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P2 News Digest
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Focusing on issues in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and
Wyoming. Search
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General Electric files sustainability report 06/25/2007
GE's 2007 citizenship report, "Investing in a Sustainable Future," highlights the company's progress on its 2006 commitments and provides a view into its priorities for the coming year. The report focuses on the interdependence between business strategy and corporate citizenship, especially as it relates to social and environmental issues in emerging markets. This year, GE convened a Stakeholder Report Review Panel that provided feedback on the company's reporting process and content. The result of the engagement can be viewed in the Review Panel Commentary, published unedited in the report. Other notable content includes the release of the GE Statement of Principles on Human Rights and disclosure of the Company's U.S. political contributions by recipient and amount.
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WA E3 - Education. Environment. Economy. 06/25/2007
The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians strongly endorses the E3 Washington effort which is coordinated by the Environmental Education Association of Washington. Growing numbers of stakeholders are joining the E3 initiative. There's nothing fancy about the way it works. Educators, natural resource managers and others get together to brainstorm ideas at the watershed level. Statewide summits are held to help the plans come together and support the programs needed to make headway. The truly great thing about this program is that it is joining the inner city teacher with the farmer, the environmentalist with the businessman and the Indian with the non-Indian.
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Western governors' hot topic is alternative energy 06/25/2007
Discussions over clean energy and carbon sequestration dominated the 2007 Western Governors' Association's recent annual meeting in the Black Hills. Ten of the 19 governors were in attendance and elected officials from Canada were also present.
Many Indian Reservations lie in areas with good prospects for wind energy. For example, six of South Dakota's tribal reservations are located in the western part of the state, where tests have proven there is plenty of wind. Tribes with the will to construct wind farms for economic development, however, do not have the financial wherewithal to partner with developers to create the wind farms on tribal lands. And most of the land on which wind farms would be constructed are privately owned or not near a power grid system on which to connect, which creates problems in siting wind farms. The tribes are at a disadvantage because they are not allowed to use the Production Tax Credit as an incentive for developers. PTC provides a 1.9 cent-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) tax credit for electricity generated for the first 10 years of a renewable energy facility's operation. The Intertribal Council on Utility Policy asked the governors to sign on to a letter that would request congressional committees to pass House Bill 1956, which would change the IRS rules to allow tribes to be part of the PTC for alternative energy.
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Funding: Water Environment Research Foundation seeks proposals 06/19/2007
The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) is seeking pre-proposals, due July 20, 2007, to advance science and technology addressing water quality issues. Proposals in all relevant wastewater and water quality areas are welcome. Current research includes such P2 topics as watershed management to protect water quality, and energy efficiency in operations.
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Green Building Council adopts the Precautionary Principle 06/19/2007
The U.S. Green Building Council recently adopted the Precautionary Principle as one of six guiding principles for the organization. It is the first business association in the United States to make this commitment, and the only group that sets "green" standards to do so. Proponents of the Precautionary Principle are explicit and transparent about the values they bring to science and its application, values such as preventing harm, respecting the integrity of ecological systems, and accepting responsibility for future generations. The USGBC embraced the precautionary principle despite a sustained challenge by the chemicals, plastics and timber industries advocating for much less rigorous green building standards. The U.N.'s 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development stated that the precautionary approach needs wide application to avoid serious irreversible damage to the earth's living systems.
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MT: School's biomass boiler uses waste wood from forests 06/19/2007
Townsend School in Montana is the latest of five schools in the state to obtain a biomass boiler. The boiler, which burns pellets made from waste wood, was purchased in part with assistance from a program called Fuels for Schools and Beyond, administered by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), Forestry Division. The school expects to the wood pellets to replace about 12,600 gallons of fuel oil and 18,000 gallons of propane, and saving about $19,000 per year in heating costs. Funding for the project came from Fuels for Schools and Beyond, the USDA's Rural Development grant program, the Broadwater Conservation District, purchase of 15 years of CO2 offsets by The Climate Trust, and a USDA Rural Development low-interest loan.
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National Forum on Tribal Environmental Science 06/19/2007
Sponsored by the National EPA--Tribal Science Council (TSC) and hosted by the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) in Ocean Shores, WA, in September 2006, the Forum was conducted as a result of the recommendations in National Tribal Science Priorities. For more than 300 attendees, including representatives from more than 125 Indian tribes and Alaska native villages, the Forum offered technical training in nine high priority areas and presentations of cutting-edge tribal environmental science-related case studies. Success stories throughout Indian Country were also shared through a poster session, exhibits, and networking sessions. A 253-page proceedings is available on the website.
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WA: Yakama utility wants to power entire reservation 06/19/2007
One of a handful of tribal utilities in the nation and currently purchasing power from the Bonneville Power Administration, the Yakama Nation is looking at its water, wind and even the potential for wood fuel to generate its own. The tribal utility wants to supply power to its entire 1.2 million-acre reservation. In the process, it plans to reduce average residential rates about $20 a month. One of the strategies is to use idle farmland to grow hybrid poplars to be chipped and burned at a bioplant to create steam to turn turbines for power generation, which would have the additional benefit of paying for land leases and irrigation fees. The Public Utility District is working with the tribe to develop the bioplant. Also, the tribe is currently measuring wind resources in hopes of erecting multiple turbines.
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Wachovia announces plans for green building, banking 06/19/2007
Wachovia, a financial services firm, plans to build at least 300 LEED-certified green financial centers by the year 2010. Beginning with California offices in 2007, by the end of 2008 every new Wachovia financial center opened throughout the U.S. will be built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications. The new buildings will reduce energy use by at least 20%, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 6,000 tons per year -- equivalent to taking 1,200 cars off the road or planting 140,000 tree seedlings. The new buildings will consume 25% less water than traditionally built branches and low-toxin building materials to ensure indoor air quality. Each branch office will implement an employee recycling program, and feature preferred parking for low-emitting vehicles, bike racks and commuting information such as safe bike routes and public transit maps. In addition, Wachovia will purchase Renewable Energy Certificates to offset the power use of its green branches and boost investment in renewable energy.
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Renewable Energy for Tribal Community Development: A Strategic Energy
Planning Workshop
05/31/2007
A mission of the Department of Energy's Tribal Energy Program (TEP) is to enhance human capacity through education and training. Building knowledge and skills is essential to developing, implementing, and sustaining conservation and energy development projects on Tribal lands.
The Strategic Energy Planning Workshop will be held August 13-16, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. Other upcoming training opportunities include Weatherization Program Basics for Tribes in Bozeman, Montana, July 16-20, 2007; a Wind Energy Symposium in Boulder, Colorado, August 28-31, 2007; a Business Development & Financing Workshop in Denver, Colorado, October 2-4, 2007; and a Tribal Energy Program Review in
Denver, Colorado, November 5-8, 2007.
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Tribal P2 Workgroup asking for input from Tribal leaders and environmental professionals 05/31/2007
The NPPR Tribal Workgroup consists of environmental professionals from tribal entities, local, state and federal agencies, academia, and not-for-profit organizations whose mission is to work collaboratively with tribes throughout the United States in reducing the environmental and health risks associated with the generation of waste in or on tribal lands. A geographically dispersed team, the group meets monthly via conference call. The Workgroup's primary project to date has been to launch the Tribal Pollution Prevention Web Portal (www.tribalp2.org). The Workgroup needs feedback to discern whether the web portal is meeting needs as envisioned, and what other projects the Workgroup should consider to support tribal programming for pollution prevention (P2). The Workgroup invites you to please click on the link to take the needs assessment survey.
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Green-Blue Summit: Clean Water through Residential Integrated Pest Management 05/23/2007
Are you interested in the connections between residential pest management, nutrients, and water quality? Then plan to attend the "Green-Blue Summit" on July 18-19, 2007. This event will focus on integrated pest management (IPM) and nutrient management in turf and structural settings. Participants will identify specific areas of concern, help develop strategic plans for addressing IPM needs, and create core messages for consumer outreach and education.
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NEW TOOL: Energy Star "Portfolio Manager" Software 05/23/2007
Software to assist yo in managing energy and water comsumption for all buildings. To access follow the link below.
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Peaks to Prairies also maintains a list of current links on various P2 topics.
Click here for P2 Bookmarks.
"Problems
cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them."
--Albert Einstein
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