Author: Laura L Barnes

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2008 Schaeffer Environmental Award Recognizes Marilyn Jones

[Post author: Wayne Duke]

Printing Industries of America is pleased to announce that Marilyn Jones, President and Owner of Consolidated Printing Company in Chicago, Illinois, is the recipient of the 2008 William D. Schaeffer Environmental Award. Established in 1990 and named for environmental pioneer and researcher Dr. William Schaeffer (1922-2003), the Schaeffer Award honors an individual who has made significant contributions towards environmentally sound practices in the printing industry. Dr. Schaeffer was widely known and respected for his ongoing environmental advocacy and leadership for the graphic communications industry.

Since the company’s beginning in 1973, Ms. Jones has taken steps to ensure that Consolidated Printing maintains its profitability while complying with local, state, and federal statutes and regulations; protecting employee health and well being; and operating as a good citizen of the community. The company mission is “to provide high quality printing services with a zero impact on the environment.”

Recognizing that printing is among the top ten most toxic industries in the U.S., Ms. Jones has focused her career on actively pursuing the elimination of toxic chemicals in the printing process. Consolidated Printing uses an all-natural process without toxic chemicals that are harmful to workers, the community, or air, land and water. In early years, common household products were substituted for harmful chemicals-cooking oil as a roller lubricant, vinegar as a neutralizer, and fabric softener as a wetting agent. Ms. Jones works with suppliers to eliminate harmful substances in chemicals and offers her shop as a willing beta test site for products that could potentially be safer for the environment. Today, Consolidated Printing uses an all-vegetable process, including inks, pigments and solutions, and the company is petroleum and carcinogen free.

In recognition of Consolidated Printing’s accomplishments and level of environmental sustainability, Ms. Jones has received awards from the Illinois EPA, three Illinois Governors, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and the Chicago Department of the Environment. In addition, Consolidated Printing has been asked to open a second location to provide the printing services at the Business Service Center for the Green Exchange, a retail and office facility that will house some 100 businesses, all of them environmentally and socially responsible. The first of its kind in the U.S., the Green Exchange building is a four-story, 272,000 square-foot former factory being converted according to LEED Platinum standards and incorporating a wide array of green building features and benefits.

Throughout her 35 years as a printer, Ms. Jones has used her own resources and initiative to ensure that others learn of the many ways a firm can print responsibly, honoring the environment as well as the health and well-being of the persons who produce printed product. She was involved in the development of the Great Printers Project, the first team in the nation seeking to create a business environment conducive to pollution prevention for the entire printing industry. Consolidated Printing became the first printing company in Illinois to achieve Great Printer status in 1997. The company then produced a film with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and Ms. Jones and other Consolidated Printing employees traveled the state with IEPA representatives to raise awareness of the Project among printers. Hoping to establish an “effective and easy to understand program for complying with OSHA regulations,” the Consolidated Printing staff also participated in a national OSHA project for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Working with several printing companies, Consolidated Printing formulated teaching materials to be utilized by printing companies across America in the National Pilot Project.

Ms. Jones works continuously to spread the word about sustainability and green in the printing industry. Outreach efforts include speaking engagements; educational and environmental committee involvement; exhibiting at a variety of facilities and events; participation on panels, blogs, You Tube and internet radio shows. Environmental sustainability in the printing industry has also been taught by Ms. Jones during weekly tours of Consolidated Printing for clients, printers, suppliers, associations, and radio and television crews, which have resulted in recent segments on Chicago’s WLS Channel 7, NBC Channel 5, and Good Morning America. She makes herself accessible to all who wish to learn of her pioneering practices.

The William D. Shaeffer Environmental Award is presented annually at the National Environmental Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference. This year’s NEHS Conference will be held March 16-18 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Indiana suspends some grant programs.

[Post author: Bob Iverson]

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Like rest of nation, The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is trying to adjust to the current economic climate.

As all levels of government across the country grapple and adjust to
landmark budget reductions, IDEM is working to effectively manage grant and loan programs while safeguarding Hoosier tax dollars.

IDEM is temporarily suspending state-funded grant and loan programs for
business and local government recycling and pollution prevention projects. These loan and grant programs require local government and businesses to put up matching dollars, which may not be feasible at this time because of the economy. State grant and loan programs temporarily suspended include: Waste Tire grants, Recycling grants, Pollution
Prevention grants, Public Education Promotion grants, Household
Hazardous Waste grants, and Recycling Market and Development Program loans.

“Current programs and local recycling programs offered by local Solid Waste Management Districts should not be affected, and the public will still be able to find recycling services and information provided by IDEM and their local overnment,” said Thomas Easterly, IDEM
commissioner. “And the temporary change should have no adverse impact on
the numerous stewardship and pollution programs or federally-funded grant and loan programs IDEM facilitates.”

“IDEM is still continuing to provide free technical assistance on recycling efforts, and this base of knowledge is invaluable,” said Rick Bossingham, assistant commissioner for IDEM’s Office of Pollution
Prevention and Technical Assistance. “We strongly encourage businesses
and citizens to tap into this valuable state resource and wealth of information to identify and find alternative ways to conduct operations in a manner that is more efficient, yet environmentally-friendly.”

Additional information about IDEM and its programs can be found at www.idem.IN.gov.

About IDEM
IDEM (www.idem.IN.gov) implements federal and state regulations
regarding the environment. Through compliance assistance, incentive
programs and educational outreach, the agency encourages and aids
business and citizens in protecting Hoosiers and our environment.

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Getting viral with it…

[Post author: Scott Butner]

Lightning storm and brush fire, West Richland, August 7 2008 — #41 in Explore on Aug 15!, originally uploaded by Scott Butner.

Had an interesting experience in the phenomena known as viral media the other day, which I think might have some relevance to the world of P2.

I had taken a series of photos of a rare eastern Washington lightning storm — we don’t get them very often — which I’d posted to my Flickr site. It was sort of a dramatic shot, and not too surprisingly it soon became one of my most visited photos — racking up about 700 views in the first week.

Then, one day last week, someone posted it to the social recommendation site, Digg.com.

In the next 5 hours, it was downloaded 18,000 times. In the next 3 days, it was downloaded nearly 39,000 times — 3 times as often as ALL of my 2,500 other photos combined.

We live in an age where attention spans are short, but once you capture the (internet) public’s attention, you can get a huge amount of focus almost immediately. Problem is, making this happen is almost like lightning — hard to control, hard to predict.

Figuring out how to get the P2 message out on the viral media — places like YouTube, Flickr, and Digg — ought to be the focus of some real attention. Perhaps a workshop session at the next NPPR meeting?

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A new name for Agency

[Post author: Bob Iverson]

It’s a new day for us with a different name, a different leadership, and a renewed commitment to our values.

The Waste Management & Research Center is now known as the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). The new name better represents the goals and direction of the organization.

The name change is part of even larger changes at ISTC. The Center is now part of the University of Illinois. It joined the other scientific surveys (Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, and Illinois Natural History Survey) in moving out of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The four organizations are now part of the Institute of Natural Resources Sustainability at the University of Illinois.

“We are excited about the move to the University of Illinois,” said ISTC Acting Director Gary Miller. “The research, knowledge, and educational goals of the scientific surveys will be greatly enhanced by the strong research and academic excellence of the University of Illinois.”

The ISTC staff remains committed to providing real world solutions to real world problems – solutions that bridge the gap between the natural resources and the human ones. Sustainability examines how to make human economic systems last longer and have less impact on ecological systems, and particularly relates to concern over major global problems such as climate change. By putting “Sustainable Technology” in our name, ISTC is showing its commitment to providing the ideas and systems to reduce environmental impacts and enhance the bottom line.

ISTC will continue to offer direct technical assistance from specialists, energy and pollution prevention assessments, a sophisticated analytical laboratory, research funding to explore a wide range of environmental issues, and information on environmental and pollution prevention issues. In addition, ISTC will continue to serve as the coordinating agency for regional and national programs including the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable and the Printers’ National Environmental Assistance Center.

Becoming part of the University of Illinois and changing our name will require ISTC to make a variety of changes to our website, letterhead, forms, e-mail address, etc. Please bear with us in the coming weeks and months as we make these needed adjustments.

ISTC will continue to maintain office on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign, and in OakBrook, Peoria, and Brighton.

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Documents recently added to GLRPPR sector resources

Below are some of the recent additions to GLRPPR’s sector resources. These updates are also available as an RSS feed.

  • BuildItSolar: The Renewable Energy Site for Do-It-Yourselfers
    Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:27:08 GMT
    Build It Solar includes plans, tools and information to do renewable energy and conservation projects. Includes links to The Half Project, one family’s program to cut their energy use, energy costs, and CO2 emissions in half. Excellent resource for DIY solar information.
  • Guidelines for Avoiding Wood from Endangered Forests
    Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:44:25 GMT
    This document includes examples of key high-demand tree species extracted from endangered forests. The document also includes examples of more environmentally sound alternative materials and their sources.
  • Drive Green
    Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:51:06 GMT
    Compilation of articles, video, and blog entries from Popular Mechanics about energy-efficient driving and alternative fuel vehicles. Includes features on new technologies, test drives of new vehicles, analysis, tips, and related material.
  • Online News Hour: Alternative Fuels
    Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:49:58 GMT
    News and features about alternative automotive fuels such as ethanol, natural gas, hydrogen, electric, and biodiesel. Includes reports, case studies, classroom materials, and interactive features such as “How Does Your Car Stack Up?” that considers carbon dioxide output and fuel costs.
  • Edmunds Green Car Guide
    Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:54:40 GMT
    This buying guide features articles on fuel-efficient cars, alternative fuels and new technologies (such as biodiesel, electric, and compressed natural gas), hybrid vehicles, improving gas mileage (covering “hypermilers,” who try to beat the EPA average fuel economy ratings), and oil and gas prices. From Edmunds, producers of consumer automotive information.
  • Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings
    Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:59:25 GMT
    This paper provides the first credible evidence on the economic value of the certification of “green buildings” in the commercial sector — value derived from impersonal market transactions rather than engineering estimates. We match publicly available information on the addresses of Energy-Star and LEED-rated office buildings to a commercial data source detailing the characteristics of U.S. office buildings and their rental rates. We analyze the micro data on 694 certified green buildings and on 7489 other office buildings located within a quarter mile of the certified buildings. We find systematic evidence that rents for green offices are about two percent higher than rents for comparable buildings located nearby. Effective rents, i.e., rents adjusted for the occupancy levels in office buildings, are about six percent higher in green buildings than in comparable office buildings nearby. At prevailing capitalization rates, conversion of the average non-green building to an equivalent green building would add more than $5 million in market value. These results are robust to the statistical models employed.
  • Truckers – Clean Diesel Grants and Loans
    Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:41:30 GMT
    This page is designed for truck owners seeking information about loans and grants for eligible clean diesel projects under the National Clean Diesel Campaign.
  • Drinking Water Treatability Database
    Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:51:06 GMT
    The Drinking Water Treatability Database (TDB) presents referenced information on the control of contaminants in drinking water. It allows drinking water utilities, first responders to spills or emergencies, treatment process designers, research organizations, academicians, regulators and others to access referenced information gathered from thousands of literature sources and assembled on one site. It includes more than 25 treatment processes used by drinking water utilities. The literature includes bench-, pilot-, and full-scale studies of surface waters, ground waters and laboratory waters. The literature includes peer-reviewed journals and conferences, other conferences and symposia, research reports, theses, and dissertations.
  • Adapting to Climate Change: A Business Approach
    Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:17:43 GMT
    This report outlines a sensible business approach to analyzing and adapting to the physical risks of climate change. It focuses on a critical first step in assessing these climate impacts: understanding the potential risks to business and the importance of taking action to mitigate those risks. Not all businesses need to take action now; this paper develops a qualitative screening process to assess whether a business is likely to be vulnerable to the physical risks associated with climate change, and whether a more detailed risk assessment is warranted.
  • Do Your Part! for Climate Friendly Parks
    Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:56:27 GMT
    Do Your Part! for Climate Friendly Parks is the first interactive online program in the country that provides national park visitors and supporters with the tools to understand and reduce their carbon footprints and thereby help to protect our national parks from global warming. Do Your Part! is sponsored by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) in support of the National Park Service’s Climate Friendly Parks program. Do Your Part!’s interactive mapping feature lets you explore park goals and the progress park stakeholders are making towards those goals. Its carbon calculator provides the tools you need to understand your current carbon footprint and then set goals to reduce your impact. Its tracking tool displays progress in real time towards park and related group goals.
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Tech Tip: Google Guide and my favorite Google tricks

Developed by Nancy Blachman, Google Guide is a comprehensive resource for getting the most out of web search using Google. Although most of the information here is also available through Google’s Help Center (http://www.google.com/support/), the tutorial format is unique. I also like the links to Google cheat sheets for advanced search and the calculator. They are based on Google’s own cheat sheet, which is also available in the Help Center.

Although I realize that most people (except for search geeks like me) probably won’t ever use most of the features that Google has to offer, there are a couple of features that I use often and find very helpful. They are:

define:

The query [define:] will provide a definition of the words you enter after it, gathered from various online sources. The definition will be for the entire phrase entered (i.e., it will include all the words in the exact order you typed them).  See the results of define:biomimicry for an example.

site:

If you include [site:] in your query, Google will restrict the results to those websites in the given domain. See the results of biodiesel site:glrppr.org for an example.

What’s your favorite Google search trick? Share in the comments.

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RSS in Plain English

[Post authored by Tyler Rubach]

As the web developer and resident “geek” of our office, I’m asked a lot questions regarding technologies that are shaping the web. One of the most common questions I get is “What’s so cool about RSS anyhow?”. While I fancy myself as someone who can speak technology in “Plain English”, the folks at Common Craft have created a video demonstrating simply and effectively why RSS is such a great tool. Check it out below!

Now that you’re an expert on consuming RSS feeds, here are the RSS feeds that GLRPPR offers:

If any of you have any additional tips or tricks with regard to RSS feeds, please leave a comment.

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EPA National Dialogue on Environmental Information

[Post author: Scott Butner]

During the month of May, the EPA Office of Environmental Information (OEI) is hosting a national dialogue on environmental information, inviting all of its stakeholders to comment on what we’d like to see from EPA in terms of information — sources, formats, etc.

I’ve worked with EPA on the issue of environmental information for many, many years — I have not seen them as receptive to new ideas as they seem to be recently, at any time before.  Take a few moments to participate in the conversation, and especially to speak up  for the need for improved P2 related information, which is barely registering in the comments people have made to date.

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The Boolify Project

I found this search tool last week and though it would be of interest to those of you who are more visually oriented. It’s targeted toward elementary and middle school students, but should appeal to anyone who is a visual thinker.

The Boolify Project was designed to make it easier to for people to understand their web search by illustrating their search logic and by showing them how each change to their search instantly changes their results. Use the green pieces for your key words or phrases, then pull down the and/or/not pieces to link concepts. It’s a very nice way to design complex searches. There are also some great links on Boolean searching and web site evaluation in the Curriculum section.

Keep in mind that search results are presented through Google’s “Safe Search STRICT” technology, so if you’re searching for something that might be filtered, your results may not be complete.