Top Stories
For Oysters, a 'Remedy' Turned Catastrophe.—reliability
medium.
"In late April, just days into what has turned out to be the largest
oil spill in American history, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, with the
support of local parish officials, ordered the opening of giant
valves on the Mississippi River, releasing torrents of freshwater that
they hoped would push oil back out to sea. ... Now, some oyster
fishermen along the coast are reporting mortality rates as high as 80
percent along thousands of acres of oyster beds. In Barataria Bay, one
of Louisiana’s most productive oyster fisheries, some beds are 60
percent dead, largely because of the freshwater influx, The Wall Street
Journal quoted Louisiana’s top state oyster biologist as saying." See The
New York Times Green blog. [Here's the kicker:
will the State of Louisiana be able to get BP to pay for the lost
income of oyster farmers over the next five years caused by its own
perhaps well-intentioned but clumsy mitigation efforts? "In statements
to The A.P. and The Journal, Garrett Graves, chairman of Louisiana’s
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and a lead official in
the state’s oil spill response, indicated that BP would be held
responsible for the damage to the oyster beds caused by the freshwater
releases." The underlying lessons: The environment is complicated.
Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Actions have unintended
consequences.]
Report: More than One Out of Three U.S.
Counties Face Water Shortages Due to Climate Change.—reliability
high.
"More than 1,100 U.S. counties -- a full one-third of all counties in
the lower 48 states -- now face higher risks of water shortages by
mid-century as the result of global warming, and more than 400 of these
counties will be at extremely high risk for water shortages, based on
estimates from a new report by Tetra Tech for the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC)." Highlights of report findings. From NRDC press
release. Access the report here.
[Current demand
growth is not sustainable, given projected effects of climate change on
precipitation. In scores of counties the situation is unsustainable
even without climate change effects.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
GM to get boost from China's fuel-efficient
vehicle incentives.—reliability medium.
China's confusing new subsidies for fuel-efficient cars seem to
benefit foreign automakers more than Chinese ones, since the
established overseas firms have better small-engine efficiency
technology. "General Motors comes out on top with six models – the
Buick Regal, Chevrolet Cruze, Aveo, Lova, New Sail and Spark –
that qualify for the newly-introduced incentive." From Autoblog
Green. [We
hear a lot about China's push to lead the world in clean technology. It
is worth remembering that established automakers elsewhere still have
the lead in engine design and many other areas. These imported
technologies can help China reach its energy goals. Related news: "In
the first half of this year, G.M.'s China sales rose 48.5 percent over
the same period last year, and for the first time ever, the automaker
sold more vehicles in China than in the United States." See New
York Times story.]
High-Rise Building Lighting Retrofit Saves
$160,000 Annually.—reliability high.
The 820,000 sq. ft. "Westwood Gateway Towers in Los Angeles is saving
more than $160,000 annually, or 35 percent per year, in energy costs,
thanks to a retrofit of its lighting systems. ... ReGreen also helped
Irvine Company qualify for rebates from the LADWP’s CLEO Program that
helped subsidize more than 60 percent of the cost for upgrades."
Expected payback is two years or less. From Environmental
Leader. [The
interesting thing about this retrofit is that it is not a leap to new
lighting technology. They just replaced older fluorescent tubes using
magnetic ballasts with T8 ones and solid-state ballasts. (They probably
upgraded switches, sensors and lighting control, too.) (Comparison
of T8 to T12.)]
IBM's Green Supply Chain.—reliability
medium.
"IBM is helping expand the definition of a green IT supplier by upping
the demands. To get a sense of what IBM is asking of its 28,000 first
tier suppliers, I spoke with Wayne Balta, IBM's VP of corporate
environmental affairs and product safety. ... In short, IBM is asking
for four things and telling suppliers they must: 1. Define and deploy
an environmental management systems (EMS). 2. Measure existing
environmental impacts and establish goals to improve performance. 3.
Publicly disclose their metrics and results. 4. "Cascade" these
requirements to any suppliers that are material to IBM's products."
More on the initiative. See Harvard
Business Review blog.
Government and
Regulation
Furniture Makers Face Higher Costs to Meet
Law Limiting Formaldehyde in Wood.—reliability high.
"Demand for no-formaldehyde-added wood is expected to rise after
President Obama signed a law this month that limits the amount of
formaldehyde in wood, reports USA Today. It’s also projected to result
in higher furniture and cabinet prices but will make homes greener. The
new federal law is based on California's standard for limiting the
formaldehyde in wood. California officials recently extended the
deadline until Dec. 31, 2011, for stores to sell furniture and cabinets
that surpass formaldehyde limits, according to USA Today." See Environmental
Leader.
