Best Buy To Build Only Eco-Friendly Stores

Aug 17 2007

Beginning in early to mid-2008, Best Buy intends to build only eco-friendly stores, certified by the USGBC through LEED Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reports. Best Buy announced the plan in its recently released corporate responsibility report. According to the USGBC, if all Best Buy stores were LEED certified, the retailer would cut its energy use by approximately one-third.

Best Buy’s announcement is made possible by its inclusion in a group of 20 retailers - including Starbucks, Target, and Lowe’s - that have been working with the USGBC since mid-2006 to test-pilot a new bulk certification program. The program allows chain stores to get their prototype buildings certified by the USGBC, rather than each individual location. The USGBC would then test each certified store for quality control through surprise visits and random efficiency testing.

The Best Buy prototype will have some combination of energy-efficient lighting, rainwater recycling, recycled or otherwise eco-friendly building materials, a high-efficiency HVAC system and some type of day-lighting system.

REI recently announced that its Boulder, Colorado prototype store has reached the second phase in its expansion and renovation.

Last year, Wal-Mart released results on the energy efficiency of its experimental stores.

Sony Launches Free Recycling Program

Aug 17 2007

Sony has launched a recycling program that allows consumers to recycle all Sony-branded products for no fee at 75 Waste Management Recycle America eCycling drop-off centers throughout the U.S.

The Sony Take Back Recycling Program begins on Sept. 15 and was developed in collaboration with WM Recycle America. The program also allows consumers to recycle other manufacturers’ consumer electronics products at market prices, and may include a recycling fee for some types of materials.

Sony says it will expand the number of eCycling drop-off centers to at least 150 sites within a year, with at least one location in every state. Consumers will also have the option of shipping their used Sony electronics products to select WM Recycle America locations. Ultimately, Sony wants a recycling center within 20 miles of 95 percent of the U.S. population.

It will be interesting to see how Sony’s move will affect its ranking on Greenpeace’s next greener electronics report. In June’s report, Sony was called the “biggest loser” in the race, languishing at the bottom along with LGE, penalized for double standards on their waste policies.

As the technology industry sees continued growth, the amount of electronic waste is also increasing. A study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that in 2005 used or unwanted electronics amounted to about 1.9 to 2.2 million tons, according to Sony. Of that, some 1.5 to 1.9 million tons was primarily discarded in landfills, and only 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled.

In December, Dell announced that it had launched free recycling in several additional markets, meeting a timetable set in June to provide free recycling of any Dell-branded product for consumers worldwide as part of its global recycling policy. This summer, Dell said it was ahead of schedule to achieve a multi-year goal of recovering 275 million pounds of computer equipment by 2009.

In June, HP announced that it had met its goal of recycling 1 billion pounds of electronics. HP says that in 2006, it recovered 187 million pounds of electronics globally.

Apple recently discussed its recycling plans.

Sony recently released a CSR report showing that in fiscal 2006, Sony’s greenhouse gas emissions totaled approximately 20.53 million tons, up approximately 17 percent from fiscal 2005.

Overall, PC and electronics makers have never given much thought to environmental issues, according to a recent USAToday article. That is, until now. For the first time, almost every major PC and electronics maker is trying to change that.

MTV Gives ‘The Real World’ Green Slant

Aug 16 2007

MTV’s 20th season of The Real World will have a green slant, Green Options reports.

The newest Real World house is going to be built using eco-friendly building principles. Plans include solar energy, bamboo flooring, recycled glass counters, some sustainable furniture and recycled decor, Energy Star appliances, a solar heated swimming pool and energy efficient lighting.

Bunim-Murray Productions, the longtime producer of the series, claims that it is also trying to green up its production practices through energy-efficiency and carbon offsetting with the goal of becoming carbon neutral.

It looks like there are lots of advertising opportunities with eco-friendly products and practices being promoted throughout the series.

REI Labels ‘Eco-Sensitive’ Products

Aug 16 2007

Select REI brand products will begin carrying an eco-sensitive label, designating items manufactured with a high percentage of recycled, rapidly renewable and/or organic fibers.

Fibers that are part of REI’s eco-sensitive products include organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, organic wool, post-industrial recycled polyester, recycled polyethylene terephthalate plastic and polylactic acid, a polymer derived from starch-rich products such as corn.

The products will be identified by an icon on the product’s hangtag or via product pages in the company’s catalogs and website. By mid-September, more than 40 REI brand styles will be labeled as eco-sensitive, with additional offerings scheduled for the coming seasons.

Additionally, REI says it’s collaborating with more than 40 outdoor brands, supply chain partners and other stakeholders in an industry-wide initiative, Outdoor Industry Association’s Eco-Working Group, to establish clear and consistent information about “eco-friendly” and “green” products.

REI is the latest in a long line of retailers and manufacturers that have created their own seals of approval for earth-friendly goods.

The real cost of bottled water

Jared Blumenfeld, Susan Leal

Sunday, February 18, 2007

San Franciscans and other Bay Area residents enjoy some of the nation's highest quality drinking water, with pristine Sierra snowmelt from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir as our primary source. Every year, our water is tested more than 100,000 times to ensure that it meets or exceeds every standard for safe drinking water. And yet we still buy bottled water. Why?

Maybe it's because we think bottled water is cleaner and somehow better, but that's not true. The federal standards for tap water are higher than those for bottled water.

The Environmental Law Foundation has sued eight bottlers for using words such as "pure" to market water that contains bacteria, arsenic and chlorine. Bottled water is no bargain either: It costs 240 to 10,000 times more than tap water. For the price of one bottle of Evian, a San Franciscan can receive 1,000 gallons of tap water. Forty percent of bottled water should be labeled bottled tap water because that is exactly what it is. But even that doesn't dampen the demand.

Clearly, the popularity of bottled water is the result of huge marketing efforts. The global consumption of bottled water reached 41 billion gallons in 2004, up 57 percent in just five years. Even in areas where tap water is clean and safe to drink, such as in San Francisco, demand for bottled water is increasing -- producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy. So what is the real cost of bottled water?

Most of the price of a bottle of water goes for its bottling, packaging, shipping, marketing, retailing and profit. Transporting bottled water by boat, truck and train involves burning massive quantities of fossil fuels. More than 5 trillion gallons of bottled water is shipped internationally each year. Here in San Francisco, we can buy water from Fiji (5,455 miles away) or Norway (5,194 miles away) and many other faraway places to satisfy our demand for the chic and exotic. These are truly the Hummers of our bottled-water generation. As further proof that the bottle is worth more than the water in it, starting in 2007, the state of California will give 5 cents for recycling a small water bottle and 10 cents for a large one.

Just supplying Americans with plastic water bottles for one year consumes more than 47 million gallons of oil, enough to take 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, according to the Container Recycling Institute. In contrast, San Francisco tap water is distributed through an existing zero-carbon infrastructure: plumbing and gravity. Our water generates clean energy on its way to our tap -- powering our streetcars, fire stations, the airport and schools.

More than 1 billion plastic water bottles end up in the California's trash each year, taking up valuable landfill space, leaking toxic additives, such as phthalates, into the groundwater and taking 1,000 years to biodegrade. That means bottled water may be harming our future water supply.

The rapid growth in the bottled water industry means that water extraction is concentrated in communities where bottling plants are located. This can have a huge strain on the surrounding eco-system. Near Mount Shasta, the world's largest food company, Nestle, is proposing to extract billions of gallons of spring water, which could have devastating impacts on the McCloud River.

So it is clear that bottled water directly adds to environmental degradation, global warming and a large amount of unnecessary waste and litter. All this for a product that is often inferior to San Francisco's tap water. Luckily, there are better, less expensive alternatives:

-- In the office, use a water dispenser that taps into tap water. The only difference your company will notice is that you're saving a lot of money.

-- At home and in your car, switch to a stainless steel water bottle and use it for the rest of your life knowing that you are drinking some of the nation's best water and making the planet a better place.

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Take the pledge

Signing on to sfenvironment.org or sfwater.org to register not to buy bottled water for a year enters your name in a drawing to win a free stainless steel water bottle.

Jared Blumenfeld is the director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Susan Leal is the general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/18/EDG56N6OA41.DTL

Message in a Bottle

Americans spent more money last year on bottled water than on ipods or movie tickets: $15 Billion. A journey into the economics--and psychology--of an unlikely business boom. And what it says about our culture of indulgence.

From: Issue 117 | July 2007 | Page 110 | By: Charles Fishman | Photographs By: Nigel Cox

...In San Francisco, the municipal water comes from inside Yosemite National Park. It's so good the EPA doesn't require San Francisco to filter it. If you bought and drank a bottle of Evian, you could refill that bottle once a day for 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days with San Francisco tap water before that water would cost $1.35. Put another way, if the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000...

For full article go here:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/117/features-message-in-a-bottle.html

NY Mandates Emission Comparison Stickers For Cars

Aug 12 2007

New York is requiring automobile manufacturers to affix “global warming index” stickers to new cars and passenger trucks beginning in the 2010 model year, Environmental News Service reports. The stickers will detail carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by operating the vehicle. California has passed similar environmental legislation effective with the 2009 model year.

The index will be based on emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.

The requirement applies to passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks with a gross weight of 8,500 pounds or less.

Each sticker will include an index that compares the emissions of global warming gases from the vehicle with the average projected emissions from all vehicles of the same model year, and identifies the vehicle model within its class with the lowest emissions of that model year.

Ontario Proposes Green licence Plates For Low-Emission Vehicles

Aug 12 2007

By this time next year, Ontarians who buy environmentally friendly, low-emission cars and trucks would get a green-hued licence plate that entitles them to such possible perks as free parking and access to carpool lanes, The Star reports.

The so-called “eco-licence” plate is one of three green transportation policies the province is hoping will encourage commuters and businesses to factor the environment into their spending decisions. The government will consult with vehicle manufacturers and environmental groups to design a rating system that identifies the cleanest cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles.

At the same time, at least three U.S. states are considering green plates for convicted sex offenders and pedophiles back on the streets, The Star reports in another article.

GM to begin testing Volt electric car by spring

By Jui Chakravorty Thu Aug 9, 1:20 PM ET

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. will begin road testing its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid in the spring of next year and remains on track to produce the rechargeable car by late 2010, a senior executive said on Thursday.

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As the race to bring a mass-market, rechargeable electric vehicle to the market heats up, GM's global product chief Bob Lutz said he expects to have next-generation lithium-ion battery packs ready for the vehicles by October this year.

"We should have the battery packs by October," he said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference. "We'll have some on the road for testing next spring, and we should have the Volt in production by the end of 2010."

GM is the only automaker to have provided a timeline on the production of a plug-in hybrid vehicle, even though other companies, such as Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are working on similar technology.

Automakers have said lithium-ion battery technology remains the biggest challenge in producing a plug-in vehicle as they try to lower the cost of the batteries and increase their power and storage capacity.

The current generation of lithium-ion batteries, used in devices such as laptop computers and electronic devices, also has a tendency to overheat.

The Volt would be outfitted with new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold a charge longer than the nickel metal hydride batteries now used widely in automobiles.

"The cost of the battery would likely be high even at the time of production," Lutz said, adding that GM is exploring options that would allow consumers to lease the battery when buying the vehicle in order to bring down the sticker price.

Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, plug-in cars are designed to allow short trips powered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can be charged through an electric socket at home.

GM is designing the highly-anticipated Volt to run 40 miles on battery power alone, reducing or even eliminating the need for drivers to fuel up an on-board gasoline-powered engine provided as a backup power source.

Lutz said GM is requiring a 10-year life for the battery, and said the No. 1 U.S. automaker would look to price the vehicle like a "traditional mid-market car."

GM is racing rival Toyota to offer the first mass-market electric vehicle. Toyota last month unveiled a "plug-in" car based on its popular Prius hybrid model, saying it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads -- a first for the industry.

But Toyota said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, is not fit for commercialization because it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries, believed to be a better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars.

Environmental advocates have been pressing automakers to roll out plug-in vehicles that could be recharged at standard electric outlets as a way to reduce oil consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions.

In June, GM announced contracts with two companies -- a subsidiary of South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. called Compact Power Inc. and Germany's Continental AG to work on parallel battery development programs for the Volt.

On Thursday, GM announced another contract with A123 Systems, which has been working with Continental on battery technology.

GM said both Compact Power and A123 could end up providing the batteries for the Volt, or only one of them might meet the automaker's requirements.