From Green Right Now Reports

SustainableBusiness.com has released its 8th annual list of 20 public companies that are leading the way to a sustainable economy. The selections are made in cooperation with a group of judges consisting of leading green stock analysts.

Judges select companies across the range of green business sectors: solar, wind, geothermal, smart grid, water, food, agriculture, green building and transport. SustainableBusiness.com said a third of the companies populating this year’s list are “corporate pioneers” — companies with conventional products and services that are greening their product lines.

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From Green Right Now Reports:

Famed climate scientist Dr. James E. Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah and Rainforest Alliance Network Executive Director Michael Brune, along with several local residents were arrested on Tuesday while protesting mountaintop removal in Southern West Virginia.

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By Diane Porter
Green Right Now

There’s a shiny green report card out in Warren County, Kentucky this month.

The county’s school district won the Alliance to Save Energy’s 2009 Andromeda Award for its programs, which include $4 million in energy savings over the last five years, a 28 percent energy use reduction, a daily curriculum that focuses on energy efficiency and Energy Star ratings on four buildings. But the star of their show undoubtedly is the new Richardsville Elementary, a Warren County School on target to become the nation’s first net zero energy public school when it opens in fall of 2010 (see photo above).

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FROM GREEN RIGHT NOW REPORTS:

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to grow this year to between 7,400 and 8,400 square miles, a size roughly equivalent to the state of New Jersey, according to researchers at the University of Michigan.

That means the zone will be among the top three largest on record; the largest oxygen-starved zone reached 8,484 square miles in 2002.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Calling the fight against cancer “one of the most notorious public health failures of the 20th century” four leading cancer and environmental experts called on Congress and the Obama Administration this week to acknowledge the role environmental carcinogens play in triggering cancer and dedicate more money to cancer prevention.

In a letter to Congressional leaders, the national medical and scientific experts said they were concerned that prevention has received little attention in the Obama Cancer Plan. They noted that health care costs could not be brought under control without a better plan to fight the disease that claims 1,500 American lives daily and costs $89 billion a year to diagnose and treat. (Costs rise to $219 billion annually, when lost productivity and premature death costs are factored in).

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Photo: Illana Halperin

“Boiling Milk (Solfataras)” by Illana Halperin

From Green Right Now Reports

More than 25 New Mexico art organizations and 60 artists will join together this summer to present LAND/ART, a collaboration of environmentally inspired art. This six-month project will examine relationships of land, art and community through exhibitions, site-specific art works, speakers, performances, tours, and excursions through multiple indoor and outdoor venues around the state.

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Photo: Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas

Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin was the first hospital to receive the LEED Platinum award

For too long, hospitals have been less than healthy — inside and out.

They burn massive amounts of medical waste that spew the carcinogen dioxin into the air. They are energy gluttons, operating 24/7 — creating untold amounts of greenhouse gases and leaving massive carbon footprints. They traditionally have used about twice as much energy as regular office space. From toxins in lab chemicals to dangerous elements that leach from IVs and catheters made of vinyl plastic tubing, the place you go to heal may not always be good for you.

That is changing, thanks to powerful non-profit groups, architects with green expertise and some of the nation’s largest hospital systems.

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By Sommer Saadi
Green Right Now

As I unloaded my groceries onto the conveyor belt, I realized I was buying more than could fit in my reusable bags.

“Can you try to fit everything in these?” I asked, handing over my assortment of canvas totes.

“I can try,” the cashier answered. “But it’s no big deal, I can just use plastic bags for whatever we can’t fit into the ones you brought.”

“Oh no,” I said. “No plastic bags. Please.”

She stared back at me. She had already stretched out a plastic bag and was ready to load.

“I have this thing,” I told her. “I just really hate plastic bags.”

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From Green Now Reports

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe yesterday praised the House Game and Fisheries Committee and its chairmen, Rep. Edward G. Staback (D-Lackawanna) and Rep. Craig Dally (R-Northampton), for its near unanimous approval of House Bill 97, which would increase penalties and fines for poaching. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Staback.

“Increasing penalties for serious violations is one of the operational objectives within the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Strategic Plan, and we welcome this first-step in the process taken by the Committee today,” Roe said in a statement. “Enactment of this bill will mark the first comprehensive piece of legislation to increase Game and Wildlife Code Penalties since 1987, and we believe it will significantly enhance wildlife protection in the Commonwealth.

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Photo: Business Wire

Watt Plaza, a twin 23-story office tower complex encompassing 900,000 square feet in the heart of Century City, has been awarded Gold LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (EB O&M) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the first office building in Los Angeles to achieve this distinction in this category.

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The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

From Green Right Now Reports

This Friday is World Environment Day and the big event will be the global premiere of the environmental film Home. Narrated by Glenn Close and directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the photographer and author of Earth From Above, the film can be seen in movie theaters, on DVD, and for free on television and the Internet.

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From Green Right Now Reports

Georgia is shining a light on recycling by spotlighting the kind of people who just don’t seem to get it.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Environmental Management created the statewide awareness campaign that will feature a series of fictitious eco do-nothings. The campaign is designed to spur a change in behavior among a target audience of 25- to 34-year-olds by raising their awareness about the convenience and benefits of recycling.

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