Even as the climate science becomes more definitive, polls show that public concern in the United States about global warming has been declining. What will it take to rally Americans behind the need to take strong action on cutting carbon emissions?
As part of our ongoing celebration of green women during women’s history month, we are spotlighting ten women environmentalists in the United States who work tirelessly to protect the environment. Help us make this list more comprehensive by adding additional women who you feel have made an enormous difference with their conservation work in the comments section. Also do not forget to check out our list of women working in sustainability and women working in the solar and wind industries.
Job creation. Innovation. U.S. competitiveness. In the eyes of the top CEOs in the U.S., before these goals become reality, the foundation of policies and comprehensive climate and energy legislation needs to be laid by those who reside in Washington D.C. As such, more than 80 CEOs from U.S. businesses, from eBay to PG&E to Virgin America, have sent a letter to President Obama and members of Congress asking them to create the impetus to achieve these goals by enacting climate and energy legislation.
A well-crafted green lease provides an opportunity to improve landlord/tenant collaboration on sustainability issues, leading to increased building performance, including energy efficiency. Green commercial leases provide incentives to reduce energy use and water, and increase recycling and the use of sustainable materials. A green lease detailing the sustainable use of a building by landlord and tenant is critical to the performance of a green building.
Looking for a way to transition your career into the new green economy? Need to boost your resume in a tough job market? Achieving the LEED Green Associate (LEED GA) credential allows you to market your knowledge of green building to potential employers. This first level of LEED professional credentialing is designed for professionals who want to demonstrate green building expertise in non-technical fields of practice, and to demonstrate basic knowledge of green design, construction, and operations.
Will Kirksey, SVP of Worrell Water Technologies, is passionate about finding practical, ecological solutions to the increasingly urgent water issues in the US. I spoke with him at The New Green Economy Conference in Washington, D.C., just before he facilitated a session targeted at forming policy recommendations on sustainable water reuse. Worrell Water’s water reuse system, the Living Machine, was picked as one of the ‘coolest green products’ at Greenbuild, 2009. Will recently authored the white paper, Sustainable Water Infrastructure for the 21st Century.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized eight landfill methane capture projects for innovations to reduce their emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas — and in the process recover renewable energy. The Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) gives these awards to acknowledge excellence in innovation, successful project development that achieves both environmental and economic benefits.
Beginning February 1, 2010, an estimated 82,000 construction sites must comply with the EPA’s new regulation governing construction site discharge. The new regulation outlines stricter measures to reduce water pollution and the EPA expects compliance with the rule to reduce the amount of sediment and other pollutants discharged from construction sites by 4 billion pounds per year.
