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Denmark is the first country in the world to ban lead, and restrict cadmium, mercury and nickel. According to Environment Minister Svend Auken, lead is a component in so many products, that restricting its use in individual products is not sufficient. The ban will be phased in beginning in March, 2001, and will be extended to a wide range of products as alternatives are developed. Denmark produces 18,000 tons of lead a year, half of which is recycled. Although a European Union Scientific Committee on Toxicology, Ecotoxicology and Environment report concludes the ban will not substantially reduce lead present in the general population, they plan to study whether currently acceptable levels set by the World Health Organisation are too high. In the U.S., the first report to comprehensively study the scope and sources of developmental and neurological toxins was released, “Polluting Our Future: Chemical Pollution in the U.S. that Affects Child Development and Learning.” The authors reveal that U.S. industry reports only 5 percent of the total of these emissions, which actually amounts to 24 billion pounds a year. Louisiana and Texas emit the most; minorities are subject to the greatest impact. One of six children in the U.S. (12 […]
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McDonald’s goes GMO-free in Europe. As of April 2001, McDonald’s customers in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland will be eating meat from animals that were fed with GMO-free food. McDonald’s UK announced earlier this year that GMO-free soy would be used exclusively for poultry feed. Burger King made a similar pledge for its poultry products. Will this policy spread to other parts of the world? A new nuclear plant for Finland? An application has been filed to build a nuclear power plant in Finland. This would be the first major expansion of nuclear power in Europe in almost 20 years. A public referendum looks likely. Ford is Canada’s largest auto recycler now that its GreenLeaf subsidiary purchased Lecavalier Auto Parts, a major Quebec automotive recycler that processes 11,000 vehicles a year. Says Dan Tesser, a Ford of Canada spokesperson, “The recycling of automotive parts and materials is a high-growth opportunity and Ford is actively pursuing acquisitions as part of the company’s new business development strategy.” Ford acquired two other recycling operations in Canada this year. Denmark’s 2001 budget imposes high taxes on greenhouse gases postponing its proposed ban until 2006. The gases were chosen based on their global […]
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Many entrepreneurs with innovative sustainability technologies struggle to obtain the financing they need. Steve contends that sustainable businesspeople are doing better at speaking the language of the marketplace, but we still have a ways to go
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Denmark is the first country in the world to ban lead, and restrict cadmium, mercury and nickel. According to Environment Minister Svend Auken, lead is a component in so many products, that restricting its use in individual products is not sufficient. The ban will be phased in beginning in March, 2001, and will be extended to a wide range of products as alternatives are developed. Denmark produces 18,000 tons of lead a year, half of which is recycled. Although a European Union Scientific Committee on Toxicology, Ecotoxicology and Environment report concludes the ban will not substantially reduce lead present in the general population, they plan to study whether currently acceptable levels set by the World Health Organisation are too high. In the U.S., the first report to comprehensively study the scope and sources of developmental and neurological toxins was released, “Polluting Our Future: Chemical Pollution in the U.S. that Affects Child Development and Learning.” The authors reveal that U.S. industry reports only 5 percent of the total of these emissions, which actually amounts to 24 billion pounds a year. Louisiana and Texas emit the most; minorities are subject to the greatest impact. One of six children in the U.S. (12 […]
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November was a month of alternative fuel car debuts. The first of 750 Ford demonstration TH!NK city vehicles arrived – they are currently for sale in Scandinavia, and will be sold in the U.S. in 2002. The electric 2-seaters are designed for urban driving, with a range of about 53 miles (85 km) and a top speed of 56 miles per hour (90 km/h). Hertz will offer the vehicles in San Francisco to BART (their subway system) shared-car subscribers and as daily rentals at Fishermen’s Wharf. Ford will use 40 vehicles in Dearborn, Michigan as part of its car pool fleet. At the opening of the new 50,000 square-foot California Fuel Cell Partnership Headquarters in Sacramento, California, Volkswagen, GM, and Hyundai showed off their fuel cell prototypes. Volkswagen unveiled its first hydrogen fuel-cell car – Bora HyMotion (known as the Jetta in the U.S.) with a range of about 350 km (217 miles) on 3 gallons of hydrogen. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/hour in 12.6 seconds reaching a top speed of 140 km/hour (87 mph). Hyundai’s entry was its prototype fuel cell-powered ”Santa Fe” SUV. And GM displayed the HydroGen1, a five-seat concept vehicle. It can reach a […]
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39 leading social financial investors sent a letter to CEO’s of the 500 largest U.S. companies, urging them to use standardized sustainability reporting measures for year 2000. According to an Institute for Environmental Management study, 35% of the world’s largest companies produce environmental reports. 30 multinational corporations, including AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, British Airways, General Motors, NEC, Nokia, and Shell use the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, which also contain social performance measures. The letter’s signatories manage combined assets of over $140 billion. They include Calvert Group, Domini Social Investments, and City of New York and United Church of Christ pension funds. Noted Frank Coleman of Christian Brothers Investment Services, “Corporate social and environmental practices have a profound impact on companies’ bottom-lines. Companies that fail to provide investors and consumers with more comprehensive, accurate and reliable information will fall behind in the increasingly global economy.” GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines were released in June 2000 after an extensive pilot period. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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A 2,800-panel, 100 kW multi-celled thin-film PV system is now installed at the U.S. General Services Administration’s Suitland, Maryland Federal Center. Through the Million Solar Roofs initiative over 100,000 solar roofs have been installed since 1997 – nearly double the goal of 51,000 solar roofs by 2000. The federal government also exceeded the goal set forth in President Clinton’s Executive Order 13123, which requires 2,000 solar energy systems be installed on federal buildings by the end of 2000. 2,100 systems are operational now – the government plans to meets its goal of 20,000 PV system installations by 2010. In early 2002, the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Science Center – the federal government’s principal environmental laboratory – at Fort Meade, Maryland will be powered by the most efficient on-site power plant in the world. The fuel cell-gas turbine hybrid power system will be built by the Siemens-Westinghouse Power Corporation. Says U.S. DOE Secretary Richardson, “The Fort Meade project will preview a future of ‘good neighbor’ power generators that can be sited at or near the customer.” The power plant will combine a solid-state fuel cell (powered by natural gas) and a microturbine. It will generate 1,000 kilowatts of electricity at about 60% […]
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The world’s first commercial wave power station opened for business this month. LIMPET (Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer) is connected to Britain’s national grid and will generate 500 kW of energy – enough to power 400 homes. It is located on the Island of Islay, off the West coast of Scotland. “To see a new renewable energy source reach this stage is an important day for all people involved since its beginning,” says Philippe Schild, a European Commission scientific officer. “LIMPET is there to prove energy can be extracted commercially from the ocean.” The EU financially supported the project which was developed by WAVEGEN and Queen’s University Belfast. Because a LIMPET station is simple to build and operate company officials believe it may help many coastal communities replace diesel generation. They estimate that UK’s coasts could supply the country’s entire demand through wave power. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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A long list of leading retailers, manufacturers and hospitals recently agreed to terminate sales of mercury thermometers. Health Care Without Harm and Walden Asset Management, a social investment firm, are asking Kroger, Medicine Shoppe, Safeway and other retail pharmacy chains to follow suit. Pam Powell, Group Vice President of Marketing for Albertson’s, a retailer with 2,500 stores, explains, “There was a time when mercury fever thermometers were all we had. Now we have options that are economically feasible, medically effective and environmentally friendly [digital thermometers].” Cathy Polley, Director of Pharmacy, Government and Trade Relations at Kmart, notes, “it is time to retire a product that is on retailer shelves out of habit, not necessity.” Mercury is a known neurotoxin that disrupts brain development in fetuses. According to a National Academy of Sciences National Research Council report, 60,000 babies a year may be at risk for lower IQ and learning disabilities because their mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish and seafood. Combustion of municipal solid waste is the second largest source of mercury pollution in the U.S.; mercury thermometers are the largest single source of mercury to municipal solid waste. 40 states have mercury advisories in one or more water bodies; 11 states […]
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At a conference near Kathmandu, Nepal, coordinated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), 500 representatives of 11 world religions committed to ground-breaking environmental pledges. The 26 “sacred gifts for a living planet” they pledged include: * The Methodist Church worldwide will develop an ethical investment framework for up to US$30 billion of church assets; * Buddhists will re-instate a hunting ban to help protect Mongolias endangered snow leopard. * The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (representing 80% of U.S. Jews) – will implement policies and practices to counter climate change and influence consumer preference for sustainably managed forests. * The China Taoist Association (representing all 40 million Taoists in China) will ask members to stop using endangered wildlife in traditional medicine products. * Japan’s Shinto community pledged to purchase only sustainably grown wood for their 80,000+ shrines. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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