Documents recently added to GLRPPR sector resources

These publications were recently added to GLRPPR’s Sector Resources. This list is continuously updated on the web and is also available as an RSS feed.

ECOBOT
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:54:50 GMT
ECOBOT a free, open-source Adobe AIR app that calculates your carbon footprint by measuring the fuel, power, and paper you use. And it does much of this automatically. By tracking your carbon consumption, it’ll help you see where you have the most negative impact so you know where to put the three Rs into action. Aside from reducing, reusing, and recycling, it can link you to places where you can offset your carbon totals. Mac only.

The Carbon Capture Report
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:42:01 GMT
The Carbon Capture Report monitors news services from around the world to offer the latest news on carbon capture, carbon sequestration, and climate change, updated every 24 hours, 7 days a week. The service scans English-language news articles from nearly every country of the world each day, compiling a list of all articles mentioning these topics, and preparing a series of analytical reports to make it easy to continually keep track of what the world’s media is saying about carbon capture.

New rating system certifies landscape sustainability
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:51:06 GMT
A new environmental rating system will certify sustainable landscape projects, doing for the outdoors what LEED has done for “green” buildings.

Beyond the Black Cloud: Looking at Lifecycles
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:46:13 GMT
Looking at the full impact of any type of product or device — rather than, say, the cloud of exhaust in front of you on the highway — opens the door to a whole new understanding of how design…

Thinking Outside the Box on Packaging Design
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:41:31 GMT
Take a look at any consumer product on a store shelf and you’ll see why packaging is a growing concern for environmentalists. A simple electric razor, for example, is sold encased in a clear, rigid, molded plastic container (usually unopenable and virtually indestructible!) that houses a variety of separately packaged components: a cardboard box containing the razor blades, a power cord in a shrink-wrapped plastic tube; plastic-wrapped batteries; and another shrink-wrapped packet with various instructions and warranty cards.

Fieldprint Calculator
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:20:13 GMT
The Fieldprint Calculator is a simple tool designed to help you begin to look at how your crop production operations impact the sustainability of your farm. This calculator is directly correlated to Field to Market’s national level outcomes indicators for corn, cotton, soy and wheat. It provides general information based on the practices that are mostly likely to influence your energy use, climate impact, soil loss, and water use. They also consider your land use with respect to your level of productivity associated with the amount of acres in production. Future versions will include modules that factor in impacts to water quality and biodiversity as well.

The Financial Resource Guide for Cleanup & Redevelopment
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:43:04 GMT
Brownfields are abandoned, idle or underused industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by known or suspected contamination. They vary in size, location, age and previous usage. A brownfield can be rural or urban, and can range from a closed corner gas station in a small village to a vacant industrial plant in a major urban area. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the Department of Commerce have prepared this guide to provide information on options to help finance brownfield cleanup and redevelopment. [PDF, 62 pages]

Green Mobile Devices: Regulatory, Consumer, and Industry Drivers for Corporate Social Responsibility
Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:51:51 GMT
Living in an age of disposability has led many durable goods manufacturers to explore ways of reducing the environmental footprint their products leave during their manufacturing process and throughout their lifecycle. The sheer volume of mobile phones produced annually and the propensity of users to chase mobile technology trends leads to an average replacement cycle of between 12 and 18 months, bringing special attention to the greening efforts of mobile device manufacturers. As consumer awareness and environmental legislation continue to evolve, handset vendors are developing their corporate responsibility initiatives to develop new business practices aimed at improving the compliance and environmental sustainability of their handsets. The European commission and industry-led initiatives have made great progress in developing a set of requirements and goals for developing sustainable business practices across the entire life cycle of handset production, distribution, use and disposal. This study identifies and explores key global handset initiatives and the handsets that are coming to market as a result of vendors’ efforts to minimize their environmental impact. It also offers an analysis of US consumer interest, awareness and preferences of green handset vendor initiatives. Available for purchase from ABI Research at this URL.

Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2005
Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:50:40 GMT
Estimates of water use in the United States indicate that about 410 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d) were withdrawn in 2005 for all categories summarized in this report. This total is slightly less than the estimate for 2000, and about 5 percent less than total withdrawals in the peak year of 1980. Freshwater withdrawals in 2005 were 349 Bgal/d, or 85 percent of the total freshwater and saline-water withdrawals. Fresh groundwater withdrawals of 79.6 Bgal/day in 2005 were about 5 percent less than in 2000, and fresh surface-water withdrawals of 270 Bgal/day were about the same as in 2000. Withdrawals for thermoelectric-power generation and irrigation, the two largest uses of water, have stabilized or decreased since 1980. Withdrawals for public-supply and domestic uses have increased steadily since estimates began. (PDF, 60 pp)

Towards Sustainable Production and Use of Resources: Assessing Biofuels
Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:47:19 GMT
This report is designed to provide an overview of some of the key issues associated with the sustainable production and use of biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. [PDF, 120 pp]

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