News Archives - Page 30 of 31

Public and Private Roles in Sustainability

By Eric McNulty I had the pleasure of introducing Rep. Edward Markey for his opening keynote at the recent Executive Council Sustainable Cities leadership forum. Markey has been at the forefront of the Congressional response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is the co-author of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, and author of the bill that increased auto mileage standards for the first time in three decades. The League of Conservation Voters calls him the environment’s best advocate in Congress. Markey gave a fiery address about the need for the U.S. to become the leader in alternative energy. What I found interesting was his view that regulation can be a catalyst to those efforts. While many business leaders think that regulation in anathema to innovation, Markey disagrees. He pointed to his prior work on the Telecommunications Committee that shifted a segment of the broadcast spectrum into commercial use for cellular and other wireless com…

Chevy Volt launching in four new states

Chevrolet is adding Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to the launch markets for the Volt, Ed Whitacre, General Motors chairman and CEO, announced today. Whitacre said the company is expanding the initial launch of the groundbreaking electric vehicle in response to intense interest in the Volt from customers across the country. Today's announcement brings the initial Volt retail markets to seven, including California, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. The retail launch in Texas and New York will begin with Austin and New York City in late 2010. The balance of Texas and New York, as well as New Jersey and Connecticut, are scheduled to begin receiving Volts in early 2011. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that General Motors Co. said today it will build 10,000 Chevrolet Volts in 2011 and another 30,000 in 2012, the first time the auto maker has outlined production plans for the battery-powered car. By 2012, GM expects to be selling Volts…

IKEA to Phase out Incandescent Lighting Starting August 1

Switch On. Switch Off. Switch Over. IKEA makes the change for a brighter future. Starting August 1, 2010, IKEA will begin to phase out all incandescent light bulbs in their US stores. This recent IKEA environmental initiative has a target date of incandescent bulb elimination by January 1, 2011. The aggressive IKEA US store phase out program exemplifies IKEA’s strong commitment to helping their customers live an everyday sustainable life. IKEA will be the first US retailer to completely phase out incandescent light bulbs. “IKEA is committed to integrating sustainability into all IKEA strategies and practices in the entire product life cycle. We also believe our customers are looking for every day environmentally responsible solutions for themselves. Eliminating incandescents is a simple way to lead the charge for IKEA customers to use energy saving light bulbs, thus reducing energy consumption and reducing the amount of greenhouses gases. It’s a little step with a big im…

The Sustainable YOU: Be true to the environment and yourself

Got green? Sound familiar? It should. The “green” movement in America has become so talked about, so widely spread, that you would need to be hiding under a rock, lying at the bottom of the ocean, and stuffed with earplugs to not hear the colorful buzz around “sustainable” living. At this point, most of us are trying, even in small ways, to decrease our use of ozone depleting goods, taking inches off our carbon footprint, and devoting ourselves to a much more sustainable America. And the ideas behind many things green are typically two-fold: re-use and recycle. Of course, anyone of authority and opinion within the green community could, most likely, describe each of these in detail, as well as add fifteen more adjectives for all things sustainable; but this is not my aim. Funnily enough, I began to contemplate the American “green” movement three months ago, as I settled into living abroad in the small town of San Francisco de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. Given that …

BP ‘Kill Shot’ coverage

BP reports (via Twitter) that it has started the "kill shot" operation, the desperate attempt to cap the oil well on the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico. Watch the live feed here. Watch live streaming video from wkrg_oil_spill at livestream.com

EPA Releases BP’s Response to Directive on Dispersant

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released BP’s response to EPA’s directive on dispersants. EPA’s directive to BP required them to evaluate available, pre-approved dispersants for toxicity and effectiveness and report back to EPA within 24 hours. After receiving their response late Thursday night, EPA immediately called a meeting with BP to discuss the issue on Friday, May 21. EPA will continue to work over the next 48 hours to ensure BP is complying with the directive. BP’s response to EPA’s directive, as well as the directive itself, can be found here.