Lives Per Gallon
The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction




WASHINGTON—October 13, 2008--Terry Tamminen believes that when
it comes to stopping global warming, "We can all be action heroes." Tamminen knows. He is one of the nation's premier experts on oil, global warming and politics, along with the records and plans of the presidential candidates and political parties. Time Magazine named him an "Environmental Hero" and London's Guardian newspaper named him number one in its list of "50 People Who Could Save the Planet."

As a trusted advisor to U.S. governors and world leaders, he helped craft historic policies to cut carbon pollution in California and 30 other states. He drives a hydrogen-fueled car that gets energy from the sun and emits only water. Tamminen is the author of Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction, the hard-hitting book exposing how and why oil is killing us and what citizens and companies can do to end our dependence, stop
wasting billions of dollars, and save lives.

Available for the first time in paperback with a new preface, Tamminen sets forth in Lives Per Gallon a creative, practical strategy to end our dependence on oil based on successful lawsuits by state governments against tobacco companies.

Oil and automobile companies have conspired for decades to hide the harms to human health that are created by their products. States spend billions each year to deal with petroleum pollution, global warming impacts, and health care costs for oil related illnesses and deaths-money that can be recovered in court from oil and auto companies in the same way that states recovered health care costs related to tobacco. By forcing these corporate giants to pay the true cost of their business practices (and remember that Exxon/Mobil alone posted $40.6 billion in earnings in 2007), the economics change in favor of more sustainable, healthier products.

Not content to simply point out the problem with petroleum, Tamminen presents a blueprint for the solution. He shows how we can evolve beyond
oil use to products that are far cleaner and truly sustainable-more fuel-efficient vehicles, biofuels, and hydrogen fuel and vehicles. "Thousands of clean hydrogen powered cars, trucks, and buses are already in operation worldwide," he writes, "proving the technology and spurring development
of a growing network of fueling stations."

Many of the chemicals found in petroleum products-and the air pollution caused by their manufacture, storage, distribution, and combustion-are defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as "materials that cause death, disease, or birth defects in organisms that ingest or absorb them." In addition to the staggering health costs, there
are the costs of acquiring and securing new reserves. We are at war right now to stabilize the oil rich Middle East but the cost has been huge in terms of lives lost and dollars spent-and the region is slipping into greater chaos.

Lives Per Gallon tracks a single drop of oil from ground to gas tank to
show the path of destruction it leaves in its wake-from drilling rigs and belching tankers to refineries and fueling stations. Not a single part of its journey is without peril, and Tamminen makes the case that by following three steps we can be on the on the path to energy independence in less
than 20 years: conserve by "squeezing out more of the energy resources
we already have," increase fuel efficiency by purchasing the most energy efficient vehicles available, and change to greater use of biofuels and ultimately hydrogen fuel.

Terry Tamminen served as the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and Chief Policy Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger. In 2007 he was named the Cullman Senior Fellow and Director of the Climate Policy Program of the New America Foundation and an Operating Advisor to Pegasus Capital Advisors.

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Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America” Now Available to a National Audience

Grassroots Efforts Bring Solutions-Based Film to Hundreds of Thousands, Inspires Positive Energy Changes

 

NASHVILLE—October 13, 2008--“Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America,” the award-winning film from environmentalist and filmmaker
Jeff Barrie that sparked a word-of-mouth sensation, spreading the
message of energy conservation to hundreds of thousands, is now

 available to a national audience.

 

“Kilowatt Ours,” which reached hundreds of thousands through grassroots efforts such as community screenings, educational outreach, film festivals, and the internet, will further expand its reach this fall with broadcasts on public television in many markets throughout the nation.  The inspiring
film will reach international audiences as an official selection of the 2008 United Nations Association Film Festival. 

 

“’Kilowatt Ours’ focuses on how ordinary citizens can take an active role
in energy conservation and provides simple solutions that result in health, money and environment-saving measures,” Jeff Barrie said in a released statement. “Most viewers are shocked at the scope of the issue and even more so at the immediacy and simplicity of the solution – energy savings
as an energy source.”

 

With occasional whimsical zest, the film shares how simple changes such
as switching incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, using energy star appliances, installing adequate insulation and locating and sealing leaks in air duct systems can have significant results.  These changes can result in hundreds of dollars saved on home energy annually, millions of dollars in savings for businesses and communities, as well as dramatically reduced carbon footprints.  

 

“The film provides simple energy saving ideas for homes, businesses and schools that significantly lower utility bills,” Barrie continued. “With rising energy costs and the potential environmental impact, this is an important and timely issue.” 

 

Barrie asks film subjects if they know where their energy comes from –
few are aware that over 50 percent of our power in the U.S. comes from
coal, amounting to more than five tons of coal burned annually to provide electricity for the average American home.  Even fewer are aware that entire mountains are literally destroyed to produce that coal.  Barrie explores mountain top removal and other harmful byproducts of coal and nuclear power such as increased childhood asthma, air pollution, and mercury poisoning. 

 

Personalizing the film’s message, Barrie turns the tables on himself and takes viewers along as he and his wife take steps to reduce energy use in their own home.  The film features other stories of individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities that are foregoing traditional forms of energy and encouraging conservation, promoting energy efficiency,
reducing waste, buying renewable power and saving money.

 

The success of the film spurred the creation of a non-profit organization by the same name. The Kilowatt Ours organization further supports energy conservation with outreach programs that have significant community impact.  For instance, the organization’s educational arm distributes curriculum to educators and has also trained 1,700 students how to
conduct home energy assessments.   This fall Kilowatt Ours will launch
their “Conservation Power Plant” initiative to help viewers bring energy conservation into their homes and community.

 

“Kilowatt Ours” has been featured at over 1,000 community screenings attended by over 35,000 people; over 20,000 copies of the film have been distributed on DVD and it was reportedly featured in over 900 home screenings;  over 5,400 students have attended school screenings; and
over 1,200 educators have used curriculum created by the “Kilowatt
Ours” team.

 

Kilowatt Ours will also be available on DVD October 15, 2008 at www.KilowattOurs.org.

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New Business Pushes for Online Shopping
More mouse clickand less road miles.

 FORT COLLINS—October 13, 2008-- Imagine if just 25 percent of the Americans who own automobiles chose to conduct their shopping online instead of driving to bricks-and-mortar stores--especially during the holidays-- a dramatic decrease in traffic and emissions would be realized.

 

As founders of FreeShipping.org, a one-stop destination for consumers to find online retailers that offer free shipping deals, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Luke and Maisie Knowles make it easier for consumers to save money on items purchased via the Internet. The couple lives in Fort Collins, Colorado – where green living is a way of life – so it is appropriate that their business also encourages Americans to help the environment by staying home to shop.

 

“It makes sense that it is more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly to shop online instead of driving to bricks-and-mortar stores,” Luke Knowles said in a released statement. “It’s better for the environment if
the retailer just ships the product to the consumer's home rather than the consumer driving to different stores to find the product. It's also easier to conduct product research online instead of driving from one store to
another, as people often do during the holidays.”

 

According to a 2008 online shopping survey conducted by the GfK Group,
an international market research company, roughly 70 percent of participants think that shopping online is good for the environment because it helps reduce the carbon footprint. This relates to a typical scenario across America on a Saturday afternoon, when millions of drivers clog the parking lots of malls.

Shopping online can be as much as 27 times more environmentally-friendly than shopping at the mall, according to Dr. Julia Edwards of the IMRG Online Green Awards 2008, who said, "The carbon emission of each item bought online and delivered to the customer is 132 grams of CO2. A staggering 27 items need to be bought on a dedicated car journey to the shops to achieve the same level of efficiency.”

“Online shopping is becoming commonplace,” Luke Knowles said.
“People are getting into the habit of making online purchases, and it will only become more popular because of the tough economy and the high gas prices.

Once consumers shop online once, they tend to do so more often because
 of the convenience and cost savings," he continued. “You can always find cheaper prices online than in stores because there is more competition on the Internet, and since the cost for a retailer to operate an online store is significantly lower than a bricks-and-mortar location.”

 

The Knowles launched FreeShipping.org, which includes more than 800 name-brand stores and allows visitors to search by brand or category, in December 2007. Among the major retailers on FreeShipping.org are JCPenney, Target, Bloomingdale's, Kohl’s, Sears, Best Buy, Old Navy,
and Nordstrom.

The couple leads an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Not only do they work at home, but they also use subcontractors who are telecommuters
and don’t drive to work.

“We encourage others to shop online, so we feel it is important for us to
 live an environmentally-friendly lifestyle,” Luke Knowles said. “It’s the rule rather than the exception where we live (in Fort Collins, Colorado).”

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How Green Is Your Campus? Pearson Wants To Know

Pearson Sustainable Solutions Award Recognizes Campuses That Best Exemplify Sustainable Practices.

 

BOSTON--October 13, 2008--Colleges and universities that are
successfully findings ways to limit their impact on the environment are invited to apply for the 2008 Sustainable Solutions Award from Pearson,
the global leader in education publishing and technology.

    

The Pearson Sustainable Solutions Award recognizes the efforts of faculty and students toward encouraging sustainable practices on campus and in
the community. Pearson will award a total of $5,000 to the U.S. campus or campuses that best exemplify the principles of sustainability.

 

Previous Sustainable Solutions Award winners include Drury University in Springfield, Mo., for a year-round program that promoted a campus-wide “conversation” about sustainability; the University of Arizona in Tucson,
for its student-generated, campus-wide rainwater harvesting project; Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Wash., for growing traditional native food plants and service learning projects with the Little Bear Creek Lummi Elders Garden and Lummi Head Start; the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., for its Dairy Research Unit that converts waste to energy and its bioenergy summer school program for undergraduates; and Miami Dade College in Miami, Fla., in recognition of its interdisciplinary activities to promote earth literacy among students and the South Florida community, particularly in challenge grants for student photography and interior design projects.

 

To apply, current college or university faculty members in the
 environmental or biological services can nominate their department with a brief letter explaining how their campus best exemplifies the principles of sustainability. Faculty can also nominate another university department at their school, or another US college where campus efforts towards environmental sustainability merit consideration.

 

Application packets must be postmarked by Monday, November 3, 2008. Winners will be announced in December. Additional information, including a downloadable application and tips about writing to an elected official, is available at www.pearsonhighered.com/scholarships/sustainable.

 

Pearson's own employees are actively taking steps to limit the company's impact on the environment, such as allowing professors to review books online to save trees, limiting greenhouse effects from less shipping and educating employees about ways to limit their own carbon footprint.

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New Brand Shows Retailer's Passion to Democratize Green

 

TOPEKA, Kan.—October 13, 2008--Payless ShoeSource announced today plans to launch the first-ever affordable green footwear line due in stores early next year and that it has signed an agreement with Summer Rayne Oakes, Discovery Network's Planet Green fashion and beauty expert and author of Style, Naturally: The Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion & Beauty (Chronicle Books, February 2009), to serve as the
green footwear brand’s Eco Consultant.

The new brand is a key part of Payless’ mission and strategy to
democratize fashion, design and new ideas in footwear and accessories
and to position Payless as a “House of Brands” retailer, offering well-recognized, fresh new brands -- all at a great price.

The forthcoming line will include on-trend, fashionable footwear and accessory products that are also green through the use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials such as organic cottons and linen, natural hemp and recycled outsoles, as well as the use of eco-smart packaging.  The line will be seasonally refreshed offering the latest trends; the new brand will
launch initially for women, expanding to include kids' and men’s styles in
the future.  The "green" shoes will be available at prices, on average, of under $30 a pair early next year in about 500 stores with select styles appearing in 1,000 stores, as well as generally available on Payless.com.

“The sustainability movement is pervasive today and is touching so many elements of consumers' daily lives and they are interested in more and
 more green product options being available to them,” Matt Rubel, CEO of Collective Brands, Inc., the parent company of Payless ShoeSource, said in a released statement.  “But green items are often expensive and inaccessible to so many.  With our mission to democratize the latest ideas in footwear and accessories, we are in the best position and proud to bring forward a green footwear line that is affordable and accessible to all.

Our alliance with Summer Rayne Oakes is important to this new brand initiative.  Summer Rayne is a trend-setting expert in Eco Fashion, and she will help us launch our new green brand, as well as assist us in driving innovation with fresh, new eco-smart ideas for this brand going forward.”

The new line is unique not only as the first-ever affordable green footwear, but also because it will stress fashion first, while being eco-smart.

"When Payless approached me to partner with them on what would be their first-ever affordable green line of footwear, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse," said Oakes. "It's high time a stylish line of shoes can be both environmentally friendly and reasonably priced.  Payless is at the forefront of a significant movement bridging fashion, environmental awareness and accessibility -- an undertaking I am proud to be a part of.”

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USIBC Launches 'Green India' Summit

 

WASHINGTON--October 13, 2008--The U.S.-India BusinessCouncil (USIBC), in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) will launch on October 15, 2008 its new "Green India' Initiative, highlighting the challenges and opportunities relating to India's massive infrastructure build-out and those U.S. technologies which can match these needs. USIBC's 'Green India' Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington will feature India's Union Minister of Power, Sushil Kumar Shinde, together with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, along with a host of experts associated with clean technologies and renewable power.

 

USIBC's objective is to focus increased attention on the necessity of meeting India's infrastructure demands by implementing state-of-the-art, environmentally-sustainable technologies.

Innovation and investment in new technologies - essential to protect the environment while reducing stress on global markets - presents a unique challenge given the financial turmoil roiling economies worldwide. Indian financial heavyweights Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC and Rajiv Lal of IDFC will share their prescriptions for how India can mobilize as much as a half trillion dollars in infrastructure investment needed over the next half decade, despite financial uncertainties. India represents one of the most promising destinations for clean technology investment.

The event has attracted major 'star power' from a range of sectors and will proudly feature important addresses by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner of India's Planning Commission, as well as former Secretary of Defense and USIBC Board Member William S. Cohen.

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, will likely announce an upcoming civil nuclear trade mission to India, which will take place before year-end. As a result of last week's signing into law the U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative, U.S. companies will now have an opportunity to compete for a fair share of India's civil nuclear build out - valued at more than $150 billion over the next 30 years, creating as many as a quarter million high-tech jobs here in the U.S.

"The United States and India have embarked on a remarkably
constructive journey together. As the world's two most prominent democracies, we have  a special obligation and responsibility to chart a course that stems environmental degradation and leaves our planet in better shape for future generations. Green India will be the first in a series of summits to be held  in the U.S. and India during alternate years to energize this important dialogue," said Ron Somers, USIBC President.

The U.S.-India Business Council, formed in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the U.S. Government to deepen two-way trade
and promote U.S.-India commercial ties, is the premier business advocacy organization representing 280 of the largest U.S. companies investing in India, joined by two dozen of India's largest global companies. USIBC is hosted under the aegis of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses
 and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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Conference Held on Curbing City Waste Globally held in DC
Sustainable communities the focus of week-long event.



WASHINGTON--While cities only cover two percent of the Earth's surface,
collectively they consume 75 percent of its resources. This week, city planners and leaders from around the globe gathered in Washington during a week-long green conference aimed at creating a healthier planet.

 

Will Natural Symbolism be the Star of Terrence Malick's Tree of Life?
Movie Stars Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.



by

SACRAMENTO—August 4, 2008--Attorney General Jerry Brown said last week he will sue in order to block a proposed water-bottling operation in Northern California unless its effects on global warming are evaluated.

The Associated Press reported that the Nestle Waters North America wants to pump about 200 million gallons of water a year from three natural springs that supply McCloud, about 280 miles north of San Francisco. Brown's office said that's enough to fill 3.1 billion 8-ounce plastic water bottles.

The water would be bottled at a 350,000-square-foot facility on the outskirts of the former lumber town.

The Swiss-based company scaled back its plans in May after years of opposition from environmentalists and a group of McCloud residents. It originally sought to pump more than double the amount of water.

David Palais, Nestle's Northern California natural resource manager, told AP that the company already was planning studies on air and water quality, hazardous materials, traffic conditions and climate change for a new environmental review of the bottling plant.

“We appreciate the attorney general's letter and share his commitment to ensuring that new projects in California do not negatively impact the environment,” Palais said in a released statement.

According to Palais, the company will conduct environmental studies over the next two or three years. Afterward, Siskiyou County will prepare a new environmental impact report for the project.

Brown said the company must put its revisions into a new contract with the town of McCloud. He wants proper study of the environmental consequences of the bottling operation, saying the previous draft review had “serious deficiencies.”

He said it failed to include an examination of whether the operation will contribute to global warming through the production of plastic bottles, the operation's electrical demands and the diesel soot and greenhouse gas emissions produced by trucks traveling to and from the plant.

“It takes massive quantities of oil to produce plastic water bottles and to ship them in diesel trucks across the United States,” Brown said in a released statement. “Nestle will face swift legal challenge if it does not fully evaluate the environmental impact of diverting millions of gallons of spring water from the McCloud River into billions of plastic water bottles.”
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San Jose Mayor Calls for Green City by 2022
Plans includes 25,000 new jobs.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed/CNET.

SAN JOSE—August 4, 2008—To date, Silicon Valley is best know of technological advancement. If San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has his way, by 2002 the city will be know for sustainability.

According to CNET, this week Reed unveiled a 15-year plan in October to “green” San Jose and is approximate one million residents by 2022. In meeting this goal, he plans on adding 25,000 green jobs, keep all waste out of landfills, and renovate 50 million square feet of office space to green standards.

The following Q & A was published in CNET last week.

Q: What progress has been made so far with your Green Vision goals?

Reed: We have 15 years. They're going very well, as we have a lot of private sector interest and buy-in from the public, and in terms of the clean-tech jobs that have already been generated.

We're already starting to see the fruits of that as solar companies are expanding in San Jose, moving to San Jose. I've been meeting with Silicon Valley CEOs to make sure that if they're expanding, that it's in San Jose.

We want to make sure that, as with NanoSolar, SoloPower, Stion, SVTC, and Underwriters Laboratories, that we're getting those opportunities. This stuff happens rapidly and if you're not paying attention, people will pick up and move around the world. We're talking to other solar companies now.

That part is going very well. The industry is still doing well, notwithstanding the uncertainty of the solar tax credit that Congress is not yet able to pass...The job creation side of it, I think, will be one of the easier goals. If you do the math, with less than 1 percent of the world energy market growing at 30 percent per year. You can grow at 30 percent for many, many years, in a market that is measured in trillions. That's pretty exciting. If we can just capture the market opportunity here, we'll have 25,000 tech jobs relatively early.

Q: What are some benefits you're able to offer to companies to keep them here, especially given the uncertainty of the renewable energy tax credits?

Reed: First of all, they want to be here. This is Silicon Valley, innovation capital of the world. It comes with a built-in bias. What we can do as a city is to assure (companies) that when they decide to grow, move, or expand, that we can do it in a time frame that works with whatever they need, that our permit processing, our approvement permits, our industrial tools inspection program, all those things will happen on their time frame, quickly, with limited bureaucratic hassle.

We also have available millions of empty square feet left over from the (dot-com) boom and bust. Because we have a lot of real estate available, we're still competitive in a world market on real estate in ways that we are not very competitive, say, in labor costs.

Q: Aren't real estate costs relatively high here?

Reed: Actually, in a world market, we're substantially cheaper than other places in the world, in Europe and Asia. The places we're competing with for innovation centers, real estate isn't cheap but it's modestly priced. That's a plus. Companies have to deal with headaches of doing business in California. It's not cheap to manufacture anything here. We're probably at a 40 percent disadvantage to some of the competing states on the costs of manufacturing and who knows what it is to other places in the world. But we're talking about companies where the labor cost is a relatively small part of their manufacturing process. So our thin-film solar printing solar guys, NanoSolar and SoloPower, for example, are actually creating manufacturing jobs here. We want to be close in that distance from innovation to production to be short. They want to be here, and their labor costs are not so much a part of their total costs. (Due to the soft dollar), exporting has been good for companies that are in the export business.

Q: If you look at Germany, for instance, being the world's solar capital, how can San Jose and the United States overall work to beat them and other regions that may already be ahead of the game?

Reed: They're certainly ahead of us on market size and what they've done, but where we are the best in the world is in innovation. There are tremendous opportunities on conservation and innovation in the production of energy to bring the costs down.

Unfortunately, we've given them a head start, so we have to make up some ground. This problem with the solar tax credit in Congress is not helpful. We're counting on the magic of Silicon Valley. Venture capital people are doing the same thing, pouring money into it.

Q: What do you think will happen with the tax credits?

Reed: I believe they will be extended. Both houses of Congress have voted to pass them, in different forms, unfortunately. It's just not gonna happen soon enough. We already have companies laying people off because you just can't guarantee at least on the larger commercial installations that they'll be installed and operational by the end of the year.

Q: Worst-case scenario if it doesn't happen?

Reed: If it doesn't happen, our installation companies, and the market, will stall, especially on the residential. There's no doubt about that. The manufacturers will discontinue charging ahead because they're selling to Japan, Germany, and Spain as well as the U.S. market.

I don't know how long it'll stall the market...In part, it depends on the innovation and how we bring the costs down.
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Green Entrepreneurs Launch Online Services for Green Businesses
Less money, more guidance.

SAN FRANCISCO--August 4, 2008 --Today The goodMix, an entrepreneurial-led green marketing agency launched new Eco Business Kits, an e-commerce site for businesses that need quality marketing and public relations without traditional high marketing and PR costs.

"The agency is the first of its kind to offer e-commerce customized business advice and public relations strategies that retains high quality for small businesses," Pomeroy, principal and vice president of Marketing, said in a released statement.

According to Pomeroy, the partners customized packages for three of their top markets they believe will burgeon as a result of the public's demand for more socially and environmentally responsible businesses. Their niche, he explaines, is teaching businesses how to communicate and engage with their audience, approaching this with new and traditional ways of marketing.

“We’re offering business and marketing services for regular companies that want to go green and helping smaller green companies become even more sustainable," Colette Turbeville, principal and vice president of Media.

In 2007, along with 11,000 other attendees, Turbeville and Pomeroy met while attending the West Coast Green (www.westcoastgreen.com ), the world’s largest residential green building conference hosted in San Francisco, where they handled community outreach and strategy to bring exhibitors, media partners, journalists and attendees in the door.

In explaining the company in a nutshell, Turbeville explained that The goodMix offers Eco Business Kits for the green building industry, the eco-fashion market, and green technology. These kits include: professionally written press releases, partnership building and outreach, directory listings in key business directories, Search Engine Optimization, market research, as well as a host of 'la carte services.

“What makes this different than using a traditional public relations and marketing agency is that we are offering a way to help smaller businesses get off the ground without a lot of barriers to entry," Pomeroy said in a released statement. "Fortunately, we were able to restructure part of our company to accommodate the growing need for these services without sacrificing quality--we have some of the best in the business on our team. And of course for companies that require deeper strategies, we specialize in The goodMix custom PR and marketing mix which includes ideation sessions and cutting-edge strategies."

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Green Beer and Wine – It’s not about the Color but the Spirit
Brewers large and small are searching for sustainable approach.

By Frances Shainwald

NEW YORK--August 4, 2008--Green beer isn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day anymore. Breweries and wineries across the United States are going green by making their facilities more environmentally friendly and offering organic products.

The state of Colorado not only leads the nation in beer production but also boasts many earth-friendly breweries. New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, for example, is setting the “bar” for other breweries with its green production practices

New Belgium became the first brewery in the nation to be completely wind-powered in 1999. In addition, it uses sun tubes to bring in natural light and evaporative coolers to keep air temperatures low. In the winter, the facility is heated by energy produced from the methane byproduct of their water treatment process.

The brewery is a strong supporter of bicycle riding, offering employees a free bicycle after one year of employment. The annual Tour de Fat, the company’s traveling bicycle festival, visits eleven cities to advocate driving less and cycling more.

The Odell Brewing Company, also located in Fort Collins, uses a device known as the “Hot Shot Box” that allows the facility to detect when the city’s electricity demands are overwhelming. When this happens, the box shuts off some of the brewery’s equipment in order to conserve the city’s energy.

Green steps are not reserved for smaller breweries. Industry giant MillerCoors Brewing Company began its contribution to saving the environment in 1959, when the former Coors Brewing Company became the first brewery to switch from steel to aluminum cans. The company then offered the public a penny per can to recycle them.

According to the company web site, MillerCoors reuses waste beer and water, and its facilities recycle or reuse 95 percent or more of their solid waste, according to the company’s Web site. The brewery also claims to be reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 9,000 tons due to energy-efficient lighting and control updates.

The well-known Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in California is yet another pioneer in green brewing. The company received a WRAP award (Waste Reduction Awards Program) every year from 2001-2007. According to its Web site, Sierra Nevada diverted 33,738 tons of waste from the landfill in 2006 by reusing and recycling materials.

Numerous breweries offer organic products for the health and environmentally conscious consumers including New Belgium, which distributes to states mostly in the western part of the country, offers the organic wheat beer Mothership Wit. Other organic beers can be found at retailers such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats.

Some of the big players are dipping their toes into organic production. Anheuser-Busch offers Stone Mill Pale Ale, though it is marketed under the Crooked Creek Brewing Company label. The brand Henry Weinhard, which is owned by MillerCoors, produces Organic Amber Premium Ale.

Wineries are also attempting to reduce their carbon footprints. Ninety percent of the nation’s wine is produced in California, and green activism is an important part of the regional industry.

In 2001 the Sustainable Winegrowing Program was created by the California Association of Winegrape Growers and the Wine Institute. The program guides vineyards and wineries in implementing sustainable green behaviors with a voluntary code of practices.

Parducci Winery in Mendocino County boasts being the first carbon neutral winery in the nation. Tractors and cars powered by biodiesel fuel help Parducci to reduce its carbon emissions.

The winery also has a solar energy system and uses recycled tree-free paper for its stationary and packaging needs. Its local, family-farmed grapes are grown using organic farming practices.

Napa Valley vintners can join the Napa Green program, where members work to improve Napa’s watershed and protect the habitat with responsible farming practices.

A 100 percent organic wine must come from organically farmed grapes and contain no added sulfites, but a true green enthusiast could go a step beyond buying organic and search for biodynamic wines. The grapes for these wines are grown using the principles of biodynamic agriculture, which takes organic to the next level.

Biodynamic farming emphasizes channeling the natural rhythms of the earth and viewing the farm as a self-sustainable system. Wineries that practice biodynamic farming include Frey Vineyards in California’s Redwood Valley and Grgich Hills in Napa.

Benziger Winery in Sonoma offers the biodynamic Tribute, and Quivira Vineyards won the 2008 Best Practices Award from The Sonoma County Business Environmental Alliance because of their biodynamic farming practices.

In Oregon, Cooper Mountain Vineyards and Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden also practice biodynamic farming. Biodynamic wines in the United States are certified by Demeter USA, a non-profit organization that is part of a worldwide certification system.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Leeds Businesses’ Green Efforts Pro Environment and Pro Profit
Booming business contributing to region’s carbon footprint.

Story and photo by Marc Latham

LONDON--August 4, 2008--Initiatives in the workplace will help tackle climate change, but rapid growth will mean more carbon production in the short term. The aforementioned was the conclusion of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Business: Green and Profitable’ seminar held in the city’s town hall recently.

The seminar was a part of Leeds Business Week, and was well-attended by representatives from disparate local companies. The event’s stated aim was: “to demonstrate that effectively tackling climate change can be good for your business, even in the midst of the credit crisis.”

The four hour meeting was chaired by Alan Gill, president of Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and featured a welcoming speech by Councillor Andrew Carter. The seminar accepted that climate change is real, in line with the scientific consensus, and focused on how businesses could limit their carbon footprint.

Additional speakers included Helen Keele, senior associate for the environmentally focused law firm Pinsent Masons; Anthony Galloni, director of Marketing Sustainable Energy Solutions, E.ON energy company; Sarah Schepers, Head of Marketing, The Carbon Neutral Company; Rebecca Roberts, Director, Feast food company; and Irena Bauman, Director, Bauman Lyons Architects.

Helen Keele said Pinsent Masons had cut their carbon footprint by forming a firm-wide environmental committee; set up local environmental focus groups, hired an external consultant; installed motion sensors for energy saving and increased their recycling.

Keele said this move cut their carbon footprint, and that their green policy had also secured new customers, reduced costs, helped recruit and retain talent, and stay a step ahead of new environmental regulations.

Anthony Galloni talked about E.ON’s green projects in Leeds, the UK and Europe: “E.ON’s Scroby Sands wind park, in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth in eastern England can generate enough energy to supply over 36,000 homes, saving the emission of over 65,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, nearly 600 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and nearly 200 tonnes of nitrogen oxides.”

Sarah Schepers reported that CarbonNeutral has worked with hundreds of clients since beginning as a carbon offset company in the early 1990s. Schepers explained that the company operates by measuring the clients’ carbon production, setting targets, working out how to reduce the amount, and then communicating the reduction to the outside world. The benefits to businesses outweigh the costs, as companies enhance their reputation and increase their revenues while saving money through using less energy, she said.

Rebecca Roberts stressed that their company sourced their food from local producers, while Irena Bauman presented a slide show to highlight the importance of the environment in their plans for new buildings in Leeds.

While seminar attendees were keen to cut carbon emissions thus helping the environment, during the questions and answers that followed the speeches it was acknowledged that despite all the initiatives, Leeds’ carbon footprint had been growing because the city itself has been rapidly expanding which has given rise to more companies, more buildings, roads and ultimately, more energy use.

This concession brought a sense of negativity to the seminar, but the mood of the meeting was overall very positive and upbeat, according to the majority of attendees. Moving forward, Leeds business owners collectively said they are serious about limiting their carbon production and helping preserve the planet.

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Historic New Sherwood Forest Planned for England
Robin Hood’s playground will receive new life.

by Marc Latham

LONDON—August 4, 2008--Woodland Trust, the United Kingdom’ s leading woodland conservation charity, has announced exciting plans to create England's largest planted forest on land twenty miles north of London. The new woodland will be planted with four species - field maple, oak, ash and hornbeam - over the next five years, and it is thought it will take about twelve years for the forest to take shape.

If the plans succeed the wood will be home to millions of birds, mammals, wild plants and insects. The Woodland Trust hopes that wild flowers - including bluebells - will start growing on the forest floor within a decade, and that it will also be home to badgers, pygmy shrews, great crested newts, bats, butterflies, and several species of birds.

Ed Pomfret, head of campaigns at The Woodland Trust, wrote in the Guardian that the “UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe with less than 12 percent woodland cover, compared with a European average of 44 percent. Less than half is native broadleaf woodland, and only 2.4 percent of the country is covered with irreplaceable ancient woodland. Land in England is under ever increasing pressure for new houses and development.” he continued. “The Woodland Trust wants to double native woodland cover, planting woods in areas where it can really make a difference to peoples' lives.”

The vast majority of woods in the UK have been cut down over the centuries. According to proponents, plans to produce a 600,000 trees broadleaf woodland, which will cover around 850 acres, will boost interest in trees and wildlife in the famed countryside. Sherwood Forest, which covered 100,000 acres when Robin Hood’s myth began in the Middle-Ages, now covers about 1,000 acres.

Quoted in the Daily Mail, Woodland Trust Chief Executive Sue Holden told the Daily Mail “A continuous new native forest of this size has never been created in England before…Native woodland is our equivalent of the rainforest. Woods and trees are not only good for the soul, they are life-enhancing and make a big difference to people's health and well-being.’”

Reflecting Sue Holden’s views, some locals expressed excitement at the news on the Daily Mail website. Julie Oakley wrote: “I am so excited about this. I walk this area every day and more and more land was being closed off to walkers and the general public so to know that it is going to be re-opened is absolutely wonderful.”

Ed Pomfret also wrote about the benefits he hopes this new wood will bring: “Even close to a motorway or airport, once we are under the canopy we can escape the clamour and fill our lungs with clean air. Woods clean the air, lock up carbon and reduce flooding… It's important to involve as many people as possible in changing our land for the better,” he continued. “If you talk to a child who has planted a tree, they will tell you why it matters. They recognise the tree might well outlive them to be enjoyed by their grandchildren. The symbolism is clear: planting a tree is an act of hope that demonstrates faith in the future. Protecting it shows we have values that outlast our own immediate concerns.”

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Green Degrees on Tap at California Universities
Educational shift toward sustainability realized.

LOS ANGELES—July 28, 2008—While Law, business and economic degrees are still drawing students in larger numbers, three prestigious California universities announced they will soon offer degrees in green studies due to a increasing demand.

The New York Times reported that California State University (CSUN) plans to open a Sustainability Institute, the University of California (UCLA) is hiring a sustainability czar and the University of Southern California has introduced a graduate program in energy, technology and society.

“It’s a sign of the times,” Tom Smith, acting director of UCLA’s Institute of the Environment, told the paper. “We are looking at a pending crisis of climate warming and dependence on fossil fuels and the loss of biodiversity. We are in a crisis.”

Ashwani Vasishth, a professor in the Urban Studies and Planning Department at CSUN, recently presented a Greening Manifesto to the university provost, calling for climate-change courses to be made part of core general education requirements for undergraduates. “Everybody is doing this,” he told the paper. “We are going to appreciate interdisciplinary knowledge in ways we haven’t before.”

CSUN senior Sevan Baroni, who is studying urban planning, told The New York Times: “On campus, you can feel the momentum building. And you just want to be part of something great.” CSUN professors have already begun teaching courses with a sustainability spin.

Vasishth said he foresees a graduate certificate program with courses in carbon trading or green manufacturing and an undergraduate major dedicated to green living.
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Companies Questioned on Validity of Green Initiatives
Shell and Lexus among companies found guilty.

MONTREAL—July 28, 2008—Sustainable initiatives and green measures are taking the world by storm but the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is looking to set regulations so consumers know which companies are really green and which companies are simply looking to make green.

“What does environmentally friendly mean? Or green mean?” Suzanne Kiraly, president of the Canadian Standards Association, asked a reported from The Province.

In order to get answers, the Canada Competition Bureau and CSA last month issued a set of guidelines for industry and advertisers making self-declared claims of environmental benefit. A handful of critics, however, say the voluntary guidelines do not go far enough in protecting consumers.

“This might be called soft law,” Chris Tollefson, executive director of the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, told the paper. “It’s voluntary. You’re trying to get companies to comply,” he continued. “Whether we can move from soft law to hard law remains to be seen, but ultimately that is where we need to go because not every company will be voluntarily compliant.”

TerraChoice Marketing Inc., an Ottawa-based environmental marketing firm, found in a recent survey that a staggering 99 percent of more than 1,000 products made misleading, vague or outright false environmental claims.

In the U.K., where complaints have doubled between 2006 to 2007, big names such as Lexus, Shell, Ryanair and easyJet have all been caught making misleading or untrue environmental claims, reported the paper.

The Canada Competition Bureau is giving businesses one year to adjust to its new guidelines on environmental labeling. The guide states vague terms such as “green” and “eco” should always be avoided and terms such as “sustainable” should never be used because there's no definitive measure for it.

Violations, however, will only be enforceable following a complaint or an investigation. Consumers’ best resource currently is the internet. Websites such as www.greenwashingindex.com allows consumers to post what they see as suspect cases of green marketing.

Vancouver-based start-up Big Room Inc. has launched www.ecolabelling.org, a database of certified eco-labels that allows users to find information about who does the certifying for the eco-label.

"There’s hundreds of these standards and it's hard to figure out which ones are credible and which ones aren’t,” Jacob Malthouse, one of the founders of Big Room, told the paper. “We’re trying to use the Internet to tackle it because the Internet is such a great provider of transparency – it’s one of its greatest attributes.”

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Consumers Fret about Winter Home Heating Bills
Analysts estimate per gallon cost to exceed $4 a gallon.



Photo: The Times Argus

PERKINSVILLE, Vt.--July 28, 2008—For residents in colder climates, record gas prices has given way to sleepless summer nights as they ponder how they will handle the coming winter season now that analysts are predicting fuel oil to cost upwards of $4 per gallon.

For David Bonta, the founder and president of USA Solar Store based in Perkinsville, the answer is alternative energy sources. To this end, Bonta is building a national chain of independently owned stores that promote energy efficiency and sustainable living, reported The Times Argus.

The company sells conservation and power generation products – solar hot water systems, point-of-use heaters, corn and wood pellet stoves and composting toilets – wholesale to retail outlets.

“Our products are very customer-driven,” Bonta told the paper. “Customers come in looking for something or looking to do something, we try to make it happen.”

Bonta opened his first store on September 9, 2001. “I kind of took that as an omen that we had to break our dependency on foreign oil as soon as possible,” Bonta told the paper. “I saw that it was affecting our foreign policy.”

Over the last seven eyars, the USA Solar Store chain has grown to 18 stores in the Northeast, Florida, California and Maryland. Bonta said he has at least one store in every state on the eastern seaboard, and intends to grow the brand in more locations. “We are the leaders in building these chains,” Bonta told the paper. “We’re confident that we will meet our goal of 100 stores by 2010.”

Last year, USA Solar Store, through its chain of independently owned retail outlets, sold more than $1 million in merchandise, reported the paper. Members of the chain pay a licensing fee and in return the stores get a lower wholesale price for solar and energy efficiency products manufactured in the United States, Germany, China and Japan.

To date, Bonta said his company provides retailers access to more than 8,000 products. Solar panels retail for $6 per watt on average: A 110-watt panel sells for $660, and a 220-watt panel sells for $1,320. USA Solar also offers a simple windmill system, for $2,590, and solar batteries and accessories, including a hand-cranked power radio and a soy-based lubricant substitute for WD-40.

“There’s been a tremendous green surge,” Bonta told the paper. “There’s a lot of people, well-educated people who are concerned about global climate change. You also get the survivalists and the tree-huggers, but there are many educated people looking for a different way to live.”

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New “Green” College List Features Arizona State and Emory
Students say they are selecting schools on green record.

NEW YORK—July 28, 2008— Universities and colleges have long subscribed to “lists” whether it is for academic prowess of partying habits. However, a recent Princeton Review survey of 10,300 college applicants found that 63 percent of respondents said that a college’s commitment to the environment could affect their decision to attend.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, with more than 660 members, is developing a rating for environmental friendliness; at least six other organizations rated campus greenness last year, reported The New York Times.

There are lists from Forbes, Grist and Sierra magazines, and an annual report card from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a research organization that assesses the greenness of an institution’s investment portfolio, and the Princeton Review. The compiled ratings listed the following schools as green leaders: Arizona State, Bates, Binghamton University, the College of the Atlantic, Harvard, Emory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Yale and the Universities of New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington.

However, as colleges and universities rush to declare themselves green, certain higher education officials worry that campuses are taking easy steps to win the label rather than taking progressive [expensive] measures such as replacing air exchange systems that would actually reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. “I don’t think we really have the tools to quantifiably test who’s doing the best and who’s not,” David W. Oxtoby, president of Pomona College, told the paper. “It becomes a publicity hype type of thing.”

“It’s important that we focus on the significant rather than the symbolic, or at least recognize the symbolic for what it is,” Sarah Hammond Creighton, the sustainability coordinator at Tufts, told the paper. “I think the commitments are generally real, but I worry that the translation into the depth of the challenge hasn’t hit people.”

The most high-profile effort, and also the most debated, is the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, signed over the last two years by more than 550 institutions representing about 30 percent of American students, reported the New York Times. Students that signed the commitment promise that within a year they will inventory their greenhouse gas emissions and within two will formulate a plan to arrive at carbon neutrality — that is, zero net CO2 emissions — “as soon as possible.” They also agreed to at least two of seven measures, including buying 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources and building to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, a certification developed by the nonprofit United States Green Building Council.

Anthony D. Cortese, who helped create the sustainability association in 2006 as well as the presidents’ pact, says the quest for carbon neutrality “is creating a real change in the culture. We’re essentially telling people to put a bubble over their whole campus and say, ‘We have to make sure the net greenhouse gases are zero someday,’ ” he says. “This is not going to be easy.”
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Green Building on the Rise
Industry expected to proliferate over next five years.

LOS ANGELES—July 28, 2008—Researchers from McGraw-Hill Construction are suggesting that broadly defined “green” building is expected to be worth $12 billion to $20 billion this year, or 6 percent to 10 percent of the market. These statistics are expected to double in the next five years, researchers told The Los Angeles Times.

As a result, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is becoming a household word for consumers. To date, more than 1,500 buildings have received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council since the program was introduced in 2000, and more than 11,000 are seeking the designation, according to the paper, a nonprofit that administers the program.

LEED attempts to quantify sustainable site development, water usage, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and other “green” factors. Recently, the council announced plans to expand LEED certification to subdivisions and neighborhoods. The neighborhood designation has been a pilot program for about a year and will expand in earnest in mid-2009, according to a spokesman for the council.
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Shell Launches LA’s First Hydrogen-Gasoline Station
10 new stations are planned.

WEST LOS ANGELES—July 21, 2008—California welcomes its first hydrogen refueling station courtesy of Shell Hydrogen LLC which is providing consumers a portal into the future of energy: hydrogen powered fuel cells.

“ California is leading the way with clean fuels, as it moves one step closer to realizing its hydrogen program. FCVs powered by hydrogen will provide a sustainable transportation choice for the future, opening up new markets across the globe,” Graeme Sweeney, executive vice president for Shell Future Fuels and CO2, said in a released statement. “This requires the sustained effort of energy companies, auto manufacturers and federal and state governments working together.”

Located off Interstate 405 on Santa Monica Boulevard, the station joins California’s “ Hydrogen Highway” campaign. To date, California already has more fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen refueling stations than any other part of the world. Last year it recorded 1.5 million zero emission miles from hydrogen FCV trials. Twenty-five hydrogen stations currently operate in California, the majority of which are located in San Francisco-Sacramento region and Greater Los Angeles. In total, the stations serve an approximate 100 fuel cell passenger vehicles and transit buses. Ten new stations are currently in the planning stage.

Hydrogen motors work as a result of a chemical reaction inside a unit called a fuel cell-usually between hydrogen and oxygen-creates electricity. Water is the only emission released from the tailpipe, which produces no carbon emissions.,

“This is a very exciting development. With this station, Shell is helping to usher in the hydrogen age. We are very pleased to be working with a large oil company to demonstrate zero-pollution transportation technologies,” James J. Provenzano, President of the public advocacy group Clean Air Now, said in a released statement. “Hats off to Shell for implementing innovative solutions to mitigate air pollution right here in Los Angeles.”

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Presidential Campaigning Far From Green
Statistics find both candidates need fine tuning.

NEW YORK—July 21, 2008—Regardless of political persuasion, one thing remains clear that while presidential hopefuls Senator John McCain and Senator Barak Obama have pledged to make their respective campaigns green, environmental advocates say they are coming up short.

TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Analysis Group report that the McCain and Obama campaigns each spend roughly $250,000 to $300,000 per day on advertising. To date, the candidates’ website does not indicate how expenditures are offset with carbon credits or handled with a pro-environment attitude.

A recent PQ Media study found that political ad spending, which includes print advertising, email blasts, door hangers and direct mail, is expected to increase 43 percent to $4.5 billion this marking an all-time high.

“Neither print nor digital media supply chains are sustainable as currently configured, but they can be if advertisers make identifying and reducing the carbon footprint of advertising a priority,” Don Carli, senior research fellow of the Institute for Sustainable Communication.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, the cost of a typical piece of mail is roughly 50 cents. Thus, $50 million dollars could buy 100 million pieces of direct mail. The carbon footprint associated with the distribution of the mail is 2000 tons of greenhouse gasses. With carbon credits currently priced at $15 dollars a ton, the cost of offsetting the footprint of a $50 million dollar campaign therefore would be $30,000 which is less than 1 percent of the cost of the campaign.

“Identifying and reducing the carbon footprint of advertising supply chains would create jobs, make a significant contribution to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help to ensure the security and sustainability of the media supply chains that they depend on,” Lisa Wellman, CEO of SustainCommWorld, said in a released statement. “This is a time when the country is looking for leadership on issues surrounding sustainability and the environment.”

Carli is conference chair of The Green Media Show and Conference that will take place in Boston on October 1 and 2 and is presented by the Nonprofit Institute for Sustainable Communication and SustainCommWorld. This year’s conference will focus on bottom-line solutions to address enterprise communication and sustainability including: increased brand equity; growing shareholder value; business risk reduction; supply chain activity; sustainability reporting; carbon foot-printing and more.

“Leading brands such as Time Inc., Timberland and Patagonia are examining the carbon footprint of advertising media," Carli said in a released statement, adding "why not political advertisers?” ___________________________________________

Baseball All-Star Pre-Game Goes Green
Major League unveils new sustainable initiatives.

NEW YORK-July, 21, 2008—The Big Apple hosted this year’s Hall of Fame parade preceding the All-Star Game which took place at the legendary-and soon defunct-Yankee Stadium. Twenty blocks of Sixth Avenue were ablaze with world class players and a red carpet that was made entirely of recycled fiber and manufactured using solar and wind power.

“We did the Oscars. We advised the Grammies. But this is our first green red carpet!” Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist with the nonprofit environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) told the Washington Post.

With an estimated 80 million spectators, baseball creates fun and excitement but also lots of waste. Traveling by teams and fans, bottled water and beer in plastic cups were among issues some team owners sought to address. Soon ground crews began switching to chemically begin cleaners, as well as touting energy-efficient vending machines.

Beginning at the start of the season, Major League Baseball entered a partnership with the NRDC to make the entire game more Earth-friendly. Hershkowitz explained that the Council conducted a team-by-team survey and has devised an online software tool, called the Team Greening Program, to help every team adopt more ecological practices.

According to media and advertising coordinator Lauren Connelly, some teams were ahead of the curve. The Seattle Mariners were already practicing conservation. And newer ballparks were constructed with environmental standards in mind, including the District’s new Nationals Park, made of mostly recycled steel and using energy-saving bulbs for its field lights. Nationals Park is the only stadium in the country so far certified as green by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council.

“The bottom line is, I think, this is signaling a cultural shift that I think is unprecedented, to have Major League Baseball embracing environmentalism,” Hershkowitz told the paper. “It’s apple pie, it’s motherhood, it’s baseball, it’s environmentalism.”

The Washington Post reported that at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, the Pirates this year instituted a project called Let's Go Bucs, Let’s Go Green that includes recycling aluminum, plastic and cardboard, converting used cooking oil to biofuel, switching to energy-efficient light bulbs and toilet paper made from recycled materials, and having the team’s U.S.-based scouts driving around the country in flex-fuel vehicles.
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Massachusetts Passes Landmark Sustainable Bill
The Green Communities Act sets aside funds for
progressive municipalities.

Caption: Massachusetts Gov. Devel Patrick.

LINCOLN, Mass.—July 21, 2008—With an eye on the future, Massachusetts Gov. Devel Patrick signed The Green Communities Act into law on July 2.The landmark bill, which passed, unanimously, through both the State House and Senate, enables residents and business owners to make, choose and use energy in unique and progressive ways.

As part of the bill, The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an order that will begin the process of “decoupling” rates from sales volume for all of Massachusetts’ electric and natural gas distribution utilities, reported SustainableBusiness.com.

“In passing the Green Communities Act, Governor Patrick and the Legislature set a bold new vision for the future evolution of our state’s energy systems,” DPU Chairman Paul Hibbard said in a released statement. “Decoupling utility rates from sales removes the single most important barrier to realizing the vision set forth in the Act.”

In Lincoln, for example, the program will provide up to $10 million each year in technical and financial assistance in promoting energy efficiency. In conjunction with Renewable Energy Trust Fund, towns which adopt required programs are eligible for financing for the construction of renewable and alternative energy facilities.
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Nielsen Co. Conference Focuses on Green Products
Analysts predict a $400 billion industry by 2010.

PHOENIX – July 14, 2008 – “Going Green” is the “it” phrase of the decade. Analysts predict that Green and healthy products, currently a $209 billion industry, will reach more than $400 billion by 2010.

The Natural Marketing Institute presented findings from its recent research report at The Nielsen Co.’s annual Consumer 360 Conference in Phoenix last month. The report studied green consumers and their shopping habits.

“Sustainability is here to stay, and clearly, our research shows that (green/healthy) consumers are important consumers for consumer products group manufacturers and retailers to attract to their brands and stores,” Todd Hale, senior vice president of consumer and shopper insights for The Nielsen Co., said in a released statement.

Nielsen and NMI said that this growing consumer demographic is best defined as seeking “lifestyles of health and sustainability.” One in five consumers fit into this demographic. They are top spenders in categories focusing on organic, natural and environmentally friendly options, such as produce, cereal, soup, eggs, pasta, nuts and noncarbonated drinks. The research also showed green consumers spend more in warehouse clubs than other channels, such as grocery stores, drug stores or supercenters.

“These consumers are early adopters, loyal to companies whose values match their own, and validated by our research, willing to put their money where their mouths are,” Patti Marshman-Goldblatt, senior vice president for NMI, said in a released statement. She added that organics products are “on fire with billions in sales.”
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Billionaire Oil Man Says Wind Energy is America’s
Future Cash Crop Environmentalist embraces
former ideological foe.



SYDNEY—July 14, 2008—Legendary oilman T Boone Pickens said he is convinced that alternative energy is the cure for America’s oil addiction.

“We are in an emergency, there’s no question about it, and so something has to be done about it, $700 billion is what we’re paying now for foreign oil,” Pickens told ABC News.

Pickens says Americans have lived with low gas prices for so long, there’s been no incentive to wean the US off foreign oil or invest in alternatives. When Richard Nixon was president, he explained, the US was importing 20 per cent of its oil. During the first Gulf War it was 42 per cent, and now it’s almost 70 per cent.

“So you haven’t had the pressure on the politicians or the companies or the auto makers,” Pickens told ABC News.

In the near term, he said the focus should be on natural gas but for the long haul he says wind power is the ticket - going as far as to say America could be the Saudi Arabia of wind. “It means we’ve got more wind than anybody else in the world, just like they have more oil,” he said.

While the life long Republican is not throwing his hat in any one ring during this highly contested campaign year, he is building what could become the world’s largest wind farm in Texas at a cost of $10 billion.

“The only way I’ll talk to them is if I talk to them together or wait until one of them is president. I'm not going to show any preference in this campaign,” he said.

The “Pickens Plan” is being embraced by conservationists, such as David Willett, the national spokesman for the Sierra Club – America’s oldest and largest environmental organization.

“He is a businessman, so he’s looking for ways to produce energy that are going to be profitable. So it’s a both in economic and an environmental good idea,” Willett told ABC News.

Willet believes one man, especially a man like Pickens, can make a difference. “This kind of effort could certainly benefit from help from the Government, but one man who has billions of dollars to spend can certainly push a market in the right direction and by showing that it’s profitable to move into the renewable energy industry he could bring quite a few other people along with him.”

Pickens acknowledges there’s no short-term fix to America’s soaring energy prices. He’s predicting that a year from now oil will be at $200 a barrel.
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Boston Buildings Will Adhere to New “Green” Order

Harvard University sets aggressive goals.

Boston—July 14, 2008—Boston is the latest city to announce new green initiatives, a move that has a scholarly partner, Harvard University.

Last week, Boston Mayor Thomas A. Menino signed the “Green Building Maintenance Order,” which is aimed at increasing the purchase of environmentally preferred cleaning supplies, expanding recycling programs in city facilities and advancing green policies around the city, reported GlobeSt.com. The new policy, Menino’s second, will cover approximately 400 buildings and facilities in Boston.

“This is yet another step in which the city is working toward reducing waste and creating more innovative strategies to improve the efficiency and sustainability of our operations. We have several strategies that are already working and I am committed to taking these best practices citywide,” Menino said in a released statement.

This new order came just days after the United States Green Building Council added green cleaning to its LEED certification system. As of July 1, all existing buildings seeking LEED certification must register for the new version of the system, which adds a green cleaning prerequisite and two points in a green cleaning credit once effectiveness is verified, according to the Council’s website. A high-performance cleaning program is worth one point, and using sustainable cleaning products and materials can be worth up to 3 points, depending on the percentage purchased. Sustainable cleaning equipment can add yet another point to a building’s score.

The intention is “to reduce the exposure of building occupants and maintenance personnel to potentially hazardous chemical, biological and particulate contaminants, which adversely affect air quality, human health, building finishes, building systems and the environment,” according to the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance guide, published in April 2008.

In tandem, the Cambridge-based Harvard University released the report of its Greenhouse Gas Emission Task Force, which recommended short-term goals of reducing overall emissions by 30 percent of its 2006 baseline by 2016. The University, which has had a green cleaning program in place since 2004, said it will reviews outline goals every four years.

“The goal we seek to achieve by 2016 is an aggressive one, especially in light of the prospective growth of our campus, and extraordinary efforts will be needed to meet it,” Harvard University President Drew G. Faust said in a released statement. “We have consciously set a high bar for ourselves, in view of the importance and urgency--as well as the difficulty--of the challenge.”

In related news, New York City announced that it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its municipal buildings and operations by 30 percent by 2017, which is part of its long-term plan to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

According to a Brookings Institution report on carbon footprints in America’s cities, transportation and energy use in Houston dropped by 8.6 percent from 2000 to 2005.

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Hollywood Movie Set Goes Green with Help from “Office”
Star. A small step on what will be a long journey.

NEW YORK—July 14, 2008-- During the production of a mainstream feature film a rare approach was taken in that grips to Academy Award Winner (American Beauty) director Sam Mendes adhered to five cardinal recycling rules: bottles, cans, plastic, compost, and paper.

The untitled movie follows the journey of an expectant couple, as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family. John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) star as the parents-to-be.

The production office has observed the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)’s Best Practices Guide for Green Production and been advised by Earthmark Green Production Consulting. The film’s Green initiative is also part of “Green is Universal,” NBC Universal’s ongoing campaign to raise environmental awareness, activate consumers to help protect the earth. The campaign began with Universal Pictures’ 2007 release Evan Almighty, which was produced on the West Coast.

All departments comply with the guidelines, from camera (lensing with 3-perf film, which uses 25 percent less stock and chemicals in the manufacturing and processing) to costumes (using low-energy washers and dryers in the costume shop) to sound (using rechargeable batteries) to photography (production and publicity stills are evaluated online rather than via contact sheets).

While filming took place in Connecticut, Arizona, and Florida, the production reduced its carbon footprint by employing an on-set recycling program. In addition, a substantial percentage of the trucks and campers ferrying the cast and crew are using reclaimed Biodiesel 5, a petroleum diesel fuel blend that runs on recycled/collected cooking grease from local restaurants. This was the first East Coast project to use Biodiesel 5 on location, and the production was able to procure it in every state.

Furthering the initiative, the cast and crew have availed themselves of environmentally responsible products. Craft services and catering's biodegradable-only products are being recycled and composted; 16 oz. aluminum SIGG water bottles were provided, which in kept an approximate 10,000 plastic water bottles out of landfills.
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Tucson City Fire Engines Stay Red While Firehouses
go Green. New building code meets mandates.

Tucson--July 14, 2008--Answering a City Council mandate calling for a “silver” rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, Tucson has successfully completed its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Architect David Shambach was the principal designer for projects under way in the Rincon Valley and Corona de Tucson fire districts. He told the Arizona Daily Star it makes “economic sense to pay a bit more for the building when you recoup the costs in energy savings and easier maintenance.”

Fire Chief Karen Lundberg knows the value of a dollar as budgets tighten, a lesson she has learned since assuming her post in 1990. And while there is more cost involved with taking “green” steps, in the long run Lundberg says the initiative will pay off.

“Here we did it just right,” Lundberg told the paper. “We upped on some things that’ll give us more energy efficiency and prolong the life of the building.”

Shambach and builder Jamie Olding said calculations are not in yet but the price increase caused by the building’s green features are negligible and more than offset by savings in heating, cooling, lighting and maintaining the building over its lifespan.

Qualifying for LEED standards can seem like a lot if you’re scrimping, said Shambach, but if you’re already building a good building, it’s a small step. “Building green,” Shambach noted, “is just another way of making sure the building is constructed properly.”

This fire station’s roof is composed of panels of foam sandwiched between plywood. The windows are double-paned, and the frames have an insulating break in them. Exterior shades are designed to keep out the sun on the hottest days, explained Shambach.

The walls are made of concrete-filled foam forms. Olding said using the newer materials required more consultation and education of the subcontractors on the job, but did not appreciably add to the cost. The foam wall forms were purchased and installed for about the same price as conventional masonry walls, he told the Arizona Daily star.

The building uses recycled steel and very little wood. The cabinets will be made from readily renewable or recycled wood, Shambach said.

“Daylighting” is a big building feature, with 28 solar tubes and three “Ciralights,” which use mirrors to capture full sunlight when the sun is 15 degrees above the horizon. Interior rooms are on sensors that turn off lights when they are not in use.

Dual-flush toilets — up for liquids, down for solids were installed to conserve water. Water for cooking and showers is heated by a solar system on the station’s roof. Building to LEED standards also means reducing or eliminating the use of volatile organic compounds in paints, finishes and cabinetry.

José Carballeira, the city of Tucson’s project director for the building, told the paper the direct cost of LEED certification, which included additional paperwork and certification fees, was $71,800. He estimates that LEED-required items added 2 to 3 percent to the $6.5 million cost of the station. “There is definitely a payback,” he told the paper.

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Fujitsu Siemens Computers Touting Green PC
New model released in Europe and the

Middle East.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – July 14, 2008 -- Late last year, Fujitsu Siemens Computers took an active role in raising the awareness level of Green IT initiatives in Europe and the Middle East by releasing SCALEO Green PC.

The company, which was nominated for The Pocket-lint Awards, a top English tech honor, is the first IT provider to offer a complete range of environmentally friendly solutions for data centers, offices and private households.

Stephane Rejasse, managing director for Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Middle East, told Al Bawaba, that the green PC was developed to satisfy customer requirements for both private and commercial use. He added that Green products account for about 75 percent of Professional PCs sold by Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

“While the region's IT industry is fast changing its attitude towards the environment and adopting ways to reduce toxicity, users should be ready to change their behavior towards the environment by making green choices. However, recent sales figures show that environmental awareness and knowledge about environmental protection on the part of the public still leave room for improvement,” he told the news agency. “With our green PC concept we want to offer a genuine green alternative to the buying patterns of private customers, whose collective environmental awareness is slowly on the rise. Our aim is for private customers to buy in the same environmentally conscious way as our business customers.”

The SCALEO Green PC has acquired the Nordic Swan, Blue Angel and The U.S. Energy Star 4.0 certificates. Hitting the shelves at approximately 347 Euros, the model features an Intel Pentium Dual Core processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, a multinorm DVD writer with Double Layer support, an 11-in-1 card reader, and runs Windows Vista Home Premium. The company says the PC also features a “green” manufactured internal circuit board, “reducing the size of its carbon footprint.”

In recent months, the company ran a series of Green IT business events in UAE and Saudi Arabia, involving a number of its customers to discuss the merits and suitability of more sustainable, environmentally-friendly IT systems for the Middle East region.

“The public needs to revise its thinking and we are helping the private and individual consumers to make the right decision by providing detailed information through the media and direct interaction. Behaving in an environmentally friendly way does not mean doing without the comfort and technology of the modern world,” said Rejasse. “The customer’s purchase decisions can also highlight this issue and force business to align technical innovation and design with the environment.”