Green Technology News

A partnership between the Flintridge Operating Foundation and community groups in Pasadena and Altadena offers low-income, unskilled young adults an opportunity to change their lives by becoming paid apprentices and then trained journey workers in the construction trades. Read the story

While many industries are suffering slowdowns, the production of research reports, surveys and studies on all things green is bustling. Here is a sampling of recent reports tracking the green growth in government, employment, green technology and conservation. Read the story

A solar installation at El Dorado Elementary School in the Los AngelesUnified School District will allow the school to become one of the first to achieve grid-neutrality, or producing as much energy as it consumes in a year. LAUSD plans to be producing 50 megawatts of solar power by the close of the 2012 school year. Read the story

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a $6.4 billion school modernization bill, the 21st Century Green High Performing Public School Facilities Act, (H.R. 2187), that would pay for energy efficiency in new school construction and school modernization projects. The estimated state grant for California would be more than $671 million. The bill is now in a Senate committee. Read the story

State funding for school construction programs was frozen in December 2008, with no bonds sold. Now, as the thawing begins, the outlook for school construction funding is complicated. In a Q & A with Green Technology magazine, Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH) Legislative Director Tom Duffy gives an update on school construction funding in this recessionary era. Read the story

There are 49 local, city and county workforce investment boards operating under the California Workforce Investment Board. They are all part of a national system for workforce development funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and many are looking into green jobs training. This article focuses on the South Bay Workforce Investment Board and its offshoot, the Green Workforce Coalition. Read the story

To ensure you stay informed of the latest issues surrounding school facilities funding, you should attend the C.A.S.H. Spring Conference and Pre-Conference Workshop "Coping with the Financial Crisis", May 20-22, 2009 at the Westin Gas
Lamp Quarter, 910 Broadway Circle, San Diego, California. For information and to register,
click here.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the U.S. EPA have announced the release of about $9 million in “brownfields” restoration funding for California. Over $3 million will come from stimulus funding. Says DTSC Acting Director Maziar Movassaghi: “About 20 different cities and communities will benefit from these funds which can be used to create or safeguard green jobs.” Projects include things like revitalizing the Lion Creek Crossing Housing Development in Oakland. DTSC has pursued an active policy of having contaminated land cleaned up and returned to beneficial use by local communities. Click here to see a list of all the California projects that received funding.

Agnews Townhomes
Under the environmental cleanup oversight of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, development company Rivermark took the surplus state property of the former "California Hospital for the Chronic Insane" and turned it into Santa Clara's first new community of 3,000 residential units, a pedestrian center, 14-acre park, pocket parks, trails and greenbelts, and a 14-acre shopping center. Photo by Carol Northrup, courtesy DTSC.

Barbary Coast Steel
The City of Emeryville worked under the environmental cleanup oversight of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to turn the unsightly and barren Barbary Coast Steel site into a new commercial hub featuring the area's first IKEA store. Photo courtesy DTSC.

Funding for California school building, charter schools, teacher retention and skills enhancement has been unplugged. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, green building codes and mandates and bond sales have opened door to a multitude of green schools programs and initiatives. Alongside these projects, curriculum and student activities based on them is flowering. Read the story

The Green Ambassadors program at the Environmental Charter High School in Los Angeles is an experiential learning system that empowers youth to be agents of change in their schools, communities and in the world. Green Ambassadors Founder Sara Laimon, winner of the 2008 Green Schools Leadership Award, talks about the program and her personal motivations for starting it. Read the story

At the Environmental Charter High School, students invent and reinvent new ways to green their school. They “educate” city councilmen about plastic waste in Santa Monica Bay by building boats out of plastic bottles and trash and taking them for rides. They are dedicated composters, gardeners and communicators. This slide show captures some of their projects and activities. See Gallery

Community colleges find themselves at the nexus of change. Charged with retraining workers for 21st century jobs, community colleges cope with swelling ranks of students and massive funding cutbacks. But the bond-driven building and energy retrofit projects going on at many community colleges are a win for everyone. They not only put money into the economy and support contractors, service providers and industry; they help train a new workforce and enhance and educate their communities. These state-of-the art buildings also advance the development of green products and services because they are test beds for experimental technologies. Read the story

Butte College aims to be carbon neutral by 2015, and the campus is already well on its way to achieving the goal. Since last year, it has launched its second phase solar project of adding four solar arrays that will bring the school to just about 50 percent solar electricity for the main campus. Three of the arrays are complete, already making Butte the largest solar campus in the state. The fourth array will be completed by the end of April. Read the story

As testament to the bright spot on the horizon that the emerging green economy represents - and California’s commitment to environmental preservation despite tough economic times - over 6,000 people turned out for the third Green California Summit & Exposition. Read the story

The 2009 Green California Leadership Awards celebrated outstanding environmental achievements by state and local government. View a gallery of the recipients. Click here

Conservation and energy efficiency were major concerns for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) long before terms like “climate change” and “global warming” entered the energy vocabulary. SMUD serves the 900 square-mile Sacramento area and nearly 60,000 customers and, today, its focus on renewable energy is being emulated by other utilities Read the story

The list of state, local and federal mandates, laws and initiatives regarding the environment is long and getting longer. From AB 32, California’s Global Climate Initiative, to the federal economic stimulus package, these policies are creating new pathways to large-scale retrofit and solar programs for existing buildings. Read the story

A The Inland Empire, including Riverside and San Bernardino counties, has been hit hard by the financial downturn. It is also an economic powerhouse, with a $77 billion economy and a projected 2 million new residents over the next 15 years. The public and private sectors have joined together for the Green Valley Initiative (GVI), to establish the Inland Empire as a hub for clean and green technologies.
Read the story

specialterms

Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order S-20-04 outlined the nation's first green building action plan. The order extends to leased spaces as well as state-owned buildings, and is adding impetus to an emerging industry. Read the story

contrib
Two of the nation’s leading green lease attorneys outline the pre-leasing considerations that can guide the creation of a green lease that meets expectations. Read the story

greenjobs

Green jobs are expected to reduce global warming, facilitate a transition to renewable energy, clean up the environment, make schools and public buildings more energy efficient and, along the way, relieve the country’s current economic malaise. The chair of the newly-created California Green Collar jobs Council discusses his first priority – identifying the scope of the green workforce. Read the story

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is mission central for what is perhaps the most far-reaching legislation in California history – AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. ARB Chairman Mary Nichols shares her thoughts on the ways that implementation of AB 32 will impact the lives all Californians. Read the interview

Three recent reports from the non-profit group Next 10 provide vital perspective on the convergence of environmental challenges and the economy in California. They show that investment in green technology, energy efficiency, and far-reaching environmental protection programs have added - and will continue to add - significant numbers of jobs and dollars to the state's economy. The cost of inaction, on the other hand, is astronomical. Read the story

Saying that "California has shown bold and bipartisan leadership through its effort to forge 21st-century standards, and over a dozen states have followed its lead," President Barack Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to review the denial of California's request to set tailpipe emission standards more stringent than current federal standards.
Read the story

The Teacher Training Institute at the 2008 Green California Schools Summit included a peer-to-peer student workshop. Participants share their commitment to the environment and the thrill of encountering like-minded contemporaries with Green Technology readers. Read the story

When it was created in the 1970s, the California Department of Toxics Control was a tiny unit under the Department of Health Services in charge of vector control at landfills. Today it has staff of over 1,000, mostly scientists and engineers, working to reduce toxic pollution. With the recent signing of two “green chemistry” initiatives by Governor Schwarzenegger, recommendations developed by DTSC under the leadership of its director, Maureen Gorsen, will be implemented.
Read the story

Government, which has no input into product design or packaging decisions, ultimately bears the costs and responsibility of managing the resulting waste. A concept called "Extended Producer Responsibility" has the potential to change this. Read the story.

A mini-revolution bent on greening the places where California's children spend a major part of their lives is underway - and a large part of that revolution includes school gardens.

Read the story

With new funding and new programs, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is not only saving energy, but creating it.

Read the story

Admiral Len Hering is the regional commander for the six states of the southwestern United States – California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.

In this interview with Green Technology he describes his efforts to advance the practice of sustainability and the importance of this work to the Navy and to American citizens.

Read the story

In recent weeks, officials in Sacramento have announced a range of green policy innovations. Green Technology editors have compiled summaries of key developments.

Click here

Leta Stagnaro, associate vice president of the Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology at Ohlone College, talks about the road to becoming the world's first LEED Platinum-certified college campus. Read the story

The executive director of facilities planning and development for the Los Angeles Community College District observes that demand for alternative energy solutions and renewable technology is impacting the way that community colleges formulate their policies, initiatives and programs. Read the story

Combining rebates and a power purchase agreement, the Lagunitas School District found a way to realize its solar power goals.

Read the story

Schools, government agencies and businesses may be overlooking a critical piece in their quest to become more energy efficient. Personal computers, laptops and the servers that support them are energy hogs. Greening these tools along with facilities can save hundreds of thousands of kilowatt hours. Read the story

If technology innovation and public policy are the heart of the emerging green economy in California, the Apollo Alliance is its soul. Carla Din, western regional director for the Apollo Alliance, discusses the work being done to grow a sustainable and socially equitable green workforce that can keep California at the forefront of the clean technology sector. Read the story

Spanning nearly 2,000 miles, the U.S.-Mexico border is the busiest international border in the world. This year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state of California hosted the XXVI Border Governors Conference at Universal Studios, and for the first time a Green Tech Expo, produced by Green Technology, was incorporated into the event. Read the story

Five and a half years ago, Napa Valley Unified School District envisioned a new green high school to meet the needs of its growing population. A team of architects and engineers working with the Collaborative for High Performance Schools and its new CHPS Verified program is making that dream a reality. Read the story

Only 10 percent of the $100 million allocated for green school construction under the school construction state bond 1-D has been allocated so far. Rob Cook, executive officer of the California Office of Public School Construction, discusses green school funding, the future impact of California’s new Green Building Code and the importance of attending the Green California Schools Summit. Read the story

Solar installations abound at California's community colleges. A Green Technology slideshow provides a glimpse - although not by any means complete - of the proliferation of this technology throughout the system. Read the story

Butte Community College sits perched amidst the rolling hills and streams on a thousand-acre wildlife refuge near Oroville, Chico and, quite literally, Paradise, California. Serving some 20,000 students a year, the college’s extensive campus is maintained by a staff headed up by Mike Miller, director of Facilities and Planning. Read the story

Suzanne Klein, senior engineer at JPL, offers a strategy for transitioning to widespread use of renewable energy technology - the establishment of "energy micro-economies," defined areas in which a small but self-sustainable alternative energy infrastructure is built from the top down. Read the story. Read the story

For over two decades Cisco Systems, Inc., has been busy wiring the world for technology and developing Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Now the company finds itself at the forefront of solving some of the world trickiest environmental challenges. Laura Ipsen, Cisco's vice president of government affairs, talks to Green Technology about Cisco's efforts to assist governments worldwide in achieving their green goals. Read the Interview

A place at the table for both industry and the environment are reflected in California's new green building codes, unanimously adopted by the California Building Standards Commission on July 17. The Golden State is the first in the nation to adopt statewide guidelines for green building. Read the Story

Roadmap to Zero Net for California Schools
At the 2007 Green California Schools Summit, California State Architect David Thorman startled a packed auditorium when he announced a plan calling for all new schools in California to be "Zero Net," or "Grid Neutral," by 2010. Designing schools that are self-sufficient energy producers in such a short time frame seemed an almost unimaginable leap at the time, but Thorman and Theresa Townsend, Senior Architect for the California Department of General Services, say that achieving the goal is not only possible, it's probable. In an interview with Green Technology magazine, they explain how it will happen. Read the story

Green Schools Groundswell
LEED for Schools was one year old in April, and according to U.S. Green Building Council Schools Sector Manager Rachel Gutter, nearly two new schools are now registering for LEED certification every day. This groundswell is a combination of enormous stakeholder advocacy for the program, a growing concern about rising energy bills at the school district level, and development of the tools and information that allow for economical and standardized green school construction. Read the story

A View from the Summit
The 2008 Green California Summit brought together 5,000 attendees and nearly 250 companies offering green products and services. Over three days of keynotes, training and interaction on the exhibit floor, they found new ways to work together to green the Golden State.

Read the story

Green Technology Interview:
Janet W. Lamkin
In February 2007, Bank of America became a pillar of the new green economy in California when it announced a 10-year, $20 billion environmental initiative to help address climate change. Janet W. Lamkin, president of Bank of America California, talks with Green Technology about the background and goals of the program.

Read the story

Taking a Chance
In sustainability efforts at all levels, the pursuit of equity goes hand in hand with the push to preserve natural resources. The Mothers' Club of Pasadena - a community center providing services to impoverished parents with young children - is accomplishing both on a routine basis, with remarkable simplicity and power.

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Green Business Zone
Pasadena's Green City Action plan is nearly two years in, and the City Council reports progress on every front. In addition to support from sustainability advocates, the plan has been embraced in a big way by some of Pasadena's largest businesses.

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Pasadena Seminary Goes Green
In addition to educating 5,000 students a year in theology and intercultural studies at its seven regional campuses, Fuller Theological Seminary contributes in both philosophy and action toward making Pasadena a green city.

Read the story

Local Revolution
Since the 2006 passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act, a growing number of cities and counties have designed and implemented innovative policies to cut emissions and address climate change. A new report from Green Technology summarizes these efforts.

Read the report

By Popular Demand
Slides From Hunter Lovins Keynote at GCS 08
The Slide Show presentations from Hunter's keynote as well as some of the classes, workshops and seminars from the 2008 Green California Summit are now available.

Click here

Green Technology Interview:
Bill Lockyer
Bill Lockyer has a long public service legacy; from 1999-2006, he was California Attorney General. Prior to his election to that office, he served for 25 years in the California Legislature, culminating his Capitol career with a stint as Senate President pro Tempore. In his current position as the state's Treasurer, Lockyer works on the cutting edge of the state's efforts to align economic growth and environmental stewardship.

Read the story.

Green Technology Interview:
Bharat Patel
Architect and sustainability specialist Bharat Patel was at the forefront of a green building initiative that, in one swoop, quadrupled the number of LEED buildings in the US. The project took place in California, and in a far-ranging interview he outlines the factors that are likely to establish California as the world leader in sustainability.

Read the story.

Green Technology Interview:
Hunter Lovins
Lawyer, author, non-profit manager, international economic development leader, local community activist, volunteer firefighter, teacher and rodeo rider, Hunter Lovins has long been one of America's leading voices for sustainability. One of the keynotes for the upcoming Green California Summit and Exposition, Lovins offers insight into the unique responsibilities and capabilities of government.

Read the story.

Off the Grid
The LACCD has raised $2.2 billion for its sustainable construction and renovation program, among the largest of its kind in the world. The District's Energy Strategy Plan calls for, among a host of other things, the onsite generation of more than enough energy to completely power each campus.

Read the story.

Green Urbanism
Cecilia Estolano, a lawyer who has long fought for environmental justice, has a new role as CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) - overseeing what may be the nation's largest experiment in "green urbanism."

Read the story.

Monetizing Green Building

The Green Building Finance Consortium is a group of leading corporations, real estate companies, and trade groups. Their goal: creating a common platform for evaluating green building investment.

Read the story.

Green Perspectives:
Richard Register

For more than three decades, author, designer, builder and visionary Richard Register has argued that sustainability depends on re-thinking the way that cities are created. Register and colleague Kirstin Miller of Ecocity Builders evoke the basics of a "restorative" city.

Read the story.

Power to the People!
Berkeley's Energy Financing District
The City of Berkeley has long tread the cutting edge on the issues of climate protection and sustainability. As part of implementing a bold action plan, the city has created a "sustainable energy financing district" to cover upfront costs for energy efficiency upgrades and solar power systems.

Read the story.

Raising a Solar Roof
One of the strategies of Berkeley's climate action plan is to empower citizens and business owners to participate in climate protection initiatives. KyotoUSA, an all-volunteer organization which encourages cities to work with their governments to reduce greenhouse emissions, has taken up the mantle in a big way.

Read the story.

Envisioning a Green Future:
Thousands Attend Schools Summit
The largest green schools conference ever, the Green California Schools Summit & Exposition brought together thousands of attendees from all sectors of the education community, capturing the essence and spirit of California's rapidly growing green schools movement.

Read the story.

Green California Summit
Once a year, leaders from state and local government come together to share their accomplishments, and to discover the latest green products and services. The 2008 Green California Summit will take place in Sacramento from April 7-9.

Get the details!

Energy Efficiency in Public Schools:
San Diego Walks the Talk
In 1997, the board of the San Diego Unified School District made a commitment to cutting energy use, a decision that is still bringing rewards a decade later.

Read the story

Green Gold Rush
On January 14, investors, educators, industry experts and labor leaders met in San Francisco for a one-day summit that will plot the course for a new energy economy for the state. As Education Partner for this groundbreaking event, Green Technology prepared a special edition focused on building the diverse workforce that will be needed to power the growth of green energy in California.

Click here to discover how leaders in the state are preparing for this challenge!

Reinventing Air Conditioning
Engineers at DMJM Harris are working with the San Diego Unified School District on a daunting challenge: cooling classrooms that have not previously been air conditioned without raising utility bills.

Read the story

Leveling the Playing Field for Prop 1D
In November 2006, voters authorized $10.4 billion for school facility construction and modernization through Proposition 1D - the Kindergarten-University Facilities Bond Act of 2006. Grants through this program are on hold, as the Office of Public School Construction works to establish criteria for fair and effective use of these funds.

Read the story

Greening Schools in the Golden State

From December 4th to the 6th, the Pasadena Convention Center and historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium will offer principals, school board members, architects, product suppliers and educators an unprecedented view of the range of tools and strategies available to make California's schools the healthiest and most sustainable in the nation.

Read the story

High Performance Schools:
The New Jewels of Los Angeles
The second largest school district in the United States, the Los Angeles Unified School District has been called a behemoth, top heavy and inefficient, controversial and downright impossible to manage. None of this has prevented the district from launching a green schools initiative of unprecedented scale.

Read the story

Under Construction
A look at two of the high performance schools included in LAUSD's $20 billion school construction and renovation program.

View a slideshow

Standing in Line, Sustainably
A new DMV facility in San Ysidro marks the beginning of a new, green era for the agency.

Read the story

Big and Bold
These words not only describe new initiatives from the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), they also convey the enthusiasm held by PUC Commissioner Dian Grueneich. "The PUC funds and oversees the world's largest energy efficiency program and the nation's most aggressive renewable program," she says. "My goal is for every person in California to know that and be proud of it."

Read the story

Green Perspectives:
A Greener and Healthier Future for California Schools
Born out of California's energy crisis, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) has expanded beyond energy efficiency to address an array of issues that make up healthy and environmentally conscious school environments.

Read the story

Green Star in the Inner City
The phrase "inner city school" doesn't usually conjure up images of green space, open windows and high attendance rates. But in September 2006, students at Maywood Academy High School in downtown Los Angeles walked into a new kind of school.

Read the story

Growing Green Schools
At a time when schools throughout the country have been re-engineering their curriculum to meet the demands of "no child left behind," a quiet revolution in school design has been unfolding in the State of California. A new school bond has set the stage for a new generation of green schools

Read the story

E-waste: Exporting Risk
Only four U.S. states (including California) have enacted some form of end-of-life legislation in an effort to reduce these hazards. A new United Nations partnership, StEP (Solve the E-waste Problem), has been formed to create a global electronics recycling standard.

View a slideshow

Thinking Green
Thanks to a commitment that is shared by citizens, elected officials, city management, and staff in the city government, Pasadena is ensuring that sustainability is a core value for both public and private sectors.

Read the story.

Green California Gallery
Throughout California, governments are implementing innovative projects that both preserve and utilize local resources. This gallery, an ongoing feature of Green Technology Magazine, offers a brief survey of their efforts.

View the gallery

Destination Stations
Vibrant California communities are being developed around transit stations, revitalizing inner city neighborhoods and connecting far flung suburbs to each other and to the cities.

Read the story

The Last Mile
An innovative program in Pleasant Hill is making public transportation even more user-friendly, and adding adventure to the last leg of the daily commute.

Read the story

Greening Schools in the Golden State
This groundbreaking event will focus on the strategies, technologies and services that will ensure that new and existing public schools in California are models of sustainability and provide healthy learning environments for students.

Get the details

View from the Summit
Thousands of state and local government officials attended the first Green California Summit and Exposition, for three days of training classes and the chance to interact with hundreds of companies providing green products and services.

Get details

Green Government File Sharing
A new online service is enabling government officials working at the city, county, and state levels can share best practices.

Read the story

Sacramento's Clean Energy Corridor
With the support of a unique public-private partnership, the six-county Sacramento region is evolving into a clean energy corridor - and along the way, a business climate is developing that benefits both green technology innovators and the environment.

Read the story

Pioneering on the Hydrogen Highway
Motor vehicles are the single largest contributor to global warming in California. A public-private partnership aims to change this.

Read the story.

Setting a Global Clean Air Challenge
In this special contribution to Green Technology, the Director of Health and Environment for the World Health Organization calls for governments to tighten standards for the most dangerous air pollutants.

Read the story.

From Curb to Serve: Trash on the Rebound
By recycling trash on the job and at home, the more than 200,000 state employees in California can make a major contribution to the state's policy goals. The Chair of the California Integrated Waste Management Board reviews the growth − and the environmental benefits − of California's "recycling culture."

Read the story.

Hello, Old Paint
Recycling paint can prevent toxic pollution, save taxpayers money and, eventually, bring new revenue to government. Yet at present, recycled paint accounts for less than 10 percent of purchases by California government.

Read the story.

Greening the Golden State
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has committed government to leading by example, showing California's private sector - and the nation - the path to a sustainable future.

Read the story.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
An authoritative, and continuously growing, new online manual offers a comprehensive view of "best practices" in green buying.

Read the story.

Savings Fund:
Public Utilities Invest in California
In an innovative collaboration with State government, four of California's largest investor owned utilities (IOUs) will contribute almost $17 million to help the state implement energy savings programs in its buildings.

Read the story

Retro-commissioning:
Back to the Future for California's State Buildings
By the year 2011, all buildings over 50,000 square feet owned by the Executive Branch of the State of California will have been retro-commissioned to meet the requirements of the Governor's Green Building Initiative.

Read the story.

California Gold
Each year, California government agencies purchase enough carpet to cover 47 miles of four-lane freeway. This purchasing power, combined with the state's commitment to environmental protection, has led to a tough new standard for sustainable carpet.

For the complete story, click here.
Photo courtesy of Interface

Restoring the Planet, One Carpet Tile at a Time
A Green Technology Interview with Ray Anderson
Founder and CEO, Interface Corporation

Ray Anderson founded Interface, Inc. in 1973 to adapt European carpet tiling technology to the American market. He had no idea that two decades later he would be a prime force in reinventing the worldwide floor covering industry.

Read the interview.
Photo courtesy of Rufimage

Green Milestone
The Department of Education Building in Sacramento is the first state-owned building to receive Platinum Certification for energy efficiency and sustainability from the U.S. Green Building Council.

To learn about the features of this groundbreaking facility and the road to certification, click here.
Photo courtesy of Fentress Bradburn Architects

Green Technology

Publisher
Keith Miller

Editor in Chief
Carl Smith

Managing Editor
Racquel Palmese

Associate Editor
Bob Graves

Contributors
Barbara Crane
Brandon Keefe

Green Technology is an initiative of the non-profit Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education (FASE). Established in 1981 as a coalition of educators, researchers, physicians, scientists, environmentalists and other professionals, FASE produces a broad range of public interest communications and research. The foundation's environmental health programs have encompassed research, reporting, conferences and policy. FASE has also produced more than 70 educational programs for public broadcasting, many of them addressing environmental issues. These productions have received more than 150 awards, including three Peabody Awards and the Environmental Media Award. Drawing upon this rich and unique organizational experience, Green Technology provides a forum that advances government and private sector efforts to create clean and sustainable communities.