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California’s Air Resources Board (ARB) is proposing new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The new rules aim to put 1.4 million electric, plug-in and hydrogen cars on California roads by 2025. In terms of GHG emissions, the ARB expects the regulation to result in a 75 percent reduction by 2025, which would be an absolute reduction of 52 million tons of GHGs – the equivalent of taking ten million cars off the road.

When the program is fully implemented, the annual fuel costs to operate a car will be reduced by an average of 25 percent, with an overall cumulative savings of $22 billion by 2025. Economic analysis by the ARB indicates that the overall savings generated by the proposed rules will result in an additional 21,000 jobs in California in 2025, rising to 37,000 in 2030.

California is acting independently of U.S. federal legislation. BC faces a similar situation, as it does not look likely that Ottawa will take any substantive action to address climate change.

Due to BC’s abundance of available clean energy, plug-in electric vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

The Plug-in BC Working Group recently announced a host of provincial programs to support increased use of clean energy vehicles (CEV) in BC. The CEV for BC program includes point of sale incentives (ranging from $2,500-$5,000 depending on vehicle type), and a residential rebate ($500 per station) for purchases of qualifying EV charging equipment

The provincial CEV strategy also includes an Infrastructure Deployment Demonstration Project, which involves funding for 400-1000 EV charging stations across the province.

Read the complete article at Environmental Protection On-Line

LA Testing provides analytical services to protect the public and help businesses comply with California’s Proposition 65.

Garden Grove, CA, January 2nd, 2012 — In 1986, California voters approved an initiative to address increasing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. That initiative, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, is better known by its original name of Proposition 65.

Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment.  This list includes lead acetate, a white crystalline chemical compound that has a sweet taste.  It was added to the Prop 65 list in 1988.

Lead acetate, like other lead compounds, is toxic.  It is used as a reagent to make other lead compounds and as a fixative for various dyes.  It has also been used as the active ingredient in hair coloring dyes and in some cultures as an ingredient in cosmetics.

Lead acetate is soluble in water and glycerin.  Due to its high toxicity it is imperative that any lead acetate be disposed of properly at hazardous wastecenters or chemical processing facilities.

“As with all products and manufacturing processes that utilize lead, it is important to minimize worker exposure to lead-based products and compounds as well as protect surrounding communities and the environment,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc., a leading environmental and industrial hygiene testing laboratory.  “Exposure can come from dusts, solids and water pollution.  Inhalation can cause dizziness and loss of consciousness.  Ingestion can result in nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness.  Worker exposure testing and environmental testing can determine if lead acetate and other forms of lead compounds are present to help prevent damage to human health and protect the environment from contamination,” he continued.

Read the complete article at Environmental Expert

Dec 19, 2011

For the first time, the chemical “fingerprints” of the element mercury have been used by University of Michigan researchers to directly link environmental pollution to a specific coal-burning power plant.

The primary source of mercury pollution in the atmosphere is coal combustion. The U-M mercury-fingerprinting technique – which has been under development for a decade – provides a tool that will enable researchers to identify specific sources of mercury pollution and determine how much of it is being deposited locally.

“We see a specific, distinct signature to the mercury that’s downwind of the power plant, and we can clearly conclude that mercury from that power plant is being deposited locally,” said Joel Blum, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Blum is co-author of a paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The lead author of the paper is U-M doctoral candidate Laura Sherman, who works with Blum.

“This allows us to directly fingerprint and track the mercury that’s coming from a power plant, going into a local lake, and potentially impacting the fish that people are eating,” said Sherman, who has worked on the project for four years.

Mercury is a naturally occurring element, but some 2,000 tons are emitted to the atmosphere each year from human-generated sources such as incinerators, chlorine-producing plants and coal-fired power plants.

This mercury is deposited onto land and into water, where microorganisms convert some of it to methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish and the animals that eat them. In wildlife, exposure to methylmercury can interfere with reproduction, growth, development and behavior—and may even cause death.

Read the complete article and Environmental Protection OnLine

Dec 19, 2011

For the first time, the chemical “fingerprints” of the element mercury have been used by University of Michigan researchers to directly link environmental pollution to a specific coal-burning power plant.

The primary source of mercury pollution in the atmosphere is coal combustion. The U-M mercury-fingerprinting technique – which has been under development for a decade – provides a tool that will enable researchers to identify specific sources of mercury pollution and determine how much of it is being deposited locally.

“We see a specific, distinct signature to the mercury that’s downwind of the power plant, and we can clearly conclude that mercury from that power plant is being deposited locally,” said Joel Blum, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Blum is co-author of a paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The lead author of the paper is U-M doctoral candidate Laura Sherman, who works with Blum.

“This allows us to directly fingerprint and track the mercury that’s coming from a power plant, going into a local lake, and potentially impacting the fish that people are eating,” said Sherman, who has worked on the project for four years.

Mercury is a naturally occurring element, but some 2,000 tons are emitted to the atmosphere each year from human-generated sources such as incinerators, chlorine-producing plants and coal-fired power plants.

This mercury is deposited onto land and into water, where microorganisms convert some of it to methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish and the animals that eat them. In wildlife, exposure to methylmercury can interfere with reproduction, growth, development and behavior—and may even cause death.

Read the complete article and Environmental Protection OnLine

This quick intro to Life Cycle Assessment covers the basics and looks as how life cycle thinking can be used to make better environmental decisions especially in the design and product development process. Providing snippets of info on LCA/LCT taken from a 90 min lecture given to design students in Melbourne in 2011, the video explores taking a life cycle approach in product design and development and explores the issue of environmental folklore when making environmental decisions.

Watch the short video at Environmental Leader

By Jeff Ferenc

With looming federal reimbursement reductions poised to burden already financially challenged hospitals, sustainability’s potential to cut costs stands like an oasis in the desert. But this is no mirage. More than ever, sustainability offers opportunities to cut costs and improve the environment.

In keeping with the pursuit of optimization and sustainable operations, exploring sustainability strategies inherently forces hospitals to assess whether each department and system serving a facility’s infrastructure is a peak performer. Experience shows that cost-saving opportunities exist at even the environmentally savvy hospitals and often require simple actions with minimal investments that can pay substantial financial dividends.

Health care facilities also are learning that sustainability is an ongoing process rather than a single event; no facility climbs the green mountain in one day. Developing and executing effective plans that make efficient use of energy, water, waste management and environmental services take time.

After a brief lull in activity in 2010, it appears that taking steps to cut energy costs is experiencing a rejuvenation, according to the 2011 Energy Efficiency Indicator survey administered by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), Johnson Controls’ Institute for Building Efficiency (IBE) and others.

Read the complete article at Health Facilities Management

OSU researcher hopes ultrasound can destroy pharmaceuticals, compounds we flush into rivers and lakes

Every time we flush the toilet, some of the compounds and medicines we take every day end up in our streams, rivers and lakes.

These “emerging contaminants” include antibiotics, birth-control drugs, antidepressants and caffeine.

As scientists better understand the threat these pollutants pose to wildlife and people, Ohio State University researchers are developing a method to destroy them before they cause harm.

A process that fires high-frequency sound waves through water holds great promise, said Linda Weavers, an OSU environmental engineer.

The idea is based on a similar technique she helped develop that uses ultrasound to clean mercury from lake and stream bottoms. “It works reasonably fast,” Weavers said. “You flip a switch, it works, and you don’t have to use a lot of chemicals.”

For years, environmental studies have detected a host of drugs, chemicals and compounds in waterways across the United States.

Read the complete article at The Columbus Dispatch

BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 13, 2011 /PR Newswire/ —  A car battery can lead a long and productive life, but sooner or later, this important part of the vehicle’s starting and charging system will need to be replaced. When the time comes to say goodbye to your car battery, rest assured that it’s being recycled by 98 percent of automotive aftermarket companies, including auto repair shops, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and jobbers, according to a study by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA).

As a result of these efforts, an estimated 65 million automotive batteries were recycled in 2010, equal to 1.5 billion pounds of lead, according to AAIA’s Aftermarket Factbook.

‘Battery recycling is just one of many ways automotive aftermarket companies contribute to a cleaner environment,’ said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. ‘These businesses have been ‘green’ long before being ‘green’ was mainstream.’

More than 95 percent of an automotive battery can be recycled. The lead, plastic, acid and sulfuric acid found in batteries are reclaimed and reused in the manufacturing of new batteries.

The lead is cleaned and melted and used in the production of new lead plates and other parts for new batteries. The plastic is cleaned and melted into pellets used to manufacturer new battery cases. Old battery acid can be neutralized into water, which after treatment, cleaning and testing, can be released into the public sewer system, or it can be converted into sodium sulfate and used in laundry detergent, glass and textiles.

In addition to recycling batteries, automotive aftermarket companies recycle tires, used oil and oil filters, parts cleaning solvents, scrap metal, plastics, cardboard and paper, a/c refrigerant, dunnage and wood pallets.

The study is part of AAIA’s initiative to illustrate the automotive aftermarket industry’s widespread efforts on behalf of the environment. The information is presented in AAIA’s ‘Driving Toward a Cleaner Environment: The Automotive Aftermarket’s Green Story,’ and in the short video, AAIA Green. For more information, visit www.aftermarket.org/green.

The Car Care Council is the source of information for the ‘Be Car Care Aware’ consumer education campaign promoting the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair to consumers. For a copy of the council’s Car Care Guide or for more information, visitwww.carcare.org.

Take the EPA Expert Quiz Now

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has always played a pivotal role in the Environmental Compliance, EH&S and Sustainability arenas. Since its creation over 30 years ago, whether developing and enforcing regulations, giving grants or publishing studies and research, the EPA has been a part of our professional lives in one way or another.

What better way to celebrate such a central institution than to test your knowledge about it? Just because you use the name every day, doesn’t mean you are an EPA expert. Or does it?

Take our challenge and have fun with it. Send it to your colleagues and start a competition in your office. You can compare scores, post your scores online or even print your certificate.

Accept the challenge – find out if you’re an EPA expert