Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 05/04/2007
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:
- Guide to the business case & benefits of sustainability purchasing
- Governor Patrick announces new manufacturing plant for Evergreen Solar
- Lab services uncovers possible answer to pet deaths
- Common-sense critical cleaning
- Temporal variability of tungsten and cobalt in Fallon, Nevada
- Think small: you are entering the nano-zone
- Ideal Bite
- Creating markets for green biofuels: measuring and improving environmental performance
- Natural lawn-care
- Design Focus: Start at the beginning
1. Guide to the business case & benefits of sustainability purchasing
Source: Sustainability Purchasing Network, March 2007
Abstract: This Guide was produced to help organizations understand the triple bottom line benefits (financial, social and environmental) and costs of sustainability purchasing. As with any new business decision, cost-benefit information can help support decision-making at the board, executive, departmental and end-user levels. This Guide outlines the business case benefits and costs for sustainability purchasing and identifies important process considerations that impact the business case, such as the cost of designing and managing a sustainability purchasing program and the benefits of using “total cost of ownership” or life cycle assessment processes in purchasing.
Link: http://www.buysmartbc.com/UserFiles/File/SPN_BusinessCaseGuide_Mar07.pdf
2. Governor Patrick announces new manufacturing plant for Evergreen Solar
Source: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Renewable Energy Trust, April 17, 2007
Abstract: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has announced that, with state assistance, Marlborough-based Evergreen Solar Inc. will build a manufacturing plant located in Westborough. This expansion will result in 350 to 375 new jobs – more than doubling Evergreen Solar’s current Massachusetts employment.
Also key to the development of solar power as a clean energy source and an industry in Massachusetts is a first-in-the-nation partnership between a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products and an electricity distribution utility announced today. Evergreen Solar and NSTAR have announced an alliance that will combine Evergreen Solar’s photovoltaic technology with NSTAR’s expertise, capabilities, and customer relationships for a new model of solar market development. Utilities National GRID and Western Massachusetts Electric have also entered into discussions about forming similar relationships with Evergreen Solar.
Link: http://www.mtpc.org/renewableenergy/press/pr_gov_evergreen.html
3. Lab services uncovers possible answer to pet deaths
Source: University of Guelph, April 27, 2007
Abstract: Scientists at the University of Guelph have made a chemical discovery that may explain how pets in the United States and Canada were affected by chemical contaminants discovered in recently recalled pet food products.
Perry Martos and colleagues in the Agriculture and Food Laboratory at Guelph’s Laboratory Services have found that melamine and cyanuric acid can react with one another to form crystals that may impair kidney function. Tests conducted at the University’s Animal Health Laboratory (AHL) and elsewhere have identified these crystal-like substances in the kidneys and urine of affected animals.
The experiments conducted at the Agriculture and Food Laboratory showed that the chemical composition of the crystals that are formed when these two compounds interact matches the composition of urinary crystals removed from affected animals. Tests conducted at the University’s Laboratory and in the United States have identified the compounds as contaminants in gluten used to make a variety of pet food and treat products.
Their findings provide evidence of the possible link of these compounds and the deaths of pets exposed to contaminated food. Melamine is used in making plastics and in other industrial processes and cyanuric acid is commonly used in pool chlorination.
Link: http://www.uoguelph.ca/mediarel/2007/04/u_of_g_lab_serv.html
4. Common-sense critical cleaning
Author: Kanegsberg, Barbara
Source: Products Finishing, January 2007, pp32-35
Abstract: Optimizing cleaning processes can be one of the easier and more cost-effective investments you can make to achieve a quality product. Cleaning, like any other step in manufacturing, should be value-added, and a good first step in making it so is to figure out why you’re cleaning. If you think about it, a product has properties of materials of construction, configuration, and surface. Part of achieving the right surface for your product involves choosing the right cleaning process(es) and cleaning at the appropriate point(s) in the process.
One of the first things we do in evaluating a manufacturing process is to assess the value of a particular cleaning step. Try walking through your plant and looking at the entire manufacturing process flow, just as if you were an outside visitor. It may be apparent that a cleaning process step could be eliminated or that it should be moved to another place in the process. Of course, it is wise to test before making any drastic changes.
Keep in mind that more cleaning is not always better cleaning. A higher temperature, for example, is not always more effective. For example, with ultrasonics, there is an optimal temperature that depends on the cleaning chemistry. And as temperatures near the boiling point, the ultrasonic bubbles become filled with vapor. They therefore become “cushy,” so they do not implode effectively. This translates into less-than-optimal cleaning. Too much cleaning power can translate into product damage.
Link: www.pfonline.com/articles/010704.html
5. Temporal variability of tungsten and cobalt in Fallon, Nevada
Authors: Sheppard, Paul R.; Speakman, Robert J.; Ridenour, Gary; Witten, Mark L.
Source: Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2007, pp715-719
Abstract: Background: Since 1997, Fallon, Nevada, has experienced a cluster of childhood leukemia that has been declared "one of the most unique clusters of childhood cancer ever reported." Multiple environmental studies have shown airborne tungsten and cobalt to be elevated within Fallon, but the question remains: Have these metals changed through time in correspondence with the onset of the leukemia cluster?
Methods: We used dendrochemistry, the study of element concentrations through time in tree rings, in Fallon to assess temporal variability of airborne tungsten and cobalt since the late 1980s. The techniques used in Fallon were also tested in a different town (Sweet Home, OR) that has airborne tungsten from a known source.
Results: The Sweet Home test case confirms the accuracy of dendrochemistry for showing temporal variability of environmental tungsten. Given that dendrochemistry works for tungsten, tree-ring chemistry shows that tungsten increased in Fallon relative to nearby comparison towns beginning by the mid-1990s, slightly before the onset of the cluster, and cobalt has been high throughout the last ~ 15 years. Other metals do not show trends through time in Fallon.
Discussion: Results in Fallon suggest a temporal correspondence between the onset of excessive childhood leukemia and elevated levels of tungsten and cobalt. Although environmental data alone cannot directly link childhood leukemia with exposure to metals, research by others has shown that combined exposure to tungsten and cobalt can be carcinogenic to humans.
Conclusion: Continued biomedical research is warranted to directly test for linkage between childhood leukemia and tungsten and cobalt.
Link: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2007/9451/abstract.html
6. Think small: you are entering the nano-zone
Author: Bottiglieri, Jan
Source: Paper360, August 2006, pp30-34
Abstract: The term nanotechnology is often used to cover any research, process or production at the nanoscale; the true aim of nanotechnology, however, is not to merely see or catalog phenomena at this scale, but to control and manipulate materials to obtain a special function. In other words, size matters—but it’s not the whole story.
Sandwiched between the visible and the molecular, this mesoscale is governed by its own rules, a difficult-to-predict hybrid of Newtonian law and quantum physics. Materials at this scale have
entirely different properties than smaller- or larger-scale materials; they respond and interact in unique ways. Harnessing those differences to create valuable, predictable and controllable outcomes is the key goal of nanotechnology research. As a science, nanotechnology is the place where engineering, biology and chemistry meet.
In essence, the pulp and paper industry’s main function is to harness the properties of lignocellulose, another of nature’s remarkably efficient self-replicating mesoscale machines. That is where nanotechnology comes in.
“We have done an excellent job of exploiting the intrinsic material values and functionalities of wood at the macroscale-level all the way down to the microscale-level,” says Ted Wegner, assistant director for the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Lab, Madison, WI. “However, we have not yet even scratched the surface of what we can do to exploit the capabilities of wood (lignocellulose) at the nanoscale; nor have we learned how to genetically manipulate the self-assembly of nanoscale cell wall architecture and nanoscale functionality of wood. By understanding and influencing how cell wall structures are assembled, we will be able to create novel, functional surfaces on existing cellulose substrates, create new or enhance existing products, and integrate novel nanoscale organizational units into new products.” For pulp and paper manufacturers, lignocellulose’s unique characteristics have determined where nanotechnology applications are finding first use.
“The fact that we have nanodimensional fibrils and fines present in the papermaking process has resulted in the development of retention and drainage aid systems comprised of nanodimensional components,” says Phil Jones, director, technology and new ventures for IMERYS, Roswell, GA. “Techniques developed in areas such as semiconductor research have allowed our industry to see and measure these components and recognize them as being nano-science based.”
Link: http://www.paper360.org/paper360/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=367707
7. Ideal Bite [website]
Abstract: The concept behind Ideal Bite is an easy one — if we all knew what to do in our day-to-day lives to help impact the planet and our communities positively and painlessly, we would all do it. And if that know-how came to us in a fun, pithy, sometimes irreverent way — so much the better. The time is ripe for creating a more sustainable world through simple changes in habits by people like us. Why now?
- Consumers have access to more information than ever before, which provides us with the ability to leverage our purchasing power to shape company decisions and direction.
- 80% of Americans say that their purchasing decisions are influenced by whether a product is safe for the environment.
- There are more good, green choices in the marketplace than ever before, and many of these come from name-brand companies and are available where you already shop.
The positive trends are emerging, but they need to happen much faster and on a much greater scale.
That's where we come in. Like most people, you probably lack the time and tools to make green-shopping decisions. There're simply not enough hours in the day as it is, never mind having to learn about which products are environmentally friendly — and which aren't. We can help. The Ideal Bite provides insight and inspiration, level-headed advice, and cool tools to take action for people like you -- who aspire to align their everyday actions with their personal values.
Link: http://www.idealbite.com
8. Creating markets for green biofuels: measuring and improving environmental performance
Authors: Turner, Brian T.; Plevin, Richard J.; O'Hare, Michael; Farrell, Alexander E.
Source: UC Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center, April 2007
Abstract: This study describes how some biofuels are produced, emphasizing agricultural production systems, and considers what is needed in order to measure and communicate environmental performance, and gives examples of how this might be done. We describe a set of seven uses of a Green Biofuels Index, from a wholly market-driven implementation through a set of increasingly intrusive regulatory approaches. We then present several case studies of specific biofuel production pathways using a lifecycle analysis of the inputs to feedstock production and processing, but excluding market-mediated effects.
We recommend four steps to create markets for green biofuels: 1. Measure the global warming intensity of biofuels. 2. Measure the overall environmental performance of biomass feedstock production. 3. Develop and implement a combined Green Biofuels Index. 4. Research better practices, assessment tools, and assurance methods.
Link: www.its.berkeley.edu/publications/
UCB/2007/TSRCRR/UCB-ITS-TSRC-RR-2007-1.pdf
9. Natural lawn-care
Source: Consumer Reports Greener Choices, May 2007
Abstract: Keeping your lawn healthy will make it more resistant to pests and disease and therefore require fewer interventions on your part. That will not only save you time and money, but it’s also better for the planet. Some tips: Choose the right grass for your region. This is the first step to a healthy lawn, since a well-chosen grass will form a denser turf that requires less water and is better able to resist pests and weeds with less fertilizer and pesticide. You can contact your local cooperative extension to find out which grass varieties best match your locale and climate and when to plant. Or, consult our customized grass-zone map. Avoid cutting too short. Chopping off more than one-third of a grass blade's height at once can be detrimental. For example, if you want a 3-inch mowed height, mow when the grass is just over 4 inches tall. Avoid cutting below the green leaf blades into the brown grass stems, which weakens the grass plants and leaves it vulnerable to aggressive weeds or pests. Check with your local cooperative extension service for the ideal height for your type. Add just the right amount of water. Applying too much water to a lawn can invite disease, but too little can encourage crabgrass and other weeds that thrive in dry soil. Most lawns need roughly 1 inch per week through the growing season. Using a rain gauge is the most precise way to see how much water your lawn is getting. When using a sprinkler, try to keep water off sidewalks, driveways, and other non-lawn areas to avoid waste. Don't let leaves pile up. It's important to clear leaves off the grass frequently because leaves block sunlight, and wet leaves are heavy and promote disease. Instead of bagging leaves, use your mower to mulch them or add leaves to your compost pile.
Link: http://www.greenerchoices.org/
products.cfm?product=greener&pcat=homegarden
10. Design Focus: Start at the beginning
Author: Deligio, Tony
Source: Modern Plastics, March 2007, pp42-44
Abstract: As the post-consumer scrap heap grows, piled high with autos, short-lived electronics, and other goods, increased attention to end days for items like mobile phones is prompting a reassessment of those products’ conception, including the plastics chosen in design. Responding to mandated regulations like WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), which requires retailers to provide free take-back of items and encourages consumers to separate household electronics from their usual trash, and RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances), which tracks heavy metals like lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and cadmium, as well as flame retardants like polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, OEMs like Nokia are proactively assessing their supply chains, enforcing standards that often surpass mandated regulations and affect initial product design. “We are seeing a trend of more companies jumping onboard trying to promote themselves as green and wanting to align with green suppliers,” explains Glenn Desio, crystalline technology manager at Solvay Advanced Polymers (SAP; Alpharetta, GA). As a Sony Green Partner, SAP submits itself to quarterly audits from the Japanese consumer electronics giant, which assesses the entire facility for environmental impact. Going forward with new product iterations, everyone from automakers to electronics suppliers to household goods manufacturers are working under new design rules. In its design consultations, SAP hears more requests for nonhalogenated and heavy-metal free materials. Flame-retardant packages have come under greater scrutiny, but not enough to push OEMs to higher-cost sulfone materials, which SAP supplies, that are inherently flame retardant.
Link: http://www.modplas.com/inc/
mparticle.php?section=feature&thefilename=feature03012007_02
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://greenlist.turi.org/ for greater topic coverage.
This page updated Friday May 04 2007