Archive for November, 2008
November 30, 2008 at 5:14 pm
· Filed under bush, environmental policy, federal government, government, green politics, obama, politics
The outgoing political appointees in the federal government are trying to pull a fast one on us.
The Bush Administration is rushing to put in place a set of 20 regulation changes – 4 of which slow environmental and worker protection and remove barriers for big companies to cut environmental corners.
image from gailjonas.blogspot.com – too bad there’s not one of the entire administration.
Mind you, this is so far past due date it’s not even funny – a May memo from the White House Chief of Staff wrote that proposals for regulations should be received no later than June 1. I don’t know about you, but if I tried to turn in a paper 6 months late, I would be s#*% out of luck.
According to the New York Times, these proposals include rules that would:
1. Require another step in regulating workplace chemicals (longitudinal studies of exposure over an employee’s working life), adding up to 2 years to a process that already takes 8.
2. Remove barriers to building power plants near national parks and wilderness areas
3. Reduce the role of federal wildlife scientists in declaring whether endangered species will be threatened by highway or dam construction
4. Allow coal companies to dump rock and dirt from mining into streams and valleys.
These proposals are to change the Code of Federal Regulations, a bundle of rules created by federal departments and agencies that have the force of law. While it would be easy for Obama to overturn any executive orders coming from Bush, it would require a public comment period and proof of a “reasoned analysis” to overturn these regulations – easy, of course, but time consuming.
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November 29, 2008 at 5:21 pm
· Filed under LED, canada, energy efficiency, holiday, winter
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November 29, 2008 at 5:54 am
· Filed under blog, directory, website
Best Green Blogs is a fantastic directory of green-themed blogs. Many are stories and tips from ordinary people living greener, and some are location-specific (Hawaii, India, Chicago, Pacific Northwest, etc.). Some cover green travel, some cover green weddings, and some cover alternative energy. This directory is definitely worth a look.
It was on Best Green Blogs that I found The Greenest Dollar, a blog with information about how to save money by saving the environment.
The Greenest Dollar featured a post on Monday about Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program, for all those shoes that are “too nasty for Goodwill.”
The good news is, there are tons of drop off sites so you don’t have to mail your shoes to Oregon – my nearest one is at the Boys & Girls Club in Minneapolis.
Happy reading!
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November 26, 2008 at 9:19 pm
· Filed under art, recycle, recycled, recycling, waste
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November 21, 2008 at 5:00 am
· Filed under best practices, energy efficiency, video game
image from istyles.com.
The National Resources Defense Council released a report yesterday finding that video game consoles use a significant amount of energy, costing up to $134 per year if not shut off when not in use.
The Wii is far and away the most energy efficient model, says this article from Yahoo!. The console uses between $3-$10 per year in energy (depending on habits of turning the console off if not in use).
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November 20, 2008 at 5:11 am
· Filed under college, green, ratings
image from treehugger.com
The Princeton Review has released its 2009 “Green Rating” Honor Roll, and 11 colleges received a perfect score:
Arizona State University at the Tempe campus
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME)
Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Harvard College (Cambridge, MA)
State University of New York at Binghamton
University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH)
University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)
University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Read more from green.msn.com.
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November 19, 2008 at 2:54 am
· Filed under environmental policy, ghg, green politics, green rhetoric, obama, politics, rhetoric
Image from chuckperry.blogspot.com.
Obama spoke today via video to a climate change conference in Los Angeles. Courtesy the New York Times, some notable quotes:
* “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all.”
* “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”
* “My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process.”
* “When I am president, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.”
I like where this rhetoric is going!
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November 17, 2008 at 4:27 am
· Filed under haz mat, hazardous waste, home, household hazardous waste, proper disposal, waste, waste reduction
Image from thebeautybrains.com.
I got really annoyed this morning seeing a discarded bottle of antifreeze in a parking ramp. I’m not going to bust out the crying Indian line – even though I have more American Indian in my blood than Iron Eyes Cody (for the record, a Sicilian) – but antifreeze is super nasty stuff. It used to smell sweeter, and kids would drink it and die. It is toxic, making it hazardous waste.
Many household items are hazardous waste, and it is an important part of being a “green” consumer to understand what is hazardous and what is non-hazardous. The EPA started setting down rules in 1974 in the RCRA legislation (depending on what level of government you work in, you might pronounce that “rick-ra” or “wreck-ra”) – the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – defining what is hazardous waste requiring special handling and disposal. It’s sort of surprising how many common items are hazardous:
- batteries
- automotive fluids, including oil and antifreeze
- bleach
- paint
- dran-o
There is a rhyme or reason to this: anything flammable, corrosive, or toxic/carcinogenic is hazardous. Governments split it up into “listed” or “characteristic” hazardous waste, but “listed” wastes are mostly things that industries will have to worry about – solvents, etc.
Apart from being a Grammy-winning hit song by Britney Spears, a “toxic” label is one clue that a product is hazardous. If it can poison you, you don’t want your garbage person dealing with it. Take it to your local county household hazardous waste disposal site.
If a product is corrosive or flammable (like paint or oil), it is also considered hazardous. Again. Don’t throw it in the trash. Take it to your local county household hazardous waste disposal site.
Find out more from the EPA about how to avoid harmful substances.
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November 12, 2008 at 2:36 am
· Filed under carbon emissions, minnesota, politics
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty unveiled the “Green Jobs Investment Initiative” to the 2009 state legislature yesterday. It’s a group of tax exemptions, mostly for business, to invest in green jobs and renewable energy. In total, the initiative would spend $90.25 million in the next six years.
Image from Minnesota Politics blog.
Pawlenty has suspicious timing. He did not support a Green JOBZ initiative in 2008, and his proposal comes while a task force of department officials and other experts were in the midst of creating a similar proposal. JOBZ is Pawlenty’s job creation effort. Said Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL – Saint Paul, “I didn’t know JOBZ was (a) chameleon – apparently if it isn’t working, it just changes color.”
Read more from the Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune, MSNBC, the Governor’s Office, Politics in Minnesota, and a related article on Pawlenty and climate change from MinnPost.
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image from gailjonas.blogspot.com – too bad there’s not one of the entire administration.
