Started in 1971 by the EPA, this awards program “…recognizes young people across America for projects which demonstrate their commitment to the environment.” Awards are given for one project in each of the EPA’s ten regions. After 38 years, the winning projects have run the gamut — everything from peer environmental education to recycling efforts to wetlands restoration. Recent winners have included

• The Green Books Project in Lewisville, NC: Student Cory Adkins saw textbooks being thrown away at his school, and started his program to sell these books… and use the funds generated to support recycling in his community.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://sustainablog.org/2009/11/20/presidents-environmental-youth-awards-recognizes-green-student-leaders/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:13:04 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/
Candy giant MARS, parent company of M&M’S®, DOVE®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, and TWIX®, turned on a huge new solar array (a “solar garden”) at its headquarters in New Jersey today. No matter what you think of candy food like this, it is good to see such a company going solar. Popular with millions, billions perhaps, and about as mainstream as you can imagine, this is a good step for solar’s more widespread use across the country.

This facility is PSEG Solar Source’s first large-scale solar project. It is one of the largest solar projects in the state of New Jersey, which is already 2nd only to California in its amount of installed solar capacity. The MARS headquarters adjacent to the solar garden is the workplace of about 1,200 employees and is where M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies are manufactured.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/feed/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/28/epas-new-parking-lot-explores-environmentally-friendly-pavements/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/28/epas-new-parking-lot-explores-environmentally-friendly-pavements/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:39:31 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2009/10/28/epas-new-parking-lot-explores-environmentally-friendly-pavements/

Without pavement and parking lots we would still be traveling cross-country in Conestoga wagons on 6-inch deep ruts and be breathing lungfulls of dust every time a vehicle drove by at the Kwik-E-Mart. Needless to say, pavement is one of the many things that makes modern life possible.

But, like everything else in our modern life, the more advanced we get in our ability to collect and analyze data, the more we realize that the good stuff always seems to have its awful consequences too. It’s the same story with pavement.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://gas2.org/2009/10/28/epas-new-parking-lot-explores-environmentally-friendly-pavements/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/calling-epa-heat-exchange-can-make-clothes-dryers-efficient/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/calling-epa-heat-exchange-can-make-clothes-dryers-efficient/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:30:47 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/calling-epa-heat-exchange-can-make-clothes-dryers-efficient/
You knew you keep a fire in a box in your laundry room, right? Not only is that kind of a scary thought, but it’s an extremely inefficient way to dry clothes; lighting a fire every time you turn on the clothes dryer. Lint catches fire all the time. But even worse, that natural gas emits carbon dioxide and is likely the second most extravagant energy expenditure in your home after the fridge.

We can do something about the fridge by buying an Energy Star rated efficient one, but until now, inexplicably, clothes dryers have not been rated under the Energy Star program.

You have to wonder why there has been so little move to improve energy efficiency in the second biggest energy guzzler in most homes…in a nation that uses 25% of the world’s energy.

Here’s a company that can make a clothes dryer 50% more efficient with a heat exchanger. Hydromatic. So why has their idea not been incorporated into clothes dryers?

Read more of this story »

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/calling-epa-heat-exchange-can-make-clothes-dryers-efficient/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/apple-is-next-to-leave-us-chamber-of-commerce-forcefully/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/apple-is-next-to-leave-us-chamber-of-commerce-forcefully/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:32:38 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/apple-is-next-to-leave-us-chamber-of-commerce-forcefully/

Following action by Nike, the nation’s leading utility company, and others, Apple resigned from the US Chamber of Commerce this week, and in force.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/apple-is-next-to-leave-us-chamber-of-commerce-forcefully/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/04/nike-opposes-us-chamber-of-commerce-leaves-board-climate-change/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/04/nike-opposes-us-chamber-of-commerce-leaves-board-climate-change/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:51:05 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/04/nike-opposes-us-chamber-of-commerce-leaves-board-climate-change/

Nike just announced that it is leaving its position on the US Chamber of Commerce board of directors because of the business organization’s opposition to climate action.

Nike doesn’t beat around the bush on why it is leaving the board.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/04/nike-opposes-us-chamber-of-commerce-leaves-board-climate-change/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/01/air-quality-visualized-at-a-park-or-forest-near-you/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/01/air-quality-visualized-at-a-park-or-forest-near-you/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:32:22 +0000 Michael Ricciardi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/01/air-quality-visualized-at-a-park-or-forest-near-you/



The three summits of Mount Rainier: Liberty Cap, Columbia Crest,and Point Success (unaltered image)

Most of us would consider a trip to a state or national park to be a chance to get away from the pollution that plagues our cities. But it’s seldom easy to escape the effects of urban, industrial air pollution. Now, with a new art project called ECLIPSE, the web viewer or park visitor can see real time air quality data “imposed” on the otherwise scenic landscapes of our state and national parks.

ECLIPSE, based on an open source program, is the handiwork of artists Cary Peppermint and Leila Christine Nadir of EcoArtTech, and is a sponsored project of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for its website turbulence.org.

So, how does it work? Just select a State/National park from a drop down menu, click the “apply AQI (air quality index) conditions” button, and ECLIPSE then performs two “data scraping” functions…if air quality data is available for that park, the program sorts through Flickr.com for images tagged with that particular park’s name, then, the program “corrupts” or alters the image to reflect air quality data (culled from the most recent AQI updates on the www.airnow.gov website) of the nearest, large city within a 65 mile radius.

The air quality rating system uses the following scale: good – fair – moderate – unhealthy – very unhealthy –hazardous*. The AQI rating is a measure of particulate matter in the atmosphere, based on a range of 0 – 500 parts per million, with “good” being 0 - 50 ppm, and “unhealthy” being 151 ppm or higher.

Airnow.gov maintains 300 monitoring stations in cities across the country. With the ECLIPSE program, the more pollution present in the atmosphere of the park’s nearest city, the more visually “corrupted” the image becomes. This alteration process utilizes various algorithms that affect color, saturation, and contrast, and, additionally, impose intermittent mirroring, deletion, or cropping functions on the image’s data file.

Air quality is determined by the presence of particulate matter in the lower atmosphere. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of moisture and small particles of dust, soot, soil, various acids (e.g., nitrogen or sulfur containing acids) and trace metals.

The artists’ website notes that, In 2008, the EPA’s own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Council (CASAC) protested that the EPA was not upholding its mission to protect air quality standards according to
the scale.

*Note that U.S. air quality ratings are different than Canada’s AQ rating system, for example. The U.S. system has more gradations of air quality in which “moderate” in the U.S. system is rated as “unhealthy”  on the Canadian scale. The site offers a visual comparison of air quality ratings between the US and Canadian indexes.

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/01/air-quality-visualized-at-a-park-or-forest-near-you/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/nations-largest-utility-leaves-us-chamber-of-commerce-because-of-climate-change/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/nations-largest-utility-leaves-us-chamber-of-commerce-because-of-climate-change/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:55:46 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/nations-largest-utility-leaves-us-chamber-of-commerce-because-of-climate-change/

John Rowe, Exelon CEO, said yesterday that climate change legislation is an urgent issue. At the same time, he announced that the nation’s largest utility would not be renewing its membership with the US Chamber of Commerce because of the Chamber of Commerce’s opposition to climate legislation.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/nations-largest-utility-leaves-us-chamber-of-commerce-because-of-climate-change/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/26/senate-fights-for-epas-co2-regulation-power/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/26/senate-fights-for-epas-co2-regulation-power/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:36:37 +0000 Dave Levitan http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/26/senate-fights-for-epas-co2-regulation-power/ In the midst of a week when climate change finally stole back some of the spotlight that had been hogged by health care reform for months, the Senate fought off a potentially devastating attempt to emasculate the EPA and its recently won power to regulate greenhouse gases.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/26/senate-fights-for-epas-co2-regulation-power/feed/ http://gas2.org/2009/09/15/white-house-unveils-landmark-fuel-economy-and-emissions-standards/ http://gas2.org/2009/09/15/white-house-unveils-landmark-fuel-economy-and-emissions-standards/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:50:59 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2009/09/15/white-house-unveils-landmark-fuel-economy-and-emissions-standards/

Today the Obama Administration released a 1,200 page document of proposed regulation changes that will drastically alter the fuel economy and emissions standards that auto manufacturers are required to meet in the US. Although it could be an incredibly contentious topic, it seems that so far the proposal has gained wide support from all sides of the spectrum including environmental organizations and industry lobby groups.

The changes — which would alter both the Department of Transportation’s and the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules — call for what amounts to about a 5% increase in fuel economy standards per year from 2011 to 2016 starting with 27.3 mpg in 2011 and ending with 35.5 mpg in 2016.

In addition to the new economy standards, the White House has outlined the first ever greenhouse gas emissions limits for new cars sold in the US. Starting with model year 2016, each manufacturer’s new car fleet would have to meet an average limit of 250 grams of carbon emitted per mile driven.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://gas2.org/2009/09/15/white-house-unveils-landmark-fuel-economy-and-emissions-standards/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/14/environmental-protection-agency-annouces-2009-green-power-purchaser-award-winners/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/14/environmental-protection-agency-annouces-2009-green-power-purchaser-award-winners/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:37:45 +0000 Cindy Tickle http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/14/environmental-protection-agency-annouces-2009-green-power-purchaser-award-winners/

We tend to think that if a company is big, it is automatically bad and doesn’t care about it’s environmental footprint.  This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Just take a look at the Top 10 Green Energy Users according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Surprising, isn’t it?  Now, I’m not saying that all large corporations are doing their part.  Some aren’t.  But we should applaud and recognize the ones who are.

Every year the EPA co-sponsors the Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS).  The Green Power Leadership Awards recognize the leading actions of organizations, programs, and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power sources. While the DOE recognizes green power providers and the CRS recognizes advancements in the green power market, the EPA specifically focuses on outstanding green power purchasers.  So let’s take a closer look at the EPA’s 2009 Green Power Purchaser Award winners.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/14/environmental-protection-agency-annouces-2009-green-power-purchaser-award-winners/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/11/the-real-color-problem-of-president-obama/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/11/the-real-color-problem-of-president-obama/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:40:37 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/11/the-real-color-problem-of-president-obama/
Oh, they call him a communist. They call him a Red. But the actual problem is that President Obama is too Green. Barack Obama is our first truly Green President.

This is the real reason the fossil industries whose profits are threatened by renewable energy go after him - and stir up emotional opposition groups to threaten him with outlandish attacks. Because he has already implemented or funded an extraordinary string of renewable energy initiatives.

He will likely be remembered as an FDR figure; the president who powered the nation with solar and wind.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/11/the-real-color-problem-of-president-obama/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/09/11/bpa-low-doses-are-poisonous-too/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/09/11/bpa-low-doses-are-poisonous-too/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:38:54 +0000 Cate Nelson http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/09/11/bpa-low-doses-are-poisonous-too/ In the wake of the Sigg/bisphenol-A controversy, a top researcher and CEO of Environmental Health Sciences fills us in on the news: endocrine disruptors such as BPA and phthalates are indeed toxic at low-level doses, too. And they’re toxic in entirely different ways than at the traditional high-dose testing indicates.

The way the tests work today is we think that by testing at high doses we’re gonna see everything. So that once we get to a dose that’s intermediate and we don’t see anything, we’re golden.

But the science is telling us that at really low doses as contaminants mimic hormones. They can have effects that are totally unpredictable by what happens at high doses.

Pete Myers spoke to Living on Earth about the consequences of current testing.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/09/11/bpa-low-doses-are-poisonous-too/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:30:50 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/ Nitrous oxide, more commonly known at your dentist’s office as laughing gas, is now the most prevalent man-made substance damaging the ozone layer. And it’s a greenhouse gas. Sadly, the joke’s apparently on us.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/27/us-chamber-of-commerce-wants-a-trial-on-climate-science/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/27/us-chamber-of-commerce-wants-a-trial-on-climate-science/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:15:47 +0000 Tom Schueneman http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/27/us-chamber-of-commerce-wants-a-trial-on-climate-science/ The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to force the Environmental Protection Agency to hold a “trial” on climate change. Characterizing it as the “Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century,” the trial would come complete with witnesses, cross-examination, and a judge to “rule” on whether human activity is contributing to dangerous climate change.

Opponents to the idea assert the idea all but abandons the scientific method, upon which modern civilization depends, in favor of what Brenda Ekwurzel, a climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists says is reminiscent of “the Salem witch trials, based on myth.”

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/27/us-chamber-of-commerce-wants-a-trial-on-climate-science/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/12/cleveland-oil-recylcing-plant-suspected-in-deaths-of-500-gulls/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/12/cleveland-oil-recylcing-plant-suspected-in-deaths-of-500-gulls/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:24:57 +0000 jpaul http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/12/cleveland-oil-recylcing-plant-suspected-in-deaths-of-500-gulls/ In late June, more than 500 ring-billed gulls were found dead in Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, only a couple days after the 40th anniversary of the day the river caught fire at roughly the same spot.  On Monday, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District issued a report naming Sanimax, Inc., a nearby oil recycler, as a suspect in the spill of hundreds of gallons of cooking oil that caused the incident.  Lab results comparing oil from the spill to oil being released by Sanimax were indefinite, though, so Sanimax has not been directly blamed.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/12/cleveland-oil-recylcing-plant-suspected-in-deaths-of-500-gulls/feed/ http://gas2.org/2009/08/12/so-much-for-that-epa-wont-back-up-gms-230-mpg-claim/ http://gas2.org/2009/08/12/so-much-for-that-epa-wont-back-up-gms-230-mpg-claim/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:55:36 +0000 Christopher DeMorro http://gas2.org/2009/08/12/so-much-for-that-epa-wont-back-up-gms-230-mpg-claim/

Oh GM, I knew you were getting ahead of yourself.

Early this morning, CEO Fritz Henderson claimed thatthe Chevy Volt, a gas-electric plug-in hybrid would earn an EPA-estimated rating of 230 MPG.

But according to Green Car Advisor, the EPA has said no such thing.

Hit the jump to read the EPA’s reply.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://gas2.org/2009/08/12/so-much-for-that-epa-wont-back-up-gms-230-mpg-claim/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/03/us-air-force-cracks-top-20-list-for-green-power/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/03/us-air-force-cracks-top-20-list-for-green-power/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:38:36 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/03/us-air-force-cracks-top-20-list-for-green-power/ Joining the ranks of such green notables as San Francisco and Portland Oregon, the U.S. Air Force has made the top 20 List of On-Site Green Power Purchasers.  The quarterly list is a subset of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership program.  It includes organizations, businesses or government entities that purchase sustainable power from sources based in the U.S.A., either directly or through the use of Renewable Energy Certificates.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/03/us-air-force-cracks-top-20-list-for-green-power/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/07/28/epa-fails-to-protect-our-children-from-shredded-tires-on-playgrounds/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/07/28/epa-fails-to-protect-our-children-from-shredded-tires-on-playgrounds/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:16:07 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/07/28/epa-fails-to-protect-our-children-from-shredded-tires-on-playgrounds/ My mommy instincts told me playing on shredded tires was not good for my children’s health, but apparently the EPA lacks such intuition.  According to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilty (PEER), the EPA has admitted it does not know “the extent of childhood exposure from ingestion or inhalation of an array of toxic chemicals found within tires”.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/07/28/epa-fails-to-protect-our-children-from-shredded-tires-on-playgrounds/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/07/28/house-gop-hopes-to-cobble-clean-air-act-regulation-of-greenhouse-gases/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/07/28/house-gop-hopes-to-cobble-clean-air-act-regulation-of-greenhouse-gases/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:31:21 +0000 Tom Schueneman http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/07/28/house-gop-hopes-to-cobble-clean-air-act-regulation-of-greenhouse-gases/ House Republican Representatives Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Michael Conaway of Texas hope to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act - come hell or high water.

In the spring of 2007 the Supreme Court ruled the Clean Air Act provides the authority for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas pollution. The ruling cleared the way for the EPA to consider scientific evidence to determine if greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to public health, and if so, should be regulated. Despite that decision, little headway was made under the Bush Administration and then-EPA administrator Stephen Johnson.

The stage was set for change when the Obama administration took office, and the GOP immediately set out to block the EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in anticipation of action from the EPA finally moving forward and acting on the court’s ruling. Here’s how it has played out:

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/07/28/house-gop-hopes-to-cobble-clean-air-act-regulation-of-greenhouse-gases/feed/