Top Stories
New Report: Pollution Down in One-Third of
States Prior to Economic Downturn.—reliability high.
"Global warming pollution declined in one-third of the states since
2004, the year in which pollution levels began to peak in many states,
according to a new analysis of government data released today by
Environment America. Pollution levels, however, rose in the majority of
states (33) between 2004 and 2007." For the U.S. as a whole, "emissions
of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel consumption increased by 19 percent
between 1990 and 2007", mostly from growing emissions from power plants
and vehicles, but have leveled off in recent years. See
Environment America site. PDF here.
[Several states
cut absolute emissions by switching from coal to gas for power
generation. The detailed data are interesting--it is not always the
states you might think that have cut emissions the most.]
Leaders Will Delay Deal on Climate Change.—reliability
high.
"President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the
difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement at a global
climate conference scheduled for next month, agreeing instead to make
it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific
'politically binding' agreement that would punt the most difficult
issues into the future." "The agreement on Sunday codifies what
negotiators had already accepted as all but inevitable: that
representatives of the 192 nations in the talks would not resolve the
outstanding issues in time. The gulf between rich and poor countries,
and even among the wealthiest nations, was just too wide. Among the
chief barriers to a comprehensive deal in Copenhagen was Congress’s
inability to enact climate and energy legislation that sets binding
targets on greenhouse gases in the United States. Without such a
commitment, other nations are loath to make their own pledges." From
New York Times. [It has become
obvious over the past few months that Obama would not be able to make
commitments on behalf of the U.S., since Congress is unable to pass
even a weak climate bill. So the goals of Copenhagen have been
restated. "'It signifies an abandonment of moral responsibility that a
position of leadership on the world stage clearly implies,' Mr.
Pachauri said" according to NYT
analysis.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Anvil Knitwear Launches TrackMyT.com.—reliability
high.
Anvil Knitwear has a new "interactive Web site that chronicles and
brings to life the complete journey and environmental impact of a
t-shirt, from cotton-seed to consumer." It "allows users to explore
cotton farms, a gin and spinners, as well as Anvil's textile mill, cut
and sew plants, and distribution facility -- all by inputting a unique
tracking number printed on their very own shirt." Also provides
suggestions for reducing the environmental footprint of your t-shirt. From
PR Newswire. Try the interactive site here.
[Loads slowly due
to unanticipated demand, but worth waiting for. Very
clever tool to introduce young consumers to the concept of supply
chains.]
Group says electric car is U.S. oil
addiction cure.—reliability high.
"A coalition of energy companies, automakers and shipping firms
unveiled on Monday their cure for America's oil addiction -- electric
vehicles." They urge government support. "Instead of going nationwide
all at once, the government should target what Diamond calls
'electricity ecosystems,' comprising a handful of large cities. The
communities would be chosen on a competitive basis, with the winning
cities demonstrating support for electric vehicles from large employers
and state and local governments." From
Reuters. Group's site here.
Malt whisky ruling may mean the end for
green distillery.—reliability high.
"An environmentally friendly distillery in Scotland may be forced to
cut jobs and abandon efforts to reduce energy use because of new rules
defining how traditional malt whisky is made." Loch Lomond Distillery
has been trying to be greener, in part by using more energy-efficient
distillation technology than traditional pot stills. But it "may have
to close or change more than half of its production if plans to define
malt whisky as spirit made only from old-fashioned pot stills are
passed in parliament." "As it is, we prevent more than 1,400 tonnes of
CO2 being released every year and they want us to go back to the old
inefficient ways." More on preserving the identity of Scotch vs
innovation in energy conservation. See
The Guardian.
Wireless Protocols Vie for Smart Grid.—reliability
medium.
"The Wi-Fi Alliance, a consortium of companies developing wireless
technologies, released a white paper detailing the benefits of Wi-Fi as
the standard of communication in smart grid solutions." "there are
other wireless standards that offer longer range coverage, including
WiMax, that some smart grid companies are choosing to use." More on
studies, pros and cons of various wireless technologies for smart grid.
See
New York Times Green Inc. blog. White paper here.
Dow: Sustainability = Money.—reliability
medium.
"investor presentation from Dow Chemical emphasized their strategy in
incorporating sustainability in all aspects of their operations and
businesses mostly because it is profitable to do so." Gives some
examples of Dow's moves into sustainability. See
Green Chemicals blog.
Merciless Ikea memoir flat-packs a punch.—reliability
high.
"The wholesome Scandinavian image of furniture and lifestyle giant
Ikea has been rudely shaken by a new book which claims the company is
hostile to foreign employees and uses Stasi-style secret police methods
to spy on its thousands of staff worldwide." "His book also alleges
that the company makes claims to being an eco-friendly concern, while
in reality its huge market share means that it can dictate the lowest
prices to its suppliers. 'The key to Ikea's low prices is the supply of
cheap raw materials,' Mr Stenebo writes. 'Instead of using the best
they use the cheapest.'" From
The Independent. Related
item from Spiegel.
Sears Holdings Announces New Sustainable
Paper Procurement Policy.—reliability high.
Sears Holdings Corporation, which owns Sears, Roebuck and Co. and
Kmart Corporation, has set a Sustainable Paper Procurement Policy "that
it will phase out fiber from unwanted sources, and procure paper
sourced from credibly certified forest sources with verified
chain-of-custody and/or recycled sources with a preference for
post-consumer recycled paper. The policy also outlines supplier
requirements and a preferred sustainable supplier program." It is
implementing Metafore's Environmental Paper Assessment Tool to assist
it in the procurement of sustainable paper. From
PR Newswire.
How green are these corporations?—reliability
high.
Carbon Disclosure Project results: "This year's FTSE 350 Report shows
UK companies are disclosing the highest ever levels of greenhouse gas
emissions — at 390 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent, equating to
61% of total UK emissions. But only 35% of the FTSE 350 disclosed
emissions reduction targets. Some environmental campaigners say this
only highlights the unwillingness of major corporations to be open
about their environmental credentials. This is lower than the 51% of
Global 500 companies reporting emission reduction targets to CDP. So,
are British companies just less open than their global peers?" From
The Guardian.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2009 HaraBara, Inc.]
