Thursday Aug 16, 2007
This is certainly not the first offset framework out there, but it is one that a major bank is putting out there. Take a read.
<SNIP>
Aug 14 2007
Morgan Stanley has partnered with consultants DNV to form a “carbon bank” and advise companies that want to go carbon neutral, Reuters reports.
Under the new service, clients will compile their emissions
inventory and calculate their carbon footprint by applying the
monitoring standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative. DNV
will then verify these emissions inventories and calculated carbon
footprints. Carbon quantification, monitoring and verification will be
conducted consistent with ISO 14064 standards.
Morgan Stanley’s Commodities Group will procure and cancel carbon
credits equivalent to a client’s verified carbon footprint. Clients
will be able to select their preferred sources of carbon credits,
although all carbon credits will be generated according to the
standards of the Kyoto Protocol.
Carbon credits will be procured from various sources including from
Morgan Stanley’s own direct investments in emission reductions as well
as those of MGM International. Morgan Stanley acquired a 38 percent
stake in MGM last year.
Morgan Stanley said last year it would invest $3 billion in
environmental markets, including the trade in permits to emit
greenhouse gases, called carbon credits.
“It’s important the voluntary market expands on a responsible basis
to provide confidence these markets work,” said Morgan Stanley’s Olivia
Hartridge.
Thursday Aug 09, 2007
Interesting article.
Snip:
If CD sales had remained perfectly steady since 2000, we would have
seen 1,136,500,000 more CDs on the market. That is 39 million pounds of
polycarbonate CDs saved and 150 million pounds of polystyrene jewel
cases saved. That’s a vertical stack of CDs over 7,000 miles high and a
horizontal row stretching from New York to Tokyo, with 300 miles to
spare.
Aaron
Wednesday Aug 08, 2007
Tuesday Aug 07, 2007
<SNIP>
The European Commission is examining the idea of an emissions trading
system for car manufacturers that would force makers of high-polluting
cars to pay money towards those producing greener cars.
According to a report in German daily Handelsblatt, the amount of
carbon dioxide (CO2) a car may emit in the future could be determined
by its weight.
Wednesday Jul 11, 2007
OK, I couldn't resist posting this CNN soundbyte "Americans use twice as much toilet paper as Europeans" (says the director of the washroom business at the company referenced in the article) as my headline to this posting. Hilarious. CNN should have made it their headline too, IMHO. That's the news, after all.
Admittedly their headline isn't so bad though: "Machine spits out 5 sheets of toilet paper"
Tuesday Jul 03, 2007
Wondering what to do this summer to stay eco and stay in shape? How about take a tour on a new touring bike? That's what I'm putting together this summer. My local free Portland weekly has a recommendation of what parts to use to put together the ultimate touring bike - what they call the 'Franken-Bike'. I'm considering these components. If anyone has any suggestions or alternatives let me know. I know I want a Surly frame.
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3333/9170/
Wednesday Mar 14, 2007
Feeling eco friendly? Global Earth Day is almost here (March 21st) so now it's as good a time as ever to read some eco blogs (more on this once I put up my own favorites) on the net to learn and share, and start your own!
And...If you're a Sun employee we even have a special eco blog theme just for you (and if you're not a Sun employee, don't you want to join the Sun team too now?). If you want to share your favorite eco blog with the world, leave it in my comment section! If you're a Sun employee and wondering what the eco theme looks like, check out these other cool sites - last time we checked they were all using the theme.
http://blogs.sun.com/cohen
http://blogs.sun.com/jimgris
http://blogs.sun.com/mary
http://blogs.sun.com/participate/
http://blogs.sun.com/dhollister
http://blogs.sun.com/pmonday
http://blogs.sun.com/blogfinger
http://blogs.sun.com/testbed
http://blogs.sun.com/bharath
http://blogs.sun.com/jeffhuber
http://blogs.sun.com/mac
http://blogs.sun.com/evoljennifer
http://blogs.sun.com/123
http://blogs.sun.com/greenbeing
http://blogs.sun.com/bobs
http://blogs.sun.com/dadelhardt
http://blogs.sun.com/matthewartz
http://blogs.sun.com/bobp
http://blogs.sun.com/valvik
http://blogs.sun.com/siva
Wednesday Mar 14, 2007
Yes, it's just tax time and I've still put off my taxes. I have this vision of the day it just somehow happens automatically.
The good news is it's almost over, but not too late to get some tax credits for doing good for the environment. According to this article, there are four areas which need to be considered before considering
whether or not someone qualifies for an energy tax credit (U.S.) if the system was placed into service from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008.
Those areas are:
- Solar energy systems
- Fuel cells
- Home improvements
- Efficient cars
I hear it's tricky so go to the source to find out the fine print or consult your CPA!
Thanks for tip Hugg.
Thursday Mar 08, 2007
Build a Green PC
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click on image for full view
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March 2, 2007
Build a Green PC
By John Brando
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[PCMag.com]
Global warming is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, which trap
heat so it can't escape the atmosphere. Although cars, factories and
power plants do most of the damage, the computer
is at least partly to blame. A PC uses 200 to 400 watts, depending on
its configuration and use. By comparison, a refrigerator uses about 725
watts, but a DVD player uses only 25 watts, and your TV is right around
100 watts. A high-performance gaming rig with a powerful graphics card,
multiple hard drives and optical drives, a flash memory reader, and a
30-inch LCD might consume as much as 750 watts! Leave such a beast
running constantly and you might see an extra $40 to $50 on your
monthly electrical bill. Ouch.
Yet PC energy consumption
is only part of the problem. The manufacturing process for computer
parts also has an effect. The typical computer these days contains
significant amounts of lead, which is used in soldering motherboards, processors,
and other parts. Since the average lifespan of a PC is just three
years—according to the EPA—the toxic effects of disposal are quite
high.
In Europe, regulations for lead-free computing
such as RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment), are designed to reduce the
effects of hazardous waste. Yet many U.S. PC makers have all but
ignored the problem.
That's
where you can help. Building a green PC means you can be part of the
solution by using all lead-free parts that are also more
energy-efficient. Continued... | |
Thursday Mar 01, 2007
Kudos to Sun and the JavaOne team...
<snip>
The JavaOne Conference is concentrating on being more environmentally
friendly. As a conference we have evaluated where we can make a
difference in our efforts and have opted to create a significant
virtual campaign and while printing we have chosen to use recycled
paper and soy-based inks. Onsite at the Moscone Center there is a
significant recycling program and attention on the use of electricity.
Below is an outline of what is being "saved" as a result of these
changes.
Continue to check this page to see other ways we are conserving and our partners are conserving as well.
Not registered yet? Register today.
Thursday Mar 01, 2007
This appeared in the March/April issue of Sierra Club Magazine highlighting Sun's role as an eco responsible company. The story is packed with facts and figures, which resulted in a very informative piece.
<SNIP>
IF IT CONSUMES ENERGY, Dave Douglas wants to know
about it. Vice president of eco-responsibility for Sun Microsystems, a
Silicon Valley company with $13 billion in annual revenue, Douglas
oversees all of Sun's environmental efforts. That includes managing the
environmental impacts of a 38,000-employee corporation and every one of
the products it sells--including computer servers, which run the Web
sites, networks, and databases of virtually any corporation or large
organization you can imagine.
No issue is too small: One of Douglas's recent blog entries fretted
over the volume of greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture and
transport of the freebie briefcases he receives at environmental
conferences, as well as the planetary effect of traveling to those
confabs. "Are sustainability conferences sustainable?" he asked.
FULL STORY
Wednesday Feb 28, 2007
Today there is a "trend story" on Silicon Valley's efforts of being green and responsible, highlighting Sun Microsystems in the story lead -- with Sun's thought leadership with our servers, Open Work program, our approval by Ceres as a "Ceres company", and the naming of Sun's vice president of eco responsibility, David Douglas. (see his informative blog as well).
How
green is Silicon Valley? Well, with some heavy February downpours
following one of the driest Januarys on record, positively verdant is
the answer right now.
The same could be said for the environmental record of the Valley’s high-tech companies.
Sun
Microsystems this month became the first Californian technology company
to be approved by Ceres, a national coalition of investors,
environmental groups and other organisations, who work with companies
to address sustainability issues and global climate change.
Sun
has a vice-president of eco responsibility and announced “the
industry’s first eco-responsible servers” in December 2005, drawing
only as much power as a household light bulb, according to the
citation. It also kept nearly 7,000 cars off the road last year by
allowing employees to work from home whenever possible, and 95 per cent
of its products are being recycled.
FULL STORY
Monday Feb 26, 2007
<snip>
Feb. 26, 2007 — Martin Scorsese may have won Best Director, but Al Gore wore the crown in Hollywood last night.
Former Vice President Al Gore (L) applauds Davis Guggenheim after
winning an Oscar for his documentary feature 'An Inconvenient Truth' at
the 79th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 25,
2007. (Gary Hershorn/Reuters)
Thursday Feb 22, 2007
At least one company claims they've found a way to convert greenhouse gas (GHG) into useful materials within a "bioreactor". How? Simple: Make genetically engineered E. coli bacteria which will then produce an enzyme (carbon anhydrase) that will convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into bicarbonate. Otherwise known as baking soda. Or limestone.
I stumbled upon the article in Technology Review titled "Capturing Carbon with Enzymes, A New Process Turns Greenhouse Gas Into Useful Materials" tonight while doing my standard before-shuteye hunt for blogworthy green nerd news. (Thanks for sharing this, JiltedCitizen on Hugg.)
<snip>
A new way to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks produces a raw
material that can be sequestered underground or turned into substances
such as baking soda, chalk, or limestone. CO2 Solution, of
Quebec City, Canada, has already tested its process on a small
municipal incinerator and an Alcoa aluminum smelter. Its scientists are
now working with power-plant equipment giant Babcock and Wilcox on ways
to adapt the technology to a coal-fired generating station.
Thursday Feb 22, 2007
Thanks Andrew for sharing these LED lights spotted on Thinkgeek, to continue the conversation on my "Lights Out for Old Bulbs" post.
<snip>
LED Light Bulbs also have these great features.
- Long life - up to 10 years
- Low power consumption (about 1/30th of a standard bulb)
- Output: Vivid (31 Lumens), Vivid Plus (60 Lumens), Spotlight (120 Lumens)
- Great in a directional lamp for reading, mood or porch light
- These bulbs are generally not intended as a complete
replacement for incandescents - these bulbs are lower output but more
focused
- 120V bulbs
- Two-year warranty
