Archive for 'Green Business'
Clean Energy Creates Jobs, Improves Economic Growth
Posted on 12. Jun, 2009 by admin.
OAKLAND, Calif. — For at least the last year and a half, “Green Collar Jobs” has been the buzz term among those in business and policy circles as the answer to rising unemployment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Two recently released reports show that the nation and states such as California can improve economic growth by employing clean energy strategies. In addition, one report states that “business-as-usual” could make California’s economy worse in the long run.
The Pew Charitable Trust released a report on June 10, noting that jobs in the clean energy sector have generated significantly more jobs than the overall economy. And in an unrelated report, released June 9, “Energy Pathways for the California Economy,” (PDF) compiled by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley presents similar findings. The report by the ARE department was funded by the nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Next 10.
“The clean energy economy is poised for explosive growth,” Lori Grange, who is interim deputy director of the Pew Center on the States, said in a news release. “These jobs are driving economic growth and environmental sustainability at a time when America needs both.”
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Starbucks Coffee: Green or Greenwashed?
Posted on 10. Jun, 2009 by admin.
Starbucks is given credit by many for revolutionizing the American coffee drinking experience. The company, however, is both praised and criticized by environmentalists. Is Starbucks a leader of sustainability or a greenwasher?
The Coffee Industry
The coffee industry itself is inherently unsustainable. Coffee is cultivated in more than 60 tropical countries across tens of millions of acres of land. Tropical soils unfortunately are vulnerable to erosion and loss of topsoil, particularly when the native vegetation is removed. Coffee also has relatively high water footprint — to produce one cup of coffee requires 140 liters of water.
Historically, much coffee was shade grown under a variety of native trees on small farms. A surge in coffee demand a decade ago significantly increased global production, thus boosting the prevalence of monoculture farming. The land is often cleared of native vegetation and pesticide use became more common.
Read the entire article at GreenBiz.com
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Plastic Association Warns Against Degradable Materials
Posted on 02. Jun, 2009 by admin.
SONOMA, Calif. — The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) is urging manufacturers of PET resin and products to avoid using additives that make plastic degradable.
PET is widely used in making plastic bottles, containers and other packaging. It is also widely recycled, identifiable by the resin code 1.
As companies investigate more sustainable packaging, some have started using plant-based plastics in place of PET or started using additives that make the PET degradable based on certain conditions.
NAPCOR, the trade organization for the PET packaging industry, is asking companies to stop using additives until more information is gathered on what effect additive-laden plastic could have on recycling streams if that plastic ends up being put in recycling systems instead of being left to degrade.
NAPCOR also wants to see documentation related to degradability claims, more information on what effect degradable additives could have on products made out of recycled PET, and information on what impact the additives have on product lifespan.
“Without the testing and data necessary to understand the potential impacts of degradable additives in PET, it’s not an overstatement to say that they could potentially put the whole PET recycling system at risk,” said NAPCOR Executive Director Dennis Sabourin. “We don’t yet understand the impacts that these additives could have on the quality of the PET recycling stream, let alone the impacts on the safety and functionality over time of next-use PET products like recycled-content PET packaging, carpeting, or strapping.”
NAPCOR is also questioning the use of degradable plastics because when plastic is left to degrade instead of being recycled or remanufactured, the inherent energy in the packaging is lost, and the plastic industry also loses material that could have recycled into new packaging.
In 2007, the U.S. recycled 1.4 billion pounds of postconsumer PET packaging, and some companies have started using bottles and packaging made entirely out of recycled plastic.
