Low Carbon, Clean Energy, Growth, Jobs & Geothermal
| Press Release: Environmental Defense Funds Climate Corps Fellows Help Companies Save Millions, Cut Energy Use (San Francisco - December 3, 2008) MBA students from top business schools across the country helped companies uncover energy efficiencies that could save $35 million in net operational costs over five years while preventing 57,000 tons of carbon pollution. These are the results of the Climate Corps program, a groundbreaking initiative designed by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) that trains business students to identify energy efficient strategies that will reduce the negative environmental impacts of company operations while benefitting the bottom line.EDF selected the 2008 Climate Corps Fellows from the University of Michigan, Stanford University and Rice University, among others and placed them in summer fellowships at companies such as Yahoo! Inc., Cisco, Intuit, NVIDIA, Salesforce.com, Crescent Real Estate and KKR. With technical support from EDF, Climate Corps fellows spent 12 weeks identifying and analyzing energy efficiency opportunities and developing detailed investment and implementation plans.In only a few weeks, the seven Climate Corps Fellows helped their host companies find efficiencies in lighting, computer equipment and heating and cooling systems to: • Save $35 million in net costs over five years; • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions per year by 57,000 metric tons – equivalent to taking more than 7,000 SUVs off the road and • Conserve more than 119 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year – enough to power 10,000 homes.Climate Corps Fellows also helped accelerate their host companies’ sustainability initiatives. “Cisco has committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2012. Our labs account for almost 70% of our carbon footprint, so we must reduce their energy consumption significantly in order to meet our goal. Our Climate Corps Fellow came on board so quickly that we got started on our R&D lab initiative several months sooner than expected,” said John Haley, senior manager, workplace resources, Cisco.“As a results-driven organization, EDF designed the Climate Corps program to help corporations realize real cost-savings through energy-efficiency while developing tangible sustainability strategies,’” said Millie Chu Baird, project manager for corporate partnerships at EDF. “Despite widespread discussion about the greening of business, many companies remain unaware of practical, cost-effective strategies they can take to capture both environmental and business benefits. Our next step is to grow the Climate Corps program and develop a set of best practices we can share with corporations around the country.”Through training and hands-on experience, Climate Corps Fellows acquire the hard skills they will need to tackle tough energy decisions they are likely to encounter later in their careers. “Climate Corps does a great job of educating the next generation of corporate environmental leaders,” said Christina Page, director, climate and energy strategy, Yahoo!.For year two of the Climate Corps program, EDF will work with Net Impact to recruit, train and place MBA-level Fellows in companies and widely share the first year’s results with business communities across the country. EDF and Net Impact are currently looking for forward-thinking businesses interested in hosting a 2009 Climate Corps fellow.“We are thrilled to partner with EDF on the Climate Corps program,” said Liz Maw, executive director, Net Impact. “Our network is full of talented, focused MBAs seeking to put their skills to use for social, environmental and economic good. We look forward to seeing economic and environmental results of this important work.”For more information, visit www.edf.org/climatecorps. ### |
| Press Release: NEWS ADVISORY -SAVE THE DATE WHAT: Texas’ Changing Economic Climate: Risks and Opportunities in a Carbon-Constrained World WHO: The British Consulate-General, in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, will host this first-ever event.
WHEN: Thursday 29 January 8:00 a.m. Registration; 8:30 a.m. Programme Starts
WHERE: Texas State Capitol Auditorium located on the first floor of the Capitol Extension Austin, Texas
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:
This event will provide Texas legislative, business, and community leaders insights on how a transition to a low-carbon economy can open possibilities for innovative economic frameworks using processes developed in the United Kingdom and elsewhere as a model.
In an overview, the conference will examine the potential impacts of climate change on Texas and the subsequent implications on Texas’ economy. For the remainder of the day, the conference will highlight discussions from panels of top experts in science, policy, economics and technology. Speakers will be from Texas, the US, and the UK and will address economic policy strategies that promote timely action, innovative technologies, and sustainable competitiveness in a time of environmental change and economic pressure.
CONTACT: For more information about the conference and to register, please visit its website at http://www.liveoakinitiative.com/TCEC09.html. Media registration is requested for meal planning purposes. There is no fee for working media to attend the lunch.
Media interested in interviewing one of the experts participating in the conference should contact either person below:
Mitch Jeffrey, Vice Consul for Political, Press & Public Affairs
British Consulate General Houston
713-659-6275, ext. 2117 (office)
713-516-6753 (mobile)
Chris Smith
Texas Media Director
Environmental Defense Fund 512.691.3451 (office) |
| Press Release: Virgin America Partners with Carbonfund.org to Launch Carbon Offsets (Silver Spring, MD and San Francisco, CA – Dec. 4, 2008) As part of a continuing effort to implement innovative environmental sustainability practices, Virgin America, the California-based airline, has partnered with Carbonfund.org , the nation’s leading nonprofit carbon offset provider, to allow travelers to help offset the environmental impact of their flight. Travelers on the new airline can choose to offset their flight at the time of booking through the Virgin America ticket purchase confirmation web page. Coming soon, Virgin America will also give guests the opportunity to offset during their flight via the airline’s touch-screen seatback inflight entertainment system.“As both a Virgin-branded company and the country’s only California-based airline, it is in our DNA to make environmentally sustainable practices a core priority in our business model,” said Virgin America Senior Vice President Dave Pflieger. “While our investment in new aircraft and consistent use of operational practices already make us one of the most environmentally efficient airlines in the U.S., our partnership with Carbonfund.org will give our guests the option to help us further reduce our carbon footprint through fully-vetted and impactful offset projects.”Virgin America and Carbonfund.org selected offset projects focus on emissions reductions in renewable energy and energy efficiency. As with all projects supported by Carbonfund.org, these projects are independently verified. The new carrier also looked to Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) CarbonOffsetList.org to help select credible and meaningful offset projects. EDF’s carefully researched list provides a strong and independent starting point for selecting carbon offsets that represent real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Virgin America’s selected projects include:• Inland Empire Utilities Agency Biodigester, a methane capture and elimination project that creates clean, renewable energy and reduces more than 8,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere every year, while also protecting the quality of the region’s groundwater. The project is located in Chino Basin, Calif.• IdleAire, a truck stop electrification project that reduces tailpipe emissions from trucks by connecting truck cabins with electricity at rest stops and eliminating the need to keep engines running for power. This approach saves a gallon of diesel per hour.“Our partnership with Virgin America means support for two innovative projects in the fight against global warming,” said Executive Director Eric Carlson of Carbonfund.org. “We are excited to partner with Virgin America, an airline that has been committed to sustainability practices since day one. Providing travelers a way to get involved in the sustainability effort, by offsetting their flight emissions at the time of bookings, fits well with our goal of making it easy and affordable to offset one’s carbon footprint and support emissions reductions. ”Developed through a rigorous review process in collaboration with a committee of external experts, CarbonOffsetList.org identifies pre-screened, independently verified offset projects that meet EDF’s criteria for high-quality carbon offsets. Of the 11 projects featured on CarbonOffsetList.org, four are offered through Carbonfund.org.“While leading companies are eager to purchase carbon offsets to help meet their sustainability goals, many remain unclear where to start in selecting these offsets,” said Tom Murray, managing director, corporate partnerships, EDF. “We developed CarbonOffsetList.org to enable companies such as Virgin America to confidently choose credible offsets. CarbonOffsetList.org eliminates the guesswork and offers buyers direct access to a list of thoroughly vetted projects that meet EDF’s high-quality criteria.”Virgin America launched in 2007 with the goal of building an airline from the ground up that makes environmentally sustainable practices a core part of its business model. Virgin America operates a fleet that is up to 30% more fuel and carbon efficient than the average fleet flying domestically. From its launch, the airline has employed progressive practices to reduce its carbon footprint, such as single engine taxiing, idle reverse landings, maximizing use of efficient ground power, utilizing advanced avionics to fly more efficiently, and cost index flying – the practice of regulating cruising speeds to reduce fuel burn. The airline’s company-wide sustainability principles can be found at: http://www.virginamerica.com/va/html/sustainability.pdfMore details on the offset program and selected projects can be found at: www.carbonfund.org/virginamerica. # # #EDITORS NOTE: Virgin America is a U.S.-controlled and operated airline and an entirely separate company from Virgin Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is a minority share investor in Virgin America. |
| Future Perspectives for Renewable Energy in India India is facing an acute energy scarcity which is hampering its industrial growth and economic progress. Setting up of new power plants is inevitably dependent on import of highly volatile fossil fuels. Thus, it is essential to tackle the energy crisis through judicious utilization of abundant the renewable energy resources, such as biomass energy, [.] |
| Tilting at windmills. On Thursday, heads of state return to Brussels in a last-ditch effort to conclude a pact that would put the EU at the forefront of the fight against global warming. If it is successful, Europe will demonstrate that it is possible for big economies to reduce their emissions. |
| Woody Biomass Resources Biomass power is the largest source of renewable energy as well as a vital part of the waste management infrastructure. An increasing global awareness about environmental issues is acting as the driving force behind the use of alternative and renewable sources of energy. A greater emphasis is being laid on the promotion of bioenergy [.] |
| We need to turn carbon into gold Little meaningful progress seems to have been made at the UN climate summit in Poznan, Poland, says Oliver Tickell, author of Kyoto2. In this week’s Green Room, he calls on world leaders to back a deal that will raise the serious funds needed to deliver a low carbon future. |
| Low Carbon, Clean Energy, Growth, Jobs & Geothermal There’s been much high end academic research and political debate about the relative costs and benefits of transitioning to low carbon societies and renewable energy sources in countries with industrially developed and developing economies alike. There’s likely to be a lot more going forward, particularly as United Nations Conference of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol members continue their quest to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol by next December when they meet in Copenhagen, and as the Obama administration and the US Congress set their agenda for the first year of a new presidency. |
| Get Solar Panels Without Dealing with Extra Bills Going solar seems to get easier by the day EUR |