Green Building

National Priorities List of Superfund sites adds seven
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is added seven hazardous waste sites to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. They include two facilities in York, NE and single facilities in Norphlet, AK; Windham, ME; Fairfield, NJ; Ridgewood, NY and Collierville, TN. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country to protect people's health and the environment. >> Read the Full Article
New hopes for getting the lead out of solar
Solar energy is arguably our most viable low cost energy source. It is forever sustainable and easily captured and converted. But now the technology may have taken yet another leap forward. To date the foundational technology behind photovoltaics was a structure called perovskite, which has been made with lead. Using tin instead of lead perovskite as the harvester of light, a team of Northwestern University researchers has created a new solar cell with "good efficiency". This good efficiency... >> Read the Full Article
Green Success: The J.M. Smucker Company Practices Sustainable Demolition
For more than 115 years, The J. M. Smucker Company has been a leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils. The company's leading peanut butter brand, JIFÂ®, is produced at the company's Lexington plant, which is the largest peanut butter-producing facility in the world. The Lexington site is on 28 acres, which included eight or nine older buildings recently purchased from a neighboring lumber yard. In order to facilitate an... >> Read the Full Article
Thoughtfully green Mother's Day gifts for your mother and Mother Nature
No one is more special that your own mother - especially on Mother's Day. Celebrate your own mother and "Mother Nature" with one of these five great green gift ideas. These options offer a sustainable alternative to the chemical-laden flowers and mass-produced chocolates that dominate the market on Mother's Day. 1. Buy eco-friendly flowers- Although they are a beautiful part of nature, flowers aren't always eco-friendly. Most flowers are grown with a slew of chemicals and pesticides. They... >> Read the Full Article
Oil underpinnings in Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park, classified as a World Heritage site sits amongst the Rwenzori Mountains on the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It spectacular features include its most well known residents, hippos and mountain gorillas. It is believed to have more biological diversity than any other protected area in Africa, no doubt in large part due to its mountain forests, wetlands, savanna grassland, volcanoes and lakes. >> Read the Full Article
The EPA is enhancing sustainability: one Great Lake at a time
Two Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants were awarded on Friday totaling $1 million earmarked towards Chicago green infrastructure projects. The projects will improve water quality in Lake Michigan. The infrastructure projects will prevent stormwater from carrying contamination into Lake Michigan. >> Read the Full Article
Unleashing the inner green consumer
Academics have uncovered a key influence in the consumer's decision to go green, whether it's recycling, composting or buying environmentally friendly products. Research from Concordia University's John Molson School of business, proves that even just asking ourselves, or predicting, whether we will engage in sustainable shopping behavior can increase the likelihood of following through â€” especially when there's an audience. >> Read the Full Article
The Evolution of Earth Day
Each year April 22nd, marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the environmental movement in 1970. Not only did this movement help pass landmark legislation like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act but it has also engaged more than 1 billion people who now participate in Earth Day activities each year. >> Read the Full Article
That sinking feeling on the Mississippi Delta
Every engineering control has its drawbacks. As communities upstream of the Mississippi Delta continue to emplace dams and other flood control measures to prevent community flooding, less sediment is pulled from the lands upstream. Flood control measures have eliminated about half of the annual supply of marshland sediment to the Mississippi Delta. The existing soils continue to compact and sink without sediment replenishment. But researchers have found that the riverâ€™s supply of sand, the... >> Read the Full Article
Bacardi Makes Energy Efficiency Upgrades to Its Rum Facility in Puerto Rico
Bacardi Ltd. is a world famous maker of rum, but the company is becoming known for something else: its sustainability measures. After highlighting significant reductions in water and energy use in its 2013 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, Bacardi recently announced new energy efficiency measures. These measures include installing solar skylights, which increase natural light, and ceiling insulation, which helps control temperatures in the companyâ€™s warehouses where rum sits... >> Read the Full Article