Read the full story in The Guardian.
Innovation in packaging and refrigeration can reduce waste – as can changes in behaviour
Month: July 2014
Proceedings Now Available for EPA’s June 26 Heat Island Webcast
On June 26, 2014, EPA’s Heat Island Reduction Program hosted a webcast entitled Keeping Your Cool: How Communities Across the Country are Reducing the Heat Island Effect. The webcast provided an overview of the heat island effect, its impacts, and the strategies that communities can take to reduce urban temperatures, and showcased the actions that the cities of Los Angeles, Louisville, and Tucson are taking now to reduce their heat islands.
The presentation files, audio recordings, and transcripts are now available. The recordings and transcripts also include all questions posed to the speakers during and after the webcast, along with their answers.
Sustainability Certification for Biofuels
Read the full post from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Poorly developed biofuels pose severe environmental risks. Procurement officials and risk managers should use only the most stringent and protective certification standards available. Yet assessing how different certification systems rank across the product life cycle is a complex undertaking. That is why NRDC evaluated the performances of several of the major sustainability systems. The report looks at systems developed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the Council on Sustainable Biomass Production (CSBP), the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC), the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS), Bonsucro, and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
See the fact sheet for high-level results and the full report for a more detailed analysis with all evaluation criteria and indicators broken out.
The Internet of Things Will Thrive On Energy Efficiency
Read the full story in FutureStructure.
Among the Internet of Things’ most important functions will be to help individuals, communities and cities become smarter energy consumers.
San Jose’s New High-Tech Water Purification Plant to Expand Recycled Water Use
Read the full story in FutureStructure.
When the San Francisco 49ers’ stadium opens next month in Santa Clara, almost all of it will be new except for one thing: the water used to irrigate the field and flush the toilets.
Waste-to-Energy Technology Pitched in Maine
Read the full story at FutureStructure.
Most organics in trash are burned or placed into landfills, but with recent advances in enzyme technology those materials can be turned into engineered fuels.
Air Force Academy Pilots Food Waste to Energy
Read the full story in Future Structure.
The Academy looks to reduce energy use and cost at its wastewater treatment plant and convert food waste from its dining hall into energy.
Impact of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Coral Communities Is Deeper and Broader than Predicted
Read the full story from Penn State University.
A new discovery of two additional coral communities showing signs of damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill expands the impact footprint of the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery was made by a team led by Charles Fisher, professor of biology at Penn State University. A paper describing this work and additional impacts of human activity on corals in the Gulf of Mexico will be published during the last week of July 2014 in the online Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Seven fabrics inspired by nature: from the lotus leaf to butterflies and sharks
Read the full story in The Guardian.
Biomimicry brings nature and technology together to create exciting new fabrics that are smarter and more sustainable.
Rivals Walmart and Target make up over cosmetics
Read the full story in The Guardian.
The mega-retailers’ summit on personal care products is shrouded in secrecy. How could their alliance change the face of beauty?
Environmental News Bits 