Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 01/18/2008
This is the weekly bulletin of the TURI Library, reporting a selection of recently published titles we have acquired. Our pledge is to keep the bulletin relevant to your work and brief -- no more than 10 titles. You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of the articles listed here.
Titles here, abstracts below:
- The eco-patent commons
- State health officials fault lack of federal action on waterproofing spray
- Big cut for science of the small in Australia
- Halogens and halides
- Maine Governor receives final report on toxic chemicals
- Biochip mimics the body to reveal toxicity of industrial compounds
- Big firms invest in a greener China
- Healthy, clean & green: a workers' action guide to a greener workplace
- The master ROI table for office and building products
- Risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials: a survey of industrial approaches
1. The eco-patent commons
Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), 2008
Abstract: Members of the corporate community have banded together in a first-of-its-kind effort to help the environment, releasing dozens of innovative, environmentally-responsible patents to the public domain.
The Eco-Patent Commons is an initiative to create a collection of patents on technology that directly or indirectly protects the environment. The patents will be pledged by companies and other intellectual property rights holders and made available to anyone free of charge.
The Commons is a resource for connecting those who have had success with a particular challenge in a way that benefits the environment and those who are facing similar challenges.
The patents will be identified in a searchable Web site hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The Commons will be open to all - with global participation by businesses in diverse industry sectors. It will be fed with initial and subsequent patent pledges by companies that become members of the Commons. Through the Commons, the patents will be made available for free use by all, subject to defensive termination.
WWW: http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/ZEIBDcv6qNoaFm4L50M2/
Eco-Patent%20Commons%20Brochure_011008.pdf
2. State health officials fault lack of federal action on waterproofing spray
Author: Lipton, Eric
Source: The New York Times, December 29, 2007
Abstract: The Consumer Product Safety Commission is unnecessarily leaving the American public at risk through its failure to properly investigate a long-running series of lung injuries tied to widely available waterproofing sprays, public health officials from several states say.
The complaint concerns inexpensive sprays sold nationwide that rely on a water-repelling ingredient that contains a Teflon-like chemical known as a fluoropolymer.
Because the chemical resin is not considered hazardous at this concentration, federal laws do not require that spray-can labels mention its presence, and typically they do not, said Susan C. Smolinske, a professor of toxicology at Wayne State University in Detroit and the director of a Michigan regional poison control center.
But in the past several years, thousands of consumers are likely to have suffered respiratory problems — including shortness of breath, persistent cough and in some cases long-term lung injuries — after using these waterproofing sprays, Dr. Smolinske said, citing a smaller number of formal reports filed with poison control centers.
WWW: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/us/29consumer.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
3. Big cut for science of the small in Australia
Author: Ryan, Siobhain
Source: The Australian, January 14, 2008
Abstract: The Rudd Government's budget axe will fall on the technology behind self-cleaning windows and stain-resistant clothes, after unions expressed concerns over the safety of the emerging field of nanotechnology.
As Treasurer Wayne Swan seeks to make savings of more than $10 billion, it has been decided that one of the casualties will be the four-year, $21.5 million National Nanotechnology Strategy launched by the Howard government. It is to be cut short by two years, saving Treasury almost $12 million.
Mike Ford, associate director of the University of Technology Sydney's Institute for Nanoscale Technology, said the surprise decision could leave Australia "out of the game" on nano-technology.
"In terms of cutting the budget, it seems a very short-sighted thing to do because there's no doubt Europe, the US and Japan are putting a lot of money into these types of initiatives, and we're going to fall behind," he said.
WWW: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23047668-601,00.html
4. Halogens and halides
Author: Shea, Chrys
Source: Circuits Assembly, January 2008
Abstract: There’s been a lot of buzz about halogen-free and halide-free products. But what do halogen-free and halide-free actually mean? What exactly are halogens and halides? Why do we want to get rid of them? And why do we use them in the first place? I wanted to find out more about these families of chemicals getting so much attention.
I’m a mechanical engineer, and chemistry was never my strongest suit. When I hear the term “halogen,” I think of automobile headlights with brighter, more focused beams, not flame-retardants that contain bromine. But with the talk about halogen-free and halide-free, I felt compelled to ask a couple of chemists exactly what this meant. Of course, I didn’t understand their first explanation. So I asked them to rephrase their explanation in more basic terms, and they did. We went through this cycle a couple times. Eventually, I got it. It’s actually quite simple.
Still, I figured I’m not the only assembly engineer who has forgotten more than they remember about basic chemistry, so this month’s lesson learned is more or less a gearhead’s guide to halogens and halides, with a quick flashback to your high school chem class.
WWW: http://circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/5954/95/
5. Maine Governor receives final report on toxic chemicals
Author: Malloy, Meghan V.
Source: Kennebec Journal, December 18, 2007
Abstract: More than a dozen Maine environmental and business officials said Monday they will continue to work with the federal government to promote the purchase and use of nontoxic chemicals.
The Task Force to Promote Safer Chemicals presented to Gov. John Baldacci the culmination of an intense 16-month study identifying chemicals that should be phased out of Maine households and businesses.
"What we have here is, I think, a pretty good start," Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner David Littell said of the final report, which prepares officials to take the next step: integrating alternative products into Maine businesses and homes.
Among task force findings was a lack of federal regulation to ensure consumers have access to environmentally safe products. The report also states that health costs have spiked in part to exposure to chemicals such as lead and pesticides.
WWW: http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4573652.html
6. Biochip mimics the body to reveal toxicity of industrial compounds
Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, December 17, 2007
Abstract: A new biochip technology could eliminate animal testing in the chemicals and cosmetics industries, and drastically curtail its use in the development of new pharmaceuticals, according to new findings from a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of California at Berkeley, and Solidus Biosciences Inc.
The researchers have developed two biochips, the DataChip and the MetaChip, that combine to reveal the potential toxicity of chemicals and drug candidates on various organs in the human body, and whether those compounds will become toxic when metabolized in the body, all in one experiment without the use of live animals.
Traditional toxicity testing involves the use of animals to predict whether a chemical or drug candidate is toxic. However, with the large number of compounds being generated in the pharmaceutical industry, and new legislation stipulating that chemicals undergo toxicity analysis, there is a rapidly emerging need for high-throughput toxicity testing.
WWW: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2376&setappvar=page(1)
7. Big firms invest in a greener China
Author: Canaves, Sky; Spencer, Jane
Source: Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2008
Abstract: Multinational companies are participating in a new U.S.-government program that aims to help factories in China reduce their carbon emissions while it generates business for American and other environmental-services companies.
The idea is to arrange for Chinese businesses that have limited knowledge of environmental technologies essentially to outsource their cleaning and greening. The program known as P2E2 -- which stands for pollution prevention and energy efficiency -- aims to connect the factories with capital and expertise to help them upgrade equipment and cut their emissions and energy use.
The multinational companies backing the program, including footwear maker Adidas AG, are looking at ways to encourage their suppliers to participate while P2E2 approaches other companies.
The U.S. government essentially plays the role of matchmaker, helping factories connect with funding and services. At a forum on P2E2 on Saturday in Hong Kong, U.S. companies met potential partners.
WWW: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120023060081786631.html
8. Healthy, clean & green: a workers' action guide to a greener workplace
Imprint: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), 2007
Abstract: CUPE [Canadian Union of Public Employees] members have a new workplace environmental guide at their fingertips. The booklet – entitled Healthy, Clean & GREEN: A Workers’ Action Guide to a Greener Workplace – shows workers what steps they can take to make their workplaces environmentally sustainable.
Climate change, waste reduction and environmental rights are some of the issues covered in the publication. Action is at the centre of Healthy, Clean and GREEN. The booklet spells out what CUPE members can do at work and in their communities to tackle some of the pressing environmental problems they face.
WWW: http://cupe.ca/environment/enviroguide
9. The master ROI table for office and building products
Source: GreenBiz.com, 2008
Abstract: This comprehensive chart from GreenAndSave.com lists the added costs, annual savings, 10 year savings, payback time and total return on investment for dozens of office and building products.
This list makes it easy to see the up-front costs and long term savings for products including programmable thermostats, low-flush toilets, windows, toxic-free paints, greywater systems and even planting trees.
WWW: http://www.greenbiz.com/reference/webguide_record.cfm?LINKADVID=95873
10. Risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials: a survey of industrial approaches
Author: Helland, Aasgeir; Scheringer, Martin; Siegrist, Michael; Kastenholz, Hans G.; Wiek, Arnim; Scholz, Roland W.
Source: Environmental Science & Technology, January 15, 2008, pp640-646
Abstract: Engineered nanomaterials pose many new questions on risk assessment that are not yet completely answered. Thus, voluntary industrial risk assessment initiatives can be considered vital to the environmental health and safety issues associated with engineered nanomaterials. We present an overview of the general properties of nanomaterial products in the market, and how industry, in general, approaches issues of nanomaterial risk and safety based on a written survey of 40 companies working with nanomaterials in Germany and Switzerland. It was found that the nanomaterials in this sample exhibited such a diversity of properties that a categorization according to risk and material issues could not be made. Twenty-six companies (65%) indicated that they did not perform any risk assessment of their nanomaterials and 13 companies (32.5%) performed risk assessments sometimes or always. Fate of nanomaterials in the use and disposal stage received little attention by industry and the majority of companies did not foresee unintentional release of nanomaterials throughout the life cycle. The development of risk and safety decision frameworks in industry seems therefore necessary to ensure that the potential risks of engineered nanomaterials are taken into consideration.
You are welcome to send a message to jan@turi.org if you would like more information on any of these resources. Also, please tell us what topics you are particularly interested in monitoring, and who else should see Greenlist. An online search of the TURI Library catalog can be done at http://slk060.liberty3.net/turi for greater topic coverage.
This page updated Friday January 18 2008