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APRIL 30, 2011

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

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This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

In an effort to address this problem, DEA, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, conducted the first ever National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, September 25, 2010.  The purpose of this National Take Back Day was to provide a venue for persons who wanted to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.  This effort was a huge success in removing potentially dangerous prescription drugs, particularly controlled substances, from our nation’s medicine cabinets.  There were approximately 3,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation that participated in the event.  All told, the American Public turned in more than 121 tons of pills on this first National Take Back Day.

Due to the overwhelming success of the first event, DEA has scheduled the second National Prescription Drug Take Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.  This is a great opportunity for those who missed the first event or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of them.

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Study finds that well-designed conservation efforts do not interfere with guest satisfaction

Ithaca, NY, March 7, 2011 – In one of the first empirical studies of the effects of energy saving treatments on hotel guests’ satisfaction, Cornell University researchers have found that carefully designed conservation treatments do not diminish the guest experience. The study, sponsored by Philips, was conducted at the Statler Hotel, the four-diamond hotel operated as a teaching and research laboratory by the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Conducted by Associate Professor Alex Susskind and Professor Rohit Verma, the study tested reduced television power levels and alterations in bathroom lighting in the guest rooms. The study, “Hotel Guests’ Reactions to Guest Room Sustainability Initiatives,” by Alex M. Susskind and Rohit Verma, is available at no charge from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) athttp://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/2011.html. Philips is a CHR senior partner.

“We replaced the CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) in the bathrooms with LEDs (light emitting diodes),” said Susskind, “and we tested four different power levels for the LCD televisions. If the guests noticed these changes at all, they still gave the guest rooms positive ratings. They seemed equally pleased with the CFLs and the LEDs in the bathroom.”

Susskind and Verma’s study surveyed 192 guests of the Statler Hotel, asking them a series of questions about the room features, including the lighting and televisions. They found no statistical difference in the guests’ ratings of the four television power levels or the two different lighting styles. A quick, back-of-envelope calculation estimates a savings of $6,000 for the 150-room Statler, if the televisions are set at the lowest power level.

“Our study revealed one other finding that may be a surprise to some,” added Verma, who is CHR executive director. “We asked these guests whether they would consider paying a higher rate for a room with sustainable features, and 45 percent said yes, although we did not specify a particular room rate. At the same time, once again we found that the respondents would not choose a particular hotel or hotel brand just because of its commitment to sustainable operations.”

Meet and interact with Alex Susskind and Rohit Verma, active members of the executive education faculty, at the School of Hotel Administration, when they present sessions in the Professional Development Program:http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/industry/executive/pdp/.

Thanks to the support of the CHR partners listed below, all publications posted on the center’s website are available free of charge, atwww.chr.cornell.edu.

‘Going Green’ Reduces Costs, Improves Health of Patients, Staff and Environment

Washington, DC — Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm, in support of the Healthier Hospital Initiative, have produced the first in a series of videos and other materials that will help hospital administrators and C-Suite personnel understand the urgency and importance of developing sustainable hospital operations. The video, “Leading the Health Care Sector to Sustainability”, features hospital executives, medical experts, and leaders of supporting institutions, who conclude that sustainable health care is not just in the interest of patients and public health, but can generate savings to individual hospitals and reduce the nation’s health care bill.

The Green Room: BBMG’s Mitch Baranowski Sits Down with Terracycle’s Tom Szaky

We are very excited to host an exclusive interview series conducted by branding firm BBMG entitled, aptly, The Green Room. The series is hosted by BBMG founding partner and chief creative officer Mitch Baranowski. Each episode features a candid exchange with one guest about the issues behind scaling sustainability and driving social innovation.

In the first episode, Mitch sits down with Tom Szaky, Terracycle’s co-founder and CEO, to discuss how the upcycler finds new garbage streams, captures new markets, and generally builds a waste diversion empire.  We think Mitch knocked it out of the park with this entertaining and in-depth interview with the woom poop master. What do you think?

Washington, D.C., March 7, 2011 – The recent gasoline and oil price spikes that threaten the nation’s fragile economic recovery underline the urgent need to curb U.S. energy use and make a real commitment to energy efficiency as our “first fuel,” the Alliance to Save Energy said today.

“Uncertain supplies plus ever-increasing worldwide demand can equal unpredictable price spikes,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan, “but energy efficiency can help us change that equation.

“The 33-cent surge in gas prices over the past two weeks – reflecting today’s $100+ a barrel oil prices – puts into sharp focus the urgent need to put energy efficiency at the top of the list of our nation’s fuel sources in order to reduce our dangerous and costly oil dependence,” Callahan continued.

“Cost-effective energy efficiency programs return many times their initial investments by delivering real savings for U.S. consumers and businesses,” she added. “Most critically at this time in our nation’s economic history, energy efficiency initiatives are creating jobs that are helping to pull the nation out of recession – as President Obama noted in his forward-thinking 2012 budget.

“We must continue to improve fuel economy standards and encourage the use of all-electric and hybrid vehicles as well as options such as telecommuting and public transportation,” Callahan continued. “Public transit saves the United States more than 11 million gallons of gasoline per day, or 4 billion gallons annually,” she said.

In addition, the Alliance advises consumers who must continue to use their vehicles to be more fuel efficient by taking steps to minimize gas consumption, such as carpooling, emptying their trunks and ensuring their tires are properly inflated.

Learn about all our work at ase.org and how to save energy and money through energy efficiency at LivingEfficiently.org.

Hazardous dry cleaning chemical to be removed by 2023

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved California’s regulations banning the use of the toxic air contaminant perchloroethylene (PERC) from the state’s dry cleaning operations by 2023.  This action means that the current federal regulations will be replaced with California’s more stringent approach, which now can be enforced by the federal EPA and citizens of California.

PERC, a possible human carcinogen, is a man-made liquid solvent often used in the dry cleaning industry, in textile mill operations, by chlorofluorocarbon producers, for vapor degreasing and in metal cleaning operations.  The dry cleaning industry is a leading user of PERC in the U.S.

“We applaud California’s efforts to rid its dry cleaning industry of this dangerous toxin,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.  “The state’s approach gives consumers healthier dry cleaning alternatives.”

According to California’s Air Resources Board, the estimated number of PERC-using machines has been steadily dropping from 4670 machines in 2003 to 2000 machines in 2009.  Meanwhile, the estimated number of wet cleaning and CO2 machines – which use less toxic cleaning methods – has almost tripled from 90 machines in 2003 to 253 machines in 2009.

EPA’s Toxic Reporting Inventory database reports that more than 107,043 pounds of PERC were released to the environment in California in 2009, mostly through air emissions.

Exposure to PERC can occur in the workplace or in the environment following releases to air, water, land, or groundwater.   Exposure can also occur when people use products containing PERC, spend time in dry cleaning facilities that use PERC, live next to dry cleaning facilities, or bring dry cleaned garments into their homes.  Once in the body, PERC can remain stored in fat tissue.  In addition to being a possible human carcinogen, exposure to PERC is also associated with chronic, non-cancer health effects, including liver and kidney damage in rodents, and neurological effects in humans.

California’s Airborne Toxic Control Measure for dry cleaning operations implements a ban on the use of PERC in dry cleaning operations in California.  All remaining PERC dry cleaning machines must be removed from service by January 1, 2023.  The California Air Resources Board identified PERC as a toxic air contaminant in 1991, and adopted the current Airborne Toxic Control Measure regulating PERC dry cleaning operations in 2007.

For more information on the state’s Dry Cleaning program, please visit: www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/dryclean/dryclean.htm

For more information on EPA’s dry cleaning regulations, please visit:  http://epa.gov/drycleaningrule/basic.html

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment from boaters and other stakeholders to help develop proposed regulations, as required by the 2008 Clean Boating Act, to reduce water pollution and the spread of invasive species in the nation’s rivers, lakes and other water bodies. As an alternative to permits required for commercial vessels, the act directs EPA to develop and promulgate management practices for recreational vessels.

The important input received through this process will help guide the development of proposed regulations to mitigate adverse effects from recreational boat discharges, such as bilgewater, graywater and deck runoff, that may contain substances harmful to water quality or spread invasive species.

The Clean Boating Act directs EPA to take steps to limit the impact of pollution and the spread of invasive species associated with the discharge from boats. As part of the public input, EPA is also seeking information from states that already enact standards to limit the impacts of boat discharges on waterways.

Based on the important input received, EPA will seek to develop appropriate management practices and performance standards that protect waterways while also working with the U.S. Coast Guard, which will establish regulations governing the design, construction, installation and use of management practices. Implementation of these management practices will allow boaters and other water enthusiasts to continue enjoying our nation’s water bodies while protecting water quality.

EPA is holding listening sessions and conducting webinars to inform interested parties about the Clean Boating Act and receive public input. The listening sessions will be held in Annapolis, Md. on March 18 and April 29.

More information about the Clean Boating Act: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/vessel/CBA/about.cfm

WASHINGTON — Joseph DeMatteo of Clark County, Nev. has been sentenced to serve five months home detention, followed by a term of three years probation, for criminally violating the Clean Air Act. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the court. DeMatteo, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fugitive, was one of 10 Nevada-certified emissions testers indicted on Jan. 6, 2010 by a federal grand jury on one felony count for falsifying vehicle emissions test reports in Las Vegas between Nov. 2007 and May 2009. It is a crime to knowingly alter or conceal any record or other document required to be maintained by the Clean Air Act.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates that individuals who knowingly violate our nation’s environmental laws and then flee the court’s jurisdiction will be caught and brought to justice,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Abusing emissions testing responsibilities puts communities’ air quality at risk. With information provided through the EPA fugitive’s list, we were able to work with the public and other law enforcement agencies to capture and complete the sentencing of a defendant who attempted to circumvent the law.”

Although the other nine defendants were promptly located and charged, DeMatteo failed to surrender to federal law enforcement authorities. Shortly after the indictments were released, DeMatteo was placed on the EPA fugitive list. DeMatteo was arrested in Las Vegas on Jun. 8, 2010 by special agents after EPA received a tip on his whereabouts. On Oct. 14, 2010, DeMatteo pleaded guilty to making a material false statement in violation of the Clean Air Act.

The other defendants indicted are Eduardo Franco, Alexander Worster, Wadji Waked, Adolfo Contreras, David Nelson, William McCown, Gary Smith, Peter Escudero, and Louis Demeo. DeMatteo will be the sixth defendant sentenced.

The defendants engaged in a practice known as “clean scanning” vehicles. The identification number of a vehicle that cannot pass the emissions test—or is not even present for testing—is entered into the computer system, but a different car that can pass the emissions test is actually tested. The data is then recorded on the vehicle inspection report so that the initial car fraudulently “passed” the test. The cost of getting the fraudulent report was anywhere from $10 to $100 more than the usual emissions testing fee.

Las Vegas is required to perform emissions testing because currently it violates ozone and carbon monoxide standards. Ozone is linked to a number of serious health problems, including causing asthma attacks and increasing the risk of premature death in people with heart or lung disease. Carbon monoxide can cause harmful health effects by reducing oxygen delivery to the body’s organs.

The case was investigated by EPA’s Office of Criminal Enforcement and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles Compliance Enforcement Division. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.

More information on EPA’s fugitive website: http://www.epa.gov/fugitives