EPEAT Continues Its Expansion Around the Globe | Computing | GreenBiz.com

EPEAT Continues Its Expansion Around the Globe | Computing | GreenBiz.com


When the Green Electronics Council announced in August 2009 that it was taking the EPEAT green IT certification global, the GEC said it was trying to meet widespread demand for products bearing the EPEAT label.

Based on the results of its 2009 Environmental Benefits Report, published today, it seems that demand is perhaps stronger than even the GEC anticipated. When the registry expanded internationally in August 2009, it included 40 countries from Europe, Asia and the Americas. By December of that year, there were nearly 10,000 registrations of products, and a total of 3,700 Gold-level products, outside the United States.

Nike, Outdoor Industry Association launch eco-friendly indexes - Sustainable Business Oregon

Nike, Outdoor Industry Association launch eco-friendly indexes - Sustainable Business Oregon

Separate sustainability initiatives driven by Portland companies could dramatically influence the apparel industry. The Outdoor Industry Association — a Boulder, Colo.-based trade group — next week will roll-out of a beta version of the Eco Index, an open source, Web-based software tool to help designers gauge the environmental impact of their products.

It was designed by a working group of apparel companies with a heavy Portland influence, including leaders from Nau, Keen Inc., and Columbia Sportswear Co. The Portland Development Commission invested $40,000 in the project, which will be administered by the Zero Waste Alliance, a Portland-based nonprofit with experience in developing environmental indexes.

Channel NewsAsia - Hurricane Igor lashes eastern Canada - channelnewsasia.com

Channel NewsAsia - Hurricane Igor lashes eastern Canada - channelnewsasia.com

Igor was downgraded to a post-tropical storm on Tuesday after forcing evacuations of flooded coastal towns in Canada's island Newfoundland province and reportedly sweeping one man out to sea.

Parts of the province were on high alert for most of the day as the hurricane approached from the Atlantic Ocean, unleashing fierce winds and torrential rains.

Public broadcaster CBC said one person was missing after being swept out to sea near Britannia, on Random Island in Trinity Bay. The man fell into a brook leading to the Atlantic Ocean when a roadway crumbled beneath his feet.

Search and rescue efforts were said to be hampered by widespread flooding and washouts of roads. At 1930 GMT, Igor was about 85 kilometres northeast of Newfoundland's capital Saint Johns, and was moving north at 55 kilometres per hour, the Canadian

Cairn Energy announces Greenland oil find | Business | The Guardian

Cairn Energy announces Greenland oil find | Business | The Guardian

Cairn energy's oil discovery in pristine waters off Greenland is likely to alarm environmentalists. The Scottish oil producer Cairn Energy has said it had found oil in the untouched waters off the coast of Greenland, a discovery that will alarm environmentalists, although it was welcomed by local officials and investors.

However, the company, which had previously announced a gas find in the pristine region, said that it had abandoned that earlier test well after deciding the volume was not commercially viable.

Cairn's founder, Sir Bill Gammell – the former Scottish rugby international and public school friend of Tony Blair – described the find in Baffin Bay, the sea between Greenland and Canada, as "extremely encouraging", but cautioned that further analysis was needed.

The exploration group was the FTSE 100's second biggest riser after it said that it had found oil for the first time since it began drilling in the Arctic waters.

ENVIRONMENT: Encourage Monroe County to recycle # 5 plastics - Letters - Rochester City Newspaper

ENVIRONMENT: Encourage Monroe County to recycle # 5 plastics - Letters - Rochester City Newspaper

While the Sierra Club's Zero Waste Committee commends Monroe County for its household hazardous waste program, pharmaceutical waste disposal program, and comprehensive all-paper recycling program, our committee hopes to encourage the recycling of all plastics and eventually eliminate the need for landfills entirely.

Monroe County believes that a steady market for some plastics doesn't exist and so requires that only plastics # 1 and # 2 be recycled. Other New York counties don't agree. On August 18, New York City announced a plan to require recycling of all plastics. Nearby counties, including Wayne, Ontario, and (most recently) Onondaga are answering the public's call to recycle and stop land-filling plastics.

High-Tech Wallpaper Cleans the Air! | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

High-Tech Wallpaper Cleans the Air! | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

We’ve seen wallpaper that monitors your environment and wallpaper that tells a scientific story, but now there’s even wallpaper that cleans the air! That’s right, Blücher Technologies has come up with a “breathable, glass fiber/polyester nonwoven paper-like covering” with absorbents that capture icky toxins like PCB, PCP, pesticides, and radon. The air purifying wallpaper is a smart way to get around “sick building syndrome” if you’re doing a retrofit of a space that was built in an era where “no-VOC” didn’t mean diddly to anyone.

GM Looks to Give EV Batteries a Life After Cars - NYTimes.com

GM Looks to Give EV Batteries a Life After Cars - NYTimes.com

As electric vehicles creep toward general market readiness, automakers and grid experts are looking for ways to make electrified transportation work seamlessly with power systems. Finding new markets for car batteries that are no longer fit for vehicles could trim the cost they add to auto manufacturing, while also providing energy storage options for utilities.

"The Volt's battery will have significant capacity to store electrical energy, even after its automotive life," said Micky Bly, GM's executive director of electrical systems, hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries, in announcing a research tie-up between the two companies that will focus on GM's all-electric car due out this year. "Our relationship with ABB will help develop solutions that optimize the full life cycle of the Volt battery."

Fourth Khalifa Award for Education launched - The National Newspaper

Fourth Khalifa Award for Education launched - The National Newspaper

Under the slogan “Distinguish Yourself”, the fourth edition of the annual Khalifa Award for Education was launched last night. From only five categories in its inaugural year when it was open to just UAE nationals and residents, the latest edition of the award will accept entries from educators across the Arab world in 11 categories.

“Our main goals of this award are to highlight the importance of those working in education and to encourage the development of a modern atmosphere of learning in our schools and universities,” said Amal al Afifi, the secretary general of the Khalifa Award for Education, during the launch conference at the Emirates Palace yesterday.