Top Stories
It's Friday
and this is our First Anniversary
Issue! HaraBara Daily
Brief
began one year
ago in a garage in India, and has been helping subscribers make Smarter
Green Decisions™ ever since. We hope you have been benefiting from
these selections from GreenBase. Let us know how we can make Daily Brief better. And tell
your friends.
City dwellers cite climate as top concern:
poll.—reliability high.
"Climate change topped the list of concerns by some two-thirds of Hong
Kong residents polled as well as majorities of residents of London,
Paris, Sao Paolo, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney, according to the poll
of 2,044 urban residents around the world. Residents of U.S. cities,
however, ranked the economy as the biggest global issue, closely
followed by terrorism with climate change ranking third." The poll was
conducted by HSBC. Story at Reuters.
RWE launches green bonus scheme for
executives.—reliability high.
"European energy giant RWE AG, parent of UK energy firm Npower, has
today become the latest blue-chip firm to tie sustainable development
to executive bonuses as part of a new remuneration scheme. The change
means that RWE management bonuses will no longer be measured solely on
financial performance, but will also be awarded based on an executive's
ability to meet a range of non-financial criteria, including targets
for environmental protection, employee focus and customer loyalty.
Under the new scheme, 25 per cent of each executive's total annual
bonus will now be set aside at the end of each financial year and
placed in a "green" pot, which will be distributed every three years."
See BusinessGreen
article. [European
companies seem to be using this approach more than U.S. companies. We
spotted an earlier item
on DSM.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Microsoft joins Goodwill recycling program.—reliability
high.
"Microsoft announced Wednesday its joining Dell and Goodwill
Industries International in their ongoing recycling program. ...
Through a program started in partnership with Dell in 2004 called
Reconnect, participating Goodwill centers allow people to drop off
their used computers and related peripherals to be recycled for free."
From CNET
News.
Danish eco-hotel offers pedalpower free meal.—reliability
high.
"A Danish hotel is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to
produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a
generator. The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen says the idea is to get
people fit and reduce their carbon footprint. Guests will have to
produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of
cycling for someone of average fitness." Story at BBC News. [Why just in a
hotel? Maybe homeless people could pedal for their supper at street
kiosks? "Guests staying at Plaza Hotel will be given meal vouchers
worth $36 (26 euros; £23) once they have produced 10 watt hours of
electricity, hotel spokeswoman Frederikke Toemmergaard told the BBC
News website." But 10 Watt-hours of electricity is only worth about
one-tenth of a cent, so without subsidy you would have to pedal more
than 100 hours to earn a cup of coffee. Doesn't look like squirrel
cages for the masses will solve our energy problem.]
How To Create a Workplace Recycling Program.—reliability
medium.
Environmental services company Earth911 offers detailed guide to
setting up workplace recycling, starting with "Select a Recycling
Coordinator. Accountability is key to the success of your recycling
program." See Earth911
site. [A
good checklist.]
Is Green Good for Business?—reliability
medium.
"For a closer look at the Hewlett-Packard, and for a serious look at
how those green initiatives are benefiting the bottom line, Cramer
invited Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael
Mendenhall onto Mad Money." Video of interview. From CNBC.
Sunny Delight Stops Sending Waste to
Landfill.—reliability high.
"Last week, Sunny Delight Beverage Co.'s Sherman, Texas, manufacturing
plant became the company's final site to complete its goal of sending
zero waste to landfill. Sunny Delight laid out its zero waste goal in
its Inaugural Sustainability Report published in mid-2009. The company
hoped to reach the goal by 2013, but has already achieved the goal at
all six of manufacturing sites." Story at GreenBiz.
The Princeton Review's Guide To 286 Green
Colleges.—reliability high.
"This free online resource lists the nearly 300 U.S. colleges and
universities that scored in the 80 percentile or better in The
Princeton Review's Green Ratings. Compiled by The Princeton Review in
collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council, the guide details
the green attributes of colleges and universities whose curriculum,
facilities, operations and administration demonstrate 'an exceptional
commitment to sustainability,' according to Princeton Review Senior
Vice President and Publisher Robert Franek." Story at GreenBiz.
Access report here.
Science and
Economics
Once-hidden EU report reveals damage from
biodiesel.—reliability high.
"Biofuels such as biodiesel from soy beans can create up to four times
more climate-warming emissions than standard diesel or petrol,
according to an EU document released under freedom of information
laws." Some more details of report results. See AlertNet.
Study: Cow feed may be causing Valley air
problem.—reliability high.
"University of California, Davis researchers, however, found that the
bigger ozone culprit appears to be millions of tons of fermenting
cattle feed. This previously unrecognized source is likely the reason
why ozone levels have not dropped even as the region has implemented
control programs, scientists said. ... When tests on animal waste
failed to find as much ozone as expected, researchers turned their
attention to the silage — giant mixes of corn, alfalfa, almond shells
and corn stalks that's piled to ferment under black plastic. The
alcohol-drenched concoction is scooped with tractors and dumped into
dairy cow feed troughs. Researchers found that the gases emitted during
the fermentation react in the atmosphere to turn oxygen into ozone."
Story at Yahoo
from AP. Abstract
here. [How
do you store seasonally available feedstuffs to feed cattle throughout
the year? You put it in a pile or traditional silo and let it ferment
anaerobically. It bacteria make lactic and propionic acids with
preserves the silage. Just like sauerkraut. But apparently when you
have millions of tons of silage fermenting some air pollution results.]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
