The 42-inch Econova LED TV consumes 40 watts in eco-mode, uses a solar remote control, and has a partly recycled aluminum stand. It features a Zero Power Switch, which reduces power consumption to 0W when the TV is turned off. Its on-board battery is recharged by clean solar energy to reduce the impact on the environment.

Greenpeace says it is the first TV free of chemicals like PVCs and BFRs, and places Philips “well ahead of other TV manufacturers.” In September, the Econova was given the European Green TV 2010-2011 award by the European Imaging & Sound Association.

Solar Impulse, the group whose goal is to fly an airplane around the world propelled solely by solar energy, has proven that night flight using solar energy stored in batteries in possible.

On July 7, 2010, just before 7 in the morning, the prototype Solar Impulse HB-SIA took off from Payerne military airfield for a memorable flight.

André Borschberg piloted the solar-powered aircraft with a wingspan of 64 meters on a non-stop flight lasting more than 26 hours. In the night of July 7-8, the Solar Impulse flew using solar energy stored in the batteries in the course of the day.

It was intended to be the longest and highest flight in the history of solar-powered aviation: the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) immediately awarded the Solar Impulse three new world records in the Solar Powered Airplane class. Based on the technical organization and adjudication by the Swiss Aero Club, the FAI ratified the following flight records, owned by André Borschberg:

- Absolute height: 9235 m

- Height gain: 8744 m

- Duration: 26 hours, 10 minutes, 19 seconds

Visit a 3-D animation that explores the Solar Impulse plane inside and out at http://www.solarimpulse.com/index.php.

Of course, the best is to bring your own cup to the coffee shop, but, in fact, scores of people still use paper cups at coffee shops around the country. Now Starbucks has proved that used paper cups can be recycled into new paper cups.

The cup-to-cup pilot was conceived earlier this year at Starbucks’ second cup summit, which was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The two-day symposium convened government officials, raw material suppliers, cup manufacturers, retail and beverage businesses, recyclers, conservation groups, and academic experts to develop a plan for improving local recycling systems.

While some communities already recycle Starbucks paper cups, most do not have the infrastructure in place to handle collection, hauling, and processing due to a lack of demand for cup material by the recycling industry. To date, Mississippi River is the only pulp mill in the U.S. that has successfully recycled used cups into fiber suitable for producing new cups.

“What’s really exciting about the cup-to-cup concept is that it has the potential to benefit not only Starbucks, but the entire foodservice industry,” said Greg Wanta, vice president of International Paper Foodservice, the largest manufacturer of Starbucks paper cups. “If we can continue to prove the value of used cup material generated by Starbucks and other retailers, we can help increase recycling rates in communities across the country.”

“We’re looking forward to working with Starbucks, International Paper, and other stakeholders to take the pilot project to the next level,” said Rob Garland, chief executive officer at Mississippi River. “Based on what we’ve seen so far, we think this is a very promising path.”

Starbucks currently has another recycling pilot project underway in New York. The company is collecting paper cups at 86 of its Manhattan stores to determine whether they can be recycled into bath tissue and paper towels. In early 2011, Starbucks plans to launch a new recycling pilot in Chicago, aiming to transform the company’s discarded paper cups into napkins for use in its stores. Over the past year, Starbucks has introduced front-of-store cup collection in Toronto and Seattle, where its cups can be recycled, and in San Francisco, where its cups can be composted.

To learn more about cup-to-cup recycling, visit ipfoodservice.com. For information about Starbucks recent recycling initiatives, visit starbucks.com/responsibility2009.

Pittsburgh achieved Milestone Five for monitoring and verifying the results of its efforts to reduce GHG emissions. (Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce)

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability  USA honored 20 cities and counties that have achieved significant milestones in reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during a Milestone Awards ceremony at its Local Action Summit, held in September in Washington, D.C. (See list of winners below.)

Through ICLEI USA’s proven Five Milestone process, hundreds of local governments and communities large and small take concrete steps to measure their GHG emissions, set realistic emissions reduction goals, develop hands-on climate action plans, and implement those plans in a measurable way that will yield results.

“The Milestone Awards recognize the great work of cities, towns and counties that are actively engaged in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and want a better quality of life for their residents,” said Mayor Patrick Hays, City of North Little Rock, AR, and President of the Board of Directors, ICLEI USA.  “Each step of our Five Milestone process is critically important to ensuring local success and achieving measurable reductions.”

Since 1993, ICLEI USA has held 130 Five Milestone recognition events for local governments.  Since then, more than 300 local governments have received recognition for their various Milestone accomplishments. Over the past year, the pace of Milestone attainment has accelerated, with 52 local governments completing one or more.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see so many cities, towns and counties actively engaged in our Five Milestone process and being recognized for their accomplishments,” said Martin Chávez, Executive Director, ICLEI USA and three-term Mayor of Albuquerque, NM. “Through the success of the Five Milestone process, local governments are on track to reduce GHG emissions by 1.36 billion metric tons by 2020—the equivalent of taking 25 million passenger vehicles offs the road for 10 years—an incredible achievement being led by our local governments.”

The following ICLEI USA local government members were recognized with a Milestone Award:

• MilestoneOne: Conduct a baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventory and forecast. Iowa City, IA

• Fairbanks, AK
• North Miami, FL
• Richmond, VA

Milestone Two: Adopt emissions reduction goals

• Alexandria, VA
• Charlottesville, VA

Milestone Three: Develop a local climate action plan for how to reach the goals.

• Chevy Chase, MD
• Eugene, OR
• Loudoun County, VA
• Las Vegas, NV
• New Haven, CT
• Park City, UT
• Queen Anne’s County, MD
• Tacoma, WA

Milestone Four: Implement policies and measures from the climate action plan.

• Bellingham, WA
• Township of Hamilton, NJ
• Stamford, CT

Milestone Five: Monitor and verify results in reducing GHG emissions.

• Austin, TX
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Seattle, WA

For more information on ICLEI USA’s Five Milestone process, visit  http://www.icleiusa.org/action-center/getting-started/iclei2019s-five-milestones-for-climate-protection

For more information on these awards and ICLEI USA’s Local Action Summit, visit http://www.icleiusa.org/main-page/news-events/iclei-local-action-summit-2010

About ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA

With more than 600 members nationwide, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA is the leading local government association addressing climate change and sustainability.  As a nonprofit membership organization, ICLEI USA provides the expertise, technical support, training and innovative tools to help local governments advance their climate, energy and sustainability goals.

NWEI’s hallmark program is a series of discussion courses available for small groups anywhere in North America.  The courses provide an enjoyable, supportive setting in which to examine personal values and habits, engage in stimulating conversation, create meaningful community, and consider ways to take action towards creating a more sustainable future.

NWEI discussion course study guides are manuals for a self-facilitated course experience, taken informally by small groups in a home, at your workplace, your center of faith or any place where people naturally gather. Course guides range from $20 to $35.

An estimated 5,000 are expected to participated in A World of Health curriculum over the coming year. The curriculum is part of an on-going effort by NWEI to educate and inspire people to make small lifestyle changes that have a long-term, positive benefit for themselves and the planet. Since its launch in 1993, more than 125,000 people in all 50 states have participated in NWEI discussion courses.

The discussion-based curriculum for personal health is called A World of Health: Connecting People, Place and Planet and consists of six sessions, including videos, readings, assignments and group discussion questions.

While the course is not prescriptive in nature these are a few of the actions that come up for consideration:

• Examine your food products for packaging that contains bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical with harmful health consequences.
• Map the accessibility of your neighborhood via walking and biking to encourage to a healthier lifestyle while also reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
• Consider the broader health impacts brought about by a consumer-based culture.
• Make your own household cleaners. They cost much less, are just as effective and are a safer alternative to relying on harsh, toxic commercial products. Effective cleaning products can be made with borax, washing soda, distilled white vinegar, baking soda, salt, club soda, cooking oil and lemons. On their own or combined together, you can make scouring powder, furniture polish, an all-purpose cleaner and more!
• Use a reusable bag to haul groceries—plastic bags aren’t biodegradable and, when discarded, become problematic for people and wildlife alike. And shop smart—the stuff in the bag has a larger impact than the bag itself.

WASHINGTON

Purchases of green power help to prevent greenhouse gas emissions and also help accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity across the United States.

To participate in the challenge, a local government must join EPA’s Green Power Partnership and use green power in amounts that meet the program’s purchase requirements. The local government must also conduct a campaign to encourage local businesses and residents to collectively buy or produce green power on-site in amounts that meet EPA requirements.

More than 30 cities and towns in Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin have become green power communities, and are collectively buying more than 900 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from the electricity use of nearly 80,000 average American homes.

The campaign is designed to expand upon the successes of the program, aiming to double the total aggregate amount of green power used by EPA Green Power Communities. As part of the national campaign, communities will compete to see which one can use the most green power and which one can achieve the highest green power percentage of total electricity use. There will be a separate award for each category with national recognition and special attention from EPA. The winners will be announced in September 2011.

During the challenge, from Sept. 20, 2010, to Sept. 1, 2011, communities will be ranked for the two award categories on EPA’s website on a quarterly schedule; EPA will also provide technical assistance to help participants increase their green power usage.

Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conven tional power technologies, and produce no net increase of greenhouse gas emissions.

More information on EPA’s Green Power Community Challenge:http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/gpcchallenge

More information about EPA’s Green Power Communities:
http://epa.gov/greenpower/communities/index.htm

The magazine for everyone who is interested in a sustainable world

Features include articles about the latest news and trends in green products and living green, sustainable building, alternative energy, technology and science, online resources, and green events.

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Be sure you…
…add the email greenmag@brockpub.com to your email Contacts list so our magazine is not filtered or blocked.

Privacy
Privacy is important to us. Therefore, Green Magazine and its partners will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone. At any point, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe, or to receive less or more information.

Green living gets a lift from a futuristic flashlight: brilliant portable LED light source, no batteries, recharges in minutes and durable construction. The 5.11 Tactical Light for Life™ is a professional grade flashlight with advanced capacitor technology that eliminates the need for batteries, and that’s bright news for the environment. At $169.99 it’s promoted as a flashlight that will last a lifetime.

On a conservative estimate, about three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. Batteries can also leak and are potentially explosive.  5.11’s breakthrough ultracapacitor technology has eliminated the use of any batteries; so there are no batteries to recharge, recycle or contaminate our landfills, not to mention the cost savings on replacement batteries. Because the ultracapacitors are made of mostly carbon and aluminum and they don’t contain any heavy metals and are RoHs compliant.

A rechargeable flashlight without batteries

Light for Life™ utilizes a sophisticated energy management system called FlashPoint? Power Technology. This technology utilizes environmentally friendly ultracapacitors that work together with revolutionary computer circuitry to efficiently manage how energy is loaded into the flashlight, and then optimizes how the energy is dispersed to maximize both performance and runtime. 5.11’s Light for Life™ flashlight fully charges in 90 seconds when stored on the base and delivers up to 4 hours of total runtime with no battery fade.

Rugged and Durable

In addition to being green, the 5.11 Tactical light is built to last a lifetime.  This durable flashlight was created to meet the demands and reliability of law enforcement and rescue teams. It remains the light of choice for police, fire and rescue units across the U.S. Constructed of a firearm-grade, high-strength polymer, the water-resistant casing is fully sealed against the elements with solid-state construction. It’s abrasion, crack and bend-resistant with temperature-tolerant ultracapacitors rated at -40° F to 149° F (-40° C to 65° C).

Brilliant Light

The high-performance Light for Life™ UC3.400 produces 270 peak lumens in bright mode, 90 lumens in standard mode, and has a 270-lumen tactical strobe…all recharged in 90 seconds. The three LED bulbs on the flashlight are rated for 50,000 hours and never have to be replaced. Its performance remains virtually un-degraded for a minimum of 10 years without replacing anything.

Learn more about 5.11 Light for Life™

Learn how an all-electric vehicle works.

Ford Motor Company has announced first markets that will sell the Focus Electric, Ford’s first all-electric, zero CO2-emissions passenger car.

The first markets selected for Ford Focus Electric: Atlanta, Austin and Houston, Texas; Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Orlando, Fla., Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va., Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

The Focus Electric initial markets were chosen based on several different criteria including existing hybrid purchase trends, utility company collaboration and local government commitment to electrification. As part of the collaboration with dealers, utilities and local governments, Ford will help develop consumer outreach and education programs on electric vehicles as well as share information on charging needs and requirements to ensure the electrical grid can support customers’ needs.

Last month, Ford launched a new educational Web site on electric vehicles (http://www.fordvehicles.com/technology/electric/). The site offers video, text and diagrams to help consumers understand differences in the technologies of electrified vehicles.

Focus Electric, available in late 2011, will be built at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. Production will occur on the same line as the gasoline version of the Focus. Using an existing vehicle platform and assembly line will give Ford the ability to vary production based on demand for the Focus Electric.

Instead of a traditional gas engine, the Focus Electric’s motor will be powered by a 23 kwh lithium-ion battery. The system utilizes liquid heating and cooling system to maximize battery life and driving range.

Collaboration between Ford and local authorities

Ford has been working with local government agencies and utilities in several of the selected markets to help prepare for the adoption of electric vehicles. Efforts focus on development of consumer outreach and education programs on electric vehicles as well as shared information on charging needs and requirements to allow for ease of consumer charging and to ensure the electrical grid can support the necessary additional demand.

As part of its electrification outreach, Ford has been conducting the “Charging Into the Future: The Ford Electric Vehicle Tour.” The 14-city tour promotes Ford’s electric vehicle strategy and educates consumers about what to expect from electrified automobiles and what is needed from the public and private sector to support this new technology.

Ford also will launch five new electrified vehicles in Europe and North America. In addition to Focus Electric, Ford will introduce the Transit Connect Electric small commercial van, two next-generation lithium-ion battery hybrids and a plug-in hybrid. The range of electrified vehicles allows Ford to address a variety of consumer driving needs.