Green Building & Manufacturing Articles
Chevron-owned Texaco deliberately dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste
The final judgment is imminent after a long legal battle between oil giant Chevron and brave indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon, who are seeking redress for the multinational's dumping of billions of gallons of toxic waste in the rainforest.?
If Chevron is forced to pay billions in damages, it'll be a big step forward in bringing the world's polluters to account. Staring defeat in the face, the oil giant has launched an aggressive last-ditch lobbying campaign to derail the lawsuit.
But Chevron's newly-appointed CEO, John Watson, knows his corporation's brand is under fire and is growing anxious about the risks of a public shaming campaign -- so let's turn up the heat! Sign the petition calling on Watson and Chevron to clean up their mess in Ecuador, and it will be delivered to them, their shareholders and the US media -- click below to take action now:
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Home Star Webinar
Last Friday, the National SAVE Energy Coalition, Efficiency First, BPI, and RESNET hosted a webinar on the Home Star proposed legislation. We were incredibly pleased with the turnout - over 1,300 businesses registered and over 850 attended! The webinar provided a brief overview of the multi-billion dollar proposal for the first ever federal incentive for efficiency retrofits and then focused on how the efficiency community can rally together to help ensure passage. The recording is now available at
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Resources for Action - Home Star Legislation
We have state-specific information on our Take Action page to help you get in touch with your Senator. These include pre-written emails, faxes, and phone call talking points. Please get familiar with these. We plan to launch a wave of calls and emails in support of Home Star and climate and energy legislation and we'd love to have you participate. We also have recordings of our 3 climate and energy webinars on our Resources page.
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Register for National Environmental Education (EE) Week, April 11-17, 2010
Earth Day Network is proud to be a continued National Partner of the National Environmental Education Foundation's annual EE Week, the nation's largest environmental education event, held each year during the week leading up to Earth Day. EE Week's 2010 theme is Be Water and Energy Wise, and will involve resources, activities and curricula, including several developed by Earth Day Network, focused on the connection between water and energy and the importance of conserving both. When you register for EE Week, you will join a national network of educators dedicated to increasing the environmental literacy of K-12 students. You will also receive certificates of participation, free online resources, information on professional development and funding opportunities, and access to discounts on educational materials just for EE Week participants.
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Stimulus money will spur construction on California high-speed rail project, officials say
The $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds awarded this week to the California high-speed rail project ensures that construction can proceed on a 520-mile route between Anaheim and San Francisco within three years, rail officials said Thursday.
Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said the infusion of federal dollars would pay for completion of the project's engineering and environmental reviews and provide a significant amount of seed money to start building the system by September 2012, as required by the federal grant.
"We have been aggressively pushing the environmental and engineering work on this project," Morshed said. "We didn't have assurances we would have money for construction. Now we do."
The authority wants to build an initial line from Anaheim to San Francisco via the Central Valley by 2020 at an estimated cost of $42 billion. Officials say trains would speed passengers at up to 220 mph between Los Angeles and the Bay Area in no more than two hours and 40 minutes.
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Advancing the Flywheel for Energy Storage and Grid Regulation
Beacon Power has begun construction in Stephentown, N.Y., near Albany, on a plant that stores energy in flywheels - essentially rotating wheels or cylinders whose inertia is used to store power or deliver it quickly.
The aim is to use the flywheels to help in power-grid regulation, quickly balancing the second-by-second discord between electrical supply and demand.
Such regulation has always been needed because demand varies from minute to minute. Now, with more solar panels and wind turbines, which only produce electricity when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, supply varies too, making grid regulation even harder.
The flywheel concept for energy storage and regulation, of course, is not new, but Beacon's design uses newer materials. "It's a composite, made out of carbon fiber, like golf clubs or tennis rackets," said Bill Capp, president of the company, which is based in Tyngsboro, Mass.
Each wheel is connected to a single device that can function both as a motor, taking current from the grid and spinning the wheel faster, and as a generator, taking momentum from the wheel and converting it to electricity.
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Energy efficiency can lower taxes
Home improvement tax credits back after disappearing in '08.
Washington -- Making energy efficient improvements to your home will do more than reduce your energy costs -- they'll also reduce your tax bill.
The tax credit for energy-efficient windows or doors, air conditioners or furnaces, or other energy-saving improvements disappeared in 2008, but returned for 2009 and 2010 -- at an even higher value. This is one case where procrastination paid off.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, homeowners who made the improvements are eligible for a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost, up to a maximum credit of $1,500.
To get the maximum credit, a taxpayer would have to pay $5,000 on energy efficiency improvements. The previous maximum had been $500. The good news for homeowners is that they can claim the new credit even if they had taken the old one.
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50% of Fish Imported, 84% of our Fish Farmed - Find out more
Ocean Conservancy's Leonard discusses efforts to regulate aquaculture
Can the United States successfully manage offshore fish farms and keep up with the country's growing demand for seafood and fish? During today's OnPoint, George Leonard, director of aquaculture at the Ocean Conservancy, explains how and why Congress should implement a national standard for aquaculture. He also discusses the environmental risks associated with fish farming.
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NREL Study Shows 20% Wind is Possible by 2024
As much as 20% of the power connected to the grid could come from wind by 2024, according to a new study by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The report, "Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study," released on January 20, is a technical review analyzing the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20% or more of the Eastern Interconnection's electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024. The Eastern Interconnection is the largest of three power grids in the United States, running from the East Coast to as far west as eastern Montana (see a map from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and an NREL map of the study area). It provides power to more than 70% of the U.S. population. The study concludes that 20% wind power is technically feasible, although transmission upgrades and operational changes to the system will be required, regardless of the source of the wind power.
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The New American Home to Incorporate Energy-Saving Technologies
The National Council of the Housing Industry and Builder Magazine have unveiled the design of the 2010 edition of The New American Home, which aims to use 72% less energy than a similar house built to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code. The New American Home provides an annual real-world demonstration of current innovations in architecture, construction techniques, and new products, including the latest energy-saving technologies. The design for this year's structure features an energy efficient thermal shell, including insulated concrete forms for the walls, energy efficient windows and sliding glass doors, and an unvented attic with spray foam insulation applied to the underside of the roof and the inside of the gables. The building is also meant to be airtight, and it employs a heat recovery ventilator to provide fresh outdoor air with a minimal loss of energy.
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As colleges add green majors and minors, classes fill up
Colleges are rapidly adding new majors and minors in green studies, and students are filling them fast.
Nationwide, more than 100 majors, minors or certificates were created this year in energy and sustainability-focused programs at colleges big and small, says the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. That's up from just three programs added in 2005.
Two factors are driving the surge: Students want the courses, and employers want the trained students, says Paul Rowland, the association's executive director.
"There's a great perception that there's a sweet spot with energy to do good and do well, and it appears to be the place of job growth," says Rob Melnick, executive dean of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.
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More states adopt new standards for energy efficiency
Additional states have adopted the 2009 I-Codes for energy efficiency from the International Code Council.
The California Building Standards Commission voted this month to adopt the 2009 International Building, Existing Building, Fire, and Residential codes statewide, effective Jan. 1, 2011. The International Residential Code adoption is a first for the state of California. Additionally, the state of California adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code.
The California action adds to the growing list of 2009 I-Code adoptions at the state and local levels; recent adoptions include Penn., N.J., and N.H. The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Codes were updated to the 2009 versions of the International Building, Existing Building, Residential, Fire, Energy Conservation, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Performance and Wildland-Urban Interface codes. The new codes went into effect on Dec. 31.
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs approved the adoption of the 2009 International Building, Residential, Energy Conservation, Mechanical and Fuel Gas codes, to take effect in February with a six-month grace period.
The New Hampshire State Building Code Review Board updated the state's building code to include the 2009 International Building, Residential, Energy Conservation, Plumbing and Mechanical codes, effective April 1.
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