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Source: Green Living Tips.com

The Precautionary Principle And The Environment

Most of us carry insurance; even though whatever we’re insuring ourselves against is unlikely to happen. The fact it could happen and the results being financially disastrous; it makes sense to take out coverage – just in case.

Insurance could be considered a form of observing the “precautionary principle”, a term you may have heard in connection to environmental issues.

However, insurance isn’t about avoiding events – just dealing with the outcome of a disaster.

The precautionary principle focuses on looking at the potential of any action or event for harm and if the chance of harm is too great or the harm too severe; to take evasive action.

While the precautionary principle has its roots in Germany in the 1930’s (Vorsorgeprinzip), when it related to household management, a more modern definition was developed at a meeting of environmental leaders in 1998, which states:

“When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

A very good example of applying the precautionary principle environmentally speaking is in relation to climate change. Just a few years ago, we had far less information than what we have now on the phenomenon.
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Source: Fierce Healthfinance.com

Large hospitals consume an outsized amount of energy compared to other buildings in the United States, and are therefore a potential target for cost-savings, according to a new survey from the U.S. Energy Information Agency .

The EIA survey concluded that although large hospitals comprised less than 1 percent of all commercial buildings nationwide and less than 2 percent of all commercial floorspace, they consumed more than 4 percent of all the energy used by the commercial sector in 2003.

Moreover, that consumption has increased to 5.5 percent of all commercial uses, according to Forbes.

However, many hospitals say they have some form of energy conservation program in place, whether overt or indirect. For instance, nearly 90 percent of hospitals say they have some form of lighting conservation in place, and about 85 percent use multi-layer glass in their windows, according to the survey.

For those hospitals that actively embrace conservation programs, the potential cost reductions are dramatic. The University of California-Davis Health System saved about $400,000 during the first year of an environmental initiative, while Kaiser Permanente is saving about $26 million a year through environmentally-conscious purchasing programs.

To learn more:
– read the EIA survey
– here’s the Forbes article

Source: Fuel Fix.com

SAN FRANCISCO – Come November, California will open North America’s first full-scale carbon market, in which companies buy and sell the right to emit greenhouse gases from their factories, power plants and oil refineries.

It’s a major undertaking involving hundreds of companies and — potentially — billions of dollars. So on Thursday, California officials plan to stage a dress rehearsal.

The California Air Resources Board will hold a practice auction, giving future players in the carbon market a chance to see how the process works in real time. The board, which has spent years developing the market’s rules and mechanisms, will have a chance to test their handiwork before the first real auction, on Nov. 14. Starting in 2013, auctions will be held four times per a year.

“We think we’re in pretty good shape, but this will give everyone a chance to see how it’s working,” said Dave Clegern, spokesman for the board.

But the trial run, held over an electronic exchange, won’t answer the larger questions surrounding “cap and trade.”

Carbon markets are designed to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases over time at the lowest possible price. Government officials set an overall emissions limit, or “cap,” which declines year by year. Companies buy and sell permits — called “allowances” — to emit greenhouse gases at their facilities. Businesses that are able to slash their emissions can sell their spare allowances to other companies that are having a hard time making cuts. As the cap lowers over time, the price of the allowances goes up.

The European Union has a carbon market, created in 2005, that spans most of the continent. And in North America, a coalition of northeastern states and Canadian provinces opened a limited carbon market, in 2008, that covers only emissions from power plants.

But carbon markets are fiendishly complex, and changes in the rules can have big effects on the companies involved. California’s market will include power plants, oil refineries and factories that emit more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases each year.

California’s oil refiners have been pushing to have all the allowances given away for free at the start of California’s carbon market. The current rules could push some refineries — which have limited options to reduce their own emissions — toward closure in a state where gasoline costs more than $4 per gallon, they say.

“This trial auction doesn’t do anything to resolve that,” said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association. “We really have between now and November to deal with this issue. And if they don’t deal with this issue, we don’t think they should go forward with the auction.”

Some environmentalists, meanwhile, question whether the carbon market will lower emissions as quickly as the state hopes. The market is the result of a 2006 California law that calls for cutting the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

“I’m not expecting this to be a disaster by any means — what I’m wondering about is, over the next five years, will we see any real reductions?” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California.

The state’s carbon market also will open in the long shadow cast by California’s electricity crisis. Manipulation of the state’s recently restructured electricity market in 2000 and 2001 helped trigger blackouts, sent power prices soaring and pushed Pacific Gas and Electric Co. — the state’s largest utility — into bankruptcy.

The Air Resources Board has spent years trying to anticipate ways that traders might similarly game the new system. As a result, the board has adopted strict limits on the number of allowances any trader or company can have, so no one can corner the market.

Most companies that are required to participate in the auctions can hold no more than 15 percent of the allowances that are available for sale. Traders can hold no more than 4 percent.

All parties that plan to trade in the allowance auctions must deposit — 12 days in advance — all of the money needed to pay for their bids, with Deutsche Bank handling the deposits. Within 48 hours after the auction, a market-monitoring company will tell the board whether any unusual trading patterns emerged that could reveal manipulation. There’s also a market surveillance committee made up of experts from Stanford University, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Those steps won’t deter every trader from looking for ways to exploit the market, the board acknowledges. “We figure someone will try, and we hope we’re ready,” Clegern said.

Thursday’s practice auction will take place on an electronic trading platform from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Companies that will be required to trade in November’s real auction don’t have to participate in Thursday’s trial run on an electronic trading platform, but about 150 are expected to do so. No actual money will change hands, and no settlement price will be publicly posted.

Source: Joel Makower, Chairman & Executive Editor

A new ruling by the U.S. and other national governments is roiling the arcane world of “Material Safety Data Sheets,” mandatory documents designed to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner.

A United Nations protocol, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals has been created to replace the various classification and labeling standards used in different countries by using consistent criteria for classification and labeling on a global level.

That means chemical manufacturers around the world are being asked to overhaul tens of thousands of safety data sheets, or SDSs (the word “material” was dropped), to conform. This is no small thing: The global chemical business is more than a $1.7 trillion per year enterprise.

In March, the U.S published its final rule for complying with the global guidelines. It requires product manufacturers to adopt the standard by June 1, 2015, and product distributors to adopt the standard by December 1 of that year. Workers must be trained by December 1, 2013.

Next week, on September 5, we’ll be hosting a webcast. that shows how two manufacturers, Dow Corning and Champion Technologies, are responding. Join my colleague John Davies, as he explores the challenges, and solutions, that are being faced by thousands of companies. It’s free; registration required.

Source: Joel Makower, Chairman & Executive Editor

A new ruling by the U.S. and other national governments is roiling the arcane world of “Material Safety Data Sheets,” mandatory documents designed to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner.

A United Nations protocol, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals has been created to replace the various classification and labeling standards used in different countries by using consistent criteria for classification and labeling on a global level.

That means chemical manufacturers around the world are being asked to overhaul tens of thousands of safety data sheets, or SDSs (the word “material” was dropped), to conform. This is no small thing: The global chemical business is more than a $1.7 trillion per year enterprise.

In March, the U.S published its final rule for complying with the global guidelines. It requires product manufacturers to adopt the standard by June 1, 2015, and product distributors to adopt the standard by December 1 of that year. Workers must be trained by December 1, 2013.

Next week, on September 5, we’ll be hosting a webcast. that shows how two manufacturers, Dow Corning and Champion Technologies, are responding. Join my colleague John Davies, as he explores the challenges, and solutions, that are being faced by thousands of companies. It’s free; registration required.

Reprint from ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2012)

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are some of the strongest materials on Earth and are used to strengthen composite materials, such as those used in high-performance tennis rackets. CNTs have potential uses in everything from medicine to electronics to construction. However, CNTs are not without risks. A joint study by the University of Missouri and United States Geological Survey found that they can be toxic to aquatic animals. The researchers urge that care be taken to prevent the release of CNTs into the environment as the materials enter mass production.

“The great promise of carbon nanotubes must be balanced with caution and preparation,” said Baolin Deng, professor and chair of chemical engineering at the University of Missouri. “We don’t know enough about their effects on the environment and human health. The EPA and other regulatory groups need more studies like ours to provide information on the safety of CNTs.”

CNTs are microscopically thin cylinders of carbon atoms that can be hundreds of millions of times longer than they are wide, but they are not pure carbon. Nickel, chromium and other metals used in the manufacturing process can remain as impurities. Deng and his colleagues found that these metals and the CNTs themselves can reduce the growth rates or even kill some species of aquatic organisms. The four species used in the experiment were mussels (Villosa iris), small flies’ larvae (Chironomus dilutus), worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) and crustaceans (Hyalella azteca).

“One of the greatest possibilities of contamination of the environment by CNTs comes during the manufacture of composite materials,” said Hao Li, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at MU. “Good waste management and handling procedures can minimize this risk. Also, to control long-term risks, we need to understand what happens when these composite materials break down.”

The study on CNTs toxicity to aquatic animals was a collaboration between engineering faculty and students at MU and U.S. Geological Survey researchers led by Christopher Ingersoll. The first author of the study, Joseph Mwangi, came to the project via a minority student fellowship. The EPA funded the research with a $400,000 grant. The results were published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Baolin Deng is C.W. LaPierre Professor of Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia.