Easy Being Green

Greenspot on Kentucky.com

• Metal plating industry under fire for dumping PFCs in sewers
  Alarmed by research linking chemicals used to make Scotchgard and Teflon to cancer, liver disease and other health problems, the federal government spent the last decade pressuring manufacturers to phase out the stain-resistant compounds. But scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently discovered that a different industry - metal plating - is dumping high levels of the chemicals into sewers in Chicago and Cleveland, and likely is doing the same thing in scores of other cities. The finding is worrisome because the chemicals, known as perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, wash unfiltered through sewage treatment plants into lakes and streams. The chemicals don't break down in the environment, and traces are showing up in the blood of people and wildlife around the globe. At one Chicago-area metal plating shop, which the EPA does not name, the agency found PFCs being flushed into the sewers at concentrations of 12,214 parts per trillion, far higher than the 2.5 parts per trillion found in water piped into the factory. Levels were even higher at one of the Cleveland shops: more than 54,000 parts per trillion.
• Officials unveil multimillion-dollar plan to battle Asian carp
  After a White House meeting christened the "carp summit," federal and state officials on Monday announced a multi-pronged attack with a $78.5 million price tag to prevent Asian carp, an invasive species, from establishing populations in Lake Michigan. Nancy Sutley, the president's top environmental adviser, led the meeting at the request of the governors of Michigan and Wisconsin, who were on hand. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois was scheduled to attend, but canceled his travel plans because of the winter weather and planned to take part by teleconference, said Marlena Jentz, a spokeswoman. Officials on Monday unveiled an Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, which they characterized as "aggressive" and "unparalleled." It features more than 25 short-term and long-term actions funded by major spending, some of which officials said already is in the pipeline. Asian carp are considered a major threat to the Great Lakes and its commercial and recreational fishing industry, which estimates call a $7 billion enterprise. The new strategy calls for a multi-tiered defense of the Great Lakes to keep carp out which scientists try to develop biological controls to prevent the prolific, non-native fish from developing self-sustaining populations.
• Congressman says clean energy will add jobs
  The expansion of clean energy represents the next major source of economic development and job growth in Washington state, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said at a conference aimed at promoting rural economic development in the Northwest through clean energy development. Inslee said that more than 11,000 jobs in the state are associated with the production of clean energy, including hydro, wind, solar, nuclear and biomass. Agriculture and the development of the aerospace and software industries represented the first three waves of job creation in the state, with clean energy technology the newest rung, he said. Approval of energy legislation is crucial, Inslee said, and not only for job growth and climate protection. America also is in a research and development race with China to create clean energy technology. Read the full story at tri-cityherald.com.
• Wildlife safety concerns could boost costs of Everglades reservoirs
  Reservoirs planned to help restore the Everglades might need costly redesigns to avoid trapping and killing wildlife drawn to the vast pools of water. Making the proposed reservoirs' embankments more animal-friendly could add to the cost - by $50 million for just one reservoir - of long-delayed water storage considered vital to reviving parts of the Everglades. South Florida water managers contend the proposed changes could save taxpayers money in the long run, but the upfront costs would add yet another hurdle to Everglades restoration. It is "insane" to let concerns about potential wildlife deaths within the reservoirs add to the costs, and potential delays, of water-storage structures intended to save dwindling animal habitat in the Everglades, said Michael Collins, a member of the South Florida Water Management District board. "We have totally lost our focus," Collins said. "If we have got to take care of every field mouse, we are never going to get there."
• Pet waste topic of workshop on streams
  "Now, I've got to tell you that when I was thinking about running for mayor in 2005, I didn't think I would be spending my Monday mornings talking about pet waste," Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry said. He wasn't talking about pet waste that ends up on the soles of your shoes, although that topic certainly produces strong opinions. No, Newberry was talking Monday about pet waste and water quality. He was at a news conference at Lansdowne Veterinary Clinic and Dental Center to announce a workshop to help businesses and apartment complexes protect streams from a number of pollutants. "Stool from dogs and cats dogs in particular is frequently contaminated with bacterial pathogens ... as well as a variety of parasites," said Dr. Stephen Pinkston, a veterinarian.
• Hawaii is paradise for green-tech entrepreneurs
  Take a ride in Ron Baird's pickup truck along the volcanic shore of Hawaii's Big Island and he'll show you an inventor's wonderland. On one parcel of this government-created energy laboratory, rows of mirrors shine white-hot in the sun, turning heat into energy. On another, brown water tanks harbor strands of algae that will be made into fuel. Nearby is a wind turbine whose blades spin parallel to the ground. "It's an awesome amount of things going on here," said Baird, chief executive of National Energy Research Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, which is helping to nurture 42 green private-sector businesses on 877 acres of land in Kona. Watch out, California. Tiny Hawaii is gunning for the title of the nation's green energy capital. It's aiming to obtain 70 percent of its total energy needs from clean sources within 20 years.
• Save energy, reap rewards?
  You maneuver the controls on your thermostat, hoping for a few more degrees of warmth. But wait! What if there were a reward for leaving the setting right where it is - or, better yet, for lowering it? What if putting up with a little chill got you a price break on a butter pound cake split three ways and filled with lemon curd and blackberry and raspberry puree from a local bakery? Or maybe a $10 coupon for native plants or artisanal goat-milk cheeses from your local farm? Or a bed-and-breakfast package at the Four Seasons Hotel? Perks like those are part of a growing list from businesses in the Philadelphia area hoping to improve their bottom lines by promoting a greener lifestyle.
• Do Your Part: Valentine's gifts that show you really care
  Make Valentine's Day more meaningful this year when you Do Your Part while selecting gifts for your sweetie. From the cards to the candy to a colorful bouquet of flowers, there are lots of creative ways to pick the perfect present and tread lightly on the planet at the same time. Let's start with the card. Valentine's Day is second only to Christmas for most number of cards bought and delivered. Whether you pick one up at the grocery store or a card shop, look for ones made from recycled content. Check the back of the card for the recycled content information. Choose cards made with post consumer content, the paper you and I recycle. You can also find cards that will double as a blooming plant in the future. Look for ones made from paper embedded with flower seeds. After reading the card, your loved one can plant it and later watch the flowers bloom! Flowers are of course a traditional gift for your Valentine. But, why not choose something that will smell sweeter and last a whole lot longer? A small pot of blooming tulips, daffodils, or hyacinth are a beautiful gift and can be planted outdoors where they will continue to bloom year after year. If roses are a must on your list, consider this: most roses are imported from other countries and are heavily sprayed with pesticides and insecticides. Some of these chemicals are so toxic that American farmers are banned from using them. If you want to buy a bouquet that isn't blanketed in toxic chemicals, there are many alternatives.
• Despite millions in tax credits, wind energy firms aren't hiring
  Despite the Obama administration's efforts to create jobs making wind turbines in America, some companies say that sluggish demand for wind energy is holding them back. The U.S. installed more wind power last year - 9,900 megawatts, or enough to power 2.4 million homes - than in any other year. The growth in wind farm installations in the U.S. was a product of federal stimulus spending. Nonetheless, wind equipment manufacturers cut as many as 2,000 jobs last year. According to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group, the drop in U.S. jobs is due, in part, to the lack of a long-term national policy that would require a certain percentage of American electricity to come from renewable sources. About half the wind turbines installed in the U.S. were made overseas. A check with some of the companies that want to get into the wind manufacturing business found that even some that qualified for clean-energy manufacturing tax credits aren't able to create jobs quickly because they don't see enough demand for wind energy.
• Ask MNN: Can I recycle my old VHS tapes?
  Q: I started my spring cleaning early and I just came across some boxes (16 to be exact) of old VHS tapes. I never got rid of them because some of them are home movies that I'd like to transfer to some other form of media that I can actually use. You know, first birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, graduations and the like. The rest, like all my old '80s movies, I'll probably just toss. But before I do, is there any way to recycle these relics of the past? A: First, let's deal with the challenge of transferring all those VHS tapes you want to save to DVD. Family videos are a real treasure and can be a great way for your kids and their kids and many generations more to actually get to know (in a freaky "Twilight Zone" kinda way) who their parents were. But on VHS tapes, those memories might as well be in the trash, because ain't nobody gonna be able to watch those in 10 years. Here's your best option for getting all those beautiful memories onto DVD: www.ehow.com/how-4464104-copy-vhs-movies-dvd.html Now ... what to do with the rest of those tapes (like that copy of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" that you've watched 100 times). If you're interested in getting crafty with those old VHS tapes, you can actually crochet old VHS tapes: www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/04/09/crocheted-sling-bag-of-recycled-vhs-tape/ Or, instead of letting them gather dust in your basement, put them to a good cause. Alternative Community Training (http://actrecycling.org/), a nonprofit organization in Missouri that provides jobs to people with disabilities, will take your old tapes and erase them, reselling the ones in good condition and recycling the plastic parts of the rest. You can also see if the local library will take them, or if not, give them to the Salvation Army, which pretty much takes donations of everything. Another option is to send your old VHS tapes to GreenDisk (www.greendisk.com). They have a nifty word for technology that's gone obsolete: technotrash. And they'll take that technotrash and recycle it for you - if you ship it to them. You pay a $6.95 processing fee, and you can ship them up to 20 pounds of those old VHS tapes (not to mention a whole slew of other items). All you have to pay in addition is the shipping, which shouldn't be more than $10 if you use the postal service's media rate.