energy generation projects on agency property for agency use."

The order also calls for agencies to reduce fleet fuel consumption by 2% annually through fiscal year 2015, increase use of non-petroleum fuels by 10% annually and use plug-in hybrid vehicles when they are commercially available and reasonably priced, as well as consider the highest energy efficiency and environmental standards when purchasing new electronics.

California's Colloquium on Water - Spring 2007

2007-01-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Spring 2007 Schedule

All lectures will be held at :
Goldman School of Public Policy, Room 250
2607 Hearst Ave. at LeRoy
5:15-5:30 Meet the speaker
5:30-7:30 Lecture, including q & a

California's Colloquium on Water
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/ccow.html

Water is the lifeblood of California. Without it, the landscape we know today would not exist. Throughout California’s history, water has been a source of food, commerce, energy, and recreation. It makes possible the bountiful Central Valley farms and the vibrant coastal cities. It has inspired countless poets and painters. Californians have simultaneously fought over water, marveled at its beauty, and - through impressive feats of engineering - moved it hundreds of miles.

SPEAKING CALENDAR

February 13 -- Steve Ritchie
Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project
"The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project: The Wild Heart of Silicon Valley"

Abstract: In 2003, the State of California and the U.S. government, with substantial support from private foundations, purchased 15,100 acres of salt production ponds adjoining South San Francisco Bay from Cargill Corporation. These ponds represent an incredible opportunity for shoreline habitat restoration and public access in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is the largest habitat restoration project in the Western U.S. (http://www.southbayrestoration.org/) and it must be accomplished without increasing flood risk to Silicon Valley while providing for public access. The restoration process is expected to take decades to complete. This presentation will describe the initial management of the ponds as they are taken out of salt production and the five-year planning process for their ultimate restoration. Adaptive management will be integral to the restoration process. Particular opportunities and challenges (both scientific and institutional) of the planning process will be described as the Project moves toward changing the South San Francisco Bay landscape.

March 13 -- B. Lynn Ingram
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Geography, University of California, Berkeley
"Late Pleistocene to Holocene Evolution of the San Francisco Bay"

Abstract: The San Francisco Bay and Delta are considered the heart of California's water system. A huge region of California (about 40%) is drained by rivers that eventually reach the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Bay is California's largest estuary, and is a vital part of its economy, culture, and landscape. The Bay's inland Delta provides fresh water to two-thirds of the population of California, some twenty three million people. Sediments deposited beneath the Bay, within surrounding marshlands, and within the Bay's watershed contain a rich history of how this estuarine system evolved over the past million years, including major changes in climate. These sediments demonstrate that the Bay has only existed sporadically - during warmer interglacial periods, and became a river valley during the ice ages. While the earliest inhabitants of California adapted to a varying water supply, archaeological and geological evidence suggests that climate extremes - both wetter and drier - have occurred throughout the past 10,000 years.

April 10 -- Ellen Hanak
Research Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California
"Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta"

Abstract: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the hub of California’s water supply system, home to a unique and threatened ecosystem and to a vibrant recreational and agricultural economy. Recent research has exposed serious problems in the Delta, including precipitous declines in some fish species and increasing threats to the stability of the levee system. In this lecture, Ellen Hanak will present the results of a recent study she co-authored that explores alternatives for resolving these problems, ranging from fortifying the levee system, to building various forms of a peripheral canal, to reducing water exports to Southern California and converting parts of the Delta to habitats more suitable for desirable species.

May 1 -- Pat Mulroy
General Manager, Southern Nevada Water Authority
"Overcoming the Traditions That Divide Us - Tomorrow's Reliable Water Supply Dependent Upon Partnerships"

California Wind Energy Companies

2007-01-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

American Wind Energy Association

Major CA Wind Energy Resource Areas

San Gorgonio Pass (615.89 MW installed)
Tehachapi (608.72 installed)
Altamont Pass (548.32 installed)
Solano County (240.78 installed)
Pacheco Pass (16 installed)

State Summary:
California was the first U.S. state in which large wind farms were developed, beginning in the early 1980's.

Wind Energy Potential:
Average Power Output (MW): 6,770
Annual kWh: 59 B
Rank in US: 17th**
Project Name: Owner: Power Purchaser
Altamont Pass
GE Energy: PG&E
SeaWest: PG&E
International Wind Companies: PG&E
FPL Energy: PG&E
Pacific Winds: PG&E
Babcock & Brown: PG&E

San Gorgonio Pass
FPL Energy: So Cal Edison
SeaWest: So Cal Edison
GE Energy: So Cal Edison
San Gorgonio Farms: So Cal Edison
Dutch Pacific, LLC: So Cal Edison
Nichimen America: So Cal Edison
K/S Whitewater: So Cal Edison
PacificCorp: SCE-Green Mt. Energy
PGE-NEG: PG&E
GE Energy: Electricity Marketers
Shell Wind Energy: Dept of Watr Resources
Whitewater Energy Corp/San Gorgonio farms
San Diego Gas & Electric: SDG&E

Solano County
SMUD: Sac Mun Utility District
PPM Energy: PG&E, Modesto Irrigation District, City of Palo Alto Utilities

Tehachapi
Zond Systems (GE Energy): So Cal Edison
Victory Gardens: GE Energy: So Cal Edison
Sky River: GE Energy: So Cal Edison
Oak Creek Energy Systems: So Cal Edison
AB Energy: So Cal Edison
Calwind Resources: So Cal Edison
Coram Energy Group: So Cal Edison
Mogul Energy: So Cal Edison
Tomen: So Cal Edison
Windridge: So Cal Edison
Cannon: So Cal Edison
Ridgetop energy: So Cal Edison
Windland, Inc: So Cal Edison
Oak Creek Energy: So Cal Edison
Pacific Crest: FPL Energy: So Cal Edison
Caithness: So Cal Edison
Enron Wind Corp.: So Cal Edison
Coram energy: So Cal Edison

Other
U.S. Navy: U.S. Navy
Wind Turbine Company (Los Angeles): So Cal Edison
Palmdale Water District: Palmdale Water District
Babcock & Brown: San Diego Gas & Electric
Victorville Prison: Victorville Prison

Planned Projects
Tenderland Power/CHI Enel
Altamont Power, LLC (Altamont Pass)
Pacific Renewable: PG&E (Lompoc)
Zikha/LA Dept of PW (Mojave)
Western Wind (Tehachapi)
Seawest Windpower (San Gorgonio)
Coram energy (Tehachapi)

California is Second in Wind Power

2007-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

Jan. 24, 2007 - Wind power generating capacity increased by 27 percent in 2006 and is expected to increase an additional 26 percent in 2007, proving wind is now a mainstream option for new power generation, according to a market forecast released today by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

"iPods, flat screen televisions and other highly sought technologies are creating a demand for electricity that is beginning to eclipse our current supply. Wind is a proven, cost-effective source of energy that also alleviates global warming and enhances our nation's energy security," said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher.

The U.S. wind energy industry installed 2,454 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity in 2006, an investment of approximately $4 billion, billing wind as one of the largest sources of new power generation in the country -- second only to natural gas -- for the second year in a row. New wind farms boosted cumulative U.S. installed wind energy capacity by 27 percent to 11,603 MW, well above the 10,000-MW milestone reached in August 2006. One megawatt of wind power produces enough electricity to serve 250 to 300 homes on average each day.

Wind energy facilities currently installed in the U.S. will produce an estimated 31 billion kilowatt-hours annually or enough electricity to serve 2.9 million American homes. This 100 percent clean source of electricity will displace approximately 23 million tons of carbon dioxide -- the leading greenhouse gas -- each year, which would otherwise be emitted by traditional energy sources such as coal, natural gas, oil and other sources.

Wind power has also attracted the support of state and federal government legislatures. The U.S. Congress recently extended the federal production tax credit (PTC) through December 2008 to further expand the number of wind farms throughout the U.S. Based on the success of the PTC to date, AWEA is calling for extending the provision an additional five years.

Texas accounted for nearly a third of the new wind power installed in 2006, taking over the lead from California in cumulative installed capacity. Texas hosts the world's single largest operating wind farm, the 735-MW Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, located in Nolan and Taylor counties.
Much of the new wind equipment in 2006 was produced in new manufacturing facilities in Iowa, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. Additional announcements are expected in 2007. Investment in manufacturing capability signals confidence in the market and lays the groundwork for expanded growth capability.
New utility-scale turbines were installed in a total of 20 states across the country, from Maine to New Mexico to Alaska.
The top five states in new installations were Texas (774 MW), Washington (428 MW), California (212 MW), New York (185 MW) and Minnesota (150 MW).

AWEA gathers the data for its analysis each January by contacting wind farm developers and turbine manufacturers around the country.

A state-by-state listing of existing and proposed wind energy projects is available on AWEA's Web site.

Treehugger video contest: Due Feb 28, 2007

2007-01-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

DUE: February 28, 2007, submit a video to us that shows us practical, easy and inspired ways to reduce your carbon emissions.

In partnership with Seventh Generation, Inc., TreeHugger.com is offering you the chance to speak out and inspire your peers to do the same eco-good as you are.

If you win over web viewers and judges, you'll not only get the chance to have your video streamed on weather.com's climate change site, One Degree and other media partners, but if you're a U.S. resident, you'll also be in the running for the prizes below, all designed to reduce your carbon emissions.

West LA job, development and traffic explode

2007-01-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

August 27, 2006

Though communities around Southern California struggle with traffic problems, transportation experts and government officials agree that there is nowhere quite like the Westside, where rapid development and a boom in entertainment-related jobs have brought congestion on streets and freeways to new levels.

"Most people in Westwood cope by running errands in the morning," said Laura Lake, a longtime community activist and slow-growth advocate. "In the afternoon, it will take twice as long."

Population on the Westside has jumped 23% since 1990 (compared with a 6% increase for Los Angeles as a whole).

But experts say the biggest culprit in rush-hour traffic snags is a boom in Westside commercial development that has lured and created jobs.

Job growth has transformed the area into the region's premiere commercial hub, second only to downtown Los Angeles in the number of jobs. Each day, workers pour into office buildings lining busy corridors such as Wilshire Boulevard, the burgeoning towers of Century City and the rows of Santa Monica office parks that have become a mecca for media companies such as Yahoo! and MTV.

One problem: Primarily because housing is so expensive, only about 30% of these workers actually live on the Westside, according to a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority study. That leaves more than 300,000 people a day commuting to the area.

So many workers drive to Santa Monica from other parts of the region that the city's population nearly doubles during the day, to 150,000 from 87,000 at night. Beverly Hills' population more than triples, said David Mieger, director of Westside planning for the MTA.

And further growth is coming. The MTA projects that the Westside's population will jump by an additional 15% and jobs by 23% in the next 15 years.

The Westside building boom is the biggest since the 1980s, with high-rise condos slated for Century City and Beverly Hills and clusters of development planned for Marina del Rey and Playa Vista.

SOURCE: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-traffic27aug27,0,3789578.story

Small House Society promotes "Smart Sizing"

2007-01-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

The Santa Barbara Permaculture Network brings us informtion about the small house movement, as well as related ways to live gently with the land.

"Permaculture is a design system that reconciles human communities with the ecological imperatives of a living planet."---Ben Haggard

PERMACULTURE: the use of ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development. Permaculture is built upon an ethic of caring for the earth and interacting with the environment in mutually beneficial ways.

David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the Permaculture concept put forth in "Permaculture One" in 1978. Since then he has written several more books, including most recently "Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability"

The Union of Concerned Scientists ranks housing third among destructive human enterprises, just after transportation and agriculture. But our housing need not be destructive. Again we can chose! We can chose human scale, enhancing our connections with those we love. We can chose eco-scale, reducing our demand for the kind of energy that is disrupting life now and for future generations.

Shay Salomon is a co-founder of the Small House Society, which she helped establish along with Nigel Valdez, Jay Shafer, and Gregory Paul Johnson

The Small House Society is a cooperatively managed and sustained global organization dedicated to the promotion of tiny houses and small housing solutions that are affordable and ecologically responsible.

"Little House on a Small Planet" by Shay Salomon is now available.

Small House Society
c/o Resources for Life
Postal: P.O. Box 2717, Iowa City, IA 52244-2717 USA
E-Mail: shs @ resourcesforlife.com (do not include spaces)
Internet: www.smallhousesociety.org
Phone: 319.621.4911

CALIFORNIA PERMACULTURE GROUPS:

ccpg serves San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara,
scpg serves Santa Barbara down through Los Angeles, and
sdpg serves greater San Diego area

TO SUBSCRIBE to listserves:

South Coast Permaculture Guild subscription
http://www.arashi.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/scpg

San Diego Permaculture Guild subsciption
http://www.arashi.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/sdpg

Central Coast Permaculture Guild subscription
http://www.arashi.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/ccpg

Innovation Summit at Stanford

2007-01-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

2006 TechNet Innovation Summit at Stanford University

I love any discussion Charlie Rose instigates, and this is no exception. The podcasts on this website are very insightful for entrepreneurs and investors, as well a politicians and business people who who need motivation and a bridge to a greener way of living.

Key issues in the "Going Green" panel include the overwhelming issue of URBANIZATION that will see our urban population increase from 2 billion to 6 billion over the next 50 years.

The BRIDGE to the future is one of incremental and disruptive innovation matched with government policy.

Companies can make green living accessible to the general population by making it affordable. People vote (and spend) with their wallets first.

... fascinating insights into the work we have ahead of us.

Smart meters

2007-01-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

The smart metering programs are not new, but their continued rarity speaks in part to the success of power-generating companies in protecting their profit models. Some utilities did install meters in a small number of homes as early as three decades ago, pushed by the environmental movement and a spike in energy prices.

When consumers know the price of their electricity in advance and can tailor their use, even minor changes in behavior can lead to lower home utility bills and less reliance on marginal power plants, said Kathleen Spees, a graduate student in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon.

Consumers who cut back on power use at peak times can do more than just avoid high prices. They can make money, as people in the building on Central Park West learned last summer.

Peter Funk Jr., an energy partner at the law firm Duane Morris who lives in the 48-unit co-op, persuaded his neighbors three years ago to install a single meter to the Consolidated Edison system and then to operate their own internal metering system. That made the building big enough to qualify for hour-by-hour pricing.

When the next day’s prices are scheduled to soar, the building superintendent and a few residents get e-mail messages or phone calls. “We have an orderly plan all worked out to notify people” so they can reduce their power use during the designated times, Mr. Funk said.

The residents save more than just the money on power not used during peak periods, when pricing has been as high as almost 50 cents a kilowatt-hour. During the blackout in July, when parts of Queens were without electricity for up to nine days, the building cut demand as much as 42 percent and sold the unused capacity for about $3,000.

That money helps the building offer a valuable benefit: On most weekend mornings, electricity for residents is free.

“Small reductions in demand can produce very large savings,” said Ms. Spees, who analyzed prices charged within the PJM Interconnection grid, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity for 51 million people from New Jersey to Illinois.

SOURCE: NY TIMES

A Source Book on Natural Landscaping for Public Officials

2007-01-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Green Landscaping with Native Plants: an online 5 chapter sourcebook "A Source Book on Natural Landscaping for Public Officials" is produced by the EPA as a guide to green landscaping to improve environmental impact.

Natural landscaping is an aesthetically exciting, ever-changing tapestry of hardy, primarily native plantings well adapted to the local climate and soil. It provides a cost effective alternative to conventional turf grass lawns.

There is no rigid set of rules that dictates how much or what qualifies as natural landscaping or when it is appropriate. The concept embraces a range of opportunities for property owners, managers and public officials. Any effort that increases the amount of area devoted to natural landscaping will be of some benefit. It will largely be up to property owners, local officials, planners, engineers, and landscape professionals, to determine where, what kind, and how much.

Existing or new building sites can use native trees, shrubs and grasses instead of the "exotic" plants typically marketed by nurseries. Native grasses and ground covers may partially replace turf areas.

AIA Launches Green Building Tool Kit for Mayors

2007-01-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

The AIA and the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) are working together to encourage city leaders to take a strong stance in favor of promoting integrated and high-performance building design with a goal of reaching a 50 percent fossil fuel reduction by 2010 and carbon neutral buildings by 2030. To that end, the AIA launched a toolkit that offers an overview of green building issues, sample ordinance language that has already been used effectively, and real-world examples of what communities are already doing to pursue green building programs.

Available on CD and DVD, the guide features:

* Case-study examples of innovative city green building programs for both the residential and commercial sectors
* Economic and environmental benefits of green building strategies
* Steps to establish green building initiatives in local communities
* Samples of green building incentive programs
* Design solutions that improve overall building performance and minimize life-cycle environmental impact and cost
* Principles of what makes the most-livable communities.

The tool kit will also be available through AIA local components to be shared with mayors and planning officials.

Funding Green Buildings Toolkit

2007-01-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

Funding Green Buildings: The Toolkit

The online seminar series (5 programs) is now part of the Funding Green Buildings Toolkit. This is a comprehensive funding resource for LEED-certified, green buildings (commercial and public).

Topics include:
* Federal and State tax credits and incentives for commercial green buildings
* Cultivating project alliances and stakeholders
* 10 funding agencies to contact first
* Funding readiness systems and capital campaign presentation tools
* Donor recognition
* Securing major product donations (HVAC, carpeting, glazing, etc) and discounds for green buildings
* Creative pre- and post-construction revenue sources for green buildings
* Energy savings performance contracting and service agreements

Cost:
$495/Person (The Funding Green Buildings Toolkit is an online resource, the $495 fee applies to each person who will access the online seminars. Major registration discounts are available for groups of 3 or more—contact Jan McAdams for details, 702-407-7888)

California Climate Change Portal

2007-01-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

Sponsored by the California Climate Change Center to combine information on the impacts of climate change on California and the state's policies relating to global warming.

Links to:
Calif. Environmental Protection Agency
Calif. Air Resources Board
Calif. Energy Commission
Calif. Public Utlities Commission
Calif. Resources Agency

Download 2006 biennial report Our Changing Climate - Assessing the Risks to California (Acrobat PDF file, 16 pages, 1.9 megabytes)

Highlights:

Temperature: California's climate is expected to become considerably warmer during this century. How much warmer depends on the rate at which human activities, such as burniing fossil fuels, continue. Projected temperature rises are estimated between 3 and 10.5 degrees!

Precipitation: On average, the projections show little change in total annual precipitation in California...The Mediterranean seasonal precipitation pattern is expected to continue, with most precipitation falling during winter from north Pacific storms.... Modest changes are predicted. Even modest changes would have a significant impact because california ecosystems are conditioned to historiacl precipitation levels and water resources are nearly fully utilized.

Impacts:
Public Health is affected by exacerbated air pollution, intensifying heat waves, and expanded ranges of infectious diseases. As temperatures rise, Califonrians will face greater risk of death from dehydration, heat stroke, heart attack, and other heat-related illnesses.

Water Resources; Most of California's precipitation falls in the northern part of the sate during the winter while the greatest demand for water comes from users in the southern part of the state during the spring and summer. Rising temperatures, compounded by decreases in precipitation could severly reduce spring snowpack, increasing the risk of summer water shortages.

Higher temperatures will likely increase electricity demand due to higher air conditioning use. Decreased snow melt flow will decrease the potential for hydropower production...

Loss of snow pack decreases winter recreations...and winter tourism...

Agriculture: California's $30 billion industry employs more than one million workers. Rising temperature can impair optimal development for many crops...such as wine grapes, fruit and nuts. High temperatures can stress cows and reduce milk production. Weeds, pests and pathogens can be exacerbated.

Forests and landscapes: California is one of the most climatically and biologically diverse aras in the world. Global warming and the burgeoning population are expected to impact local landscapes and this biological weath. Global warming is expected to intensify the threat of wildfire and alter the distribution and character of natural vegetation which can cause declingin forest productivity, which in turn causes higher temperatures.

Rising Sea Levels: California's 1,100 miles of coastline are productive for tourism, recreation and other economic activity. Increasing coastal floods can result from increasingly severe winter storms, rising mean sea levels, and high tides. This causes severe flooding, erosion and damage to coastal structures.

Managing Global Warming
California's actions can drive global progress to address global warming through the following strategies:

Reducing heat-trapping emissions
Coping with unavoidable climatic changes

The California Cimate Change Center is one of the first -- and perhaps the only -- state-spnsored research institution in the nation dedicated to climate change research. Other state agencies support similar research. the state has also been at the forefront of efforts to reduce emissions with policies such as standards for tailpipe emissions, renewable energy and energy efficiency. But new strategies and technologies are also needed to reduce emissions.

Read all the details...fascinating, scary and necessary for the literate citizen of the 21st century.

Significant Enhancements to ScholarShare College Savings Plans

2007-01-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

Education is a key component of sustainble community in our urban, global economy. Savings plans can make it possible for more youth. Here's a program worth considering.

November 16, 2006 -- ScholarShare, launched by California Treasurer, Phil Angelides in 1999, helps families meet the rising cost of college by offering a tax-advantaged 529 college savings program. Now, ScholarShare will offer families lower fees, more investment options, and easier access to account information.

Under the enhanced ScholarShare Direct Plan, fees will start as low as 50 basis points (.5 percent or $5 per $1,000 invested) for index fund portfolios. Families can choose from a wide range of investment strategies, including two age-based options, six static portfolios, five individual fund portfolios and the Social Choice Portfolio, and can choose from index and actively managed portfolios.

With the ScholarShare Direct Plan, families will have access t complimentary, unlimited college planning and investment guidance services. Fidelity representatives provide account assistance and discuss college planning needs and financial goals at 22 investment centers throughout California, online, or by phone 24/7.

Fidelity offers College Planning seminars throughout California to help families learn about college costs and college savings options and ScholarShare Advisor College Savings Plan, that are available through financial advisors.

Fidelity also offers the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards American Express Card that lets families earn 1.5% on eligible retail purchases, accumulating Rewards Points that are converted to "Fidelity 529 Dollars" when deposited in a 529 account. Accounts may be opened with as little as $50, or $15 if an automatic investment plan is set up.

The ScholarShare Direct Plan does not have an income limit and offers a high maximum contribution limit of $300,000.

Launched in 1999, the program has since grown to more than 178,000 accounts and more than $2 billion in assets.

Sustainable Communities funding adds $2.5 mil

2007-01-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

PDF of news release:

In September 2006, California State Treasurer Phil Angelides announced a $2.5 million funding increase for the successful Sustainable Communities Grant and Loan Program that assists cities and counties in pursuing "smart growth" projects. Assembly Bill 1341 authored by the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials and sponsored by the Treasurer, increases the grant and loan cap from $5 million to $7.5 million. It also extends the program’s sunset date from 2007 to 2012.

The funding will be awarded by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA). Grants of up to $350,000, as well as interest free, five-year loans of up to $150,000 are available to local governments that demonstrate a lack of resources to undertake needed smart growth projects. Since the program was launched by the Treasurer in 2002, fifteen communities have received funding for a variety of projects from conducting studies for transit villages to planning for infill development.

"Sustainable Communities funding has helped reverse the course by which older neighborhoods are thrown away in 25-year cycles in favor of suburban sprawl, degrading our environment and widening the economic disparities between California communities," said Angelides. "That is why extending a sustainable development strategy is so fundamentally important for our environment and our economy in the long term," Angelides concluded.

The program is part of the Treasurer’s "Smart Investments" and "Double Bottom Line" investment initiatives that have directed more than $18 billion in investment capital – through state programs and the State’s pension and investment funds — to create economic growth and sustainable development in California underserved communities.

California's Green Wave Environmental Investment Initiative

2007-01-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

California Green Wave Investing Strategy

In 2004, phil Angelides, California State Treasurer, launched the "Green Wave" Environmental Investment Initiative. He called on the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) to implement a four-pronged investment strategy to bolster their financial returns, create jobs, clean up the environment, and combat global warming.

Demand Environmental Accountability and Disclosure

Concentrated risk argues for the need for better investor intelligence and information, illustrated by the fact that a small number of companies appear to face the greatest potential regulation and litigation.

UPDATE: February 14, 2005 -- As the Kyoto Protocol took effect, Angelides wins CalPERS' approval of a new corporate environmental accountability initiative. Under this new initiative, CalPERS will prod companies to improve their environmental practices,

Target Private Investment in Environmental Technologies

Clean technology has emerged as the sixth largest venture investment category in the U.S. and Canada, behind information technology, software, biotechnology, health care, and telecommunications. According to Cleantech Venture Network, LLC, in 2002, investments in energy-related clean technologies represented nearly half (45.5 percent) of all clean technology investments. The remaining investments in clean technologies included enabling technologies -- technologies developed by biological, computational, and physical scientists and engineers that enable better use of natural resources and greatly reduce ecological impact (14 percent); materials and nanotechnology (13.8 percent), materials recovery and recycling (8 percent), and water-related technologies (4 percent). (Source: Cleantech Venture Network, LLC, Venture Monitor Q1 2003.)

Invest in Stocks of Environmentally Responsible Companies

Companies that engage in environmentally responsible practices can achieve better financial results, according to a number of studies.

Audit Real Estate Portfolios to Boost Long-Term Value

CalPERS and CalSTRS hold more than $16 billion in real estate holdings in 22 countries around the globe, with over half of those holdings in office and industrial space.

The federal government has encouraged energy efficiency through the national Energy Star program. Companies - including product manufacturers, builders, and retailers - that actively participated in the Energy Star program through voluntary partnerships with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outperformed companies that were not involved in the Energy Star program by more than 12 percent during the two-year period of 2000-2001.

California's tough energy efficiency standards have resulted in substantial cost savings. This efficiency is due in part to stringent energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances that have been in effect and periodically updated since 1978. Through the Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings (also known as Title 24 building standards) along with standards for energy efficient appliances, California has saved more than $20 billion in electricity and natural gas costs since 1978. It is estimated California will save $57 billion by 2011 due to these standards. (Source: California Energy Commission, http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/index.html.)

A minimal upfront investment of about 2 percent of construction costs in sustainable building practices and products typically yields life cycle savings of more than 10 times the initial investment, according to a recent study commissioned by California's Sustainable Building Task Force.

Seedhead.com in Culver City

2007-01-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

I discovered a delightful website about gardening ... and was even more tickled to find that it originates out of Southern California.

Degen Pener created Seedhead.com as a news site that blends information from around the world about what's happening with plants and plant people. It covers landscape design, botanic gardens and nature reserves to visit, new plants, new books, endangered plants, ecological restoration, horticultural know-how, nurseries and more. The goal of Seedhead is to provide up-to-the-minute reports on the full breadth and depth of the world of plants.

He is a contributing writer for Santa Barbara Magazine and has contributed articles on gardens and horticulture to a wide variety of other national magazines. From 2004 to early 2005, he worked as the plant buyer at Seaside Gardens, a wonderful nursery with extensive display gardens in Carpinteria, CA, and worked as a garden designer from 2004 to 2006.

Degen Pener
degen@seedhead.com
Culver City, CA

Nancy Goslee Powers landscape designer of green roofs...and more

2007-01-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

Nancy Goslee Power is a landscape architect in Santa Monica who has designed several sculpturally significant gardens in Southern California in recent days.

See photos of recent projects installed in Pasadena, California.

She was chosen by Frank Gehry to work with him on the remodel of the Norton Simon Museum where she reworked the extensive gardens.

At the new Art Center South Campus by Daly Genik she created a meadow-like roof garden.

The first phase of the new Kidspace Museum designed by Michael Maltzan was recently opened featuring a range of outdoor exhibits, spaces and interactive gardens.

Nancy also designed the green roof of the Pasadena Art Center.

Nancy Goslee Powers & Associates
1660 Stanford St.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-264-0266
fax: 310-264-0268
ngpa@nancypower.com

Living roofs are topping the list of real green for buildings

2007-01-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

Green roofs for Pasadena

Atop the Art Center College of Design's downtown campus, this roof is covered in 6 inches of soil bearing native grasses and shrubs. More than a garden, it is an ecologically designed green space that cools the building in summer by absorbing heat - much like an urban park does - and insulates it from cold in winter.

Living roofs have a long history. The Vikings grew sod on their homes for insulation. The hanging gardens of Babylon were planted rooftops. Europeans have cultivated green roofs for decades. After World War II, Germany made them mandatory in all major cities to prevent rainwater from washing into aging sewer systems.

Experts say such roofs retain storm water, decrease the cost of greenhouse gas reduction and lessen the need for interior building insulation. They also help to bring fauna back to inner city areas by attracting insects and birds, just as a backyard would.

In April, the city of Pasadena made green roofs mandatory on all new city buildings of 5,000 square feet or larger, on commercial buildings and residential tenant improvement construction of 25,000 square feet or more, and on all mixed-use or residential buildings of four stories or more.

Alice Sterling, Pasadena's green building coordinator, said there are 800,000 square feet of new building construction on the books in Pasadena that, if completed, will all have green roofs.

Green roofs start with a waterproof roof cover called a membrane. Then comes a root barrier, a drainage layer, and finally the growing medium and plants. Many plants native to California are drought-tolerant and need little maintenance

Depending on how the roof is designed, architects say the additional weight, which can equal that of a load of snow, is not unsafe even for older buildings. Greenery can be rooted on roofs that slope up to 60 degrees.

Nancy Goslee Powers, the Santa Monica landscaper who designed the roof at the Pasadena Art Center building, is working on similar projects in Beverly Hills and Century City, where a living roof is being installed on a public parking structure to keep it cool. It will be three-quarters the size of a football field.

Environmentology ... Honda's commitment

2007-01-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Environmentology is Honda's ongoing commitment and innovation program focused on environmentally responsible technology.

The results incldue world-changing advances in fuel economy, low emissions and alternative energy sources for the future.

Honda's firsts include:
-- the Honda Civic, world-changing for its fuel efficiency
-- first hybrid vehicle sold in North America
-- first government-certified fuel-cell car

Honda maintained the most fuel-economy status among the six major automakers as the most fuel-efficient auto company in America, 2005 -- with an average of 29.2 mpg. Their goal is to improve that by 5% by 2010.

Is that a lot?

Local Involvement:
For more tha 40 years, Honda has supported programs ad projects that focus on maintaining a clean and healthy environment for communities throughtout the country.

10 simple tips for living greener in 2007.

2007-01-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

10 simple tips for living greener in 2007.

Here is a brief list of green actions to take. For more details and links to resources, visit the link to MSNBC.

1. Feed the Bees ** Pesticides, pollution and habitat destruction are taking a toll on the birds and insects that pollinate about 80 percent of the world's food supply. To lend a helping hand, plant a pollinator garden.

2. Clean Up, Naturally ** Household chemicals contribute to both in-door and outdoor pollution.

3. Ditch Your Junk ** Not only is junk mail annoying, it kills trees. Do yourself—and the forests—a favor by getting off the mailing lists of companies you don't support.

4. Air Your Laundry ** Line-dry your clothes once in a while. It saves money and also decreases your yearly carbon- dioxide emissions. Run your washer on cold whenever possible

5. Recycle Your Gadgets ** Don't clog landfills with old electronics.

6. Cut the Lights ** Trade your old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent ones. For help in picking the best bulb for your needs, go to energystar.gov.

7. Eat Your Veggies ** Have a meatless Monday. It takes about 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef.

8. Save a Tree ** Use recycled paper products. According to the folks at stop globalwarming.org, the paper industry is the third largest contributor to global warming. If every U.S. household replaced one toilet-paper roll with a roll made from recycled paper, 424,000 trees would be saved.

9. Turn On the Tap ** Instead of spending big bucks on bottled water, drink the stuff that comes from your faucet.

10. Find an Eco-Date ** Because two recyclers are better than one.

SOURCE: MSNBC

The Compact in San Francisco eschews new

2007-01-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Compact is an informal group in San Francisco that has agreed to several aims (more or less prioritized below):

* To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.

* To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).

* To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

They've agreed to follow two principles (see exceptions etc. on our blog).

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)

#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

...and they're getting all kinds of national news with this simple, non-consumer way of life.

The Compact in San Francisco eschews new

2007-01-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

The Compact has several aims (more or less prioritized below):

* To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.

* To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).

* To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

We've agreed to follow two principles (see exceptions etc. on our blog).

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)

#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

EPEAT rates environmental standards for computers

2006-12-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or Epeat, an electronics rating system available free at www.epeat.net.

The system, formed in mid-2006, is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and is meant primarily for bulk buyers. But it is useful for individuals, too. Electronics — only computers now, with more products to follow — can be achieve ratings of gold, silver or bronze.

Honor system ratings are subject to reviews by the Green Electronics Council, a nonprofit group in Portland, Ore., who maintains the list. Manufacturers score their products against a set of environmental standards, including levels of hazardous substances, energy efficiency and ease of recycling.

More than 300 types of desktops, laptops and monitors have received at least a bronze, and most also have a silver rating, which means that they also meet at least half of 28 optional standards. None of the computers have it to gold, which means that they would meet all the required standards as well as three-quarters of the optional ones.

Hydrogen refueling stations are sprouting in the Southland

2006-12-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is spending $4M to convert 30-35 Priuses to run as hydrogen (internal combustion, not fuel cell)-electric hybrids

In June, 2006, The City of Santa Monica dedicated the region’s fifth municipal hydrogen fueling station along with five hydrogen-powered Priuses to help hasten the day when its residents and those throughout the region can drive virtually zero-emission vehicles.

Santa Monica is one of a group of five Southern California cities placing themselves ahead of the curve in meeting future energy needs and cleaner air standards. The other cities participating are Burbank, Ontario, Riverside and Santa Ana. For the next five years, each city and AQMD will operate the Priuses, which have been specially modified to burn gaseous hydrogen.

The hydrogen-fueled, internal-combustion engine vehicles are considered a near-term bridge to longer-term future technologies including fuel cell vehicles, which emit only water vapor. Near-zero emission vehicles including those powered by fuel cells are considered a key strategy to clean up smog in Southern California, which has some of the most severely polluted air in the nation.

The five cities program is aimed at stimulating demand for hydrogen fueling, accelerating the expansion of the region’s hydrogen fueling network, and educating the public on hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

The total cost for the project is more than $7 million, including:
• A contract awarded by AQMD to Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. of Irvine to design, convert, test, certify and maintain the hydrogen Priuses;
• Contracts awarded by AQMD to Air Products and Chemicals Inc., headquartered in Allentown, Penn., to design, install and demonstrate hydrogen fueling stations at the five cities and provide continuing maintenance services. As part of the Santa Monica station, Air Products contracted with Proton Energy Systems Inc. of Wallingford, Conn., to supply the station’s electrolyzer;
• Purchase of 30 Priuses, paid for by individual cities and AQMD; and
• Preparation of cities’ fueling sites, paid for by cities.

Each hydrogen-fueled Prius has a compressed-gas fuel cylinder that holds up to 1.6 kilograms of hydrogen, giving the vehicles a range of up to 80 miles per fill. (One kilogram of hydrogen is roughly equivalent to the energy content of one gallon of gasoline.)

The Priuses meet the state of California’s strict Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standard for smog-forming nitrogen oxides, and unlike their gasoline-fueled counterparts, they have no carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or hydrocarbon emissions.

The five cities’ hydrogen fueling sites add to a growing network of hydrogen stations in the Southland. Three other stations -- at AQMD headquarters in Diamond Bar, LAX and Sunline Transit Agency in Thousand Palms -- now are operational. An additional two stations, at UC Irvine and in Torrance, are expected to be completed by the end of the year. All 10 stations will provide hydrogen for fuel cell and internal combustion engine vehicles.

Goldman Sachs Center for Environmental Markets has awarded its first research grants

2006-12-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2006 - The Goldman Sachs Center for Environmental Markets has awarded its first research grants, totaling more than $2.3 million, to fund programs focused on finding market-based solutions to climate change.

The grants have been awarded to:
Resources for the Future, for support over one year of its Climate and Technology Policy Program, which seeks to advance economically sensible approaches to dealing with climate change

World Resources Institute, for a two-year project to analyze the viability of the various technology options that could be deployed both in the U.S. and elsewhere to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify the world's energy sources, including coal gasification, biofuels, renewable power, and carbon capture and storage, among others.

Woods Hole Research Center, for a three-year project to examine how to value forest ecosystems and analyze economic alternatives to cutting valuable rainforests. Competing demands on forests for land, soils, water, vegetation and carbon capture necessitate a method of valuing these ecosystems and their associated services in determining the true costs and benefits in making decisions on land usage.

"These grants address critical climate change challenges and provide opportunities to design a road map for policymakers on a carbon emissions regulatory framework that will include a business perspective; examine the range of alternative energy solutions; and harness market forces to better understand the value of ecosystems," says Mark Tercek, Managing Director and Head of the Goldman Sachs Center for Environmental Markets.

The center was established when Goldman Sachs instituted its environmental policy framework and supports independent research, programs, and other market-based opportunities with partners in the academic and nongovernmental communities to develop public policy and other options for establishing effective and efficient markets around climate change, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. The center plans to disseminate the research and finding of these first three research grants through a combination of publications, conferences, strategic communications and targeted outreach to engage and educate clients and policy makers on climate change issues.

Green Visions Plan for Los Angeles Parks and Open space

2006-12-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

July 2006 - Undergraduate student surveys Los Angeles city parks, discovers urban realities

The Green Visions Plan (GVP), a project to create a "greener" Southern California, completed one of the largest and most comprehensive inventories of urban green space ever done.

A collaborative project of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities (CSC), the USC Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research Laboratory and state land conservancies, the Green Visions Plan aims to guide the strategic development of new green space in Southern California.

“we needed an overarching vision for the region,” said CSC Director Jennifer Wolch, “in terms of how to do habitat conservation, watershed health planning and recreational open space development in a way that promotes multi-purpose projects.”

The plan encourages the thoughtful selection and management of land that can serve such multiple uses. The land conservancies involved, all state agencies, are the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Coastal Conservancy and Baldwin Hills Conservancy.

To complete this survey, one of the largest and most comprehensive inventories of urban green space ever done, the USC College students spent four to five days a week driving between southern Ventura County and northern Orange County, surveying the region’s open space.

Armed with maps, pens, clipboards, data forms and handheld computers, teammates collected detailed information about characteristics of each park. The handheld devices, encased in protective yellow plastic, had software specially designed for the field research as well as global positioning system technology.

Students also collected odd bits of knowledge about the city and its parks. "Pioneer" is a popular name for parks. And she didn't realize until she tried to get into one of Beverly Hills' beautiful green spaces that only residents, with I.D., are allowed to use that city's parks.

Greens fees vary widely from a new municipal golf course in Long Beach, which charged $81 to an older course in Inglewood, where fees were only $3. Larger issues arise -- such as, when you charge $81 to use a public golf course, is that still truly public? The use of parks by homeless individuals presents another difficult civic issue.

Past work by Wolch and John Wilson, professor of geography, has revealed clear disparities in park access amongst L.A.’s richer and poorer neighborhoods.

"That's important for a variety of reasons," said Wolch, dean of graduate programs in the College. "One is recreation. Another is that parks provide some environmental benefits — cleaner air, shade, cooler temperatures. And another reason [having equal access to parks is] important is because we have, in this country, an epidemic of obesity. If you have no parks that are accessible, or if they don’t have any facilities, then you may not get as much exercise."

South Coast Air Basis - worst in the nation! 2004 produced the hydrogen ICE vehicle project

2006-12-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

2004 was a very active year for the SCAQMD. This response to a newspaper editorial indicates the AQMD's strategies to clean up SoCAl. I'll follow up with any progress reports I can find. Stay tuned.

The South Coast Air Basin consists of the majority of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, covering more than 11,000 square miles. Although the AQMD regulates stationary sources, like power plants and refineries, about 80 percent of smog-forming emissions come from mobile sources. Approximately 10 million gasoline vehicles and a quarter million diesel vehicles travel in the Basin, resulting in the worst air quality in the nation. In fact, the South Coast Air Basin is the only area in the United States designated as “extreme” in terms of air quality.

In addition, the California Air Resources Board has identified that diesel emissions are toxic. A landmark AQMD study showed that about 70 percent of airborne cancer risk is due to diesel emissions, creating even more urgency to reduce mobile emissions for the 16 million residents in the Basin. Although great strides have been made to reduce pollution in the region over the last 20 years, increases in population, vehicle miles traveled, sport utility vehicle sales, along with atmospheric conditions, have actually caused ozone levels to increase in the last two years. Last July, the region even experienced its first Stage 1 ozone episode in five years. Since the AQMD is the government agency mandated by the federal Clean Air Act to bring the region into compliance with health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards in just six years, urgent action is needed on many fronts.

Fuel Cell Vehicles

In order to achieve our air quality goals, more near-zero and zero-emission vehicles are indeed needed. Hybrid-electric vehicles truly have near-zero emissions but the ultimate technology needed is fuel cell vehicles, since they offer high fuel efficiencies and do not emit any smog-forming pollutants.

These vehicles are being researched and demonstrated by all the major automobile manufacturers including GM, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Volkswagen, through a public-private consortium called the California Fuel Cell Partnership.

Hydrogen-Powered Internal-Combustion Engine (ICE) Vehicles

While the automobile manufacturers work to reduce the costs, improve the durability, and gain experience with fuel cells, the AQMD is doing similar research and development with the hydrogen refueling technologies. The hydrogen ICE vehicle project will convert 35 Toyota Prius hybrids to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline to gain real-world experience with a hydrogen fleet, compare different fueling strategies and hydrogen production methods, as well as educate the public on this relatively new alternative vehicle fuel.

The AQMD is funding $2 million toward a total project cost of more than $4 million, with Quantum, the vehicle conversion company, five local cities, and possibly the U.S. Department of Defense paying the balance of the cost.

The Toyota Prius was selected due to its advanced hybrid technology, allowing a more “transparent” experience for the driver, which is critical for public acceptance of hydrogen as a fuel.

The Path Forward

The AQMD has limited time and resources to achieve the emissions reductions needed to bring the region into compliance with federal air quality standards by 2010. In addition, maintaining the air quality goals beyond 2010 will be a tremendous challenge due to the projected increases in population, vehicles, and miles traveled. The three main tools at AQMD’s disposal to reduce vehicle emissions are regulations, incentives, and technology advancement. On the regulatory front, the AQMD has been authorized by the state to require fleets to purchase the cleanest available technology when replacing a vehicle. This has historically applied to natural gas vehicles for school and transit buses, waste haulers, street sweepers, taxicabs, and other public fleets.

Despite their effectiveness, these AQMD “Fleet Rules” are being challenged by engine manufacturers and the oil industry as a de facto tailpipe standard, which is a right reserved by the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court has heard arguments and will decide this spring if the AQMD can retain this valuable air quality strategy.

The second tool available to the AQMD is the incentive programs, designed to provide funding to offset the typically higher prices associated with alternative vehicles and fuels. A good example of this type of mechanism is the Carl Moyer Incentive Program.

Another incentive program funded solely by the AQMD has helped local school districts purchase 300 clean fuel or low emission school buses and install particulate traps on 1,300 school buses. This program, however, is dependent on available funds through the AQMD’s enforcement activities and so is subject to annual budget priorities.

The third AQMD tool is funding of advanced, clean air technology research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects. The hydrogen ICE project is one of many AQMD efforts to help advance pre-commercial technologies. The AQMD has a long legacy of such assistance; for example, we funded the development of the first fuel cell bus and the first commercial stationary fuel cell power plant in the early 1990s.

In the passenger vehicle area, the AQMD is funding the development of a plug-in hybrid vehicle with DaimlerChrysler, which was selected as “having the greatest potential to transform an industry” by IEEE for 2003. The “plug-in” attribute allows this vehicle to travel short distances on battery power only, like an electric vehicle, but switches to a small gasoline ICE engine for higher power and greater distances much like the current hybrid cars.

California should continue advancing the most environmentally responsible cars in the world — hybrid partial zero-emission vehicles. And in fact, that is exactly what the hydrogen ICE vehicle project does.

BQ-9000 accreditation of producers and marketers of biodiesel fuel

2006-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

The National Biodiesel Accreditation Program is a cooperative and voluntary program for the accreditation of producers and marketers of biodiesel fuel called BQ-9000. The program is a unique combination of the ASTM standard for biodiesel, ASTM D 6751, and a quality systems program that includes storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution, and fuel management practices.

BQ-9000 is open to any biodiesel manufacturer, marketer or distributor of biodiesel and biodiesel blends in the United States and Canada.

BQ-9000 helps companies improve their fuel testing and greatly reduce any chance of producing or distributing inadequate fuel. To receive accreditation, companies must pass a rigorous review and inspection of their quality control processes by an independent auditor. This ensures that quality control is fully implemented.

The Economics of Biodiesel in 2007

2006-12-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

Study Shows Biodiesel Will Add $24 Billion to U.S. Economy

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2006 - America's biodiesel industry will add $24 billion to the U.S. economy between 2005 and 2015, according to a study by the National Biodiesel Board. The figure foresees biodiesel growth reaching 650 million gallons of annual production by 2015. There are 88 plants in the nation producing an estimated 200 - 250 million gallons of biodiesel in 2006. That’s triple last year’s production of 75 million gallons.

The economic analysis, conducted by John M. Urbanchuk of LECG and funded by the soybean checkoff through the United Soybean Board, also found that biodiesel production will create a projected 39,102 new jobs in all sectors of the economy.

Additional tax revenues from biodiesel production will more than pay for the federal tax incentives provided to the industry, concluded Urbanchuk. It will keep $13.6 billion in America that would otherwise be spent on foreign oil. This total impact of biodiesel on the economy includes the temporary impacts of construction, the permanent impacts of annual production and the direct value of biodiesel and co-products (glycerin).

Inventing for the Environment

2006-12-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

by Arthur Molella and Joyce Bedi, editors

There are many ways in which invention affects the environment. "Inventing for the Environment" starts with nature itself and then leads readers to examine the built environment and then specific technologies in areas such as public health and energy.

Each part focuses on a single environmental issue. Topics range widely, from the role of innovation in urban landscapes to the relationship among technological innovation, public health, and the environment.

As the editors explore the history of invention for the environment, the book suggests new ways to put the past to use for the common good.

2006-12-29T07:19:00.000-08:00

Subsurface drip, conservation tillage projects

University of California’s sustainable agriculture projects show that conservation tillage and the use of underground drip irrigation reduce weeds and pests, cut energy costs and lessen environmental impacts while maintaining yields in some crops.

Will Horwath, coordinator of the UC Davis Center for Integrated Farming Systems (CIFS) sustainable farming project reports, "Under subsurface drip irrigation, there are fewer weeds and less need for herbicides, which are produced from petroleum products, compared to furrow irrigation where water saturates the soil surface. This makes it easier to implement reduced tillage, a practice often plagued by weeds. We also show less emission of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.”

There is extra costs to these sustainable measures, but as the cost of fuel and health care goes up and water supplies go down -- cost ratios will be more sustainable

Prevent West Nile virus-carrying mosquitos with natural techniques

2006-12-28T07:14:00.000-08:00

Sharon Lawler, UC Davis associate professor of entomology, says Culex mosquitoes, which transmit the West Nile virus, are attracted to lights, especially bright lights. In addition to lights, Culex mosquitoes are attracted by heat (infrared light), perspiration, body odor, lactic acid and carbon dioxide.

Female mosquitoes usually blood-feed at dawn and dusk; they require blood meals to develop their eggs.

- Turning off unnecessary lighting in your yard at dusk and dawn can help two ways: you can reduce your chances of being bitten by mosquitoes that may migrate in from surrounding areas, and you can also save energy.
- You should also replace your porch lights with yellow "bug" lights, which tend to attract fewer mosquitoes, Lawler says.
- turn off the lights in windowed rooms and use the natural light;
- close off the air conditioning duct in the guest room or rooms not being used;
- and close the blinds during the day and open the windows at night to let the breezes flow through.
- be sure your windows have tight-fitting, intact screens, she cautions.

For more information, contact Lawler at (530) 754-8341, splawler@ucdavis.edu.

So. California biodiesel from oil seeds

2006-12-27T07:10:00.000-08:00

Currently, most of the biodiesel available in California is derived from soybeans grown in the Midwest and shipped here by train.

In the future, biodiesel might develop into a new crop alternative for California farmers, according to Steve Kaffka, UC Davis extension agronomist.

Although it is, like vegetable oil, derived from oil seed crops, biodiesel is not the same as raw vegetable oil. Oil seed crops include those annual and perennial crop plants that produce seeds with a large amount of oil, like safflower, already widely grown in California, and canola, a possible new crop. After harvest, the seed is crushed and the oil extracted. Then, the oil goes through a process called transesterification, where glycerin is removed from the oil to leave behind methyl-esters, the chemical name for biodiesel fuel. The resulting biodiesel burns in diesel engines with little or no modifications.

Whether biodiesel can be produced in California in the short term lies in the economics of growing currently available or possible new alternative oil seed crops, according to Grant Poole, Los Angeles County UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor. A major cost in many agricultural production areas is for water. Poole plans to look into the economic feasibility of growing seed oil crops in Southern California's Antelope Valley. The greatest potential for growing the crops there would be where water pumping costs are minimal or using wastewater. Elsewhere, with higher rain fall, some of these crops might be grown with limited or no irrigation using reduced tillage systems. A new workgroup is forming to help develop biofuel alternatives for California's farmers. For more information, contact Poole at (661) 723-4483, gjpoole@ucdavis.edu, or Kaffka at (530) 752-8108, srkaffka@ucdavis.edu.

Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival - Oct 1-6 2007

2006-12-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting high-quality natural history, wildlife, and environmental documentaries that raise awareness and sensitivity to the wild world around us.

JHWFF events provide filmmakers and broadcasters with an international forum to network, conduct business, test new equipment, and refine program production techniques in an informal and relaxed setting.

Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival

email: info@jhfestival.org
phone: 307.733.7016
fax: 307.733.7376
web: http://www.jhfestival.org

Cooperation and collaborationin science and education go digital

2006-12-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

I worked in graphic design when the first Macintosh computers came out. Jobs in the printing and publishing field were the first to be disrupted by the powerful new digital tools -- desktop computers. A few of us talked about this change and named it "getting DTP'ed" (getting desktop published) -- to aptly descibe the rapidity and breadth of the cultural change that turns an industry niche inside out. We've watched as one field after another "got DTP'ed". Some were hard to believe -- such as lawyers, and education. But now we have science facing the DTP challenge. And agriculture! The following summary published at the 60th anniversary of the "UC California Agriculture" magazine reflects the DTP challenge.

The World Wide Web has become the dominant information retrieval pathway, especially in science, education and business.

Two things have fueled this evolution. Digitized content has grown explosively and there is no end in sight. In a recently announced agreement, UC and Google will undertake to digitize and index selected contents of the UC library system, as well as those of other major institutions. Combined with similar initiatives by Yahoo and other search engines, this agreement shows that society has implicitly and collectively agreed that this Herculean task is both possible and desirable. It also demonstrates our confidence that the technology behind today’s powerful search engines is capable of storing, indexing and retrieving that information.

Secondly, growing online communities based on “social networking” permit both direct conversations between individuals as well as specialized Web publishing through blogs, Web forums, wikis and virtual communities. Cooperation and collaboration are no longer limited by time or distance, nor are online reviews, online real-time editing or instant publishing. These developments promise to vastly reduce publication costs. The open-source software development community demonstrates that virtual teams can accomplish highly complex tasks and distribute valuable products.

These technical and behavioral changes are disruptive. In fact, Dan Greenstein, university librarian and head of the California Digital Library, has figuratively called them “subversive.”

New forms of popular and academic publishing will affect scholarly communications much as Web distribution has revolutionized the music industry and newspaper publishing. New kinds of copyright licenses and new definitions of intellectual property rights will be required.

One significant effort to define these agreements is the Open Content Alliance. Web archives and aggregators such as UC’s own eScholarship Repository and the national Web project eXtension are working to develop open models of content creation, attribution, licensing and ownership.

To take full advantage, we must do more than ensure that content exists on the Web and that it is appropriately indexed and recognized by search engines. We must also engineer online peer-review processes that are flexible enough to accommodate the whole range of information and publication methods, from refereed journals to one-page fact sheets.

We must explore new forms of community or “salon” review that allow editorial or content changes to Web information in real time. We must also adapt to changing notions of intellectual property and copyright. At the same time, we must ensure the quality of our information, protect its identity and source, and deliver it in an effective form to the people of California.

Local food producers and local institutions address health and energy challenges

2006-12-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

Gail Feenstra, food systems analyst for the Davis-based statewide UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP), noted that California's unique niche in the fruit and vegetable industry coupled with the energy crisis has created an opportunity for farmers to connect with local institutional buyers such as schools, hospitals, prisons, and elderly retirement facilities.

"In California we've seen that growing public outcry about health issues like obesity, diabetes and chronic diet-related diseases is pushing institutional buyers to consider more local and sustainable sources for their fruits and vegetable products," said Feenstra. "The fresh local produce helps improve diet and health, while also saving energy by reducing the distance and transportation costs between farm and table." Feenstra said institutional markets have the potential to absorb the volumes that mid-scale growers and processors have to offer. "It’s a winning solution all around," she said.

"Buying local reduces energy costs, builds local economies, promotes healthful food choices, and supports sustainable agriculture." UC SAREP’s Web site (www.sarep.ucdavis.edu) describes a variety of local food systems options for farmers and consumers. For more information, contact Feenstra at (530) 752-8408,

The Green-e Program is developing this new certification standard

2006-12-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

New Certification Standard Proposed for Climate Offset Products

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 21, 2006 - A new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Product Certification Standard has been published for stakeholder comment by the Center for Resource Solutions.

CRS is developing the new standard with the Green-e GHG Advisory Group, composed of key environmental organizations, government agencies, businesses, and advocacy organizations who work on climate change issues.

CRS believes the creation of this draft standard is the first step in ensuring credibility in the marketplace for voluntary GHG reduction products, such as carbon offsets offered to help "neutralize" an individual's or organization's climate impacts. Based on recent press coverage and uncertainty in the marketplace, it is evident that buyers of these products are seeking a higher level of certainty in the market about the quality of products. CRS aims to provide consumer protection to the growing number of individuals and businesses who choose to decrease their own contribution to global warming by purchasing greenhouse gas reductions.

CRS’ well-established stakeholder process is the next step in ensuring a well-designed standard that meets the needs of the marketplace.

The Green-e Program is developing this new certification standard to ensure customers are getting high quality reductions and are protected from double counting and misleading marketing practices.

For 10 years, CRS has developed standards for renewable energy in a complex regulatory environment. CRS brings that valuable experience to the table in the creation of this new standard for greenhouse gas reduction products. The CRS consumer protection standards use transparent, open, stakeholder-driven processes to ensure consensus-based standards that are widely accepted by stakeholders.

The draft standard will be out for comment until the end of January 2007. The draft standard, along with instructions on how to submit comments, can be found online

CRS will host a stakeholder conference call in late January to answer questions about the draft Standard. Interested parties should contact Alex Pennock at alex@resource-solutions.org.

Business and Promotional Services:
Voluntary Renewable Energy and Carbon Markets
CRS works to empower companies, institutions and individuals with the knowledge and opportunity to choose clean renewable energy options that reduce global warming. We cultivate best practices in marketing to maximize awareness and understanding of high quality renewable energy, and increase access to products and services that are "Made with Certified Renewable Energy."

LOHAS 11 Forum - MDR - May 14 2007

2006-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

LOHAS 11, the premier event that brings together leaders from all LOHAS market segments to network and share new ideas on how to expand the marketplace that serves the conscious consumer.

When: May 14-16th, 2007
Where: Marriott Hotel, Marina del Rey

Registration will be available online starting December 1st at www.lohas.com. The group code for reservations at the Marriott will also be available at that time.

Ticket pricing: Early bird registration $650 until February 1st.

Regular price after February 1st $795
On site $825
Nonprofit $395

Questions regarding sponsorship or exhibiting please contact 303-222-8263 or email ted.ning@lohas.com.

Look for more updates to come shortly. We hope to see you there!

Marriott Marina del Rey
13480 Maxella Avenue
Marina Del Ray, California 90292

Green California Summit and Exposition March 13 2007

2006-12-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

In a meeting held at CalEPA headquarters in Sacramento, CA, a group of senior state officials responsible for California’s energy and environmental programs laid the groundwork for the 2007 Green California Summit and Exposition – an event that will be the first of its kind in the nation. Joining them on the board are leaders from the U.S. Green Building Council, Flex Your Power, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, the Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District and the California Commissioning Collaborative.

The summit’s Advisory Board, co-chaired by Secretary of State and Consumer Services Rosario Marin and CalEPA Secretary Linda Adams, discussed the challenges involved in developing a culture of “working green” within California government and in making the most of the opportunities created by Governor Schwarzenegger’s executive orders on energy efficiency and green building.

California government aims to inspire the private sector by demonstrating both the feasibility and the economic benefits of green technologies – from energy efficiency to environmentally preferable office products.

“California boasts one of the world’s largest economies,” said Green Technology president Bob Graves. “It has long been recognized as the nation’s leader in environmental protection, and the programs it has set in motion have the potential to change the practices of government and businesses throughout the country.”

The summit, which will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center of March 13 and 14, 2007, will provide state officials with an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the full range of green products and services that can help the state achieve its goals. It will include seminars and training programs for officials at all levels – an effort that is being guided by the advisory board and other experts within state government.

The event will also feature numerous interactive and educational elements. Among these will be an Energy Pavilion designed by staff at the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, the Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District and the state’s Department of General Services.

“It appears that a combination of energy concerns, an explosion of greentech innovation and enthusiasm from the investment community have created a ‘perfect storm’ for progress in environmental protection,” said Graves. “The summit will provide a needed forum for exploring the possibilities and developing partnerships and plans.”

Sacramento Convention Center
1301 L St.
Sacramento, California 95814

Questions?
For questions about exhibition space, contact Nancy Miller at 323.936.7125,or write her at nmiller@green-technology.org.

For questions about event sponsorships, call Keith Miller at 323.936.7125, or write to him at kmiller@green-technology.org.

Growth of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerating - CSIRO

2006-12-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

Podcast report by

We're not doing enough...is it time for drastic measures equivalent to emergency life saving efforts?

Global emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide have more than doubled since 1990 and the rate of increase is accelerating, according to new information gathered and analyzed by the Australian government research service.

By Environment Society of Australia

San Diego takes first step to ban giant retail stores like Wal-Mart

2006-12-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The City Council here voted late Tuesday to ban certain giant retail stores, dealing a blow to Wal-Mart's potential to expand in the nation's eighth-largest city.

The measure, approved on a 5-3 vote, prohibits stores of more than 90,000 square feet that use 10% of space to sell groceries and other merchandise that is not subject to sales tax. It takes aim at Wal-Mart (WMT) Supercenter stores, which average 185,000 square feet and sell groceries.

Mayor Jerry Sanders will veto the ban if the Council reaffirms it on a second vote, which will likely happen in January, said mayoral spokesman Fred Sainz. The Council can override his veto with five votes.

Wal-Mart has about 2,000 Supercenter stores, including 21 in California, but none in the San Diego area. The retailer has 18 regular Wal-Mart stores in the San Diego area, including four within limits of the city of 1.3 million people.

San Diego's move comes two months after the Chicago City Council failed to override Mayor Richard Daley's veto of a so-called "living-wage" ordinance that would have required giant retailers to pay their workers higher wages.

Wal-Mart plans to sell 100 mllion compact flourescent lamps in 07

2006-12-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

Wal-Mart Aims to Sell 100 Million Efficient Light Bulbs in 2007

December 20, 2006

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced in late November that it has set a goal of selling 100 million compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) at its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores by the end of 2007. CFLs can replace conventional incandescent bulbs in most light fixtures, using about 75 percent less electricity and generally lasting much longer than incandescent bulbs. The twisted spiral shape of modern CFLs allows them to fit into fixtures for which earlier CFLs were too big, and although CFLs have always paid for themselves many times over in energy savings, the dropping prices on CFLs are making their up-front costs more palatable for consumers. Wal-Mart plans to achieve its 2007 goal through marketing promotions and in-store displays.

The Wal-Mart goals will contribute greatly to the "Change a Light, Change the World" campaign, an annual effort of DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

LA named best public transit system in the country!!!

2006-12-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

In October, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) named Los Angeles County's Mass Transportation Authority the best public transportation system in the country -- truly a man-bites-dog turnaround for an agency that for years was known for incompetence and shady deals. Other cities interested in expanding their public transit systems, notably Atlanta and Tampa, are even studying Los Angeles.

In November, voters in California approved the biggest infrastructure bond package in U.S. history, which will provide the MTA at least $2 billion to continue to build the system, thanks to lobbying from Los Angeles's determined mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa (D).

"The untold secret about L.A. is while it's known for its freeways and for the attitude that the highway is king, it has -- in fits and starts -- begun to piece together a world-class mass transit system," said APTA President William W. Millar. "This is an enormous change."

To be sure, the car still rules in Los Angeles, and the APTA's award appears to be not so much for the system that is -- a motley collection of buses, subways and light rail -- than for what will be. (It took this reporter two hours to travel 20 miles on three buses to interview the mayor on a recent Friday.)

Only 6.6 percent of the workforce in this region uses public transit to get to work. Each day, automobiles on Los Angeles's freeways travel 136 million miles -- tops in the nation

Commuters here spend more time caught in traffic jams than those in any other city in the country -- almost four days and nights per person per year, burning 407 million excess gallons of gas in delays that cost $11 billion, 50 percent more than in the runner-up, New York.

Los Angeles is known throughout the world as 100 suburbs looking for a city. But although it lacks the downtown core of a Manhattan or a Washington, it is hemmed in by mountains and the Pacific Ocean, and it has evolved into the most densely populated urban region in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This "dense sprawl," as it is known in the argot of urban planners, has helped shift public opinion toward support for public transportation. Roger Moliere, who heads the MTA's real estate development business, speaks of a "paradigm shift" in the way Angelenos view mass transit. Real estate ads now regularly use proximity to transit as a selling point.

Work is continuing on a six-mile extension of the Yellow Line -- a light-rail route running from Pasadena to downtown -- into East Los Angeles, a predominantly Latino area. Construction has just begun on the Exposition Line, which will link downtown with the University of Southern California and Culver City on the Westside.

Also on the books is a downtown subway system that will connect two light-rail systems and the city's lone subway line, which were never joined because of shoddy planning.

But the Holy Grail for Villaraigosa and others in the city administration is what he calls a "subway to the sea" that would run under Wilshire Boulevard, one of the most heavily traveled avenues in the nation, and bond the Westside with the rest of the region.

Villaraigosa said he plans to lobby Congress aggressively for federal funds to bankroll his dream. "We want to rethink what the city looks like," he said, "to focus on a new urbanism that makes transit-oriented development and mixed-use development the future of L.A."

In a sense, Los Angeles is returning to its roots. In the 1920s, the region was home to the most elaborate rail system in the country: almost 1,500 miles of track connecting the eastern desert with the Pacific Coast. It was Los Angeles's great transit network, not the automobile, that jump-started the region's sprawl, said Martin Wachs, a transportation expert at the Rand Corp. But by the 1960s, the car had taken over, and all the trains were gone.

The MTA now finds itself rebuilding the old system -- in some places along the same rights-of-way.

"Sometimes retro is the wave of the future," mused Bart Reed, executive director of the Transit Coalition, a Southern California-based nonprofit organization. "L.A. can't really sprawl anymore. So we are retrofitting our city. There really is nowhere else to go."

SOURCE: John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 17, 2006; Page A03

LED lamps making progress...but now quite there

2006-12-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

DOE Study Finds Commercial LED Lamps Fall Short of Claims

While compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are generally far superior to incandescent lights, many energy professionals expect solid-state lighting sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), to be the ultimate winner in energy-efficient lighting.

Unfortunately, a DOE pilot test of four LED lamps has found that they all fall short of their claims. The pilot tests examined two "downlights"—the type of spotlight that is typically recessed into a ceiling—as well as a task light and an under-cabinet light. The test results, which protect the identity of the LED manufacturers, found that all four lamps fell far short of their claimed output in terms of lumens of light per watt of energy.

The manufacturers claimed lighting efficacies of 36 to 55 lumens per watt, while the pilot test found efficacies of 11.6 to 19.3 lumens per watt, placing them below CFLs in lighting efficacy.

Developers of individual LEDs are undoubtedly achieving significant gains in efficacy. For instance, Cree, Inc. announced in October that it has developed a white-light LED that produces up to 85 lumens per watt. DOE helped fund the development of the LED, which can pump out as much as 160 lumens. By 2025, DOE's goal is to achieve 160 lumens per watt in cost-effective, market-ready, solid-state lighting products.

LED lights for holidays

2006-12-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) points out, there are a number of energy efficient options, of which one of the best is LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. According to ASE, each LED bulb is up to 90 percent more efficient than its incandescent counterpart. The LED bulbs can last up to 20 years, produce very little heat, and yes, they're bright.

Keep the twinkle, but lower the costs, with LED holiday lights. Each LED (light-emitting diode) bulb with this new technology uses only 0.04 watts and is up to 90 percent more efficient than its incandescent counterpart. So a household burning 10 strands of lights with 100 lights per strand, eight hours a day for a month, would spend almost $175 for large, incandescent bulbs, about $11 for traditional mini-lights, and just over $1 for LEDs (based on $0.1003 per kilowatt-hour). These newer bulbs are sturdy, can last more than 50,000 hours, or 20 years, and barely warm up, eliminating fire concerns.

Parks for people in Los Angeles - Is it a crisis?

2006-12-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

parks for People in LA

Over 1.5 million children in LA County do not live within walking distance of a park.

Nearly 67 percent of the kids in Los Angeles do not live within walking distance of a park, ballfield, or playground. Many of these children also are at a higher risk of developing a chronic illness such as diabetes, asthma, or obesity. Parks for People-LA is working within diverse communities to create new parks in Los Angeles County.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.

* Parks for People: Working in cities and suburbs across America to ensure that everyone in particular, every child—enjoys close-to-home access to a park, playground, or natural area.
* Working Lands: Protecting the farms, ranches, and forests that support land-based livelihoods and rural ways of life.
* Natural Lands: Conserving wilderness, wildlife habitat, and places of natural beauty for our children's children to explore.
* Heritage Lands: Safeguarding places of historical and cultural importance that keep us in touch with the past and who we are as a people.
* Land & Water: Preserving land to ensure clean drinking water and to protect the natural beauty of our coasts and waterways.

Robert J. Reid
LA Area Director
The Trust for Public Land
Parks for People-LA
The Los Angeles River Center
570 West Avenue 26, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Office 323-223-0441
Fax 323-223-2978
Cell 310-909-3891
www.tpl.org/pfp-la

Sundance Channel launches GREEN TV channel

2006-12-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

With Sundance Channel GREEN, Sundance Channel becomes the first television network in the United States to establish a significant, regularly-scheduled programming destination dedicated entirely to the environment.

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, shorts and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, Showtime Networks Inc. and Robert Redford. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression.

Testing for Lead in plumbing and water

2006-12-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

Lead in Water

To protect children, parents should ask their health care providers about testing children for high levels of lead in the blood. Homeowners may contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) for information on how to find professionals to test houses for lead. Tenants can also consult with their landlords regarding testing pre-1978 residences when there are signs of deteriorating lead-based paint.

Lead is commonly used in household plumbing materials and water service lines. Lead is rarely found in source water, but enters tap water through corrosion of plumbing materials. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, joints, and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally "lead-free" plumbing may contain up to 8 percent lead. This can leach significant amounts of lead into the water for the first several months after their installation. Read more about lead contamination in drinking water.

UC Davis News

2006-12-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

UC Davis agricultural news

Topics:

Agriculture
Business/Government/Law
Campus news
Engineering
Health
Science news
Social Sciences/Arts/Humanities
Veterinary Medicine

California Climate Activities ... and Who's Doing What

2006-12-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

SCAG page 54

Who's doing what in California about climate change?

California Environmental Protection Agency (CAL-EPA)
- Coordinate state agencies taking action to reduce greenhosue gas emissions

California Air Resources Board (CARB)
- Motor vehicle regulations to reduce emissions from new vehicles by 30%

California Energy Commission
- building and appliance energy efficiency
- transportation fuel programs
- measures California's greenhouse gas inventory
- variety of energy efficiency programs

California Public Utilities Commission
- coordinate energy efficiency programs
- regulate energy utility companies
- evaluate competitive bids to supply energy

OTHER STATE AGENCIES INVOLVED:
California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
Department of Food and Agriculture
Department of Forestry, Resources Agency
Department of Water Resources
Integrated Waste Management Board
State and Consumer Services

PUBLIC and PRIVATE PLAYERS:
California climate Action Registry
Sustainable Silicon Valley
California cities
California companies

Climate Change impacts on Southern California

2006-12-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

SCAG, page 52

NOTE: The cause of climate change: Fossil fuel combustion accounts for 98 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Read more...

Water Supply
One area of considerable concern is the effect of climate change on California's water supply. The snow accumulation in the Sierra Nevada mountains preserves much of Califoria's water supply in "cold storage' for the hot, dry summer.

If winter temperatures are warmer, more precipitation will fall as rain, decreasing the size of the snowpack -- which is a natural water storage system.

Heavier rainfall in winter could bring increased flooding.

Less spring runoff will reduce the amount of water available for hydroelectric power production and agricultural irrigation.

This impact already exists!

Air Impact

Higher temperatures also cause an increase in harmful air emissions -- more fuel evaporates, engines work harder, and demands for electric power increase along with an increase in power plant air pollution.

Air pollution is also made worse by increases in natural hydrocarbon emissions from vegetation during hot weather.

High temperatures, strong sunlight and a stable air mass are ideal for formation of ground-level ozone, the most health-damaging constituent of smog. As temperature rises and air quality diminishes, heat related health problems also increase.

THE USA has the highest emissions of greenhosue gases of any nation on Earth.

In California, more than half of the fossil fuel emissions of carbon dioxide are related in some way to transportation.

Fossil fuel combustion accounts for 98 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.

California's solutions need to start NOW:

- Reduce traffic congestion
- Reduce critical air pollutants
- Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from mobile sources.

To learn more about greenhouse gases and climate change, go to www.arb.ca.gov

WATER - Regional SCAG plan

2006-12-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

SCAG page 41

The following recommendations are being considered by SCAG regarding water resources:

* Waterwise land use and local policies
* Integration of water management planning within the region
* Water conservation and stewardship throughout the region
- Increased water conservation and water recycling
* Waterwise transportation planning withing the region
* Water supply reliability for the region with new storage facilities (both surface and groundwater)

Proposition 1B - 2007's $20 Billion for transporation projects

2006-12-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

SCAG page 18

Big transportation changes are coming to SoCal based on the passage of Proposition 1B in November 2006. With $20 Billion now available for transportation projects, SCAG is looking at ways to spend some of that money in Southern California.

Concepts that are getting their attention include:

* Design-build and design-sequencing procurement to enable expedited project delivery
* Local ballot initiatives to fund local transportation projects with local sales tax measures
* Expanded use of public/private partnerships and other innovative financing mechanisms
*Provisions for transit oriented development "TOD" taht generate revenue and integrate housing planniing with transportation planning

SoCal CEQA and COMPASS -- SCAG strategies

2006-12-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

SCAG REPORT page 16

The COMPASS Implementation Framework was approved by the Regional Council in 2004. It is a 2% Strategythat is guided by four key principles:

Mobility
Livability
Prosperity
Sustainability

The 2% Strategy is interdisciplinary and its ideas are incorporated throughout the transportation, housing, growth and land use, habitat and open space, and sustainability sections of SCAG's 2007 Legislative Program.

Tribal Governments in Southern California

2006-12-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

SOURCE: Indian Country

Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations
Lynn Valbuena, chairman

14 federally-recognized tribal governments in the SCAG region that are members of the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN) include:

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Augustine Band of Mission Indians
Cabazon Band of Missio Indians
Cahuilla Band of Indians
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
Morongo Band of Mission Indians
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
Ramona Band of Mission Indians
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Santa Rosa Band of Mission Indians
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla
Twenty-NinePalms band of Mission Indians

TASIN's mission is to protect and promote tribal sovereign goverment rights, cultural identity and interests of federally recognized tribes located throughout the State of California.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SOCAL

Up and down the state of California, tribes are also developing non-gaming related businesses that also have a positive economic impact for surrounding communities.

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has built its own state-of-the-art water-bottling facility for its newly launched Big Bear Mountain Premium Spring Water

The Santa Rosa Band of Mission Indians has a telecommunications site on its reservation.

The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians has a tire reclamation facility. Used tires are recycled for other uses such as certain types of construction projects, fuel for pulp and paper mills, fuel for cement kilns, chips for septic tank liners and landfill liners, and disposal.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs owns and operates its own tribal bank, offering financial services to its tribal members, other tribal nations and the general public as well.

Indian casinos have been an economic boost to the Coachella Valley as agricultural businesses were lagging.

According to the California Gambling Control Commission, 45 of California’s 109 federally recognized tribes now operate casinos, although the state has entered into gaming compacts with 62 tribes. Some California tribes that have compacts but no casinos are planning to open such facilities, but many of the tribes that do not already have casinos are unlikely to establish gaming facilities, due to the small size and remote location of their Indian lands.

SoCal Habitat and Open Space - SCAG responsibilities

2006-12-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

SCAG page 21

SCAG has as one of its principles the promotion of market-based solutions to protecting our natural habitat, open space, and ecologically important lands and waters in the region.

It promotes the concept of conservation easements that have successfully protcted wildlife hatibat and open space and generates significant public benefits.

Conservation easements are voluntary, legally binding agreements that limit certain types of uses or development from taking place on property while protecting the property's ecological or open-space values.

SCAG needs: to create market-based, incentive approaches to habitat management at the urban-rural interface, such as easement rights acquisition.

SoCal Waste Management - SCAG responsibilities

2006-12-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

SCAG page 21

Conversion Technologies (CTs) are technologies that convert post recycled solid waste into useful products. They are in wide use in Europe and Japan, and of increasing interest in North America.

In 2003, California disposed of approximately 47% of waste diverted from landfills.

Of the waste disposed in landfills, approximately 80% was organic material (paper, wood, green waste, food waste, etc).

Organic materials have the potential to be converted into nergy or other industrial products, which would present a long-term benefit for energy supply.

So Cal Water - SCAG responsibilities

2006-12-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

SCAG page 20

With its increaing population, maintaining an adequate supply of clean water is a major challenge facing the SCAG region. As part of its responsibilities SCAG will continue to plan for an ample, clean water supply.

Actions and advocacy will include:

* legislation and government actions that encourage comprehensive planning and implementation of water quality and supply measures such as:
- storm-water management
- non-point source pollution control
- total maximum daily toads (TMDLs) achievement

So Cal Air Quality - SCAG responsiblities

2006-12-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Source: SCAG, page 18

AIR QUALITY

Over one-third of the air pollutants we breathe come from transportation sourcs. The rapidly worsening traffic congestion in the SCAG region poses ongoing air qualty challenges and health threats to the public -- particularly to children, the elederly and other at-risk groups.

SCAG is responsible for ensuring that transportation plans and programs are consistent with air quality goals as required by state and federal rules, a process known as "transportation conformity determination." SCAG must ensure that transportation activities do not worsen air quality nor interfere with the purpose of the State's Implementation Plans (SIPs). To meet this charge, SCAG develops emission reduction strategies for transportation planning.

To help us meet our responsiblities for qir quality conformity we need:

* Community impact and air quality mitigation prorams for goods movement projects
* Air quality program incentives to accelerate fleet turn-over to reduce regional emissions...
* Programs that create incentives for cost-effective, market-based approaches that promote good air-qualty by encouraging pedestrian/bike-friendly redevelopment projects...
*Regulatory action to reduce mobile source emissions...

SCAG - SoCal region stats

2006-12-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

Southern California Association of Governments is a regional planning organization covering the following interdependent community:

6 counties
187 cities
14 subregions
38,000 square miles
18 million residents and growing

If the SCAG region was a country, it would have the world's 10th largest economy.

This region is the largest region in population and size in the United States. It is also the most socially, culturally and economically diverse region in the world. By the year 2030, over five million additional residents will live in the region.

the population in the region is larger than 47 states. Its massive trade infrastructure is the global gateway that serves and feeds the conomy for the US. Over 40 percent of the US container imports and 25 percent of the US container exports pass through the region. Goods movement through our seaports and airports is expected to triple in the next twenty years.

The region's size and diversity bring challnges that cross city, county and state borders:

Our transportation network is constantly struggling to keep up with the ever-rowing demand.

Air pollution generated in one community can impact residents that live 100 miles away.

Housing is falling far short of growing demand, which makes housing even less affordable andavailable.

Land use decisions made in one city can have traffic, environmental and economic impacts on other communities and the region as a whole.

Socal Goods Movement -- Global Gateway

2006-12-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

Global Gateway Issues:

The Southern California Association of Governments reports the following:

The SCAG region hosts the majority of the nation's traffic for freight movement by sea, air, land and rail. Our goods movement system provides global competitiveness for the region, the state and the nation, but it gives us a disproportionate share of the burdens of serving as the nation's global gateway.

Our primary challenges are meeting the financial and infrastructure demands of an overburdened transportation systtem for the movement of goods that pass through Southern California while maintaining the health of our residents and the livability of our communities.

Local sales tax levied on our residents (not on foreign goods) is paying for congestion relief. Goods movement infrastructure funding relies heavily onnon-federal resources with 70 percent of Southern California's transportation revenues coming from local taxes. However, each dollar invested yields approximately $4.44 in regional, state and national benefits.

The greatest obstacle in meeting the region's goods movement needs are environmental and community impacts.

Greenbuild and Green Neighborhoods come to LA

2006-12-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

Greenbuild 2007 in Los Angeles

Greenbuild will be held at the LA Convention Center from October 17-19, 2007.

Plan to join 12,000 other people who agree that green building is good idea and good for business at the 2007 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Los Angeles.

At Greenbuild 2007 we'll explore "Accelerating Green Communities" with outstanding educational sessions, exciting speakers, special events and tours, and our largest exhibit hall ever.

Los Angeles was chosen to host Greenbuild 2007 because of its involvement in green building, the strong USGBC chapter presence, and the city's overall commitment to sustainability. The local government has passed several initiatives to promote sustainability and the construction of green buildings citywide. In April 2002, the Los Angeles City Council voted to require LEED certification for all public works construction projects larger than 7,500 gross square feet. In July 2003, the city extended this requirement to all building projects funded by the city. In addition, in March 2002 LEED certification of new construction projects was approved as part of the $1.6 billion bond proposition funding building projects on the nine campuses of the LA Community College District.

ALSO: the USGBC’s LEED® green building rating system for Neighborhood Development will be pilot launched next month as the green building industry focuses on developing entire green communities over the single green building approach.

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program

2006-12-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program

UC SAREP is a statewide program of University of California

UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute
CAES Ag Sustainability Reports
UC Davis Student Farm
SAFS Project
LTRAS Project

CONTACT:
UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
DANR Building, Hopkins Road
University of California
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616

Tel: (530) 752-7556
Fax: (530) 754-8550
Email: sarep@ucdavis.edu

Greener Chemicals Award: Greenlist by S.C. Johnson ranks raw materials

2006-12-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

Green Chemistry Award by EPA - 2006

Greenlist(TM) process, a system that rates the environmental footprint of the ingredients in its products. Through Greenlist, SCJ chemists and product formulators around the globe have instant access to environmental ratings of potential product ingredients.

Starting in 2001, SCJ developed Greenlist according to the rigorous standards of scientific best practices. Greenlist uses four to seven specific criteria to rate ingredients within 17 functional categories.

SCJ enlisted the help of suppliers, university scientists, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure that the rating criteria were meaningful, objective, and valid. These criteria include vapor pressure, octanol/water coefficient, biodegradability, aquatic toxicity, human toxicity, European Union Classification, source/supply, and others, as appropriate. The Greenlist process assigns an environmental classification (EC) score to each ingredient by averaging its scores for the criteria in its category. EC scores range from Best (3) to Restricted Use Material (0).

SCJ lowers the EC score for chemicals with other significant concerns including PBT (persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity), endocrine disruption, carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity.

Today, Greenlist provides ratings for more than 90 percent of the raw materials SCJ uses, including solvents, surfactants, inorganic acids and bases, chelants, propellants, preservatives, insecticides, fragrances, waxes, resins, nonwoven fabrics, and packaging.

Company scientists have also developed criteria for dyes, colorants, and thickeners and are working on additional categories as well.

In recent years, SCJ has used Greenlist to reformulate multiple products to make them safer and more environmentally responsible. In one example, SCJ used Greenlist to replace polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) with polyethylene in Saran Wrap(R). In another example, SCJ used Greenlist to remove a particular volatile organic compound (VOC) from Windex(R). They developed a novel new formula containing amphoteric and anionic surfactants, a solvent system with fewer than 4 percent VOCs, and a polymer for superior wetting. Their formula cleans 30 percent better and eliminates over 1.8 million pounds of VOCs per year.

(All respective brand names are trademarked or copyrighted by S.C. Johnson or their respective companies)

Chinese Tourists for LA

2006-12-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

Let's be a green host to the coming stream of Chinese visitors... How can we mobilize our hospitality to exchange green information and solutions with these influential guests?

Looking for the Chinese tourist

The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau has opened the first city-level tourism office in Beijing. The city is home to America's second largest population of Chinese Americans.

Of 1.3 million people in China, and estimated 176 million have the resources to travel abroad. Last year 86,000 Chinese visited Los Angeles, making it the fastest-growing market segment for Los Angeles tourism.

Los Angeles is the only city in America served by all three Chinese national carriers, Air China, China Southern and China Eastern, and has 19 weekly nonstops from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The vast majority of outbound China tourists travel to nations adjacent to their home province.

Los Angeles - Pollution Prevention Funding for "Community to Biz" (NP - due Dec. 28)

2006-12-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

Links to application info

Funding for Pollution Prevention Programs

RFP Announcement: For more information and the full RFP contact Karin Christie at

(213) 978-0875 or George Payba at (213) 978-0884.

The City of Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department is inviting Proposals from local, non-profit community organizations and educational institutions in response to the Community to Business Pollution Prevention Funding Program (CBP2). Now in its second term, the CBP2 Funding Program was initiated to support community-based projects that raise local businesses’ awareness, understanding, and implementation of pollution prevention policies and practices, with a particular focus on stormwater and wastewater pollution.

Projects that address air pollution from mobile sources also are eligible. Any non-profit community/environmental organization or educational institution within the City of Los Angeles can apply for CBP2 funding.

The CBP2 Program will fund Proposals aimed at businesses within the City of Los Angeles and can include such projects as training workshops, roundtables, survey maps, pollutant profiles, videos, brochures, and collection programs. The CBP2 Program is designed to encourage the development of unique pollution prevention partnerships among many diverse groups and will give funding priority to collaborative efforts that best address pollution prevention and reduction of hazardous and toxic materials at local businesses. The CBP2 Program is particularly interested in projects that promote pollution prevention on a community-wide basis through team-based policy and planning. Proposed projects must be completed within one year of contract date.

Deadline for proposals is December 28, 2006 no later than 4 p.m. An informational meeting will be held on November 16, 2006 (call for details).

The right is reserved to waive informalities in proposals received and to reject any or all such proposals. The provisions of Division 10, Section 10.8 through 10.13 and Section 10.31 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code requiring non-discrimination and Affirmative Action in hiring persons will be part of any contract awarded pursuant to this notice. As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities.

You Must Contact Karin Christie at (213) 978-0875 or George Payba at (213) 978-0884 for the

*Full RFP Prior to Submitting Your Proposal.
*Click Here to Download the necessary attachments regarding City Contracts
*Click Here to Download the RFP Application and Checklist for Submitting Materials