At a time when major US companies are announcing job layoffs almost daily, the renewable energy industry is hiring new workers every day to build wind farms, install rooftop solar arrays, and build solar thermal and geothermal power plants. The output of industrial firms that manufacture the equipment for these energy facilities is expanding by well over 30 percent a year. These investments both create jobs and ...

It`s been about 25 years since vendors started marketing systems to process mixed municipal solid waste via composting in the U.S. Today, there are 13 plants, most fulfilling their niche in the communities they serve - whether managing MSW in high tourism areas, or processing residual organics from materials recovery facilities. Table 1 provides summary data on the 13 facilities. While we did not learn about any ...

On July 11, 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated (overturned) the US Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). Adopted in 2005, CAIR was a centerpiece of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) strategy to reduce multiple pollutants from major stationary sources. CAIR was expected to reduce power plant emissions in 28 eastern states and the District of Columbia to help areas ...

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) provide businesses a means to support renewable energy generation and meet clean energy goals. This fact sheet answers some basic questions about RECs and REC purchasing. What are RECs? Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as “green tags,” “green certificates,” and “renewable energy credits,” are tradable instruments which can be used to meet voluntary renewable ...

Science is meeting the challenge of finding ways to reduce Australia`s wasteful water practices and improve the way we use and manage this finite resource. In the regional NSW town of Goulburn, just down the road from Australia’s national capital, water supplies earlier this year fell to less than 10 per cent of capacity. In most of Australia’s major cities demand is close to or equalling supply availability. To ...

The rapid expansion in the quantity of used electronic and electrical appliances has created a need to safely dispose of the used equipment. The European Community has introduced regulations to enforce limits on the amount of toxic metals and organic chemicals used in the production of material. Compliance with the regulations will help prevent hazards for future generations when the equipment is recycled or ...

Can an old drill site be cleaned up without adding truckloads of contaminated soil to the landfill? Chevron Canada will be using a technology called thermal desorption to clean up a site located 13 kilometres southwest of Pincher Creek. Leif Sollid, spokesman for Chevron, who is the operator of the site, said they considered two options for the clean up. The soil is classified as a non-dangerous waste, but by law ...

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, there is a whole lot of flattery going on when it comes to environmental metrics.  Companies typically focus on three areas: regulatory requirements, reporting standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and industry benchmarking. That is fine for showcasing performance to external stakeholders, but this approach represents neither a metrics strategy nor ...

CO2 or CFC gases are hazardous and usually found more in electrical items like refrigerator, air-conditioners, freezers, etc than in electronic equipment. These bulky items or white goods do not level down to electronic waste recyclers but mostly happens to end at the local kabadiwallas. The kabadiwalas are one of the strong supply management sources in India, so waste is locally collected by them but quiet often ...

Management of soil organic matter (SOM) is important for soil productivity and responsible utilization of crop residues for additional uses. CQESTR, pronounced `sequester,` a contraction of `C sequestration` (meaning C storage), is a C balance model that relates organic residue additions, crop management, and soil tillage to SOM accretion or loss. Our objective was to simulate SOM changes in agricultural soils ...