Green Goes to School

By Janet Eastman SHYLA RAGHAV is being put to the test. She’s trying to explain to fellow UC Irvine students that air fresheners are chemicals pressed onto tree-shaped cardboard, whereas tropical plants clean the air naturally. But she keeps getting interrupted. The guys next door are hooting over three cranked-up TV sets tuned to football and tossing their Coke cans and polystyrene fast-food containers toward a trash can in the hall. “Taking care of the planet is a global issue, but it starts with the individual,” Raghav says, standing in a demonstration dorm room lined with carefully selected products: the energy- efficient, the biodegradable, the sustainable. Unlike the guys’ room next door, there isn’t an electricity-sucking appliance, off-gassing polyester beanbag chair or synthetic sheet in sight. As the college-bound prepare to live away from home for the first time, campus crusaders for green living are trying to influence not only what is purchased in the back-to-school buying frenzy, but also how students go about their daily lives. Raghav and others in the statewide Green Campus Program are pushing the benefits of vegetable-based laundry detergent, thermoelectric mini refrigerators and remanufactured printer ink cartridges. They’re replacing inefficient incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent […]

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Martek's life'sDHA Approved for Food Use in China

The Ministry of Health in China has authorized the use of the Martek’s life’sDHA(TM) as a novel food ingredient. This new designation will permit the immediate use of Martek’s life’sDHA(TM) in foods, beverages and supplements in China for persons older than twelve months. Since 2001, Martek’s life’sDHA(TM) and life’sARA(TM) (arachidonic acid), an omega-6 fatty acid, have been used in infant formula throughout China. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) omega-3 is a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid that serves as a primary building block for the brain and the eyes and supports brain, eye and cardiovascular health throughout life. There is a large and growing body of scientific evidence demonstrating that people of all ages, from infants to aging adults, benefit from an adequate supply of DHA omega-3 in their diets. Scientific reviews have noted the importance of DHA omega-3 in proper brain and eye function, and there are studies currently underway to investigate its role in decreasing the prevalence of certain neurological disorders. Martek’s life’sDHA(TM) is unique in the market because it is derived from a sustainable and vegetarian source. Made from microalgae under tightly controlled manufacturing conditions, life’sDHA(TM) is free of oceanic contaminants that may be present in certain fish or fish […]

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Trina Solar Announces Q2 2007 Results

Trina Solar’s net revenues in the second quarter of 2007 were $75.3 million, an increase of 77.0% sequentially and 160.4% year-over-year. Total shipments increased to 20.33 MW, up from 10.52 MW in the first quarter of 2007 and 7.07 MW in the second quarter of 2006. Average sales price was $3.70 in the second quarter of 2007, compared to $3.80 in the first quarter of 2007, and $4.03 in the second quarter of 2006. Sales to customers in Europe accounted for almost all of Trina Solar’s revenues in the second quarter of 2007. At June 30, 2007, Trina Solar’s ingot, wafer, and module annual manufacturing capacities were 100 MW. In April 2007, Trina Solar commenced commercial production of its newly installed solar PV cell lines that are currently delivering an average cell efficiency of 16.3% and have an annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 50 MW. The Company plans to achieve an annual manufacturing capacity of 150 MW for its ingot, wafer, cell and module production by the end of 2007. Cost of revenues in the second quarter of 2007 was $61.1 million, an increase of 84.9% sequentially and 191.4% year-over-year due to growth of Trina Solar’s solar module business. Cost […]

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