Greenlist(tm) Bulletin 07/27/2007
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:
- 30 easy ways to save energy
- Sunrise Radio Podcasts: Interview with Sally Edwards
- Nanotechnology: from the science to the social
- The environmental benefits of the purchase or sale of EPEAT registered products in 2006
- Modeling combined effects of pulsed exposure to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos on Gammarus Pulex
- Portable chemical sterilizer for surgical instruments
- High hopes, low marks: a final report card on the High Production Volume Chemical Challenge
- Commission decision of 21 June 2007 establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to soaps, shampoos and hair conditioners
- The toxic origins of disease
- Using buildings to green your triple bottom line
1. 30 easy ways to save energy
Source: San Diego Daily Transcript, April 11, 2007
Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the real estate management industry can reduce energy usage by up to 30 percent simply by improving building operating standards. If a 1 million-square-foot portfolio can reduce its energy consumption by just 10 percent, it would be the environmental equivalent of removing almost 5,000 cars off the road for one year.
Energy efficiency is easy -- and doesn't require significant capital expenditures to make a big difference in your operating expenses. Use this checklist to reduce the need for unscheduled maintenance and to make sure that you're saving all you can. Start with the lowest cost efforts and use cumulative dollars saved to invest in larger improvements.
Link: http://www.sddt.com/Reports/article.cfm?RID=483&SourceCode=20070410crc
2. Sunrise Radio Podcasts: Interview with Sally Edwards
Source: University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2007
Description: Center for Sustainable Production researcher Sally Edwards shares the findings of her work on the environmental impact of toys in general and dolls in particular.
Link: http://communications.uml.edu/sunrise/?p=661
3. Nanotechnology: from the science to the social
Author: Wood, Stephen; Jones, Richard; Geldart, Alison
Source: ESRC Economic & Social Research Council, 2007
Abstract: In 2003 the ESRC published our report The Social and Economic Challenges of Nanotechnology, which investigated discussions taking place around the emergence of nanotechnology and what this might mean
for society.This report is a follow-up to that original analysis and examines how the debate has moved on in recent years. Our aim is to outline the general trend in the discussions on nanotechnology’s future, in order to provide a context for future discussions of issues that social science might address. We first outline how the debate was initially framed, before presenting an overview of literature discussing the social and economic aspects of nanotechnology that has appeared since. Our conclusions highlight the major developments in the debate
and draw out the implications of these and omissions in the discussion for the social science agenda. The analysis is based on literature published between July 2003 and April 2006. It includes articles in academic journals, non-governmental organisation (NGO) reports, government and government body
reports, and articles in the popular science literature, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Nanotechnology weblogs found on the internet add a new, albeit often confusing and unstructured, dimension to the debate,
and were not in existence in 2003.
Link: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/Images/ESRC_Nano07_tcm6-18918.pdf
4. The environmental benefits of the purchase or sale of EPEAT registered products in 2006
Source: Green Electronics Council, 2007
Abstract: This is the first annual report that the Green Electronics Council plans to produce to estimate the life-cycle environmental benefits from the purchase or sale of EPEAT registered electronic products. EPEAT is a system for identifying environmentally preferable personal computers and monitors that is managed by the Green Electronics Council. The product registry and more information can be found at www.epeat.net. In EPEAT, participating manufacturers report to GEC the number of EPEAT registered products that they sell each year. The tool used to make the estimates is the Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator (EEBC), which was developed by the University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EEBC’s primary input is the number and type of EPEAT registered products purchased. The tool then calculates the environmental benefits that result from the purchase of that many EPEAT registered products compared to the same number of a “conventional product.” The calculations include upstream impacts from raw material extraction and processing, product manufacture, and product use and disposition. The “environmental benefits” reported below were obtained by entering into the EEBC the total number of EPEAT registered products sold in 2006 as reported by the
manufacturers. The EEBC is an excellent tool and has been carefully reviewed by EPA and other independent scientists. However, calculating the environmental benefits of products is notoriously difficult, subjective, and subject to misinterpretation. We encourage readers to carefully review the methodology as described below and in the EEBC itself in order to correctly interpret the results.
Link: http://www.epeat.net/docs/EPEAT%20Env%20Benefits%20Report%202006.pdf
5. Modeling combined effects of pulsed exposure to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos on Gammarus Pulex
Author: Ashauer, Roman; Boxall, Alistair B.A.; Brown, Colin D.
Source: Environmental Science & Technology ASAP, June 27, 2007
Abstract: Aquatic risk assessment can be improved if we are able to quantitatively predict the effects resulting from sequential pulsed exposure to multiple compounds. We evaluate two modeling approaches, both extended to suit multiple compounds, the semi-mechanistic threshold damage model (TDM), and a model based on time-weighted averages (TWA). The TDM predicts that recovery of damage to Gammarus pulex from exposure to chlorpyrifos takes longer than that from exposure to carbaryl and consequently that the sequence of exposure matters. We measured survival of the freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex after sequential pulsed exposure to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos. Two groups of organisms were exposed to a first pulse of either carbaryl or chlorpyrifos for 1 day and then, after a recovery period of two weeks, to a second pulse with the other compound. The comparison of mortalities caused by each pulse, as well as combined mortalities in both treatments, show that the sequence of exposure to pulses of contaminants does indeed matter. Previous exposure to chlorpyrifos leads to significantly increased mortality from subsequent pulses of carbaryl, but not the other way round. The TDM facilitates a process-based ecotoxicological explanation by simulating the recovery dynamics and outperforms the TWA model.
Link: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/asap/abs/es070283w.html
6. Portable chemical sterilizer for surgical instruments
Author: Doona, C.J.; Feeherry, F.E.; Curtin, M.A.; Kustin, K.; Kandlikar, S.; Baer, D.; McManus, A.T.
Abstract: A novel device called the Portable Chemical Sterilizer (PCS) has been developed for the rapid, safe, portable, power-free, and convenient sterilization of objects or surfaces contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses, infections, and disease. The PCS relies on a novel chemical composition consisting of safe, easy-to-transport reagents. Adding water activates the chemical to controllably generate heat, steam, and the potent, broad-based biocidal agent chlorine dioxide (ClO2) that eliminate foodborne pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes) and bacterial spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus. The chemical reaction takes place inside specially configured prototype units to controllably sterilize contaminating microorganisms in as little as 30 minutes. Fundamentally, the sterilization process relies on the principles of chemical kinetics to control the rate of exothermic inorganic chemical reactions that produce heat and the disinfectant ClO2 at rates compatible with achieving the inactivation of harmful microorganisms. The genesis of the PCS configurations and the results of microbiological validation are presented. The maturation of this PCS technology will significantly enhance the operational capabilities of units such as Far-Forward Army Surgical Teams and promote portability, powerfree, and nearly waterless decontamination in support of the Future Force Warrior using proven environmentally friendly disinfectants.
Link: http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/
GetTRDoc?AD=ADA433111&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
7. High hopes, low marks: a final report card on the High Production Volume Chemical Challenge
Author: Denison, Richard A.
Source: Environmental Defense, 2007
Abstract: More than a year-and-a-half after it was to have been completed, the High Production Volume (HPV) Chemical Challenge is still well away from delivering on the promises it made. The Challenge was launched in 1998, spurred by a series of studies, beginning with one by The National Academy of Sciences in 1984 that documented the paucity of publicly available data on the potential hazards posed by the highest-volume chemicals in production and use in the US. As a response to these studies and with tacit acknowledgment of the limited authority available to it under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to compel testing through regulation, EPA established the voluntary Challenge. Its aim was to enlist manufacturers of HPV chemicals -- those produced in or imported into the US in amounts equal to or exceeding one million pounds annually -- to develop and make publicly available a base set of screeninglevel hazard information on their chemicals. The Challenge represents the only systematic effort by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to foster the development of and public access to basic hazard data on a relatively large number of chemicals in commerce. The program is developing and making public basic hazard information for more chemicals in much less time than any prior effort, and it represents the first significant step taken in the US toward closing the gap between what we know and what we should know about widely used chemicals. Because the Challenge is voluntary, it side-steps the onerous findings EPA must make to exercise its authority under Section 4 of TSCA to compel hazard testing of chemicals. However, for the same reason, EPA also has limited recourse to ensure full participation by manufacturers or the timely submission and high quality of hazard data sets developed for HPV chemicals. This report, our final assessment of the HPV Challenge, comes more than two-and-a-half years after the original 2004 deadline for the chemical industry to have developed and submitted final data sets, and more than 18 months after the 2005 deadline for EPA to have made all data available to the public. While acknowledging the progress made to date, our report also identifies both serious shortcomings and lessons learned that are relevant not only to completion of the Challenge, but also to the design and execution of voluntary environmental initiatives in general.
Link: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/6653_HighHopesLowMarks.pdf
8. Commission decision of 21 June 2007 establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to soaps, shampoos and hair conditioners
Source: Official Journal of the European Union
Abstract: The product group ‘soaps, shampoos and hair-conditioners’ shall comprise any rinse-off substance and preparation intended to be placed in contact with the epidermis and the hair system with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them. That product group shall also comprise any rinse-off substance and preparation intended to be placed in contact with the hair system with a view to improve the condition of the hair (hair conditioners). In order to be awarded the Community eco-label for soaps, shampoos and hair-conditioners, under Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000, a product must fall within the product group ‘soaps, shampoos, and hair-conditioners’ and must comply with the ecological criteria set out in the Annex to this Decision. These criteria aim in particular at promoting:
— the reduction of water pollution both by limiting the quantity of potentially harmful ingredients and the total toxic
load of the product,
— the minimisation of waste production by reducing the amount of packaging,
— the reduction or prevention of potential risks for the environment related to the use of hazardous substances.
Additionally, the criteria enhance the consumers’ environmental awareness. The criteria are set at levels that promote the labelling of soaps and shampoos that have a lower environmental load than the market average.
Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2007/l_186/l_18620070718en00360045.pdf
9. The toxic origins of disease
Author: Gross, Liza
Source: PLoS Biology, July 2007
Abstract: Never in his wildest dreams had Fred vom Saal pictured himself studying urethral outlet obstruction. Nor, for that matter, had he ever thought much about the causes of obesity. For most of his 30-year career, vom Saal, a developmental biologist at the University of Missouri, studied the harmful consequences of tiny changes in natural hormone levels at critical periods during the development of the brain and reproductive tract. But he began to include synthetic chemicals in his investigations when he learned that pesticides and other environmental contaminants caused reproductive defects in wildlife much like those seen in lab animals exposed to abnormal estrogen levels.
During embryonic development, steroid hormones like estrogen control gene-expression programs to coordinate cell differentiation, growth, organogenesis, and metabolism. Adding extra estrogen—whether foreign (exogenous) or natural (endogenous)—can irreversibly alter these developmental processes by mimicking, blocking, or otherwise disrupting pathways that have been fine-tuned over millions of years to respond to minuscule changes in hormone levels. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) offered a tragic illustration of the risks of exposing a fetus to synthetic compounds that mimic the behavior of endogenous estrogen: the drug was prescribed to millions of pregnant women before doctors realized it was causing rare cancers in their daughters.
To understand how exogenous estrogens interfere with developmental pathways, vom Saal started by feeding pregnant mice minute doses of DES, along with the endogenous estrogen estradiol, which he had long studied. In both cases, giving the mother these estrogens when prostate development is occurring raised fetal estrogen levels ever so slightly, with profound consequences: male offspring experienced accelerated prostatic gland growth and showed permanent increases in both the number of androgen receptors (androgen mediates prostate differentiation) and the size of the prostate.
But it wasn't until vom Saal reported similar effects from a synthetic chemical still in mass production that his research focus, and his life, would take an unexpected turn. In 1997, vom Saal's group reported that feeding pregnant mice trace amounts of bisphenol A—the building block of polycarbonate plastics—caused enlarged prostates in male offspring, just as estradiol and DES had. “Our findings,” the researchers wrote, “show for the first time that fetal exposure to environmentally relevant parts-per-billion (ppb) doses of bisphenol A, in the range currently being consumed by people, can alter the adult reproductive system in mice.”
The next year, vom Saal's group showed that a similar treatment with bisphenol A also shrinks seminal vesicles, enlarges preputial glands (which produce sex pheromones), and reduces sperm efficiency. The 1998 study, which observed these effects at a dose six times lower than a patient might swallow during application of a plastic dental sealant, immediately caught the attention of the chemical industry—and transformed Fred vom Saal into a tireless crusader against bisphenol A.
Link: http://0-biology.plosjournals.org.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/
perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050193
10. Using buildings to green your triple bottom line
Author: McMorrow, Eileen
Source: GreenBiz.com
Abstract: Executives are lining up for the opportunity to prove their commitment to the triple bottom line. However, few are well-enough versed in the language of sustainability and green design to incorporate it into their real estate decisions such as renovating existing facilities, taking on a defunct company's brownfield site or building a new corporate facility.
The concept of sustainability says there are actually three bottoms lines to consider. First, the Economic: the financial impact on an individual's income or spending, or on a company's profits and losses; Environmental: the impact on the air, water, land and global climate; and Social: the impact on an individual's happiness, health and productivity, or the impact on the community's welfare.
According to the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments, for businesses and other organizations, this is a business approach that creates long-term value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments or changes. That means integrating sustainability into their decision-making processes and paying attention to how their actions affect the environment and society around them, in addition to how they affect the organization financially. An example, from the Alliance: A company replaces the lighting fixtures in its corporate headquarters building with brighter, more energy-efficient ones. Because the new fixtures use less energy, the company saves money. But the benefits don't stop there. As a result of the company's actions, the local electric utility company generates less electricity and therefore emits less air pollution -- that's the environmental impact. And the brighter lighting fixtures create better working conditions for employees -- that's the social impact. It's the triple bottom line at work.
Link: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/reviews_third.cfm?NewsID=35509
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 July 27 2007