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August 27, 2008
- Body Shop Shares Green Product Stories
The Body Shop is rolling out its “Nature’s Way to Beautiful” campaign in print, online and in-store this week, BrandWeek reports. The branding effort includes telling the stories behind the products through in-store displays. For example, one display explains how aloe, a staple in The Body Shop’s products, is harvested in an environmentally-friendly way. Other aspects of [...]
- about 2 hours
source: (Environmental Leader) - Ameren Taps Lockheed Martin To Spearhead Efficiency Programs
AmerenUE is contracting Lockheed Martin to help the company implement energy efficiency programs for its 1.2 million business and residential electric customers.
The contracts are part of Ameren’s commitment to spend more than $70 million over three years on a range of initiatives including incentives to help consumers reduce their energy use and save money, and [...]- about 2 hours
source: (Environmental Leader) - Solar Sunroof Replacement May Finally Make You Spring For The Option
I’ve always wanted a sunroof on my car — but it’s one of those things that’s always eluded me when the final tally was revealed and the price was a bit more than I wanted to pay. Uncheck the sun roof.However, the environmental geek inside me has reason to rejoice with the announcement that a company called Sunrise Solar is set to release a solar-powered sun roof replacement. The solar sunroof will generate electricity to recharge the vehicle’s batteries while simultaneously cooling the car when parked in a hot climate or warm the car when parked in a cooler climate.
Unfortunately, any further descriptions regarding price or the actual output of such embedded photovoltaic cells stops about there. Still, with the news that the next generation Toyota Prius will be sporting some solar up top, there’s reason to hope that Sunrise Solar’s product will not just turn out to be vaporware.
Check out the release here for more info!
via cleantechnica
- about 3 hours
source: (Ecotality Life) - Envirobinder- The Eco Conscious Alternative To The Vinyl Binder
This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.
Independent Printing has started a blog at www.designed2print.wordpress.com, which has a number of good articles on the changes in the printing industry. The site covers how Independent Printing is staying ahead of the curve by offering not only Forest Stewardship Council paper and vegetable based inks, but also switching to green energy for their plants.
Our number one seller from Independent Printing is their Enviro-binder.
Read more of this story - about 11 hours
source: (Ecopreneurist) - Baseball Instant Replay To Begin Thursday
RONALD BLUM | August 26, 2008 11:12 PM EST |
NEW YORK — Replay ball! Umpires will be allowed to check video on home run calls starting Thursday after Major League Baseball, guardian of America’s most traditional sport, reversed its decades-long opposition to instant replay.
The Major League Baseball instant replay display at Tropicana Field is shown before a Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays MLB baseball game on Tuesday Aug. 26, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The setup will be used during Friday night’s Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays game. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
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“Like everything else in life, there are times that you have to make an adjustment,” baseball commissioner Bud Selig said following Tuesday’s announcement. “My opposition to unlimited instant replay is still very much in play. I really think that the game has prospered for well over a century now doing things the way we did it.”
The 74-year-old Selig, who described himself as “old fashioned” and an admirer of baseball’s “human element,” softened his opposition following a rash of blown calls this year.
For now, video will be used only on so-called “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence, whether potential home runs were fair or foul and whether there was fan interference on potential home runs.
“Any time you try to change something in baseball, it’s both emotional and difficult,” Selig said. “There’s been some concern that, well, if you start here, look what it’s going to lead to. Not as long as I’m the commissioner.”
Replay will go into use with three series scheduled to open Thursday: Philadelphia at the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota at Oakland and Texas at the Los Angeles Angels. For other games, replays will be available to umpires starting Friday.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella wondered whether a team could challenge a call.
“I’d love to be able to throw a red hankie or a green hankie. Imagine being able to throw something on the field and not be ejected,” he said. “I shouldn’t say it’s not going to work, but this could turn into a little bit of a fiasco initially.”
The NFL first used replay to aid officials in 1986, the NHL in 1991 and the NBA in 2002. Even at stuffy old Wimbledon, technology has been used on line calls since 2006. Replay equipment to help determine calls was in place at this year’s Little League World Series.
Fan interference has been a big issue in baseball, with almost constant debate since Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and gave Derek Jeter a home run during the 1996 AL championship series. Many blown calls have occurred at newer ballparks, where fans are closer to the field have the ability to reach over fences.
“In this day and age, where all these ballparks are being built now where people can reach out over the outfield fence and catch balls, fan interference is becoming more and more of an issue,” Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine said.
Detroit pitcher Kenny Rogers called the decision “a slap in the face of umpires that have been here for a long time” and said the decision might have been made because Alex Rodriguez lost a home run on a blown call May 21.
“It overshot the mark by far just because, what, in a Yankee game someone didn’t get a homer? Please. It’s happened thousands of times,” Rogers said. “That’s part of the game. It’s the beauty of the game. Mistakes are made.”
Baseball general managers voted 25-5 last November to recommend use the technology, and baseball’s lawyers spent recent weeks finalizing agreements with the unions for umpires and for players.
“I find it very strange that, with 30 games to go in the season, that they would start it now. I find that very peculiar,” Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “If they wanted it so bad, what took them so long to get it going and why wait until this particular point in time?”
Baseball officials wanted to avoid having a situation in the postseason where fans with access to televisions and viewers at home knew what the correct call was but the umpires on the field did not.
“Some people thought that we ought to wait until the postseason,” Selig said. “I’d rather go into the postseason knowing that we’ve already used it.”
Video from available broadcast feeds _ not every team televises every game _ will be collected at the office of Major League Baseball Advanced Media in New York, where it will be monitored by a technician and either an umpire supervisor or a retired umpire. If the crew chief at a game decides replay needs to be checked, umpires will leave the field, technicians at MLBAM will show umpires the video and the crew chief will make the call, overturning the original decision only if there is “clear and convincing evidence.”
Leaving the dugout to argue a call following a replay will result in an automatic ejection. Replays of the boundary calls will not be shown on stadium video boards, MLB executive vice president for baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon said.
MLB said replay delays will be offset by fewer arguments.
“So if the game is held up for a couple of minutes a couple of times a year, I think that’s OK,” New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina said. “It’s certainly not going to be seen as often as it is in the NFL.”
Selig would consider refinements during the offseason but boldly said he never will allow replays to be used for other calls, such as determining whether a ball was caught or trapped. The use for safe/out calls hasn’t been considered.
“I believe that because of the configuration of ballparks, both new and old, that calling home runs is really much more difficult than it once was,” Selig said. “I don’t believe in the use of instant replay for other things.”
Players generally agreed.
“I just don’t want it to open up Pandora’s box, with calls at home and calls at the bases and eventually behind the plate,” Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria said.
The players’ association agreed to replay for the balance of the season but retained the right, through Dec. 10, to ask for additional bargaining for future years. If players don’t, the replay agreement will run through 2011.
Union head Donald Fehr doesn’t anticipate an expansion of what calls replays can be used to determine.
“We haven’t talked about that. I think that that’s unlikely over the term of this agreement,” he said. “What we’ll obviously do is look at it after the World Series. We’re hopeful that we’re going to say it was great.”
Umpire Gary Cederstrom said his crew had a training session Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
“We talked to the technicians and he explained what they’re going to be doing,” he said. “We just basically did a dry run.”
___
AP Sports Writers Dave Ginsburg in Baltimore, Mike Fitzpatrick in New York and Alan Robinson in Pittsburgh, and AP freelance writers Mark Didtler in Tampa, Fla., Amy Jinkner-Lloyd in Atlanta and Paul Harris in Detroit contributed to this report.
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
- about 13 hours
source: (4 entrepreneur) - Best Green Twitter Feeds
Twitter, the free micro-blogging and social networking site, enables its users worldwide to discuss (among other topics) all things green. From green living tips to local, national and international environmental news, users can follow the green musings of its 2 million users.
GREEN CITIZEN ACTIVIST TWITTERS:
* GreenNews offers international green news updates.
* Green Living notifies followers of green living tips from its affiliate website Eco Tech Daily.
* Check out Global Warming for top green news and global warming updates.
* Green Tweet provides interesting and useful green living advice tips, like these:
Start Slide Show with PicLens LiteCyclists are the most punctual of employees: traffic jams do not affect them, neither do train delays. 12:34 PM August 14, 2008 from web
Place an insulated cover over your pool when it is not being used to help prevent water loss through evaporation. 11:44 AM August 13, 2008 from web* Grist’s twitter complements the green updates from its excellent environment, humor and politics site.
* The Green Options twitter compiles news from all of the website’s blogs.
* EcoGeek’s twitter offers news updates based on the website’s green tech postings.
* The Sprig twitter reports green living tips from the Sprig website, which advertises itself as “your daily green style guide.”
Sprig tip: turn the temperature on your fridge up a degree and fill the freezer with containers of ice to help lower energy use 12:07 PM July 02, 2008
* Sustainablog’s twitter features excerpts of the blog’s postings.
“[sustainablog] Back to School Shopping Madness 2: What an Environmentally Concerned Co. about 3 hours ago from twitterfeed
* The Eco-Chickie twitter is based on green news from Eco-chick’s website.
* The Green Wash Brigade’s twitter is based on news from the American Public Media’s blog:
“Michael Phelps :: swimming as renewables :: American energy? So says Dennis, with a stern glance at Congress: http://tinyurl.com/65af5d /jo Icon_star_empty” 3 days ago from web
Eco-entrepreneur Shea Gunther’s twitter features updates from his green sites EarthFirst and GreenOrder.
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION TWITTERS:* The National Wildlife Federation’s twitter compiles the latest green environmental news, like this unnerving fact:
Kids can identify more Pokemon than wildlife: http://tinyurl.com/6ftcza 09:49 AM August 04, 2008
* The Wilderness Society’s twitter enables readers to be constantly updated on news from the Society’s website.
LOCAL GREEN NEWS TWITTERS:* For Seattle green news updates follow the greenmedia twitter.
* From updates on local craft fairs to the newest local community blogs the EcoMetro twitter provides news updates for Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis.
* The GreenMichigan twitter offers news on the environment for Michigan, the Midwest and the Great Lakes.
Read the full story - about 17 hours
source: (4 entrepreneur) - Burnes Home Accents to Cut Waste by One-Fourth, Finds New Use for Sawdust
Photo frame maker Burnes Home Accents is taking steps to cut 25 percent of its waste, help its partners green their operations and create products from reused and recycled materials.- about 17 hours
source: (GreenBiz.com Green Business News) - New York Offers Utilities Incentives to Reduce Customer Energy Use
The New York State Public Service Commission will offer almost $27 million to electric utilities that establish productive energy efficiency programs for customers.- about 17 hours
source: (GreenBiz.com Green Business News) - Mitsubishi Bets Big on Solar
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. will spend billions of dollars quadrupling production of photovoltaic cells to take advantage of the skyrocketing demand for solar power caused by high fuel prices and climate change concerns.- about 17 hours
source: (GreenBiz.com Green Business News) - High Fuel Costs Leading to More Efficient Supply Chains: Report
High fuel prices are causing the country's manufacturers, retailers and logistics providers to rethink their transportation strategies, such as shipping larger loads, boosting inventory and moving freight along coasts and inland waterways to reduce road transportation.- about 17 hours
source: (GreenBiz.com Green Business News) - Feds: 117 Banks In Trouble, Highest Level Since 2003
MARCY GORDON, AP |
WASHINGTON — The number of troubled U.S. banks leaped to the highest level in about five years and bank profits plunged by 86 percent in the second quarter, as slumps in the housing and credit markets continued.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data released Tuesday show 117 banks and thrifts were considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, up from 90 in the prior quarter and the biggest tally since mid-2003.
The FDIC also said that federally-insured banks and savings institutions earned $5 billion in the April-June period, down from $36.8 billion a year earlier. The roughly 8,500 banks and thrifts also set aside a record $50.2 billion to cover losses from soured mortgages and other loans in the second quarter.
“Quite frankly, the results were pretty dismal,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said at a news conference, but they were not surprising given the housing slump, a worsening economy, and disruptions in financial and credit markets.
The majority of U.S. banks “will be able to weather” the economic and housing storms, with 98 percent of them still holding adequate capital by the regulators’ standards, Bair said.
Total assets of troubled banks jumped from $26 billion to $78 billion in the second quarter, the FDIC said, with $32 billion of the increase coming from IndyMac Bank, which failed in July _ the biggest regulated thrift to fail in the United States.
“More banks will come on the (troubled) list as credit problems worsen,” Bair said. “Assets of problem institutions also will continue to rise.
Nine FDIC-insured banks have failed so far this year, compared with three in all of 2007. More banks are in danger of collapsing this year, Bair and other FDIC officials said, and they expect turbulence in the banking industry to continue well into next year,
IndyMac’s failure and others in the quarter reduced the federal deposit insurance fund from $53 billion to $45 billion. Bair said the agency will raise insurance premiums paid by banks and thrifts to replenish its reserve fund and bolster depositors’ confidence.
The $50.2 billion set aside to cover loan losses in the April-June period was four times the $11.4 billion the banking industry salted away a year earlier. Nearly a third of the industry’s net operating revenue went into building up reserves against losses in the latest quarter, according to the FDIC.
Except for the fourth quarter of 2007, the earnings reported Tuesday were the lowest for the banking industry since the final quarter of 1991, the agency said.
Concern has been growing over the solvency of some banks amid the housing slump and the steep slide in the mortgage market. The pressures of tighter credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures have been battering banks of all sizes nationwide.
The FDIC has been keeping an especially close eye on banks and thrifts with high levels of exposure to the riskiest borrowers and markets, agency officials say, including subprime mortgages and construction loans in overbuilt areas.
Another area of potential concern: banks’ holdings of preferred stock of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A government rescue of the companies, whose share prices have rebounded a bit this week after plummeting recently as they struggle with billions of dollars in losses from bad mortgages, could be costly for scores of banks that hold billions in their preferred shares.
“We’re closely monitoring that situation,” Bair said.
The FDIC said troubled assets _ loans that are 90 or more days past due _ continued to rise in the second quarter, jumping by $26.7 billion, or 19.6 percent, over the first quarter. It was the first time since 1993 that the percentage of total loans that were troubled broke 2 percent, at 2.04 percent.
The agency doesn’t disclose the names of institutions on its internal list of troubled banks. On average, 13 percent of banks that make the list fail.
Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac was taken over by the FDIC on July 11 with about $32 billion in assets and deposits of $19 billion. It was the second-largest financial institution to close in U.S. history, after Continental Illinois National Bank in 1984.
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite - about 17 hours
source: (4 entrepreneur) - Vestas Launches $100 Million Consumer Ad Campaign
In an effort to raise consumer awareness of wind energy’s potential, Vestas has budgeted $100 million over the next two years to bring its “Vestas, No. 1 in Modern Energy” campaign to U.S. living rooms, Vestas’ CEO Ditley Engle told Clean Technology Insight (via CNNMoney.com).
This is the first time the company has come out with [...]- about 21 hours
source: (Environmental Leader) - 12 States Sue EPA Over Refinery Emissions
New York and 11 other states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for violating the federal Clean Air Act by refusing to issue standards for controlling global warming pollution emissions from oil refineries, Reuters reports.
The other states and cities in the suit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, [...]- about 22 hours
source: (Environmental Leader) - Uptime CEO: Low PUE Numbers ‘Scientifically Meaningless’
The Power Utilization Effectiveness metric can potentially be useful for determining the gross performance of data center electrical and mechanical systems. However, Kenneth Brill, executive director at Uptime Institute, which developed the concept, warns that PUE claims of 0.9, 1.2 or 1.6 in marketing materials are probably misleading. The typical numbers seen by the Uptime [...]
- about 23 hours
source: (Environmental Leader)
August 26, 2008
- iLinc Receives Green Excellence Award
iLinc was awarded the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Green Excellence Award for its iLinc Green Meter. The meter is an embedded feature that comes with iLinc Web conferencing software which automatically measures carbon emissions, fuel costs and mileage saved per participant, per meeting and provides metrics for the organization as a whole.
The meter “was one [...]- about 24 hours
source: (Environmental Leader) - Pitney Bowes On Design Of Eco-Friendly Products
Promo video of Pitney Bowes’ VP of Global Design and Usability, Carole Bilson, discussing environmentally conscious development of products.- about 24 hours
source: (Environmental Leader) - Constellation NewEnergy Supplies US Open With RECs
Electricity consumption at the US Open will be matched by an estimated 2,000 Green-e certified renewable energy certificates supplied by Constellation NewEnergy, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy.
“Big-time sporting events provide a unique platform to educate our fans on green initiatives, and we feel that the best way we can educate is to lead by example,” [...]- 1 day
source: (Environmental Leader) - Portugal Points The Way For Renewable Energy Adoption
As the world reels at the high price of fossil fuels, business and governments are increasingly casting about for renewable energy models. Portugal is happy to oblige.
Portugal? Yes Portugal. While most of the world remained mired in the old mindset of the fossil fuel driven economy, Portugal committed to leading Europe’s clean-tech revolution with some [...]- 1 day
source: (Environmental Leader) - Automakers Fall Behind On EU CO2 Targets
According to a new study by European Federation for Transport and Environment, car makers are not doing enough to meet the EU’s proposed target of curbing average CO2 emissions from new cars to 130 grams per kilometer by 2012, compared to current levels of around 158g per km, Reuters reports.
The report shows that automakers will [...]- 1 day
source: (Environmental Leader) - International Biofuel Standard Set
The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels has gathered environmentalists, industry leaders, and university researchers to develop the first international standard for biofuel production, Worldwatch Institute reports.
The roundtable is the first large-scale effort to establish a international standard for biofuels. Similar efforts for specific fuel feedstocks such as palm oil, soybeans and sugar cane are already under [...]- 1 day
source: (Environmental Leader)