Category: News

The Drug Enforcement Administration and government, community, public health and law enforcement partners today announced a nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. DEA will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide o n Saturday, September 25^th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Collection sites in every local community can be found by going to www.dea.gov . This site will be continuously updated with new take-back locations.  Collection sites in Reno include Walgreens, Scolari’s and Save Mart.

ScienceDaily (Aug. 18, 2010) — The concentrations of toxic nitrogen oxide that are present in German cities regularly exceed the maximum permitted levels. That’s now about to change, as innovative paving slabs that will help protect the environment are being introduced. Coated in titanium dioxide nanoparticles, they reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide in the air.

In Germany, ambient air quality is not always as good as it might be — data from the federal environment ministry makes this all too clear. In 2009, the amounts of toxic nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere exceeded the maximum permitted levels at no fewer than 55 percent of air monitoring stations in urban areas. The ministry reports that road traffic is one of the primary sources of these emissions. In light of this fact, the Baroque city of Fulda is currently embarking on new ways to combat air pollution.

Special paving slabs that will clean the air are to be laid the length of Petersberger Straße, where recorded pollution levels topped the annual mean limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) last year. These paving slabs are coated with titanium dioxide (TiO₂), which converts harmful substances such as nitrogen oxides into nitrates. Titanium dioxide is a photocatalyst; it uses sunlight to accelerate a naturallyoccurring chemical reaction, the speed of which changes with exposure to light. The “Air Clean” nitrogen oxide-reducing paving slabs were developed by F. C. Nüdling Betonelemente. Proof of their effectiveness has subsequently been provided by the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Schmallenberg, where researchers also determined the risk to the environment posed by the resulting nitrates. Their work was funded by the German Environment Foundation.

Dr. Monika Herrchen, a scientist at the IME, says: “Experiments in Italian cities had already shown that photocatalytic paving slabs can improve the air quality. We wanted to see if they would also be effective here in Germany, where we have lower levels of light intensity and fewer hours of sunshine. Of course, the more intense the sunshine, the quicker the degradation of harmful substances, so our aim was to identify the formula with the highest photocatalytic efficiency rating.”

Read the complete article at Science Daily

Americans are using less energy overall and making more use of renewable energy resources, according to a report released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

According to the report, the U.S. used significantly less coal and petroleum in 2009 than in 2008, and significantly more wind power. There also was a decline in natural gas use and increases in solar, hydro and geothermal power according to the most recent LLNL energy flow charts.

“Energy use tends to follow the level of economic activity, and that level declined last year. At the same time, higher efficiency appliances and vehicles reduced energy use even further,” said A.J. Simon, an LLNL energy systems analyst who develops the energy flow charts using data provided by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. “As a result, people and businesses are using less energy in general.”

Estimated U.S. energy use in 2009 declined by approximately 4.5 percent from 2008, LLNL reported. Energy use in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation arenas all declined by 1.95, 1.06, 9.92 and 3.27 percent, respectively.

Wind power used for primary power generation increased dramatically in 2009 by 37.25 percent from 2008 levels. Most of that energy is tied directly to electricity generation and thus helps decrease the use of coal for electricity production.

“The increase in renewables is a really good story, especially in the wind arena,” Simon said. “It’s a result of very good incentives and technological advancements. In 2009, the technology got better and the incentives remained relatively stable. The investments put in place for wind in previous years came online in 2009. Even better, there are more projects in the pipeline for 2010 and beyond.”

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader

This study, “Generating Sustainable Value: Moving Beyond Green Teams to Transformation Collaboratives,” offers five key factors for successful green teams and shares insights culled from examinations of 14 leading firms.

The research published by Sabre Holdings, Dominican University and Paladin Law Group LLP explores the extent to which green teams have been able to harness their energy to help drive product and service innovation by adding enterprise value.  

Download the document at GreenBiz

Owning the world’s largest vehicle fleet isn’t a responsibility Enterprise Holdings takes lightly.
It’s a commitment that has driven us to develop a comprehensive environmental stewardship platform that guides our operations and helps bring new technology to our customers. We don’t pretend to have all the answers; on the contrary, we view this as a journey.
Along the way, however have learned a few things that we hope may be useful to others as they pursue their own paths to sustainability:
1. Align Your Sustainability Strategy with the Overall Mission of Your Business
2. Play to Your Strengths

3. Embrace the Forces of the Free Market 
4. Understand – and Anticipate – What Customers Want 

Read the complete article at GreenBiz

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting the public to comment on the agency’s draft strategy to protect and restore our nation’s lakes, streams and coastal waters. The strategy, “Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy for Achieving Clean Water,” is designed to chart EPA’s path in furthering EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s key priority of protecting America’s waters.

The strategy was developed by considering the input and ideas generated at the April “Coming Together for Clean Water” forum as well as comments received through the online discussion forum.  Participants shared their perspectives on how to advance the EPA’s clean water agenda focusing on the agency’s two priority areas: healthy watersheds and sustainable communities. EPA is now inviting the public to consider and provide their comments on the approaches outlined in the strategy. 

Public comments on the draft strategy should be submitted by September 17. EPA will review all comments and post a final strategy later in the year.

More information on the draft strategy and to comment:  http://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/

Let’s talk home economics: The average American household spends $2,340 to heat, cool, and electrify its home for a year, according to the Department of Energy.

That’s more than average annual spending on property taxes ($1,900) and homeowner’s insurance ($800). Over the course of a 30-year mortgage, energy costs amount to $70,000 — a big chunk of change

Smart homebuyers (and renters) will factor energy costs into decisions about where to live. You’d think mortgage lenders would consider energy costs too — they need to know whether potential buyers can afford a particular home. But lenders largely ignore energy expenses, since they’re not a part of standard mortgage underwriting criteria.

That would change under the SAVE (Sensible Accounting to Value Energy) Act [PDF], a bill backed by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) that would require lenders to consider energy costs before granting a borrower a federally insured mortgage. Bennet is considering introducing the bill after the August congressional recess, his office said, and it could end up as part of a larger banking or energy bill.

“Energy-efficient mortgages” have been available for years, running on the premise that borrowers who spend less on utility bills have more money available for mortgage payments. But they’ve been an underused niche product that few buyers or even lenders know about. The SAVE Act would take the concept and apply it to all government-sponsored mortgage enterprises, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration. Those three entities currently guarantee more than 90 percent of new loans, so the bill would have a profound effect on ramping up home efficiency.

Read the complete article at Grist

Advocacy plays role in highlighting small business concerns

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today the Office of Advocacy applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to reexamine its final rule for stormwater discharges for construction sites. The Office of Advocacy had estimated that the regulation had the potential of costing business $10 billion annually, with minimal environmental improvement and would adversely affect housing affordability for millions of Americans. Small firms make up 97.7 percent of the construction and development industry.

“EPA’s decision to review its rule should be viewed as a step towards finding the appropriate regulation that protects our environment and doesn’t overburden small business,” said Susan M. Walthall, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy.  “A regulation that is based on accurate data, with the opportunity for public input, will benefit us all.”

On April 20 of this year the Office of Advocacy issued a letter petitioning EPA to reconsider the final rule for stormwater discharges for construction sites. The petition identified errors in EPA’s data review and analysis that contributed to a stringent numeric standard of 280 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). The petition also stated that providing the opportunity for public comment on the data and methodology would have improved the rule.

A significant concern that Advocacy included in its April 20th petition was that EPA misinterpreted vendor data from a construction site in Seattle, Washington, as representing 15, instead of 3, pretreatment systems. This correction alone would drive the limit to approximately 500 NTU.

For more information and a complete copy of the letter, visit the Office of Advocacy website