Top Stories
Green advertising rules are made to be
broken.—reliability medium.
"From this week, we have a new checklist of dodgy green claims that
advertisers should avoid. The list comes from the UK government's
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). ... Among
the biggest bugbears revealed in the consultation document ... are
general, untestable claims like products being "eco-" or
"environmentally friendly". ... Defra says green claims should be
"clear, accurate, relevant and verifiable". That's a good checklist for
people who want to comply, but hardly a legal rottweiler to combat
cynical greenwash." Column in The
Guardian. PDF of DEFRA report here.
Halfway to a Green Taxi Fleet in San
Francisco.—reliability medium.
Post by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom on success of his green taxi measure,
the "Green Taxi Law requiring San Francisco cab companies to
lower their greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by
2012. ... I am pleased to announce that we are well on our way to
exceeding this goal. The city's taxi fleet as of this morning is
comprised of 55 percent alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids
and compressed natural gas vehicles. These fuel-efficient vehicles have
reduced gas consumption by 2.9 million gallons per year and lowered
greenhouse gas emissions by 35,000 tons annually." Interesting details
about the economics of the transition. See GreenBiz
blog.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Chrysler developing all-electric Fiat 500EV
for U.S. market.—reliability high.
"the automaker has officially announced that it will engineer and
produce the Fiat 500EV for the United States, starting in 2012. As of
this writing, details about the 500EV are slim. We do know that the
powerplant will be comprised of three main systems – an advanced
lithium-ion battery, high-power electric powertrain module and an EV
control unit to manage overall power flow. The 500EV will be developed
and engineered at Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan."
Includes press release. See Autoblog
Green.
Chevron tests solar power projects at two
sites.—reliability high.
"'We are looking at new and emerging technologies,' said Mark
Puccinelli, a project manager with Chevron Energy Solutions. 'We wanted
to study technologies that would work for external customers and get
experience with these kinds of technologies.' ... 'By bringing together
seven emerging solar technologies, Project Brightfield represents one
of the most comprehensive solar energy tests of its kind and is an
innovative approach to evaluating new technologies,' said Des King,
president of Chevron Technology Ventures." Story in San Jose
Mercury News.
Consumers Buy More Efficient Refrigerators,
but Keep the Old Ones Humming.—reliability medium.
"The report notes that while the average refrigerator in the United
States uses three-quarters less energy than in 1975, despite being 20
percent larger, “the number of U.S. households with two or more
refrigerators has increased, and the secondary refrigerators are
typically older and less efficient than the primary models.”" See New
York Times Green Inc. blog. Access the report (registration
required) here.
[Like buying a
Prius and giving the Buick to Junior. Not exactly a green move.]
London receives £362,000 grant to save food
from landfill.—reliability high.
"London's recycling board has allocated cash to help divert 300,000
tonnes of edible food from costly landfill sites each year as part of a
drive to reduce waste in the capital. A £362,000 grant from the London
Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) will ensure that the equivalent of
800,000 meals is distributed to homeless and other vulnerable groups of
Londoners rather than ending up in the bin. ... The FareShare Community
Food Network provides a paid-for collection service to the food and
drink industry to distribute food that no longer has a commercial value
but is fit for purpose to local community groups. The funding will pay
for a new depot in north-west London." See The
Guardian story. [One person's
waste is another person's raw material. The supply chain goes both
ways.]
Government and
Regulation
Colorado Increases Renewables Requirements.—reliability
medium.
"The new law requires 30 percent of large utilities’ electricity to
come from renewables by 2020. The previous requirement was 20 percent
by 2020. The higher target 'will continue to position Colorado as a
national pacesetter for creating jobs, strengthening our economy and
protecting our environment,' wrote the governor, Bill Ritter, in an
op-ed article in a Colorado newspaper on Sunday. ... Mark Stutz, a
spokesman for Xcel Energy, which serves about 70 percent of Colorado’s
population, said that the utility supported Colorado’s increased
target. The new law also requires that 'distributed generation' —
small, dispersed electricity sources — equate to 3 percent of each
utility’s electricity sales." See New
York Times Green Inc. blog.
Energy security worry to drive India's
low-CO2 plan.—reliability high.
"Worries over energy security will drive India's goal to slow the
growth of its carbon emissions, the head of a government panel tasked
with developing the country's low-carbon strategy said on Monday.
Reserves of fossil fuels such as coal were fast running out, making it
imperative for India to improve efficiency and accelerate renewable
energy sources to keep the economy growing at a projected 8 to 9
percent annually, Kirit Parikh said. ... In India, any talk of a
low-carbon economy was once seen as politically very risky, given the
economic costs involved. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January
asked Parikh to begin charting a path to a greener economy. The panel's
preliminary report is due next month and the final submission in
September." Story in Reuters.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
