Latest Green DE Newsletter

Here is the latest Green Delaware newsletter...Check it out for what's going on in our community.

Speaking of BP - The company sheds $26B in market value after rig explosion

Lately the news are in synchronization with our reading materials - now it's BP of course and the terrible rig explosion.

AP reported today that BP shares tumbled more than 8 percent today, and the company has lost roughly $25 billion in market value since an offshore rig it hired in the Gulf of Mexico exploded last week and started spewing huge amounts of oil.

Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead following the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon, and a huge oil slick is creeping closer to land. Estimates of the amount of oil gushing from the seabed have risen to 5,000 barrels per day — five times what was originally thought.

BP shares fell today as the situation seemed to be getting worse. Experts said the oil may reach shore by Friday, and President Barack Obama said BP will be responsible to pay for the cleanup.

Transocean Ltd., the oil services company that owned the Horizon, has lost about $4.35 billion in market value since the explosion.

In Thursday trading, BP shares gave up $4.78 to close at $52.56. Transocean lost $6.32, or 7.5 percent, to end at $78.51.

Regulators Approve Wind Farm off Cape Cod Coast

This decision gives the green light to the 130-turbine wind farm that will be built by Cape Wind Associates. It's good news to the wind industry, which is anticipating many other offshore projects that have been proposed in other states (including Delaware) will be granted approval.

It does have significant opposition, however, so it will be tested in the courts and it could be years until construction begins.

Read more about it in this NYTimes article.

Tying Compensation to CSR Performance

Mindy S. Lubber, the president of Ceres (a coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change) brings three examples of a new compensation model that ties compensation for executive officers and employees to GHG reductions and other "green" measurements.

Read more at http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/04/26/tying-compensation-csr-performance#ixzz0mPiuVQKD

Raz

Upcoming Green Drinks!

What: When: Where: Why:

Green Drinks Tuesday, May 4, 2010 6 - 8pm AquaSol Restaurant & Bar (at Summit North Marina) 3006 Summit Harbour Place Bear, DE 19701 302.365.6490 AquaSolRestaurant.com/ Because you are green, because you want to go green, because you want to meet other environmentally minded people.

State Decision Blocks Drilling for Gas in Catskills

New York State environmental officials announced this past Friday that they would impose far stricter regulations on an extremely controversial type of natural gas drilling in the upstate area that supplies most of New York City's drinking water. These new regulations make it highly unlikely that any drilling will be done there. The EPA told state officials prior to the implementing of the regulations that it had "serious reservations about whether gas drilling in the NY State watershed is consistent with the vision of long-term maintenance of a high-quality unfiltered water supply."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/science/earth/24drill.html

Exisitential Crisis of a Plastic Bag

Just found this really interesting video on the New York Times website which chronicles the life of a plastic bag. Apparently, it has become really popular online. The video was "commissioned by the Independent Television Service through a project in which 11 filmmakers were asked to examine issues in the United States and dramatize the potential consequences." There is also another video linked int he article called "Seed" which is also worth taking a look at.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/existential-crisis-of-a-plastic-bag/?ref=earth

Siemens Smart Grid Tour

Read about the Smart Grid Tour that will be going around the country this summer. Check it out in NYC in September or in DC in October.

http://www.smartgridtour.com/

At the Smart Grid Tour, you will have the opportunity to:

• See the latest in Smart Grid developments, standards, and industry trends
• Take part in a wide range of education sessions
• Speak and consult with industry experts
• Network with other leaders in your industry
• Attend panel discussion presented by The Economist with leading experts to discuss and debate the future of Smart Grid

Single Serve Coffee not Sustainable?

Just the other day I was knocking a single serve coffee machine at the workplace for the amount of waste produced and how you can't use your own mug. Surprisingly some of these machines may be looking into sustainable options. One of the single serve companies, Flavia, has a sustainable component to their website to detail their steps to energy reduction and partnerships with Certified Rainforest Alliance coffee and TerraCycle to help with recycling. Maybe they aren't as bad as we initially thought?

Climate Bill Stalled

It looks like the major climate bill we were talking about last class has hit a snag with Lindsey Graham, the Republican Senator from South Carolina, pulling his support. The Senator's reason does not have to do with the actual bill, however, he is disappointed that the Democrats are trying to move forward on immigration reform before focusing on the climate and energy bill.

From the NYTimes

Eart Day Round Up

In case your interested in the events that went on for Earth day check out this article. Just to list a few...

*Environmental groups around the world lined up outside of Capital Hill demanding immedaite action from the government on climate change issues.
*The US Navy demostrated the "green hornet" by flying 50/50 biofuel blend
*NY's mayor Bloomberg released PlaNYC Progress Report 2010 of all the sustainable efforts that NY has made to date.
*California mayor Newsom introduced a new online tool for mapping out trees in the area to help better manage trees in the area.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/20182

Our Green Future and China

This is an interesting article about how the Secretary of Energy Steven Chu promotes pragmatic approaches to solving problems dealing with future technologies and China's growing green energy infrastructure. He is advocating collaboration of top energy scientists and agreements between the two countries on climate change in the hope the rest of the world will follow once the two biggest GHG emitters are taking significant steps.

From Wired.com

Anyone interested in writing a business plan?

If you're interested in getting experience in writing a business plan and a green one, please check out this opportunity:

The Urban Farm Coalition would like to write a business plan regarding the urban farm they have established at the 12th and Brandywine Community Garden in Wilmington. To date they have established two 48 foot and twelve 16 foot production beds. They are growing an assortment of vegetables and berries. All of the produce is to be sold on-site at a farm stand.

The goal of this undertaking is to supply the local community (a very underserved population, mostly minority) with fresh produce. They are not out to make a profit, or even break even necessarily, though perhaps part of the plan would be to consider how they could at least break even. They would like to write a 3- to 5-year business plan for the farm and farm stand. The goal is twofold - 1) to establish this urban farm as a model for future urban farms in and outside of Delaware and 2) to seek grants for DCH to establish other urban farms. They would like to have the plan written in the next few months.

This is the information I received so far. If you want more details please let me know and I'll get you in touch with my contact there.

Raz

Earth Day is Big Business

Big business is taking advantage of earth day.

The article also mentions eco-consumers and company relationships to customers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/business/energy-environment/22earth.html?hp

Happy Earth Day

Don't forget to check out some of the events going on at UD. Here's a website for a complete schedule. Happy Earth Day!

Iceland Volcano

Here are some pictures from the recent volcano explosion http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/icelands_disruptive_volcano.html

I was there about a year ago, and the guy who took us out to the glacier called Iceland the world's anus - he said it is constantly gassy and exploding. Guess he was right.

Has anyone read anything about long term effects of so much ash?

More about the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

I mentioned the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) on the last class, so here's their website - https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx.

Just a reminder, the CDP was launched in 2000 to collect and distribute high quality information that motivates investors, corporations and governments to take action to prevent dangerous climate change. They act on behalf of 534 institutional investors, holding $64 trillion in assets under management and some 60 purchasing organizations such as Cadbury, PepsiCo and Walmart. 2,500 organizations in some 60 countries around the world now measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies through CDP.

Also, here's an interesting interview with their co-founder and CEO, Paul Dickinson:

It's Easy Being Green at Bloomingdale's

Bloomingdale's is teaming up with NDRC (Natural Resources Defence Council) by asking shoppers to donate $5 or $10, and 100% of the donations will help their efforts in protecting wildlife and wild places to ensure a healthy environment for all life on earth. Also, shoppers are asked to design a sustainable tote bag to be reproduced and sold on Bloomingdales.com.

http://www.bloomingdales.com/landingpages/its-easy-being-green.jsp?cm_re=FLASH%20PAGE--Green%20Micro%20Site--Green%20Micro%20Site

Green Diplomacy at its Most Basic Level

Efforts are quickly gathering among European countries and the United States to make embassies more environmentally friendly in these climate-conscious times. In January, the Finnish Embassy in Washington was the first embassy in Washington to be LEED certified. The upgrade of the Finnish Embassy helped cut annual energy costs by $150,000. The U.S. already has 3 LEED certified embassies in Panama City; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Johannesburg. Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/business/energy-environment/19iht-green.html?pagewanted=2

Questionable Johnson & Johnson products

Through my groups research of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), we found a couple of articles that pointed out one of its shortcomings: harmful baby products.

http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2009/04/02/johnson-johnson-going-green-with-14-dioxane-and-formaldehyde-in-products/

There are other websites that site this problem, but this is the one we cited in our presentation.

Overall, JNJ shortcomings on possibly harmful products most likely comes down to their bottom line (CASH). Some of the other 'green' practices we mentioned in the presentation (reducing packaging, energy usage, and waste) all save JNJ money. Meanwhile, changing products requires a big input of capital in R&D and marketing. From corporate's point of view, JNJ's reputation may act as a shield to bad media; meaning they are such a highly respected company they might feel like they can get away with this in the short-term. JNJ's track record tells me that they will eventually fix this issue, but they continue to risk their reputation if they put it off much longer.

My opinions on why JNJ has not improved their products are subjective, but what's factual is if JNJ does not address this issue consumers will go somewhere else for their baby shampoo.

Two items of interest

1.) http://clintonfoundation.org/earthday/quiz.php

Kind of a fun 10 question quiz about climate change - I learned some surprising facts! At the end, you can choose to have a solar power flashlight donated to Haitians.

2.) From colloquy.com

Otarian restaurant chain offers Carbon Karma Credits

According to an article in The Independent, beginning on April 19, Otarian will offer eaters Carbon Karma Credits, a loyalty card to reward frequent customers for helping Otarian save the planet.

Owners Pankaj and Radhika Oswal, an Indian-Australian billionaire couple, promises that "everything we serve is grown, gathered, sourced and prepared to make the least CO2 possible."

Otarian has two locations opening in New York City, the first on April 17, with two planned to open in London this June, reported Brand Republic.

What do you think? Will this encourage customer loyalty? Does this have a hint of green-washing? It sounds the restaurant is trying to create a competitive advantage by marketing themselves as eco-friendly, but I would like to see the proof.

Environmental Sustainability & Leadership

The Blue Hen Leadership Program is holding a great event on April 21st. The lecture starts at 5pm in Trabant 219.

Environmental Sustainability & Leadership
April 21st at 5pm in Trabant 219

Is being a great leader important to you?
Is being green and sustainable important to you?

If you answered yes to both of these questions then this is the program for you!
Learn how to incorporate sustainability techniques smoothly into your leadership style.

This is a Category C session.
Registration is not required but highly encouraged.
Please reply to this e-mail if you plan on attending.

http://www.udel.edu/bluehenleadership/

Maryland First State in the Union to create Benefit Corporation Legislation

This is a very exciting news and we'll discuss it further on our green innovation class. Here's the press release:

April 13, 2010 - Annapolis, MD: Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed into law the nation's first legislation creating Benefit Corporations, a new class of corporations required to create benefit for society as well as shareholders.

Unlike traditional corporations, Benefit Corporations must by law create a material positive impact on society; consider how decisions affect employees, community and the environment; and publicly report their social and environmental performance using established third-party standards.

The legislation, sponsored by Senators Jamie Raskin and Brian Frosh and Delegate Brian Feldman, passed the Maryland Senate with a vote of 44 - 0 and the Assembly 135 - 5.

"Milton Friedman would have loved this," said Andrew Kassoy, co-founder of B Lab, the non-profit that drafted the model legislation with William H. Clark, Jr., partner in the Corporate & Securities Practice Group of Drinker Biddle and Reath. "For the first time, we have a market-based solution supporting investors and entrepreneurs who want to make money and make a difference," Kassoy added.

The new law addresses a long time concern among entrepreneurs who need to raise growth capital but fear losing control of the social or environmental mission of their business. These entrepreneurs and other shareholders of Benefit Corporations now have additional rights to hold directors accountable for failure to create a material positive impact on society or to consider the impact of decisions on employees, community, and the environment.

From a company's point of view, the new law empowers directors of Benefit Corporations to consider employees, community and the environment in addition to shareholder value when they make operating and liquidity decisions. And, it offers them legal protection for those considerations.

"Today marks an inflection point in the evolution of capitalism," said B Lab co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert. "With public trust in business at an all-time low, this represents the first systemic response to the underlying problems that created the financial crisis -- protecting companies from the pressures of short-termism while creating benefit for shareholders and society over the long-haul."

"This is a great moment in the evolution of commercial life in Maryland and America," said Senator Raskin. "We are giving companies a way to do good and do well at the same time. The benefit corporations will tie public and private purposes together."

Maryland is the first state to pass Benefit Corporation legislation, but others are quickly following Maryland's lead. Vermont Bill S.263, co-sponsored by Senators Hinda Miller and Peter Shumlin, has already passed the Senate and will be considered by the Vermont Assembly over the next 30 days. Other states considering the legislation include Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

You can read more about it at http://trueslant.com/annefield/2010/04/13/maryland-is-first-state-to-adopt-a-law-creating-for-benefit-for-profit-companies/

Raz

JNJ Going Green With 1,4 Dioxane and Formaldehyde In Products

This is article that we dicussed in our presentation about issues that JNJ is having with some of their products. China is not pulling JNJ products off their shelves, but the U.S. is not?? The 1,4 Dioxane and Formaldehyde was found in baby products, triggering serious skin reactions for babies.

Anyone else find it interesting that China is pulling these products, yet they still remain in the market in the U.S.?

www.thegoodhuman.com/2009/04/02/johnson-johnson-going-green-with-14-dioxane-and-formaldehyde-in-products/

link to the article of Paul Krugman: Building a Green Economy

Here's a link to the article of Paul Krugman I mentioned last class on climate policy. I warmly recommend to read it for next class, where we'll discuss these issues. Even Al Gore recommended it on twitter :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/magazine/11Economy-t.html


And here's a link to an interesting follow-up of David Roberts on Grist - http://www.grist.org/article/2010-04-13-hey-paul-krugman-how-about-less-econ-theory-more-econ-mechanics/

Raz

Green Fraud

Investigators from the General Accounting Office (GAO) found some faults int he government backed energy star program.

The GAO officials submitted 20 faulty products for energy star ratings and were approved for 15 of them. For further insult, one of the products was a gas powered alarm clock that received ana energy star rating.

Consumer Beware!

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/032710/nat_596959259.shtml

http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/328109

Sandals Resorts, Saunders Group Chase Down Energy Efficiency

Adding to our discussion last week about hotel’s efforts to become more efficient in their use of electricity and water, here is an article about Sandals Resorts and Saunders Group Hotel’s attempts to become more sustainable companies. This article focuses on how sustainability certification and “green” initiatives help hotel chains save on valuable energy and water resources while also helping their bottom lines. Sandals Resorts is joining EarthCheck to upgrade all of its Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts properties in Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas to the EarthCheck Program for sustainability certification. They say their sustainability practices help the resort’s bottom line because more conference organizers and planners target venues with eco-friendly practices. For example, Nestle does not book its events with conference venues that don’t have sustainability policies put in place. Also, Saunders Group Hotel is almost done with its $2 million eco renovation that includes over 90 green practices.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/03/30/sandals-resort-partners-with-earthcheck-program/

Target Opens Recycling Centers in all 1,740 Stores

Target announced Tuesday that it is rolling out a massive nationwide recycling initiative with centers at the front of each of its 1,740 U.S. stores. The VP of Brand Marketing stated, "The launch of store recycling stations allows us to continue to partner with [our guests] to curb unnecessary waste in our stores and in our communities."

Target has ramped up it sustainability programs and image partially in response to Wal-Mart's big push to become more sustainable, use less energy, and produce less waste.

http://www.enn.com/business/article/41209

Sustainable Beauty is Skin Deep

Check out this site (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1) to see how safe your beauty products are...

"What is the biggest organ in your body? You might be surprised to find out it's the skin, which you might not think of as an organ. No matter how you think of it,
flawless skin is a thing of beauty. We coddle it, we nourish it, we try to improve it.

When you think about it, our daily personal habits add up: from lotions, deodorant, face care, shaving, makeup, cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, and the list goes on. Each product used in a daily personal care routine offers the opportunity to use products embracing eco awareness and made by sustainable businesses. These products are not only better for you, but they are easier on the environment.

Our eco friendly training directs questions pertaining to safe ingredients in skin care to Skin Deep. Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group."

Reynolds Wrap is Going Green

100% Recycled Aluminum
100% Recycled Paperboard Packaging
100% Reynolds Tough

Their website is all about going green and they have green kitchen tips. There is also a link to the commercial explaining how they are becoming sustainable.

http://reynoldsrecycled.com/index.html

Just in time for our class on Monday:

From Environmental Leader:

Dogwood Alliance Urges KFC to Adopt Sustainable Paper Packaging

The Dogwood Alliance, an environmental group dedicated to preserving southern forests in the U.S., has launched a national campaign urging Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to adopt sustainable sourcing practices for paper packaging and to stop contributing to the annual destruction of the southern forest region in the United States.

The environmental group is calling on KFC to take action to protect southern forests by reducing waste and increasing its use of recycled content and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper.

Dogwood Alliance claims that while the fast food industry is one of the largest consumers of southern forest products, it has been slow to adopt sustainable sourcing practices for paper products. In addition, only one southern mill out of approximately 100 that produce paper packaging is sourcing from FSC certified and sustainably managed forests, according to the alliance.

Dogwood Alliance launched its Kentucky Fried Forests campaign with a public rally in front of KFC’s flagship store in Louisville, Kentucky, reports Triple Pundit. The alliance also wants Yum!, owner of the KFC brand, and its other restaurant chains — Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silvers — to use FSC certified sources.

The environmental group has had some success in pushing major corporations — including Staples and Sony — to purchase paper and packaging materials only from sources certified by FSC, reports Triple Pundit.

Dogwood Alliance reports that the southern region of the U.S. is the largest paper producing region in the world, providing 20 percent of the globe’s pulp, paper and lumber, yet it’s home to only 2 percent of the world’s forests. The alliance claims that an area larger than the state of New Hampshire is clear cut every year in the south primarily for paper and paper packaging production.

The environmental group also claims that International Paper (IP), a major supplier to KFC, which operates nine mills in the south is draining biodiverse land resources in the region and practicing large-scale clearcutting.

Scot Quaranda, the Kentucky Fried Forests campaign director, told Triple Pundit that IP has a member on the board of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), an alternative forest-certification group that is backed by the paper industry, which he considers “to be the fox guarding the hen house.”

The alliance believes KFC has the ability to influence industry-wide change by committing to purchasing only FSC certified products throughout its supply chain.

Triple Pundit reported that IP claims to have “the largest FSC manufacturing platform across the globe.” Quaranda responded in the article that this is part of IP’s efforts at greenwashing its environmental record. Although IP holds FSC Chain of Custody certificates, it only means the mills have been certified to handle fiber, not necessarily that they are using FSC fiber, he stated.

Energy Storage Market to Hit $44B by 2015

The prospects for energy storage technologies have been getting a lot of media lately, and it seems that this won't be slowing down. The market for batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells targeting transportation and smart grid applications will more than double from $21.4B in 2010 to $44.4B in 2015. The report stated that the electric vehicle storage technology market will nearly double from $7.7B in 2010 to 14.5B in 2015. I find it quite interesting that the market for electronic bike (e-bike) and scooter batteries will lead the way, growing from $6.4B in 2010 to $10.9B in 2015. It is said that e-bikes and scooters will drive the biggest growth in batteries for the next 5 years.

Does anyone else think that it could be possible that e-bikes and scooters will so popular in years to come?

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/20073

Minnesota Passes PACE Legislation

Minnesota governer Tim Pawlently signed a jobs bill last week that included provisions for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE); which currently PACE has been passed in 16 other states. PACE drives local governments to create voluntary programs that will allow property owners to finance solar, other renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electric vehicle plug ins improvements to their homes or businesses through voluntary property assessments.

Ken Bradley, director of Environment Minnesota, says that this program "will allow business owners to make investments by using energy savings and pay those investments back through voluntary propery assessments."

Hopefully PACE will be an even greater success than they hoped!

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news/display/id/20084

EPA awards $2M for Ground-Breaking Environmental Technologies

The EPA has just awarded $2.38 million to small businesses to develop innovative sustainable technoligies to help protect our environment and our people. The money was awarded to small businesses in 16 states based on environmental issues from improving water infrastructure to green building materials and systems.

The article says that there are over 25 million small businesses in the U.S. today and these businesses have generated over 60-80% of new jobs in the last decade. These small businesses have contributed/developed majority of the new sustainable technologies; so it's a good think our government is doing something to help these small businesses. The money is awarded to businesses with less than 500 employees.

Check it out....http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/20076

The Big Green Apple

In the South Bronx, a residential building called Fox Point is being built that are designed like boiler rooms. "The boiler room houses a microturbine system, which generates energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere, reducing carbon emissions while also cutting costs." The boiler rooms are being designed to meet criteria aligned with LEED. Micheal Bloomberg plans to create many of these boiler rooms to save money, and to house former homeless people and low income families. Boston and Chicago are also constructing these buildings as well.

http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15819127

The Toxic Side of Being Green

Interesting article on why the color green can never actually be "green."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/arts/05iht-design5.html

Upcoming guest speakers

Here's a list of the upcoming guest speakers on our class:

April 19: Sandy Wiggins - Chairman of e3bank, Principal at Consilience LLC and Past Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.

You can read more about Mr. Wiggins at http://www.e3bank.com/what-is-e3bank/people

May 10: Orly Zeewy - Green Branding consultant

You can read more about Ms. Zeewy at http://www.zeewy.com/about.html

May 17: Susan Firestone - CEO and Founder of Siw Thai Silk, Inc.

You can read more about Ms. Firestone at http://www.siwthaisilk.com/main.html

Raz

Clean solar energy?

Marc Gunther wrote an interesting article on GreenBiz.com about the not-so-clean side of the solar market.

"Now a survey and scorecard that ranks solar energy firms points to potential environmental, health and safety issues associated with the production and disposal of solar photovoltaic panels -- as well as the reluctance of some well-known industry players even to talk about their practices."

Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/03/30/solar-powers-dirty-secrets#ixzz0kHc4sc3d

U.S. Issues Limits on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Cars

This past week the federal government took its first formal step to regulate global warming pollution, by issuing final rules for greenhouse gas emissions for automobiles and light trucks. This includes new tailpipe rules, jointly written by the Transportation Department and the EPA, setting emissions and mileage standards that would translate to a combined fuel economy average for new vehicles of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. These rules are expected to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases about 30% from 2012 to 2016. This is the first time the federal clean air act has been applied to carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/science/earth/02emit.html?ref=science

Green Drinks

The next Green Drinks is tomorrow, April 6th around 6pm at Ole Tapas Lounge 1126 Capitol Trail Newark, DE 19711. Here's a message from Green Delaware:

"Green Drinks: A casual and unstructured event - no agenda, no power point presentation - just a good time over a cool beverage. Our goal is to bring together everyone who shares a passion for the environment, sustainable living, energy efficiency and clean energy and transportation, environmental legislation, green products and, well, you get the picture. Whether you are already green or you want to go green, from EcoMoms to solar installers, you'll find friendly, like-minded people.

Join us for this great social and business networking gathering. Everyone is welcome. We look forward to hearing about new ideas and projects for going green. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think would enjoy attending."

Come if you can...

Just in case you missed the DE Great Green Expo last month, here's another Green Expo coming our way...The Go Green Expo will be up and running in Philadelphia the weekend of April 16-18th. Check it out if you're around and catch a presentation from speakers discussing the triple bottom line energy management, green entreprenuers, and living ecologically.

Search for Green Jobs

This "Green Jobs" website is great-you can choose country, state, area of interest and all the results are there for your perusal. This job site is in connection with the www.sustainablebusiness.com website and is equally as informative. It's also the site where I found a link to this "breakthrough in reusable packaging." Should McDonald's consider a reusable burger box?

Statewide Recycling Proposed

From today's newspaper, information on a bill to implement statewide recycling.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100402/NEWS02/4020345/1007/Statewide-recycling-proposed

I think these programs obviously help the environment, and have a societal impact. I grew up in NY, where we have had a similar program for at least 15 years.When I moved here, I couldn't believe my friends didn't recycle. Growing up with a state program raises awareness and makes it a habit for children. It becomes the norm instead of something extra you have to do, that can be perceived by some as a burden.

Any thoughts on the proposed legislation or societal impacts of state recycling programs? Should people who don't participate in state programs be fined, as they do in some European countries? (For example, there is a fine for putting recyclables in the trash in England. I also think Germany has a high cooperage tax on bottles to encourage recycling.)

Panel on Fossil Fuel Use and Alternative Energy

I know C-Span isn't the most exciting channel but this panel discussion includes some very smart and influential people talking about the future of the energy industry and what has to be done in the next 20-30 years in order to keep up with ever rising demand. The panel includes the chairman of Duke Energy, an energy policy expert, the former head of BP's Asia operations, an energy economist, an alternative energy venture capitalist, and the director of Advanced Research Projects in the Energy Department. You might not have time to watch the whole discussion, but even in smaller segments it is informative and thought-provoking.

You can find the video on this page.

Job posting: Sustainability Intern - Part Time in Philadelphia

Sustainability Intern - Part Time - Philadelphia
Blue Hill Partners is an investment firm focused exclusively in the Green Technology and Green Building sectors. Our goal is to create scalable financial models that accelerate green technology adoption.

Key Responsibilities
- Assist the Managing Partner with day-to-day activities including scheduling meetings, calls and travel
- A wide variety of analytical and research projects that will be at the intersection of sustainability and business
- Help prepare presentations, reports, and white papers
- Research local, state, and federal incentive programs and provide updates when necessary

Requirements
Ideal candidate will have some combination of work or educational experience in green buildings, energy efficiency, renewable energy, or environmental economics or policy. Specific attributes and skills required:
· Highly organized and detail oriented
· Ability to work in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment that requires multi-tasking and the capacity to shift gears quickly
· Good analytical/research skills and ability to analyze opportunities
· Strong communication/interpersonal skills
· Self-starter - someone who is highly motivated and able to work autonomously.
· Strong computer skills - Word, Excel, PowerPoint
· A sense of humor and fun!!
Education: BS/BA - All majors can apply.
Compensation: part time - based on experience
Contact: Send resume and cover letter to jobs@bluehillpartners.com