Top Stories
China May Start Its First City-Wide Carbon
Market.—reliability high.
"The northeast port city of Tianjin plans to impose a mandatory
limit on energy used to heat buildings in the first half of this year,
John Shi, chief executive officer of the carbon credit trader Arreon
Carbon U.K. Ltd., said in an interview. Property managers able to
reduce energy use to below the limit will earn credits they can then
sell, he said. ... Beijing and Shanghai are also working on carbon
trading programs and are in a 'horse race' with Tianjin to develop
emissions trading systems for the nation, Shi said. ... Citigroup and
Russia’s Gazprom bought energy-intensity credits from three heating
utilities that had beaten efficiency targets in what Shi called
'strongly brokered' deals. The energy savings were packaged as
carbon-emissions allowances that could be sold to other utilities or to
buildings in the city that can’t yet meet municipal goals." See Bloomberg
story. [Just
one city, right? But Tianjin has more people than many countries--more
than Denmark in its center and inner suburbs. Twice as many people as
Denmark if you count the whole municipality.]
Woot! Bike There Feature Added to Google
Maps!.—reliability medium.
"Google Maps has finally added a Bike There feature. They've been
plugging away for awhile now on ways to get directions for cyclists
that avoids hills, excessive traffic, and points you in the best
directions for pedaling to your destination. After a long time of
lobbying by grassroots groups (it was all the way back in 2008 that we
saw the petition circulating to add the feature), we finally have a
thorough set of directions for alternative transportation, rounding out
the walk there and public transit features." Video demonstrates. Read treehugger
post.
UK's low carbon market defies recession to
clear £110bn mark.—reliability high.
"The UK's low carbon market defied the recession throughout 2009,
exceeding expectations to grow 4.3 per cent during the year to £112bn,
according to new figures to be released later today. The data, which
was compiled by consultancy firm Innovas on behalf of UK Trade &
Industry (UKTI), also revealed that over 900,000 people are now
employed by businesses providing environmental goods and services. In a
further indication of the burgeoning strength of the carbon market, the
carbon finance sector enjoyed the fastest growth rate of 7.9 per cent,
followed closely by the wind energy industry which grew 6.5 per cent,
and the solar market which grew six per cent." Story at BusinessGreen.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Los Angeles Electric Rate Linked to Solar
Power.—reliability high.
"the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal
utility in the United States, is poised to pass a roughly 5 percent
rate increase on electricity use. The proceeds would be earmarked for
renewable energy purchases and programs, including one that would repay
people or businesses that use solar panels to contribute to the power
grid. ... 'A well-crafted carbon surcharge achieves two goals,' Los
Angeles’s chief deputy mayor, Jay Carson, said. 'The first is a drastic
reduction in fossil fuel usage for energy, but the second, and more
important for Los Angeles, is the creation of thousands of green-collar
jobs.' " More at The
New York Times.
Chicago to Launch Nation's Largest Smart
Grid Energy Pilot Program.—reliability medium.
"Local utility ComEd, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, will use $5
million in Recovery Act funding to institute the program, which will
initially outfit 8,000 homes with advanced smart meters in order to
test how well consumers manage their energy consumption when monitoring
and programming are available. ... The first $8,000 will test a small
range of smart meters for comparative purposes. 3,100 customers will
receive a basic energy use display meter, 1,500 will get a touch-screen
version that allows for electricity monitoring and internet access, and
400 will also receive programmable thermostats that allow remote
control of heating and cooling systems. The program will also enact an
unprecedented pricing program in which pilot participants will be
offered a six-tiered pricing approach." See The
Energy Collective post.
Are your 'green,' 'fair-trade' jewelry ads
legal?—reliability high.
Gives examples of jewelry ads that made unsubstantiated, thus illegal,
claims. "Claims of "green" or "fair trade" are further complicated by
the fact that each jeweler along the supply chain knows only some of
the sourcing and manufacturing details for each piece of jewelry. If
the FTC ever inquired, few retailers would know how to answer questions
about the "green" manufacturing process, such as which chemicals were
used in solders and fluxes, or about waste disposal and mining methods.
Specific claims are much easier to substantiate and are less likely to
be deceptive than general claims. Since there is no universally
accepted definition of either "green" or "fair trade," the best way for
companies to comply with the law is to narrow the claims made, using
appropriate qualifiers. Doing so lessens the likelihood that a company
will face FTC enforcement action or a Lanham Act lawsuit from a rival
alleging unfair marketing practices." From National
Jeweler. [Good
advice for any industry.]
SunChips Stacks First Compostable Bags on
Canadian Shelves.—reliability high.
"Last year, Frito Lay announced that it would release a SunChips bag
that could degrade in home and industrial compost settings by Earth Day
2010. ... Made with NatureWorks' Ingeo plant-based polylactic acid, the
bags are certified though the Biodegradable Products Institute to break
down in hot, active compost piles within 14 weeks." See GreenBiz
story.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
