Top Stories
National Cell Phone Recycling Week.—reliability
high.
"EPA's Plug-In To eCycling program is teaming up with leading cell
phone makers, service providers and retailers to launch the second
annual National Cell Phone Recycling Week! Last year, Americans turned
in approximately 11.7 million cell phones for reuse and recycling."
Lists specific activities of various Plug-In To eCycling partners. More
at EPA
site.
Study: Northeast seeing more, fiercer
rainstorms.—reliability high.
"The Northeast is seeing more frequent "extreme precipitation events"
in line with global warming predictions, a study shows, including
storms like the recent fierce rains whose floodwaters swallowed
neighborhoods and businesses across New England. The study does not
link last week's devastating floods to its research but examined 60
years' worth of National Weather Service rainfall records in nine
Northeastern states and found that storms that produce an inch or more
of rain in a day — a threshold the recent storm far surpassed — are
coming more frequently." See CNBC
from AP. PDF of report here.
Virginia Cement Plant Turns Off Lights For
Earth Hour and Keeps Them Off.—reliability high.
"As millions of people around the world observed Earth Hour last
Saturday, March 27, a cement plant tucked against the Blue Ridge
Mountains in southwestern Virginia turned off the lighting array on its
400-foot pre-heater tower -- and has no intention of turning them back
on. Before plant managers at the Roanoke Cement Company in Troutville,
Virginia, made the decision to switch off the lights almost 100 lights
were visible from up to 13 miles away along the scenic Blue Ridge
Parkway, a road that traverses high on the wooded slopes of the Blue
Ridge Mountains. The pre-heater tower now has just two prominent red
lights to alert small aircrafts flying in the area." See Celsias.
[We've always
wondered about ornamental and other wasteful lighting that is turned
off for Earth Hour and then just turned back on for the rest of the
year. See this previous
post.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Target puts recycling bins in all its stores.—reliability
high.
"Discount retailer Target Corp expects to have recycling bins in all
its stores by Tuesday as it tries to gain "green" credibility from
consumers looking to be more eco-friendly. The No. 2 U.S. discount
retailer does not think the recycling stations will drive additional
traffic to its more than 1,700 stores, but it hopes they will help
improve satisfaction for the customers who come in, Shawn Gensch,
Target vice president for brand marketing, said in an interview." See Reuters.
Connecticut Light & Power Proposes 10:1
Peak Pricing Ratio.—reliability high.
"The utility Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) has asked state
regulators to change its pricing structure beginning in 2012 to
institute a tiered system with a ratio of 10 to one between peak and
off-peak hours. The shift would be a radical change from flat-rate
pricing, which provides no incentives for reducing power consumption
when demand is greatest. ... According to the Hartford Courant,
participants in the pilot program paid $1.60 per kilowatt hour during
peak periods and 15.5 cents a kilowatt hour the rest of the day. The
utility said the rates would be different, but the 10-to-one ratio
would be the same. ... The company has asked regulators for permission
to recoup $296 million in capital costs for smart metering technology
needed to deploy the pricing system. The Department of Public Utility
Control is expected to respond to the request in four to six months."
See Sustainable
Business.
AT&T, GE, Google, Intel: National Smart
Grid Integration Could Save $46B in Energy.—reliability
high.
"About 45 companies and organizations have united in an effort to push
for greater national integration of the smart grid, especially as it
pertains to business and consumer energy monitoring, pointing to a
potential $46 billion in nationwide energy savings. In an open letter
to the president, the Climate Group coalition received the support of
firms such as AT&T, GE, Intel, Google, HP and Verizon, among
others. Non-profits including the Natural Resources Defense Council and
the Alliance to Save Energy also have signed on." More at Environmental
Leader.
VW BlueMotion Models Receives 2010 World
Green Car Award.—reliability medium.
The World Car of The Year organization has awarded Volkswagen's
BlueMotion brand the 2010 World Green Car of the Year Award. BlueMotion
cars include the Golf, Passat, and Polo models fitted with ultra
efficient and relatively clean burning diesel engines. These VWs beat
the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius for the award. See Wired
Autopia blog.
Government and
Regulation
U.S. Sued Over Nuclear Waste Fees.—reliability
high.
"Sixteen utilities and a trade association sued the Energy Department
on Monday to halt the government's collection of nuclear waste disposal
fees, arguing that the country no longer had a disposal plan after
ruling out Yucca Mountain, Nev., as a repository. The utilities, which
filed the lawsuit in the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia, jointly pay about $750 million a year — amounting
to a tenth of a cent per kilowatt hour — into the fund. It now stands
at about $24 billion and earns about $1 billion annually in interest."
Story at The
New York Times.
New rules to boost EU Eco label.—reliability
high.
"New European legislation has come into force which aims to
significantly increase the number of product groups covered by its
Eco-Flower labelling programme. ... The goal is to increase the number
of product groups covered by EU Eco-label to between 40 and 50 by 2015,
with an emphasis on products that have the most significant
environmental impacts and the highest potential for improvement. The
expansion of the scheme should raise the profile of the EU Eco-label at
consumer level going forward and should benefit textiles and clothing
that carries the 'flower' as the label is known in Europe." See EcoTextile
News.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
