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Green Technology Home |
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News in Brief
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Photo
courtesy
romleys
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Cities to Volunteer Emissions Data
Pacific Grove and Rohnert Park are two California cities among 30 urban
centers nationally that will take part in a voluntary report on their
greenhouse gas emissions and other climate change data. The project is
being done in a partnership between
ICLEI-Local Governments
for Sustainability and the
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which is
a private organization representing 385 institutional investors worldwide.
It collects climate change data from more than 3,000 major corporations
globally and has assembled the largest corporate greenhouse gas emissions
database in the world. The responses from US cities will be published in
the first CDP Cities Report and the ICLEI Local Action Network Report in
January 2009. |
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Development
at Lake Mission Viejo, California
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Developers Must
Consider Climate Change
Developers in California cannot ignore climate change when planning
building projects. Under a 1970s environmental law, a California court
upheld California’s right to pursue greenhouse gas emissions cuts. The
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
was invoked by a Riverside Superior Court judge to reject a golf course
and luxury resort project citing that its environmental study failed to
analyze climate change effects. This ruling is the latest development in
an effort by environmentalists and California Attorney General Jerry
Brown to connect land-use planning with emissions cuts. |
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Mission Bay
brownfield site near San Francisco. Photo courtesy CalEPA
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Greening Brownfields
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has provided $500,000 to 16 projects nationwide for technical assistance
in greening
brownfields.
In California projects include redeveloping a former lumber mill in
Humboldt County to a green mixed-use commercial, residential and
recreational development. Humboldt says the $50,000 in EPA assistance will
help it incorporate LEED Neighborhood Development principles in the
project. |
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Photo
courtesy
PieterMusterd
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Universities On Track with Bike Shares
At UC Berkeley students can pay a $15 membership fee per semester and
check out a bike for 24 hours at a time during weekdays. Along with the
bike comes a lock, a light, a map, safety tools and directions on use. The
university’s
Green Bike Share Project
is among 61 free and low-cost bike rental programs at US colleges and
universities listed by
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in
Higher Education (AASHE). Berkeley’s
program won first prize for a project to improve student life in the
Big Ideas @ Berkeley
competition. |
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Photo
courtesy Arup/Cody
Andresen
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De Anza Goes for Platinum
The
Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies at De Anza Community
College has earned a coveted
LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green
Building Council. The Kirsch Center the first community college building
in the U.S. to receive the elite rating. Many of the green technologies
used in the building are exposed for teaching students about the building.
The center includes classrooms, a resource center, offices and open study
areas. “It’s a building that teaches,” Pat Cornely, executive director
for the Kirsch Center told the Cupertino Courier. “If you walk through
this building, I don’t need to teach you; the building does.” |
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Moscone Center Solar Installation. Photo
courtesy SF Public Utilities Commission
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A Green Light for San Francisco’s Solar
Rebates
San Francisco will now have the highest local
solar subsidy in the nation.
Households can apply for up to a $6,000 rebate, and businesses for
$10,000. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he expects the city to
become the “Berlin of Solar Power.” Germany is the world’s leader in
installed solar. San Francisco expects to up its current 770 solar
installations to 10,000, producing 50 megawatts of power over the next ten
years. Newsom claims that between state and national rebates, a $20,000
solar installation can now be reduced to $4,000 out of pocket.
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So Long, Plastic Bags
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to support the LA City
Bureau of Sanitation’s recommendation to adopt a
policy that forbids the
use of plastic carryout bags by 2010. The ban would apply to all
supermarkets and retail establishments, unless the state imposes a 25-cent
fee per bag. A ban on Styrofoam© packaging used at city events and
facilities was also endorsed. Styrofoam and plastic bags not only threaten
marine life, they clog landfills and waste energy. Only about five percent
of plastic bags are recycled, and it costs taxpayers in California over
$25 million a year to dispose of the 19 billion plastic shopping bags used
each year.
Plastic bags littering downtown 29 Palms. Photo courtesy
N.Panter |
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Teamsters
rallying for green jobs and clean air in Oakland.
Photo courtesy International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
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Teamsters Go for Green
The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters has announced it is leaving the
ANWR coalition and would no longer support oil drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. Teamsters general president Jim Hoffa made the
announcement at an Oakland
summit on good jobs and clean air saying,
“We must find a long-term approach that breaks our dependence on foreign
oil by investing in the development of alternate energy sources like
solar, wind and geothermal power.” Hoffa also said that by investing in
green energy solutions, the nation will reap the benefits of curbing its
dependence on oil through a revitalized economy with the creation of
millions of new jobs in a rapidly growing industry. |
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Building Gateways to
the Green Economy
From October
8-9, the Pasadena Convention Center will be the site of the Green
California Community Colleges Summit, an event that will focus on the full
range of strategies and technologies that can be brought to the challenges
of creating sustainable campuses as well as the effort to train "green
collar" workers who help to build a vibrant new industry in California.
Get more
information |
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Worldwide Outlook on
Cleantech
A new report on the Cleantech market,
Cleantech: Current Status and Worldwide Outlook,
says that this sector, whose current global market is about $284 billion a
year and expected to grow to over $1.3 trillion by 2017, is the third
largest venture capital investment category, behind biotech and software.
More than one-third is now attributable to renewable energy sources. The
report also targets other cleantech segments and technology areas, such as
agriculture, materials, recycling and manufacturing. For information
contact
rsmith@mrgco.com.
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Ninety
percent of the occupied spaces in the newly LEED certified FTB buildings
receive natural daylight and have outdoor views helping to reduce energy
use needed for indoor lighting. The buildings also "utilize sunshades,
screens and double-pane window glazing to reduce heating and cooling
needs.
Photo courtesy
Department of General Services |
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LEED Plaques for Three New Green FTB
Buildings
A US Green Building Council plaque has been affixed to
three new Franchise Tax Board buildings, meaning they have been awarded a
LEED Silver green building certification for their energy efficient,
environmentally friendly design and construction. The plaques were
unveiled during the FTB’s annual “Green Fair.”
The one
million square-foot expansion project includes the California Building,
which serves as the campus’ town center, along with the four-story
Sacramento Building and the three-story San Francisco Building that
connect two existing buildings at the southern end of the site. The
expansion project also includes a warehouse and a central plant. “These
Franchise Tax Board buildings are shining examples of how the state of
California is designing, constructing and maintaining its buildings in
order to minimize their environmental footprints, cut operating costs, and
provide healthier places to conduct state business,” said DGS Director
Will Bush. To date, 13 state buildings are LEED certified To see
California’s Green Building Directory, please visit
http://www.greenbuildings.dgs.ca.gov. |
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Governor as Obama’s “Energy Czar”?
Saying he’s “through with acting” and would like to be
“traveling around the world…promoting the energy (independence),
renewable, solar, windmills and all those kinds of things, protecting the
environment, protecting our oceans,” Governer Schwarzenegger said in an
interview with ABC News that he could see a possible future as “energy and
environment czar” for Barack Obama, should the senator be elected
president. Although the Governor endorses John McCain as the presidential
nominee, he did not rule out working for Obama. |
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Who’s
the Greenest of them All?
Researchers at UCLA, using criteria such as whether residents own hybrid
vehicles and the number of LEED building certifications, determined that
the two greenest cities in California are Berkeley and Albany. The study,
“Green
Market Economy,” authored by Matthew Kahn and
Ryan Vaughn, looked at 349 California cities and found that 5.2 percent of
registered vehicles in Berkeley are hybrids, while 2.48 percent in Albany
are hybrids. El Cerrito came in third at 2.3 percent hybrids. The state
average is only .76 percent. Berkeley’s Mayor Tom Bates added that his
city also boasts a high concentration of homes going solar and more than
100 “green-certified” businesses. UCLA Professor Matthew Kahn, co-author
of the study told the Contra Costa Times, “My students have a lot of
interest in ‘green’ products – solar panels, LEED buildings,
fuel-efficient cars – and who actually buys these things.”
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates grees Al Gore in front of a CalCars Prius Hybrid
plug-in electric vehicle.Photo
courtesy
californiaprogressreport.com. |
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New CARB Scoping Plan
Hundreds of Californians turned out for the first public meeting on the
recently released
draft scoping plan put out by the
California Air Resources Board. This was CARB’s first public input
workshop on AB 32, the Climate Protection Act, which calls for dropping
global warming pollution to 1990 levels in the next 12 years. |
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Photo courtesy
kids-vs-global-warming.com |
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Young Eco-Warriors Recognized
In its annual worldwide quest for young people taking a
lead in environmental issues,
Action for Nature
(AFN) this year recognized 11 “young
eco-warriors for remarkable global conservation achievements.” Two
California teenagers who are working to solve environmental problems.
Thirteen year-old Alec Loorz of Ventura decided to do something about his
friends who were denying the existence of global warming. He developed a
website and presentation and began
speaking at schools and
then organized local young people into 20
Kids vs. Global Warming
action teams. Sixteen year-old Andrew Leonard of Redwood City, who makes
annual visits to family in China, realized how bad the pollution is there
applied for and received a grant from the Disney corporation to establish
the Global Partners: China-USA project, a joint ecological partnership
between schools in Beijing and America. |
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Governor and Senator Release Water Plan
With a goal of breaking a long-standing stalemate over
water, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
have proposed a $9.3 billion bond measure to the Legislature. The
Safe,
Clean, Reliable, Drinking Water Supply
Act
of 2008
would update California’s water system by increasing
storage, improving conveyance, protecting the Delta’s ecosystem and
promoting greater water conservation. After two years of drought and the
driest spring in recorded history, water reserves are extremely low. The
Delta ecosystem is near collapse. In June, the Governor issued an
executive order
declaring a statewide drought.
Sacramento Delta’s ecosystem near collapse would be
helped by watershed protection provision in the new bond measure. Photo
courtesy California Department of Water Resources |
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Sun
Power for Blythe Prison
A 13-acre solar panel field will provide energy to
Ironwood State Prison in
Blythe, expected to save the state $50,000 a year in energy costs and
generate 2.4 million kilowatt-hours during its first year of production.
The system, according to Harry Franey, California Department of
Corrections chief of energy management and sustainability, is the largest
and most advanced solar energy project at DCS. Built and funded by
SunEdison, it will serve as a model for 10 other prison projects.
Photo
courtesy California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation |
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Affordable Housing to get $50 Million Boost
The
California Housing Finance Agency
is providing a $50 million financing boost to green and transit-oriented
apartments being built or planned in San Jose, Salinas and Santa Cruz.
Photo courtesy CaHFA |
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Green
Collar Job Boom Potential
A report from the American Solar Energy Society,
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic
Drivers for the 21st Century, asserts that by 2030 one out of
every four U.S. workers will have jobs in renewable energy or energy
efficiency. The report holds that 8.5 million U.S. jobs are already
generated by these industries. The 40 million jobs that could be created
in these two sectors are not just engineering-related, but also include
those in manufacturing, construction, accounting and management.
Photo
courtesy New Republic |
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Tango
Electric Urban Car,
made in USA
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CARB Rules Could Roll Back Clean Cars
A complex system of incentives created in
1990 for automakers to quickly introduce alternative power vehicles helped
spawn innovation and new technology. But it could actually let car makers
deliver less than the required amount of cleaner-running vehicles in
California. The special credits operated by the state
Air Resources Board allow car manufacturers to make less than the
state-mandated number of efficient cars. The state is requiring
manufacturers to produce more than 800,000 zero, or near-zero, emission
vehicles by 2011 and an additional 1.26 million by 2015. But with
manufacturers sitting on CARB authorized credits, this number could be a
lot smaller. Recently, the Air Resources Board created changes to
phase-in restrictions on the use of credits. All this may be a moot point,
as demand for ultra-clean cars will put its own pressure on auto
manufacturers to produce them. |
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California Getting Behind Clean Chemicals
The California Department of Toxic
Substances Control will begin to lay out a framework for the development
and use of “green” chemicals. A report to be produced by the agency will
list 818 ideas for encouraging innovation in finding nontoxic substitutes
for many chemicals in use by industry. About 80,000 compounds are used
commercially in the U.S. Many accumulate in the human body. They spread
throughout the environment, using water, air and food to migrate. Their
effects are largely unknown. It is estimated in a report presented to
state legislators by UC Berkeley researcher Michael P. Wilson, PhD,
Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California, that
exposure to toxic industrial chemicals costs Californians $2.6 billion a
year in lost wages and medical expenses. The recommendations will be sent
to the Governor in July. |
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First
Certified Green Library in U.S.
The U.S. Green Building Council gave a LEED Bronze certification to San
Jose’s
West Valley Branch Library, making it the first library in the
world to attain the distinction. The library, which opened in May, was
designed to use 30 percent less energy and 50 percent less irrigation
water than standard buildings. Among other green features is the
preservation of mature redwood trees, drought tolerant landscape and the
use of recycled products in construction. Twenty percent of the building
materials were manufactured locally.
Photo
courtesy City of San Jose |
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O.C. Water Purification System Wins
Award
Orange County in Southern California will be
awarded a prestigious
Stockholm Industry Water Award during the 2008 World Water Week in
Stockholm. The award honors the world’s largest
water purification plant for groundwater recharge. The system diverts
highly treated sewer water, which is currently discharged into the ocean,
and purifies it through a series of advanced techniques. The cleaned water
is returned to the groundwater basin to increase water supply and quality.
Other dry regions, such as Singapore, are already emulating O.C.’s
large-scale wastewater purification system.
Image: O.C. Water Purification
manifold system. Photo courtesy American Association of Environmental
Engineers |
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The
Economics of Ecosystem Preservation
A new report assesses the potential cost of mass extinctions and
deteriorating ecosystems.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
was released at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn, Germany in
May. In it the report’s authors propose that world markets don’t properly
value natural resources that are crucial to human life. By 2050, according
to the report, up to 11 percent of the ecosystems that still remained
after 2000 would be lost, primarily due to agriculture and development, as
well as climate change. A sobering fact from the report is that forests,
often called the “lungs of the planet,” have completely disappeared from
25 countries, and another 29 have lost more than 90 percent of their
forest cover. |
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USGBC
Re-launches Web Portal
If you weren’t able to attend USGBC’s annual
Greenbuild Conference & Expo, you can now access many of its presentations
at the newly re-launched Greenbuild365 website (www.greenbuild365.org). Some
highlights of the website include a catalog of third-party-reviewed green
building courses, both core LEED offerings and others that extend beyond
the LEED certification program; and Green Bytes - short videos, podcasts
and articles on education case studies, best practices and green building
information. |
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Aerial view of the Los Angeles aqueduct crossing ephemeral
wash. Photo: Robert Webb, USGS.
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Squeezing the Last Drops in LA
Under a controversial $2 billion, proposed
multiyear plan to curb water usage in Los Angeles, the city may
finally move closer to water recycling and other water conservation
programs already in effect in other Southern California communities. The
plan, a response to shrinking water resources, would have wide ranging
effects on water consumers. Restrictions on lawn watering and car washing,
financial incentives and building code changes to encourage high-tech
conservation equipment in homes and businesses, money invested in programs
to capture rainwater, reclaiming and cleaning wastewater and other water
saving technologies would be implemented. |
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New Rewards for Green Manufacturers
Manufacturing companies that lower their carbon footprint
and reduce water and energy use can now qualify for insurance premium
reward incentives through
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. A leader in “green insurance,”
Fireman’s Fund says environmentally friendly practices can translate into
increases in profits. Sustainable practices lead to higher employee
productivity, reduced absenteeism, improved product safety and lower
energy bills – and these companies are better risks to insure. |
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Shanghai smog. Photo:
stelzer
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California to Help China Cut Emissions
In a United Nations agreement, California will share ideas
and research on curbing greenhouse gas emissions with China. California’s
top environmental official, Cal EPA Secretary Linda Adams, signed the
agreement saying, “I think it will help show them they can indeed
reach set targets and move forward on environmental protection and
maintain a strong economy as California has.” This follows the 2005
environmental agreement signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with the
Beijing Municipal
Environmental Protection Bureau to help improve air and water quality
there. |
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Green Building Codes Almost Complete
The only green building rating system that will be
accredited by the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Green
Building Standard has been submitted to ANSI for approval and will become
the benchmark for green homes, according to the
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The standard defines
what green practices should be incorporated into home construction on a
national scale and how homeowners should maintain and operate their green
homes. The rating system ensures uniformity in everything from the size of
electrical outlets to testing medical devices. To get to this point, NAHB
volunteers and the
International Code Council attended four public hearings and
considered 3,000 public comments submitted for consideration. |
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Butte
College to Host Sustainability Conference
From June 4-6, Butte College – a
national leader in sustainability in community colleges – will host THIS
WAY TO SUSTAINABILITY, a conference on the built environment. Topics in
the program, which includes pre-conference sessions on June 4, will
include energy, design, financial strategies, green building and tours to
local sustainable businesses, including the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
Details are available online.
Click here
for details.
Butte College was founded in 1967 and is situated on a 928 acre wildlife
refuge nestled within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California.
Its Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, and students are
working honor the College’s legacy of existing in balance with nature by
committing themselves to Sustainability Education and to partnering with
students, community, and the living biosphere to envision and create a
healthy and prosperous world for present and future generations.
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Greening the Range
Livestock foraging
has caused a host of environmental problems, from land erosion to air
pollution. Now a new generation of environmentally-oriented ranchers is
working to find more sustainable grazing methods. Seventy-five ranching
organizations in California joined with environmental groups and federal
and state agencies in signing onto a strategy to enhance the state’s
rangelands while protecting its ecosystems. A number of organizations are
working on the problem, including the
World Wildlife Fund, the
Audobon Society,
The
USDA’s Grasslands Reserve Program, the
California Cattlemen’s Association and
The Nature Conservancy.
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EcoMoms for Healthy
Schools
First there were soccer moms. Now there are EcoMoms,
a new term describing a potent environmental force putting its muscle
behind the green schools movement. The
EcoMom Alliance
is a network of mothers interested in all aspects of environmentalism as
it relates to their children. |
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Should Global Warming be Taught in Schools?
If State Senator Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, has his way,
climate change will be a science topic taught in
California’s public
schools. A
bill he introduced that is making its way through the state
legislature is generating a fair share of controversy, as a vocal group of
opponents say the science on global warming isn’t clear. Proponents,
though, say that introducing what is and isn’t known about the subject is
crucial. Simitian’s law would mandate that global warming be covered in
all California
high school science textbooks. |
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Los
Angeles on the Green Edge
Los Angeles is firmly on the leading edge of climate change initiatives
with a new mandate passed by two City Council committees which will
require major commercial and residential developments to meet a “standard
of sustainability.” Under the proposed ordinance, privately built projects
over 50,000 square feet will be required to cut their energy and water use
and reduce their overall environmental footprint by incorporating
low-emission paints, recycled materials, solar energy production and other
aspects of green building.
Los Angeles will be the largest city in the US to mandate green building
in the public and private sectors. |
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Bay Area Detention Facility Going Solar
Solano
County Detention Facility in the San Francisco Bay Area will be saving
over $1 million in energy costs over the next 20 years thanks to a new
746-kilowatt solar array being installed near its Claybank Adult Detention
Facility. Under an arrangement with
Honeywell, electricity produced by the
panels will be sold to the county for use in the detention facility. In
addition to reducing costs, the new array will deliver substantial
environmental benefits, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by more than
14,500 metric tons over the course of the contract. With this solar
installation, the county will bring its power generation capacity to more
than one megawatt through renewable energy technology. After the 20-year
agreement expires, the county can continue purchasing electricity from
Honeywell or acquire ownership of the panels. |
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Renewable Energy Gets $10 Billion Pledge from Investors: CalPERS Leads the
Charge
At a recent
United Nations investor summit on climate risk, the California Public
Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS),
which is the largest pension fund in the nation, joined state treasurers,
comptrollers and other players from 11 states in pledging to invest $10
billion in green technology over the next two years. The group was urged
by Mindy Lubbar, president of
Ceres and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR)
to pressure companies to disclose their risks associated with climate
change, such as greenhouse gas emissions.
In a related
move, CalPERS was congratulated by the Nature Conservancy for taking
leadership in sustainable forestry. CalPERS voted to adopt a far-reaching
forest investment policy that requires certified sustainable forest
management, directing $10-15 billion towards environmentally friendly
forest projects. The move positions the retirement fund to profit from the
global market in forest carbon credits. |
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Green Brings More Green in Real Estate
A new
report by the Burnham-Moores Center for Real
Estate at the University of San Diego shows that not only are more
developers building environmentally friendly buildings, but that tenants
are willing to pay more to rent them. The study, titled simply Does
Green Pay Off?, reports that customers are willing to pay an average
of $2.45 per square foot extra for renting, or an average of $15 per
square foot extra for buying a LEED certified green office building. The
study also found that lower energy bills offset the higher rentals and
purchase prices. According to the report,
Los Angeles
is the leading metro area of green building in the US as of the second
quarter of 2007 with 100 buildings totaling over 26 million square feet.
San Francisco came in number five, with 30 buildings totaling almost 12
million square feet. |
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The proposed
Sunlight Powerlink would cut through parks and protected areas such as the
Anza-Borrego Desert state park.
Photo courtesy California State Parks
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Nix on Long Line for California
The first
government
analysis of the proposed
Sunlight Powerlink, a 150 mile long electrical transmission line which
would bring electricity from the Imperial Valley desert to San Diego, says
it would result in at least 50 “significant, unmitigable” impacts to
people and the environment and suggests that local electricity generation
would be better. Powerlink is the first phase of a plan by the San Diego
Gas and Electric company and its parent company, Sempra Energy to extend
the line north to expand the California market for power from its
coal-fired Mexico power plant. The 7,000 page report also considered
nearly 100 alternatives to the project with input from over 1,300
different organizations and individuals. Micah Mitrosky, conservation
organizer for the Sierra Club's San Diego Smart Energy Solutions campaign,
said, "This proposal would devastate the [Anza-Borrego Desert State] park,
wreak havoc on local communities, and unravel efforts to reduce global
warming greenhouse gases." He suggested
San Diego Smart Energy 2020 as a “smarter alternative to boost our
local green energy economy and free our region from depending on imported
fossil fuels.” |
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David Hochschild,
who co-chairs the SF Solar Task Force, and Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting
announcing San Francisco’s solar incentive program on the solar rooftop of
Project Open Hand.
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Largest Urban Solar Incentive Program in
the US
San
Francisco has come up with the only solar incentive of its kind in the US,
providing direct financial incentives as well as a long-term loans and
rebates to homeowners and businesses who want to install solar power. The
package of proposals was announced by the
San Francisco Solar Task Force, along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin
Newsom and Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting. The Solar Incentive (Rebate)
Program is an ordinance that makes available $2-5 million per year over
ten years for solar incentive payments. The Solar Loan Program is a ballot
measure that creates a loan program that homeowners can use to finance the
remainder of their solar installations after state and local rebates. The
average residential solar rooftop installation in San Francisco costs
approximately $20,000. The proposed local incentive payment -
$3,000-$5,000 for residential properties, and up to $10,000 for commercial
properties - along with state and federal rebates, would help cut the
total cost to the customer almost in half. This direct incentive model is
based on the successful state program in California that has doubled the
number of rooftop solar energy systems to 32,000 in just two years. |
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All the Right Pieces
What do
you get when you mix four cities, a national laboratory and a major
university? The perfect conditions for an emerging green corridor. That’s
what’s happening in Northern California. The mayors of Richmond,
Emeryville, Oakland and Berkeley got together with the chancellor of UC
Berkeley and the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to
unveil their vision for the
East Bay Green Corridor. The Green Corridor Statement of Principles
says: “As new green technologies emerge and become commercialized, our
jurisdictions will cooperate to create conditions that spark new
companies, incubate their growth and give them the opportunities to expand
in the region…” The East Bay could become one of the nation’s green
economic engines. |
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Architects Say: “Walk the Walk”
The
American Institute of Architects (AIA) has just launched a campaign to
“educate, promote and encourage sustainable design among consumers,
business owners and architects” called “Walk the Walk.” It is an effort
to inform the marketplace about the benefits of more energy-efficient
homes and buildings. AIA has a stated goal of making all buildings carbon
neutral by 2030. To help achieve its goal, AIA offers toolkits: “Sustainbility
2030” and “50
to 50.” |
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Nonroad vehicles produce
millions of tons of greenhouse gases.
Photo courtesy Flickr,
yuan2003
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California Asks EPA to Regulate Non-road
Vehicles
Among the
major overlooked sources of greenhouse gas emitters are non-road vehicles,
engines and equipment. California, joining other states, government
agencies and national environmental organizations, has
petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency to adopt standards.
Announcing the petition at a news conference, California Attorney General
Jerry Brown said, “Millions of industrial machines in mines, on farms and
construction sites spew massive quantities of unregulated greenhouse gas
pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency has not regulated the
emissions from these vehicles and engines - just like it has failed to
curb greenhouse gases from cars, ocean-going vessels, and aircraft.”
Non-road vehicles mentioned in the petition were responsible for 220
million tons of carbon dioxide in 2007, equivalent to 40 million cars.
According to the Air Resources Board, there are about 17.8 million
non-road vehicles and machines in California. |
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Photo: Melissa De Ciero
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Green
Chemistry for California
Dealing with toxic waste before it is generated is the goal of a
Green Chemistry Initiative,
which is similar to measures adopted by the European Union and the
Canadian government to encourage greater manufacturer responsibility. And
it lays out a framework for California to become a leader in the
development of alternatives to toxic chemicals. California Secretary for
Environmental Protection Linda Adams has directed the
Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC)
to lead the initiative, which could have far-reaching effects on the
state. “Our
Cal/EPA team will be working in partnership with business and
environmental groups on green chemistry for a healthier California,” said
Maureen Gorsen, the director of DTSC. “This initiative will provide a
scientific basis and economic opportunity for environmentally safe
products.” Implementing green chemistry means that manufacturers consider
public health and environmental effects of those products at the design
phase and develop new products that reduce or eliminate the use or
generation of hazardous substances. About 80,000 compounds, most of which
have not been studied for toxic effects to health or the environment, are
in commercial use in the US. |
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Photo courtesy Environmental Protection Agency
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New Law to Disclose Buildings’ Energy
Efficiency Data
Helping
forward the intent of his Green Building Initiative, Executive order
S-20-04, the Governor has signed into law
AB 1103 (Saldaña, D-San Diego), which will require that
energy efficiency scores in existing commercial buildings be disclosed
when the buildings are put up for sale or lease, or when they are financed
or refinanced. Nonresidential buildings account for nearly 40 percent of
the energy consumed in California, according to Saldeña. With AB 1103, the
Energy Star national energy performance rating system will be used as
a benchmark to assess how efficiently a building uses energy relative to
similar buildings nationwide. “This information
will help motivate building managers to make their buildings more energy
efficient,” Saldaña said, according to the
California Chronicle. “It will
also help them to establish investment priorities and to take advantage of
energy investment opportunities offered by utilities and governments.” By
2009, with a go-ahead from building owners or operators, electric
utilities will have to provide automated billing information for
nonresidential buildings in a format that is compatible for uploading onto
the Energy Star system. In 2010, the benchmarking data and scores
generated by the Energy Star system must be disclosed. |
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Photo
courtesy
Practical Action
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Governor Signs, and
Vetoes, Waste Bills
According to
Californians Against Waste,the 2007
legislative session had mixed results when it comes to waste prevention
and recycling. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill,
CAW-sponsored
AB 548 (Levine), that would have required multifamily
apartment owners to provide recycling services to their tenants, expanding
recycling opportunities to their tenants. The Governor cited significant
costs as a deterrent. He also vetoed
AB 48 (Saldana) that would have prohibited the sale in California of
electronic devices that contain certain hazardous materials, including
lead and mercury, consistent with the European Union's RoHS (Reduction of
Hazardous Substances) directive by 2010. According to
CAW, this would have been in line with a policy already in
place in the state on computer monitors and televisions, and which the
Governor expanded earlier in the week by adding lighting products (AB
1109). He did, however sign several important bills relating to
recycling and hazardous waste. AB
1109 (Huffman) creates a strategy to increase energy efficiency and
reduce hazardous waste in lighting, expected to reduce CO2 emissions by
more than six million tons over ten years. Under
SB 966 (Simitian), programs will be set up at local levels for
disposal of unused or expired pharmaceutical drugs. Senator Padilla’s
Beverage Container Recycling Funding Legislation,
SB 1021, will use unclaimed bottle bill deposits to help fund
multifamily recycling programs. |
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Saving Gallons by the Millions: Clean
Cities Report
There are
almost 90 Clean Cities
coalitions
throughout the
U.S.,
and they are on track to displace 3.2 billion gallons of gasoline by 2020.
This will exceed their established goal by 700 million gallons. According
to the
Clean Cities Annual Metrics Report 2006
by
the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),
375 million gallons of gasoline was displaced in 2006 by Clean Cities
coalitions.
Clean Cities is a government-industry
partnership sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE)
Vehicle Technologies Program. With
more than 5,400 stakeholders, Clean Cities' mission is to reduce petroleum
consumption in the transportation sector. The numbers added up fast.
According to the report, 71
percent of the 2006 gasoline displacement came from the use of alternative
fuels. The use of E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent
gasoline, grew substantially in 2006, largely because the number of E85
stations doubled – from 436 to 995 – in the year. Coalitions reported
acquiring almost 44,000 hybrid electric vehicles in 2006. HEV use
accounted for the displacement of approximately 9 million gallons of
gasoline. Idle reduction efforts displaced 8.4 million gallons in 2006,
including 1.2 million gallons from truck stop electrification. Almost 2
million gallons were saved by reducing the number of miles traveled.
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A “Green Vision” that Will Be Hard to Top
San Jose
is the tenth largest city in the United States, the third largest in
California. If all goes according to its new 15-year
plan, “Green” Vision,”
San Jose
will also be the world center of clean tech innovation. By 2022, the city
intends to have 25,000 clean tech jobs, to reduce per capital energy use
by 50 percent, to receive 100 percent of its electrical power from
renewable sources, to have built or retrofitted 50 million square feet of
green buildings, and to divert 100 percent of waste from landfills and
convert landfill waste to energy. It will also recycle or reuse 100
percent of its wastewater, and have a general plan with measurable
standards for sustainable development. All of its public fleet vehicles
will be running on alternative fuels, 100,000 new trees will have been
planted and 100 percent if its streetlights will be zero emission
lighting. To top it off, by 2022,
San Jose
the vision includes 100 miles of interconnected trails. |
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A
Good Idea from the UK
Schools
in the UK
have a £5,000 (about $10,000) incentive to integrate sustainability into
their curriculums and their school cultures. Grants will be issued to
schools with the best plans to involve faculty and pupil leadership
teams. In a survey by the
National College for School Leadership, it was found that less than 15
percent of school leaders felt their school is addressing sustainability
effectively in key areas such as energy and water, travel and waste.
However, schools have also found that students themselves are “passionate
and active in driving sustainability agendas, once they are given a voice
and the opportunity to do so.” The research found that school leaders need
to be “outward looking” to achieve a sustainable school and to “join up
with the community.” Ninety-eight percent of UK school leaders in the
survey said that sustainability is important or very important to them.
Nevertheless, NCSL’s director says, “none of us know the answer of how
best to lead a truly sustainable school…ultimately our aim…is to support
school leaders to explore and share effective practice in this critical
area…” |
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