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Presentations and videos from the Fifth State-EPA Environmental Innovation Symposium, held in Madison, Wisconsin, from November 1-4, 2010, are now available online for viewing and/or downloading.

Links to videos and presentations from plenary speakers are available on the symposium’s Agenda page:

http://environmental-symposium.org/2010/agenda.html

Links to all other videos and presentations are available on the Sessions page:

http://environmental-symposium.org/2010/sessions.html

 The theme of the 2010 symposium was Environmental Protection for a Changing Climate and Greener Economy. Topics included green products, green workforce development, green government, clean energy, innovative financing, sustainable and resilient communities, strategies to address multiple pollutants at once, turning liabilities into assets, innovating in regulatory activities, and more.

A committee under the Science and Technology for Sustainability Program (STS) will conduct a study at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development to help define their efforts to incorporate sustainability concepts into U.S. EPS Agency programs.  In celebration of the 40th anniversary of EPA, a launch was held for this study on November 30, 2010, at the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, DC. Ralph J. Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences, Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator, and Bernard Goldstein, chair of the committee that will conduct the study, made remarks at this event. A video of the event is available on the EPA website.  Additionally, the first meeting of the committee was held from December 14-15, 2010, in Washington, DC.  The agenda and presentations from the meeting have been posted on the STS website.

The big ski resort that is involved in serious real-estate development and the local ski area that is involved in “uphill transportation” leave quite different carbon footprints, according to the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition, and their 2011 Ski Area Report Card aims to inform skiers of the difference.

The action group’s new report card rates ski facilities across the western ski states in four different categories: habitat protection, protecting watersheds, addressing global climate change and environmental practices and policies, according to the group’s web site.

The group released its Top 10 and Worst 10 rankings under the new review system.

See the list at ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER

On the heels of yesterday’s guidance concerning the proper disposal of CFLs, the EPA has released guidance recommending that schools take steps to reduce potential exposures to PCBs from older fluorescent lighting fixtures. The guidance is based on evidence that the older ballasts contain PCBs that can leak when the ballasts fail, leading to elevated levels of PCBs in the air of schools that should not represent an immediate threat but could pose health concerns if they persist over time.

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and were widely used in construction materials and electrical products prior to 1978. PCBs can affect the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system and are potentially cancer causing if they build up in the body over long periods of time.

Until the late 1970s, PCBs were commonly used as insulators in electrical equipment because they have a high tolerance for heat, do not easily burn, and are non-explosive. EPA banned the processing and distribution in commerce of PCBs in 1979 pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act due to their toxic effects. However, uses of older PCB-containing ballasts were allowed to continue, provided that the ballasts had not failed and the PCBs were not leaking.

Read the article at ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER

Technology and design are inextricably intertwined in the world of green building.  During the last year, we’ve seen some fascinating technologies and clever designs that have the potential to reduce the environmental impact of the built environment in a new way.  I hope you enjoy this review of innovation culled from our archives of the last year.

Read the article at JETSON GREEN

EPA released a report showing the Acid Rain program’s 15 years of success in dramatically reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions, saving lives and ecosystems.  An analysis in 2010 estimates annual public health benefits of the program at more than $120 billion, about 40 times the estimated cost.

For some of the major accomplishments of the program, go to http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/progress/ARP09.html

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today updated its guidance on how to properly clean up a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). Included with the guidance is a new consumer brochure with CFL recycling and cleanup tips. EPA encourages Americans to use CFLs for residential lighting to save energy and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global climate change.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a CFL breaks, some of the mercury is released as vapor and may pose potential health risks. The guidance and brochure will provide simple, user friendly directions to help prevent and reduce exposure to people from mercury pollution.

More information on the clean up guidance: http://www.epa.gov/cflcleanup

More information on CFLs: www.epa.gov/cfl