Building Sustainable Cities:Scandinavia's "Eco-Municipalities" Show the Way
Green Cities are beginning to sprout around the US thanks to Sustainable Sweden tours ... perhaps they'll have some impact on the Katrina aftermath.
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Safe to Eat: Organic Cod
A Scottish aquaculture company, Johnson Seafarms, is bringing cod – a fish species headed toward extinction from overfishing – back to world markets. Seafarms has the world’s first large-scale commercial farmed cod operation and it’s organically certified. The company is largest is Britain’s largest independently-owned farmed fish producer. Two years ago, the company switched its focus from salmon and began to pioneer organic farmed cod.What is organic fish?Currently the US National Organic Program (run by the USDA) doesn’t cover fish. In the UK, Johnson Seafarms has achieved the Organic Food Federation Cod Standard, which is officially recognized by the British Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the production of organic cod. The standards preclude the use of any unnatural or synthetic component which rules out antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides, hormone usage, or GM ingredients at any stage from hatchery to plate. Because of possible contamination and mercury levels, wild fish are not accepted as organic and cannot be labeled as organic. Johnson Seafarms certified aquaculture practices include: Rigorous rules on stocking density. “While many salmon farms have stock densities of 30 kg and more of fish per cubic meter of available seawater, we have densities of 12-14kg. This […]
Turner Construction Goes for 100% Waste Recycling
The Katrina recovery includes the biggest waste-disposal job in U.S. history. Some of the biggest builders in the U.S. are embracing construction waste recycling on a large scale but it probably won’t help in this case. Here’s why. —In September 2004, Thomas C. Leppert, Chairman and CEO of The Turner Corp., one of the nation’s largest general builders, and a leader in green building, announced it would adopt sustainable construction and business practices throughout the organization. As part of that commitment, Turner launched an initiative to recycle construction waste on all projects commencing construction after Jan. 1, 2005. The corporate goal is to recycle waste on 100% of our projects within three years, with an overall diversion rate of 50%. Turner has a long history of leadership in sustainable construction, with more than 100 green projects in the last 10 years either completed or in progress, including 15 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified projects and an additional 45 LEED-registered projects. It is standard practice to recycle construction and demolition waste on these jobs ? often exceeding 75% diversion rates and exceeded 95% on some projects. However, with more than 1,500 active projects across the country at any given […]
Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:September 21, 2005
News and Events USDA Awards $21 Million for Efficiency and Renewable Energy FPL Energy and PPM Energy Buy 900 Megawatts of Wind Turbines Pennsylvania Utility to Fund Efficiency, Renewable Energy California Approves Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Vehicles U.S. and Canada Work Together to Save Fuel for Freight Industry European Automakers Pursue Hybrid Vehicles Site NewsSolarPACES Energy ConnectionsHydropower Downturn Masks Renewable Energy Growth in 2004 News and EventsUSDA Awards $21 Million for Efficiency and Renewable EnergyThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $21 million in grants last week to 150 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The projects, located in 32 states, include a large number of wind energy projects, as well as projects relating to energy efficiency and solar, biomass, and geothermal energy.For example, Wasatch Wind, LLC will receive $500,000 to build a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine in Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah, the first of 10 towers planned for the site. Synthetic Energy, Inc., of Ketchum, Idaho, will use its grant of $199,863 to purchase wind turbines to power a commercial hydrogen generator. See the USDA press release and the full list of recipients (PDF 22 KB). FPL Energy and PPM Energy Buy 900 Megawatts of Wind TurbinesTwo of the largest […]
Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:September 14, 2005
News and Events San Diego Signs Up for 300 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power Oregon and New York State Offer Solar Energy Incentives New York Provides $15.5 Million for Clean Energy Projects Honda Debuts Improved Civic Hybrid as its Hybrid Sales Hit 100,000 BMW, GM, and DaimlerChrysler Combine Efforts to Develop Hybrid Cars Site NewsEERE Launches Financial Opportunities Web SiteNews and EventsSan Diego Signs Up for 300 Megawatts of Solar Thermal PowerSan Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) announced last week that it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Stirling Energy Systems for 300 megawatts of solar power, to be generated by Stirling solar dishes in a three-square-mile array in California’s Imperial Valley. The installation, to be called “SES Solar 2,” will require new transmission lines to carry the power to SDG&E customers. SDG&E also has options for another 600 megawatts of solar thermal power that could be built in two future phases of the solar power project. See the SDG&E press release.Stirling solar dish technology converts solar thermal energy to electricity by using a dish-shaped array of mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on the receiver end of a Stirling engine. The internal side of the receiver then […]
Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:September 7, 2005
News and Events DOE Awards $16.5 Million for State Energy Savings Projects Investment Firm Offers $25 Million for Renewables, Efficiency DuPont and Tate & Lyle Build Large Corn-Based Chemical Plant Solar Tours Come to 43 States and D.C. on October 1st Georgia Tech Develops High-Temperature Membrane for PEM Fuel Cells Intel to Develop Energy-Saving Computer Chips Site NewsCalifornia Wind Energy Association News and EventsDOE Awards $16.5 Million for State Energy Savings ProjectsDOE announced last week that it will provide $16,509,819 to 42 state energy offices for 178 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The state energy offices will use these funds to improve the energy efficiency of schools, homes and other buildings; promote energy-efficient industrial technologies; support renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass energy; promote alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles, and heavy-duty hybrid-electric vehicles; and continue supporting seven CHP (Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power) Regional Application Centers. See the DOE press release.Among the specific projects funded by the grants are efforts to measure wind resources at heights of 100 meters or more and a project to determine the temperature extremes that small inverters built into solar panels can endure. The funding is being provided through DOE State […]
McDonough Braungart Launches Cradle-to-Cradle Certification Program
Having helped manufacturers large and small redesign their products for the “next industrial revolution,” McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) has now created a product certification program. The new program recognizes products that conform to MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle? (C2C) protocol. MBDC aims to release the first certified products on September 1, 2005. The C2C certification program seeks to be recognized by government agencies and others as an identifier of environmentally preferable products (EPP). Prior to launching this program, MBDC worked with the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) on its Sustainable Textile Standard, but that collaboration fell apart in 2003. C2C certification now appears poised to compete with MTS and with EPP programs from Scientific Certification Systems, in the growing field of EPP certification.The C2C protocol is based on the principle that all products should be made using materials that can be recycled indefinitely with minimal environmental impact. Inspired by natural systems, in which nutrients are recycled indefinitely (waste = food), MBDC promotes the use of “technical nutrients,” which are recyclable in industrial systems, and biological nutrients, which are reused in nature. This recyclability requires that biological nutrients and technical nutrients not be intermingled in a product and that […]
Domtar: An Unequivocal Commitment to Sustainable Forestry
Domtar Inc., based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the third largest producer of uncoated free-sheet paper in North America. It is also a leading manufacturer of business papers, commercial printing and publication papers, and technical and specialty papers. What sets Domtar apart from the crowd, however, is its commitment to producing environmentally and socially responsible, FSC-certified papers, all the way from stem to the market.Domtar owns a total of 455,000 acres of forestland in Canada, of which 75,000 acres are currently under FSC forest management certification. The remaining 380,000 acres are currently under assessment, which is expected to be complete by the end of this summer. In addition to those lands that they own, another 6.5 million acres of public lands are licensed to be managed directly or cooperatively by Domtar. These lands are also currently under assessment, also expected to be complete by the end of this summer. An additional 15 million acres will go under assessment between the end of 2005 and 2006. If all lands pass the assessment phase, there is potential to have a total of nearly 22 million acres of lands under Domtar’s management as FSC-certified.On the manufacturing side, Domtar operates 11 pulp and paper […]
Portland and Emissions Reductions – Much Gain, Little Pain
While the rest of the country discusses the costs and benefits of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, Portland, OR. has all but done it.
10 Lessons on Food Recycling in Portland, OR.
It took 10 years, but the Portland, Oregon metro area now has an active commercial food recycling program. Here's the story of what it took to make it happen.
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