In green technology news this week, the California Air Resources Board (News - Alert) moved forward with a package of Advanced Clean Car regulations; the U.S. Department of Commerce moved back its decision on the SolarWorld-led U.S.-China trade dispute; and a Philippines-based company is leveling off the amount of trash languishing in landfills—and using it to make biofuel pellets.
On Friday, January 27, the California Air Resources Board (CARB)Advanced Clean Car package of regulations, which, starting in the 2018 model year, will require state auto dealers to stock and sell many more transitional zero-emission vehicles (TZEVs), will set greenhouse gas standards for cars and light trucks, and will support the development of clean fuel/recharging infrastructure. The board predicts that, when the regulations have been fully implemented, annual fuel costs to operate a car will be reduced by an average of 25 percent, with an overall cumulative savings of $22 billion by 2025. In addition, CARB economic analysis indicates that the overall savings generated by the proposed rules will result in an additional 21,000 jobs in California in 2025, rising to 37,000 in 2030. David Friedman (News - Alert), deputy director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles program, said the state was “putting the pedal to the metal on electric cars and healthier air” and giving car buyers “a real choice between the fuels of the past and the clean cars of the future.” voted to adopt a visionary
Two U.S. solar industry groups were at odds again this week, even as the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced that it had moved back its decision in the SolarWorld-led U.S.-China trade dispute to March 2. This is the second time that the American agency has delayed its ruling on whether to impose import duties on Chinese-made photovoltaic (PV) modules, following allegations that the solar systems are being “dumped”—sold at below-market rates—in America. On January 30— the same date on which the postponement was revealed —the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE), released a study forewarning that U.S tariffs on Chinese-made modules would “slow the growth in domestic demand for PV systems,” resulting in the loss of asmany as 60,000 American jobs. In response, Gordon Brinser, president of SolarWorld Industries America, commented, "SolarWorld and the other members of the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) strongly support the creation of American jobs in the solar industry," adding, "This highly speculative study ignores the illegality of China's actions and fails to consider the harm those actions have caused ….We do know that thousands of good-paying American manufacturing jobs have already been lost to illegal Chinese dumping and subsidies for solar products.”
Your garbage may travel farther and to more exotic locales than you will ever see — but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. It’s not just e-waste or scrap metal that developed countries are shipping abroad; it is every repulsive item or substance that we put out at the curb or into a dumpster without a thought about its final destination. Very often, our refuse is bound for a third-world country, where it will wreak havoc with local ecosystems. Now in the City of San Fernando, in the Philippines, the Pampanga–based True Green Energy Grouphas opened a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and begun Bio-Green System operations— processing raw garbage and turning it into biomass pellets that can be burned to produce electricity. The company’s pellets replace fossil fuel, thus, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and are easier to store because they are uniform in size and composition. They also are much cleaner to handle than charcoal or coal and generate less local air pollution. For every ton produced, the landfill site in San Fernando will be cleared of 300 to 1,000 tons of garbage per day. What’s more, TGEG has a major advantage in that that the resources the company uses to produce the pellets come free-of-charge. Nobody wants to put a price on the garbage at the landfills. Today, TGEG has millions of metric tons of garbage “at its disposal,” while the world has billions of metric tons in reserve all over the planet just waiting to be harvested by the TGEG team.
The Odebrecht Organization, a Brazilian multinational organization is challenging U.S. undergraduates students seeking a science or engineering degree to compete in an essay contest for a sustainable development award. The company is introducing the contest through its two subsidiaries in the Americas: Odebrecht USA, which focuses on engineering and construction services, and Braskem, which is into the manufacturing of thermoplastic resins in the Americas. If selected, students will have the opportunity to be involved in a challenging task of developing engineering and chemical solutions. Ricardo Lyra, vice president of HR & Communications for Braskem America, said, “We’re inviting young visionaries to join our revolution—to take this opportunity and contribute to positive change. We anticipate groundbreaking ideas from American students. We can’t wait to see what they come up with.”
In 2011, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) opened its first U.S. manufacturing plant in 40 years in Box Elder County, Utah—and earned its first-ever LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for an Employee Resource Center constructed on that site. The Cincinnati-based consumer products giant says that the silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) won’t be its last. P&G currently is pursuing LEED certification for plants in China and Indonesia, as well as for its Singapore Innovation Center. And the company has pledged to earn certification for all new sites that already are in design phase or early construction.
Windsor, Ontario-based Enviromon.net has introduced a new cloud-based environmental monitoring service, which will enable businesses to keep an eye on internal conditions from anywhere in the world. With CloudHawk, all a user is required to have is a secure Web browser that will remotely monitor environmental conditions—determining, for example, whether airflow in a server room is optimal or, a storage cooler is set at the correct temperature. With sensors installed on-site, CloudHawk gathers data and continually remits the information to the property owner via mobile devices and iPads. In case of any irregularity, the subscriber is notified immediately by text message or email.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is a beacon of hope and sustenance for America’s aging workforce, but that doesn’t mean that the agency believes in letting its infrastructure become antiquated or timeworn. In fact, in Richmond, California, the SSA has installed solar carports in the main parking lot adjacent to its facility in the Frank Hagel Federal Building. The building’s new 420 kilowatt (kW) DC solar photovoltaic (PV) carport system, designed and installed by Silicon Valley-based K2 Solar, comprises five solar carports with four electric vehicle charging stations. The system will produce more than 560,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually and will provide about 15 percent of the peak energy demand of the building. The SSA predicts that the solar system will enable it to save a total of $86,000 per year in energy cost.
Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
