Efficient holiday lighting gaining more converts.
| New Method for Realizing Hydrogen Potential Hydrogen-powered fuel cells hold enormous promise as a power source for future generations. Hydrogen is the simplest element known to humans. Each atom of hydrogen has only one proton. It is also the most abundant gas in the universe. Hydrogen has a unique property. It carries the highest energy content of any common fuel [.] |
| Press Release: California Green Chemistry Initiative Final Report Praised by Scientific Adviser
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jennifer Witherspoon, (415) 293-6067, jwitherspoon@edf.org (Sacramento – December 16, 2008) The Final Report of the California Green Chemistry Initiative today was praised by one of the initiative’s scientific advisers for providing six key recommendations for advancing chemicals policy reform and the development of a safer, more sustainable chemicals economy in the state. “This report usefully recommends a number of the key building blocks that can move us toward the kind of fundamental reform we need in how we design, make, use and manage chemicals across their lifecycles,” said Dr. Richard Denison, Environmental Defense Fund senior scientist and a member of the Green Chemistry Initiative’s Science Advisory Panel. “While many critical aspects remain to be worked out through implementation, the report provides much of the needed framework.” In particular, Denison applauded several key provisions aimed at increasing the amount of information about chemicals accessible to the public and the marketplace, including: • A requirement that manufacturers disclose the chemical ingredients, including nanomaterials, present in their products through a publicly accessible online data network.• Development of a toxics clearinghouse intended both to compile existing information and to serve as a basis for identifying key data gaps on chemicals of concern for which data need to be generated.• Establishment of agreements with other governments to gain access to chemical information they possess.• Development of a framework and practical tools that can be used to expeditiously assess and spur the adoption of alternatives to chemicals of concern, with an emphasis on avoiding overly cumbersome and data-intensive analyses that could impede prompt action to address chemicals of concern.
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| Obama ushers fresh hopes for mitigating climate change. The victory of Barack Obama in the 2008 US presidential polls ushered in fresh hopes for a greener world. |
| Changing climate may only add to our water woes. For years, cities along Florida’s coast have grappled with seawater seeping into freshwater wells, but scientists say the problem may get much worse as global climate change pushes the sea further inland, both above and below ground. |
| California adopts the most sweeping curbs on greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. The state air board orders a 15% cut in emissions over the next 12 years, bringing them down to 1990 levels. Reporting from Sacramento — California regulators adopted the nation’s first comprehensive plan to slash greenhouse gases Thursday and characterized it as a model for President-elect Barack Obama, who has pledged an aggressive national and international effort to combat global warming. |
| Environment could get renewed attention in 2009. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to take bold action to reduce global warming and invest in renewable energy - initiatives he hopes will create 5 million “green jobs” to help pull the nation out of recession. |
| Efficient holiday lighting gaining more converts. There are signs that after several years of floundering holiday sales for energy-efficient LED lighting, more people feel that a beautiful holiday display can be done in an efficient way. |
| 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 [.] |
| Cleaner China? SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s dramatic economic slowdown is paying an environmental dividend, slashing emissions levels from the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter as its highest-carbon industries begin to contract. The question Beijing will soon face is how it will manage to sustain those curbs once growth is restored. Some say it’s moving in the right direction; others are far less certain, as the government, facing a threat to the economic miracle on which its credibility was built, rushes to pump growth up again. |