These publications were recently added to GLRPPR’s Sector Resources. This list is also available as an RSS feed at http://www.istc.illinois.edu/info/library_docs/SectorRSS.htm.
Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Consumer and Technology Companies
Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:16:22 GMT
This report from Ceres and the RiskMetrics Group is the first comprehensive assessment of how 63 of the world’s largest consumer and information technology companies are preparing themselves to face the climate challenge.
Breaking the Climate Deadlock: A Global Deal for our Low-Carbon Future
Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:09:29 GMT
This report from The Climate Group finds that scaling up energy efficiency and renewable energy while avoiding deforestation can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, and are much-needed steps to achieve global climate goals.
Hydrogen Technology Steams Ahead
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:45:17 GMT
Could the cars and laptops of the future be fuelled by old chip fat? Engineers at the University of Leeds believe so, and are developing an energy efficient, environmentally-friendly hydrogen production system. The system enables hydrogen to be extracted from waste materials, such as vegetable oil and the glycerol by-product of bio-diesel. The aim is to create the high purity hydrogen-based fuel necessary not only for large-scale power production, but also for smaller portable fuel cells.
Dumpster Diving: A Green Strategy That Pays Off for Retailers
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:39:33 GMT
Retailers that put green practices to work at their facilities can save tens of millions of dollars a year by managing resources and waste more aggressively, according to SSA & Company.
Corn-Based Ethanol in Illinois and the U.S.: A Report from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:39:39 GMT
The U.S. ethanol boom — what are the causes, attendant effects on Illinois and U.S. agriculture, and alternative futures? These are some of the issues addressed in this report from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics and the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois. The goal of this report is to provide objective information to Illinois stakeholders, cutting through the emotional, political and economic self-interests that often dominate discussions about ethanol production and use.
AASHE Releases Annual Review of Sustainability in Higher Education
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:07:52 GMT
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced the release of AASHE Digest 2008, which documents the continued rapid growth of campus sustainability in the U.S. and Canada.
Responsible Electronics Recycling: Turning Policy into Practice
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:01:48 GMT
IT professionals have become good environmental and privacy stewards during the past 10 years — on paper. Corporate policy now generally reflects the fundamental tenets of good electronics stewardship, requiring verifiable data destruction and forbidding the use of landfills and export in lieu of responsible recycling. As anyone who receives RFPs for IT asset disposition can confirm, the market has spoken.
E-Waste: When Landfills Are Not an Option
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:59:55 GMT
Headlines abound with stories of branded technology being fished out of rivers and landfills in developing nations leaking toxic metals into the water supply. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates roughly 400,000 tons of e-waste goes to recyclers every year, and that up to 80 percent of the materials sorted for recycling end up in operations in China, India, Southeast Asia and West Africa where it is disassembled and burned or dumped.
Microsoft Joins the Home-Energy Management Game with Hohm
Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:47:50 GMT
First it was Bing vs. Google, now it’s Hohm vs. Power Meter. Microsoft today launched Hohm, its still-in-beta (and as-yet-unavailable) home energy-management application.
Breaking the Barriers and Seizing the Moment
Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:46:05 GMT
Gil Friend, president and CEO of the consulting firm Natural Logic, is a veteran of the green business scene, dating back nearly 40 years, to his involvement in Buckminster Fuller’s “World Game.” He recently spoke with GreenBiz.com executive editor Joel Makower on the occasion of the publication of Friend’s new book, The Truth About Green Business.
Green Is the New Affordable
Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:50:02 GMT
Green is the New Affordable discusses the rationale behind the Green Communities Initiative; why now is the time for green communities. Green Communities is a five-year, $555 million initiative to create more than 8,500 healthy, efficient homes for low-income people and make environmentally sustainable development the mainstream in the affordable housing industry.[pdf document, 3 pp]
Wisconsin Senate Bill 107
Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:32:40 GMT
Text of the pending Wisconsin e-waste law. This bill passed the WI Senate and has arrived in the Assembly. Would require manufacturers of select consumer electronics (computers, printers and video display devices, such as TVs or monitors) to collect and recycle 80 percent of the weight of sold devices beginning in September. Beginning in February 2010, retailers can’t sell electronics made by manufacturers that are not registered with WDNR. Manufacturers failing to meet their targets would be subject to a shortfall fee after 2010. Those who exceed their goals may be eligible for recycling credits.
Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground
Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:31:55 GMT
On the outskirts of Ghana’s biggest city sits a smoldering wasteland, a slum carved into the banks of the Korle Lagoon, one of the most polluted bodies of water on earth. The locals call it Sodom and Gomorrah. It has become one of the world’s digital dumping grounds, where the West’s electronic waste, or e-waste, piles up — hundreds of millions of tons of it each year.
Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands Toolkit: A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators
Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:36:57 GMT
The new Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators is an updated and expanded version of Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Teachers and Interpreters, first published in 2001. The new kit is designed for classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers, etc., and is aimed at the middle school grade level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with six other federal agencies (National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USDA/Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management), developed the kit to aid educators in teaching how climate change is affecting our nation’s wildlife and public lands, and how everyone can become “climate stewards.”
Where to Recycle That Old TV Set
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:16:33 GMT
Well, now that the switch to digital television has taken place, the question arises: What, besides use it for a doorstop, does one do with the old, faithful analog television if one didn’t buy a converter box for it, or simply decided to upgrade to a new set?