Our Green Streets Blog

News from Environmental Leader:

Safeway has become a founding member of the Sustainability Consortium, the group launched in support of Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Index.

The goal of the consortium is to develop guidelines and promote innovations as the supply chain seeks to reduce its energy use, emissions and packaging. The consortium made headlines in January when Wal-Mart and Best Buy, together with electronics suppliers Dell, HP, Intel and Toshiba, officially launched the effort.

The consortium is administered by Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas, with financial support from Wal-Mart.

The consortium has courted Safeway, in hopes that it would become involved in what could be an industry wide sustainability metric system.

Safeway made its involvement in the initiative public March 1, reports Supermarket News. Safeway is the first grocer to join the group, according to a press release.

The retailer will use life cycle assessment data to create a company-wide supply chain policy encouraging sustainable purchasing and manufacturing practices throughout the organization’s direct and indirect buying.

I have not met Barry Cohen, executive director of the National Algae Association, based in Woodlands, Texas, nor discussed with him any of the challenges facing his nascent industry. But the challenge he made to his membership caught my attention:

“I am issuing a challenge for the year 2010: Build out a 100 acre turnkey algae production facility (growing, harvesting and extraction) without any local, state or federal grant funds.”

Mr. Cohen’s greeting to all for the beginning of 2010 is well worth reading, especially by all who want to see alternative fuels gain more solid footing on the American (and world) energy charts.

The accounting of his challenge ias worth the read:

“When this (American oil production) all started in 1859, nobody had all of the answers. 150 years later, the oil industry is still looking for answers. A 100 acre turn-key commercial-scale algae production facility will allow algae producers to look at real commercial algae production and operations as well as economies of scale issues. It will give algae researchers a much better understanding of commercial-scale algae production issues to work on as opposed to small raceway ponds and desk-top lab photobioreactors. It is, at this point, useless to continue to fund algae research without seriously funding commercial-scale algae production farms. As some have already learned, intellectual properties have no practical use if there is not an industry to use them. In order to create any value in existing algae technologies, we must have commercial-scale algae production facilities that can use them!

“Commercial-scale algae production is key to our industry and is one solution that helps to reduce dependence on foreign oil, to create new jobs and reduce CO2 emissions. The NAA challenges the algae industry to build a 100 acre commercial-scale algae production plant without any local, state or federal grants – this will be the true test of algae production farming and algaepreneurism at its finest!

“I would like to see the first 50 acres of production with proven benchmarked results – totally designed, developed and put into production without a single dollar of government money. The next 50 acres can be improved by making minor changes based on what was learned from the first 50 acres. I know it can be done, and you know it can be done – it´s time to do it!”

The entire document can be read at the association’s website .

Not too surprising for those who made it through last year, Environmental Leader & The New York Times report  clean tech investing fell by 33 percent in 2009.

Source: Cleantech Group

“Venture capital investments in green technology companies declined by 33 percent from $8.5 billion in 2008 to $5.6 billion in 2009, despite a flurry of government subsidies for renewable energy, according to a preliminary report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte,” the Environmental Leader post stated.

As to the numbers, investments in green technology companies declined from $8.5 billion in 2008 to $5.6 billion in 2009. The decline would have been worse except for a flurry of government subsidies that were made for renewable energy.

For more detail on this report, visit either Fort Collins, CO – based Environmental Leader or The New York Times’ Green Inc. blog.

For those stumped over what things to give this holiday season, try giving a tree, then help with the planting.

www.treeculture.org

The Canada-based Tree Culture Association, founded by people who have put tree products to use — printers — is introducing new digital gift card. The gift cards are already available in different denominations through the Tree Culture website, www.treeculture.org, across Canada and the United States.This is a website worth the visit.

According to this organization, the person looking to give a unique gift simply needs to visit the Tree Culture website, choose how many trees to give, fill out some basic information, add a personal message to the recipient, and set a date to send the gift card. The recipient will then receive an email with an attached digital gift card. “They read their congratulatory message and follow a link to the world map. There they get to drag a tree around the map and place it in one of the regions where Tree Culture Association has planting projects in place. Our system registers that” says Igal Rogalsky, one of this organization’s founders.

Tree Culture Association is a non-profit initiative that was established by Victor Narynskyyi and Igal Rogalsky in Kelowna, BC. Both come from the printing industry and Tree Culture Association is a result of their efforts to make the printing businesses more environmentally sustainable. The mission of the organization is to compel producers and consumers of printed materials to plant a tree with every print order. The gift cards is their initiative to create more public awareness about their organization.

We send our hearty applause for this effort!

This commentary by Marc Stoiber can be read in its entirety at Sustainable Life Media. I believe this is a good location for connecting to a collection of sustainability oriented people, events, and ideas. The following words, copied from the October 29, 2009 issue touched me with an encouraging ping, so I chose to share some of them, adding my own emphasis:

Mark Stoiber

“Executives today are being taught about ’social innovation’, a term that seamlessly incorporates the best of the above three terms, and reaches further – bringing along collective spirit, new thinking and economic responsibility for the ride.

“How does this work in real life? Consider:

“Ford developed a plastic shipping container used to ferry parts from one plant to the next. The shipping container eliminates the use of cardboard, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces the number of shipments required, and is more ergonomic for factory workers. It is also recycled into splash shields for the F-150. Read more of this >>

Today we received word from Chris Edwards, sales coordinator at Colorado-based New Wave Enviro Products. I believed my email box contained just one more of the many green promotional pitches I wade through, until I read further, especially the last line.

Here are clips from Mr. Edwards’ letter (emphasis place by me):

“…we manufacture and distribute water products, mainly through Natural Foods Retailers across the Nation. We have been in business for over 15 years and our products offer consumers a way to live litter free and chemical free lives by filtering the water they drink,  they shower and bathe in, and a way to ease the problem with our nation’s landfills.
Read more of this >>

Take a look below to see what appear to be some positive actions taking place under the banner of eco-terre-orism. Find intriguing notions that are being put into action, such as tossing a seed ball on a dilapidated and forlorn part of our planet:

from Open Forum

Eco-terre-orism on the Rise

Haily Zaki (Inhabitat)

Oct 05, 2009 -

The national alert is high, code level…green.  Whether we notice it or not, a group of eco-terre-orists are waging a quiet war against neglect and scarcity of public space.   From London to Berlin, Miami to San Francisco and Southern California, a new breed of free range tillers are harnessing their inner flower (and fruit and veggie) power, sewing seeds for a greener tomorrow.  They hope that their hard (and surreptitious) work will help transform derelict soil and abandoned lots into floral and food outposts.

Manufacturing an urban seed ball Credit: Los Angeles Times

Their weapon of choice?  The seed ball.

Made from clay and compost mixed with seeds, these little life mines are tossed into neglected patches of urban landscape in the hopes that they will take root and explode with green over time. Read more of this >>

Here is solid green product info from Yahoo, The Daily Green News Blog:

“Six new products have been certified by the Green Good Housekeeping Seal — a first.

“Known for decades as the authority in product testing for its Good Housekeeping Seal, the new seal certifies products that not only live up to marketing claims for efficacy, but for its sustainability. Good Housekeeping Research Institute evaluates various criteria, including reduction of water use in manufacturing, energy efficiency in manufacturing and product use, ingredient and product safety, packaging reduction, and the brand’s corporate social responsibility.

“The Good Housekeeping Seal was originally created to protect consumers from potentially dangerous products and false claims,” said Rosemary Ellis, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping. “Today our readers are interested in making choices that are healthier for their families and for the planet, so we’re continuing our legacy of consumer advocacy with the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, offering consumers a guide, backed by scientific research, for products making significant steps towards being environmentally sound.”

“The best part: If the product fails to live up to its claims in the first two years, Good Housekeeping will replace the item or refund the consumer.

“The first round of testing included cleaning and beauty products. Upcoming tests will include more than a dozen categories, including building products, home appliances, consumer electronics, textiles, and children’s products. Read more of this >>

In the United States energy use by buildings is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions, so energy efficiency is a vital target in our efforts to mitigate climate change, control operating costs, and achieve energy independence.

According to Patrick Gill, co-founder of NoCoEntre.net, Northern Colorado is a hotbed of businesses with solutions to this challenge.  For this month’s presentations we have selected three companies, ranging from heat regulation technology, to zero-energy homes, to real estate development projects.

S. Kroll + J. Andrews — Corvid Wall (Englewood)
M. Kostovny — Solar Village (Boulder)
T. Hoaglund — Vignette Studios (Fort Collins)

“We are very excited about the prospects for our meeting.  The presenters are thought leaders in the Green Built environment.  We expect to learn about the status of Green Building, the contribution of these leaders and we’ll work on issues they’ve identified,” said Gill.

This free event will be held in Fort Collins, starting at 5:45 pm on September 21, 2009. Refreshments are provided by the Larimer County Business and Enterprise Program. To learn more about the Northern Colorado Entrepreneurs Network, please visit the website.

PRESS RELEASE

Washington, DC — A major new national youth organizing campaign on clean energy and climate will launch with a national press teleconference on Wednesday.  The new effort, called Consequence, will organize young people across America to demand urgent Congressional action to unleash investment in clean energy sources like wind and solar, increase energy efficiency to save consumers money, and set firm limits on the carbon pollution that causes global warming.

The Consequence campaign, a new national grassroots organizing effort, kicked off today with a nationwide online advertising campaign, print and radio advertisements in targeted states, and the launch of an innovative social networking site, www.consequence09.org, that will lie at the heart of the youth-focused campaign. Consequence will organize young people in states across America to demand urgent Congressional action on a comprehensive clean energy and climate plan that will unleash investment in clean energy sources like wind and solar, creates millions of clean energy jobs, reduces our dependence on oil and place firm limits on the carbon pollution that causes global warming.

“Young people have an incredibly important role to play in demanding a clean energy future,” said Jessy Tolkan, Energy Action Coalition Executive Director.  “They understand that we must pursue a ‘Yes We Can’ approach to our nation’s climate and energy challenges and that there are real consequences—for our economy, our security and the future of our planet—if Congress fails to act. Through an intensive effort to organize and mobilize these young people, the Consequence campaign and its partners will ensure that our elected officials know that young people demand a commitment to a clean energy economy that creates millions of clean energy jobs, reduces our dependence on oil and curbs dangerous global warming pollution.”

Consequence will include a major national online advertising campaign commencing this week, as well as radio and print advertising in Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.