Lights Out Savings as Lincoln Tunnel to Save $283k Annually with LED Retrofit

A lighting retrofit to be completed this month in the Lincoln Tunnel will save the Port Authority of New Yorkand New Jersey more than $283,000 in annual energy savings. The cost of the $2.1 million project will be paid from the accrued energy savings.

United Airlines to Introduce Recyclable Cups

Airline recycling efforts in America began with flight attendants.

It may be the most cliched line in the airline industry but when a United Airlines flight attendant asks you whether it's, "coffee or tea?" they'll soon be handing it to you in a recyclable cup as the airline announced that they are doing away with Styrofoam cups on their flights effective next month.

The Styrofoam replacement, known as the InCycle cup, is made from 50 percent post-consumer recycled content. One recycled plastic bottle can produce four and a half of these environmentally friendly coffee cups.

Nine Green Things You Should Know About Hemp

A farm bill passed by the House of Representatives includes an amendment to grow hemp for academic or agricultural research purposes in states where industrial hemp farming is already legal. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), instrumental in getting the hemp bill provision included on the Senate Farm Bill said, "We are laying the groundwork for a new commodity market for Kentucky farmers." Kentucky is one of the 10 states that can now benefit from the passing of the hemp amendment.

UN Secretary-General Appoints Michael Bloomberg Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change

NEW YORK — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced January 31, 2014 the appointment of Michael Bloomberg of the United States as his Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change.

Mr. Bloomberg will assist the Secretary-General in his consultations with mayors and related key stakeholders in order to raise political will and mobilize action among cities as part of his long-term strategy to advance efforts on climate change, including bringing concrete solutions to the 2014 Climate Summit that the Secretary-General will host in New York on 23 September.

Offshore Energy in New York? Forum Tonight to Discuss Merits of Port Ambrose Project

With natural gas prices in the Northeast at an all time high and temperatures at an all time low you would think that a plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) port off of Jones Beach would be met with much applause. A forum tonight on the future of offshore energy in New York City is sure to get tempers flaring, blood boiling and the discussion will certainly be heated.

Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address has Climate Change on Frontburner

President Obama addressed the nation last night and discussed climate change as an opportunity for America going forward. It has been a while since the president spent as much time discussing climate change in a State of the Union address.

In his intro, the president made mention that autoworkers are producing the "most fuel efficient cars in the world", that America is weaning itself off of foreign oil and that for the first time in 20 years America is producing more oil at home than it imports.

He later devoted 10 paragraphs to climate change and climate change innovation!

Holocaust for Dolphins and Sharks in Peru

Mass Slaughter of Dolphins for Shark Bait Documented

Lima, Peru -- As many as fifteen thousand dolphins are killed yearly for use as shark bait and human consumption by Peruvian fishermen.

An expedition conducted by the marine conservation organizations BlueVoice, based in USA, and Peru-based Mundo Azul has returned with video and photographic evidence of a massive hunt for dolphins carried out by Peruvian fishermen. This expedition follows an earlier expedition conducted by the two groups in collaboration with UK-based Ecostorm.

Walgreens to Build Nation’s First Net Zero Energy Store

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens announced on March 7, 2013 plans to build what the company believes will be the nation’s first net zero energy retail store, which engineers predict will produce energy equal to or greater than it consumes. Walgreens plans to achieve that by utilizing solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal technology, energy-efficient building materials, LED lighting and ultra-high-efficiency refrigeration.

Health, Social and Economic Benefits of Global Leaded Gas Phase-Out

New York (UN) - Improvements in IQ, reductions in cardiovascular diseases, and decline in criminality are among the annual US$2.4 trillion benefits linked to ridding the world of leaded petrol.

These economic benefits, outlined in a new scientific study, may prove to be even higher if other diseases and factors such as cancer and rising urbanization, where the impacts of lead pollution are higher, were brought into the calculations.

MGM Highest Ranking Casino on Newsweek's List of Greenest Companies

LAS VEGAS - For the second consecutive year, MGM Resorts International has been listed among Newsweek Magazine's 500 most environmentally responsible companies in the United States, and also as the highest ranking company in the casino resort industry.

The company ranked as the third most highly rated hotel company on the list, and was one of only two hotel companies to move up in this year's rankings.

New York Students to Survey Neighborhood Trees

New York City high school students will survey neighborhood trees next week as part of a program to teach students to think about the urban environment.

The students hail from the NYC iSchool. The iSchool program is geared to engage students in meaningful work in real world situations and provide the in-house classroom structure to support that development.

Center for Sustainable Energy Opens in Brooklyn Park

Center for Sustainable Energy Opens in Brooklyn Park

Wax On Wax Off: New Enviro Surf Wax

As a surfer, it is your responsibility to be aware of your impact on the environment. It is every surfer’s obligation to protect and care for the place that gives us so much enjoyment. After all, without a healthy ocean ecosystem, surfing would be nonexistent. Everything from driving in search of waves, wetsuit production (and disposal), surfboard foam and resins, and even wax, have an impact. Surf wax is the only product in surfing which is truly disposable, yet is required by every surfer, for every session. The goal of wax is to displace water, while remaining sticky, and petroleum-based products are extremely effective at accomplishing those goals.

NYC Reduces GHG Emissions by Almost Five Percent in One Year

In conjunction with Climate Week NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that NYC was well on its way to meeting the commitments of the four-year-old PLaNYC.

Mayor Bloomberg said that, “We cut City government’s greenhouse gas emissions 4.6 percent during the 12 months ending June 30th, compared to the previous fiscal year. That keeps us on course to hitting our 2017 goal."

European Parliament Calls for Fast Action to Cut Non-CO2 Climate Forcers

Washington, DC – The European Parliament is calling for fast action to reduce non-CO₂ climate forcers including black carbon soot, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane, and ground-level ozone, which together are responsible for nearly half of climate forcing. The Parliament's call for action came in a Resolution passed today by an overwhelming majority (578 to 51 with 22 abstentions).

The Resolution calls for a comprehensive climate policy and “stresses that in addition to considering CO₂ emission reductions, it should place emphasis on strategies that can produce the fastest climate response,” specifically strategies to cut black carbon soot, HFCs, methane, and ground-level ozone. Because these climate forcers are short-lived, reducing them produces a fast climate response.  This is in contrast to long-lived CO₂, where a significant portion remains in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Even cutting CO₂ emissions to zero today will not produce cooling for a thousand years.

Eco Art by Christopher Rodrigues @ NYC's RARE Gallery

New York City's RARE Gallery is pleased to announce ". . . all of you on the good Earth," an exhibition of Planets, a series of otherworldly photo-collaged digital images by British/Canadian artist Christopher Rodrigues. The show, which runs from June 30 to August 12, marks Rodrigues' solo debut at RARE.

The exhibition's title directly references the Apollo 8 crew's 1968 Christmas Eve address that was broadcast live from the Command Module during lunar orbit as the Earth came into view over the Moon's horizon. Much like the televised images beamed back to Earth during the mission, Rodrigues' focus is on a planetary view of nature, where the entire solar system is home to isolated, Eden-like environments, inherently sick places, and those made uninhabitable because of human interference.

Bank of America to Invest $2.6 Billion in Rooftop Solar

NEW YORK - Rooftop solar generation takes a giant leap forward as a consortium of companies led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch to build the largest distributed rooftop solar generation project in the world. The loan guarantee - from the Department of Energy -  supporting $1.4 billion of debt facilitates a total project size of about $2.6 billion, which is being financed entirely by the private sector over the next four years.

This distributed solar project will generate employment across 28 states and will create the equivalent of more than 10,000 full-year jobs. Once fully funded and completed, these installations are expected to provide approximately 733 megawatts (MW) of distributed solar energy, which is enough clean, renewable energy to power approximately 100,000 homes.

ISO Launches ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard

With energy one of the most critical challenges facing the international community, the publication on 15 June of the ISO International Standard ISO 50001 on energy management systems is an eagerly awaited event because it is estimated the standard could have a positive impact on some 60 % of the world’s energy use.

ISO 50001 will provide public and private sector organizations with management strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs and improve energy performance.

Expedition to Study Gulf of Mexico EcoSystem

BATON ROUGE, LA - Ocean Alliance, the University of Southern Maine and Albemarle Corporation launched a 14-week scientific voyage on June 8, 2011 to study the impacts of recent oil spills and natural disasters on the Gulf of Mexico, one of the world's most important ocean habitats.

The scientific mission left Key West, Florida with a ten-person team aboard the 93-foot floating laboratory, Odyssey. The team will collect samples from fish, squid, krill, sperm and Brydes whales, and the water from depths of up to 3,000 feet to try to monitor and gauge the health of the Gulf ecosystem. The expedition, set to leave on World Oceans Day, is supported by a number of foundations and individuals as well as by primary sponsor Albemarle.

NHL Makes Stanley Cup 2011 Water Neutral

NEW YORK – NHL Green, the National Hockey League's sustainability initiative, unveiled the NHL Water Restoration Project on June 1, an unprecedented commitment to balancing the League's water footprint that will make the 2011 Stanley Cup Final the first ever water-neutral series in League history.

Through the project, the NHL has pledged to restore at least one million gallons of water to Oregon's Deschutes River, replenishing an important resource in a critically dewatered ecosystem.  Total water used throughout Rogers Arena and TD Garden, from the faucets to the ice surface, will be tracked and its equivalent restored through Bonneville Environmental Foundation's Water Restoration Certificates™.

"This is a monumental statement on the part of the NHL, its fans, teams, and players," says Todd Reeve, Vice President of Watershed Programs at the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.  "This commitment to match water used on the ice and in the arena with an equal amount restored to a critically dewatered river represents a cutting edge commitment to sustainability."

The portion of the river that runs between the City of Bend and Lake Billy Chinook is known as the Middle Deschutes River. It is a scenic gem with the potential to support world-class recreation and functioning aquatic ecosystems.  However, water rights holders, individuals who in addition to property ownership possess a legal right to remove river water for "beneficial economic use", divert most of the river's water at Bend.  These disruptions of stream flow have degraded habitats, resulting in poor water quality and a decline in the overall health of the river.  The NHL Water Restoration Project will help return the Middle Deschutes to the vibrant watercourse it once was.

Water not only is essential to the planet, but it's key to business -- especially when your business is hockey.  Many NHL players learned to play the game on outdoor ponds.  NHL Green is committed to keeping those bodies of water available for the next generation of hockey stars.  As droughts, water rationing and water pollution become more prevalent, water stewardship is developing into a top priority among the League's sustainability plans.

Innovative Market Solution to Water Sustainability

Historically, water rights holders have had to adhere to policies that foster a "use it or lose it" model for water use, resulting in waste, overconsumption and the deterioration of watercourses.  New, progressive water laws now consider water left in rivers and streams to be a "beneficial use", meaning water may be restored to rivers and streams without forfeiting the landowner's water rights.  

In 2009, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) created Water Restoration Certificates (WRCs), to provide an economic incentive for water rights holders to contribute to restoration efforts.  BEF's WRC program is the first national-level, market-based solution that restores flow to deteriorating fresh water resources in the United States.  BEF's WRCs help critically dewatered rivers and streams become healthy and flowing again.

The NHL Water Restoration Project provides financial support for BEF in its collaboration with the Deschutes River Conservancy, the organization facilitating negotiations with local water rights holders and managing construction of stream flow restoration projects in the Deschutes basin. The State of Oregon assures compliance by both parties.

Standards and criteria for the program have been certified by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to ensure water is returned in ways that provide the greatest environmental benefit to rivers, streams and fish and wildlife populations.  The League's purchase of each WRC is officially recorded and available for view online through Markit Environmental Registry.

The National Hockey League partnered with Bonneville Environmental Foundation for the 2011 NHL Winter Classic and 2011 NHL All-Star Game, purchasing 426 Renewable Energy Certificates to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the development of new renewable energy facilities.  In 2009 and 2010, BEF was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Energy and the Center for Resource Solutions as Green Power Supplier of the Year.