Eight Midwestern states have agreed to work toward the common goal of developing high speed rail in the Midwest, and hope to access $8 billion in earmarked federal dollars to fund the new services.

Governors from those states — Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin — signed an agreement on Monday, saying they support each other in seeking federal dollars to build a high speed rail network. The hub of the network would be in the Windy City, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley along with five of the governors attended the Midwest High Speed Rail Summit to solidify the agreement.

Chicago already serves as a hub for Amtrak and many freight lines. The new plan would bring high speed rail into the mix, which advocates say could transform and green transportation in the the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions.

(Photo: Midwest High Speed Rail Association)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has allocated $8 billion for high speed rail. The Midwest group is likely to find competition for that money from California which has passed the initial bonds for a planned high speed rail that would run from Sacramento to San Diego.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) told the group gathered on Monday that the Midwest wanted to be “in front of the rest of the nation” with it’s high speed proposal, according to news reports.

High speed passenger trains can go 110 mph to over 200 mph, cutting trip times in half or more on Midwestern routes between cities in neighboring states, such as Chicago to Minneapolis; Chicago to St. Louis; Chicago to Detroit. Routes between neighboring cities, like Milwaukee and Madison, could become an easy daily commute.

For more on routes envisioned for a high-speed Midwest network, see the Midwestern High Speed Rail Association website.

The Association of American Railroads, which represents freight trains and Amtrak, announced its support of the Midwest plan on Monday.  In an address to the summit, AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger said the national rail network is “critical to meeting the mobility needs of the 21 century.”

“America’s freight railroads support the goal of increased passenger rail investment,” he said . “It’s good for our economy and the environment when more people and goods move faster by rail.”

Hamberger pointed out that the country’s privately owned freight rail network will provide the initial foundational infrastructure for high speed rail in America and noted that railroads are already greener than other types of transportation or freight shipping.

Railroads account for 43 percent of the freight moved between cities, more than trucks or any other type of transportation, and can move a ton of freight more than 400 miles on a single gallon of fuel, according to the AAR.

Mainstream Renewable Power, the global renewable energy company based in Dublin, today announced its first U.S. investment, purchasing a portfolio of wind farm projects in Illinois with the potential to generate 787 megawatts — enough energy to power 200,000 homes — by 2013. All of the wind projects are located within 100 miles of Chicago.

The company said it acquired the assets from local wind farm developers Bruce and Joyce Papiech of FPC Services for an undisclosed price. The portfolio comprises three separate projects at various stages of development and will require an investment of more than $1.69 billion over a four-year period to fully develop.

The 120 megawatt Shady Oaks project in Lee County, Illinois, is scheduled to begin construction next year. When finished in 2010, it will generate enough green electricity to power about 30,000 homes, the Mainstream said. During the construction phase, the Lee County project is expected to employ about 120 people and it will provide ongoing employment for approximately 12 people operating the wind farm.

The other two projects are the 467 megawatt Green River project, also in Lee County, expected to begin construction by the end of 2010, and a 200 megawatt project in Boone County.

“The U.S. market is of strategic importance to Mainstream, and the scale of the opportunity is strongly reflected in President Obama’s economic stimulus package, which includes $56 billion in grants and tax breaks for U.S. clean energy projects over the next 10 years and a budget of $15 billion a year to fund renewable energy programs,” Dr. Eddie O’Connor, co-founder and CEO of Mainstream, said in a statement. “The Administration’s goal of generating 25 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 will help revitalize the U.S. economy and protect consumers.

Mainstream established its U.S. office in Chicago in 2008 and last December appointed Chuck Watson as non-executive director to lead its U.S. advisory board. Watson, co-founder and former chairman of Houston-based energy company Eagle Energy Partners, was formerly chairman and chief executive officer of Houston-based Dynegy Inc., an asset-based, integrated energy provider. Watson founded NGC Corp., Dynegy’s predecessor, in 1985 and served as chairman and CEO until May of 2002.

The Illinois projects are Mainstream’s second North American transaction in three months. The company entered a joint venture with Canadian wind farm developer Alberta Wind Energy Corporation to build an initial portfolio of over 400 megawatts of wind energy plants in Alberta by 2013.

We all need to start eating closer to home, and with all due respect, I don’t mean down at the corner KFC.

I’m talking about finding fresh, locally grown produce for home cooking. Do we even need to list the reasons? Buying local food cuts down on polluting “food miles”, bypasses refrigeration trucks, supports local farmers and puts nutrient-rich foods on our plates.

But unless you grow a lot of your own food, how can you distinguish what came from your friendly local farmer in Illinois (or Texas or California) from what came from a rain forest-encroaching big-Ag operation 2,000 miles away?

Increasingly, grocery stores are helping us get smarter about food. They are labeling produce as local, organic and “conventionally grown”. Recently, I found myself bathed in info at a large Whole Foods Market. There I gaped before a mouth-watering, six-foot-high tower of neatly sorted cruciferous and root vegetables, squash and herbs stacked and organized according to the Dewey Decimal system. There were many signs. Some of the food was local, some was organic, and some, but only some, was local and organic. And because experts say that choosing organic is important, and also that choosing local is vital, I thought my head might explode.

That same week, I found myself at a farmer’s market being handed green beans that were supposed to be local. But it didn’t seem quite possible that they actually could be…unless they’d been planted very early…in a greenhouse. Maybe they meant loco?

It’s not always so easy, greenies. So how do you nail down what’s local?

Obviously, you can grow some of your own — it’s guaranteed local. You can join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) network. You could lurk at your farmer’s market and eavesdrop on people who appear knowledgeable and drug-free. And you can learn the seasons. It needs to be in season to be local, and if it’s local it is certainly in season. See a tautology! This will only trip you up when someone ships apples from Washington to sell in New York, which harvests apples at the same time. Because of our complex food system, this sort of thing happens regularly. At least you can compare apples to apples.

If you want to skip the Farmer’s Almanac portion of this learning process, go straight to this great resource: The Natural Resource Defense Council’s Local Food database. There you can type in your state and the month and pop up a list of produce that a shopper could reasonably expect to see harvested somewhere in that state at that time.

In Illinois, by late May, for instance, you could expect to find: Asparagus,Cabbage,Cherries, Greens, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Strawberries.

But in Texas, in late May, look for a fruitier selection: Blackberries, Blueberries, Cabbage, Cantaloupes, Carrots, Cucumber, Grapefruit, Herbs, Honeydew Melon, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Nectarines, Onions, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Peppers, Potatoes, Summer squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watermelon

And so on. Happy May.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

A softening economy and a milder-than-usual winter contributed to a decline in carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants in 2008, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project.

EIP officials noted that the decrease is a departure from the recent trends, with power plant carbon dioxide emissions having risen 0.9 percent since 2003, and 4.5 percent since 1998, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Even with the national improvement in CO2 emissions, six states had increases in power plant emissions of 1 million tons or more from 2007 to 2008:

• Oklahoma (3.1 million)
• Iowa (1.8 million)
• Texas (1.7 million)
• Nebraska (1.3 million)
• Illinois (1.1 million)
• Washington (1.1 million)

“Unfortunately, one year of improved data does not mean that we are on the right path for carbon dioxide reduction from U.S. power plants. We clearly cannot afford a wave of conventional fossil-fired power plants that would only add tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year over the lifetimes of these new plants,” EIP Senior Attorney Ilan Levin said in a statement. “If the United States is serious about curbing greenhouse gas pollution and meeting the goals that the scientific community says are needed, then many of the nation’s dirtiest power plants will either need to be cleaned up or retired. We have no time to lose.”

The 10 states that emitted the most CO2 in 2008, measured in total tons, are: Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and West Virginia.

The 10 states with the largest CO2 increases over the past 10 years (from 1998 to 2008) are:

• Texas (26.9 million tons)
• Arizona (22.6 million)
• California (18.8 million)
• Georgia (17.7 million)
• Illinois (17.7 million)
• Oklahoma (16.6 million)
• Alabama (8.9 million)
• South Carolina (7.5 million)
• Colorado (6.7 million)
• Iowa (6 million)

From Green Right Now Reports

A year after its US arrival, smart USA Distributor LLC said today that it will plant a tree in recognition of each of the 24,622 smart fortwos sold in 2008 and for those sold through the remainder of 2009. The company said it will partner with American Forests and Daimler Financial Services to plant the trees in the Cache River State Natural Area of southern Illinois, about 150 miles southeast of St. Louis.

“smart USA, Daimler Financial Services and American Forests are committed to creating a healthier, greener environment,” Dave Schembri, President of smart USA, said in a statement. “We wanted to select a project that not only reflected one of our brand’s core attributes, but will also create a better place to live for all Americans.”

The Cache River State Natural Area project will create large blocks of historic hardwood bottomlands that support neotropical migratory birds and will provide high-quality swamp and wetland habitats for more than 100 species listed as threatened or endangered. smart USA said owners who took delivery of their vehicle in 2008 will be notified of the program on their anniversary date and will be able to download a certificate recognizing the tree planting from the company’s web site.

The diminutive smart USA has become a symbol of environmental awareness. In addition to high fuel economy, the smart fortwo is up to 95% recyclable, and is certified as a SmartWay vehicle for its low air pollutant and greenhouse gas scores by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Seeking to show that proposed new U.S. coal plants would exact a high environmental toll even beyond their carbon air pollution,  the Natural Resources Defense Council issued a list today of the states that would bear the greatest burden from coal waste.

Texas, with eight proposed plants, topped the NRDC’s “Filthy 15″ list. It was followed by South Dakota, Florida, Nevada and Montana, Illinois, South Carolina, Ohio, Wyoming, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri , Wisconsin, Georgia and West Virginia.

Those states have 54 proposed coal plants awaiting permitting. Across the nation, there are 80 proposed plants that would dump an estimated 18 million tons of dangerous coal combustion waste annually into various dump sites, largely unmonitored by the federal government.

That waste would include some 18,000 tons of toxic chemicals and metals, such as lead, mercury and arsenic, that would threaten the environment and people because it could leach into groundwater and streams and lakes, according to the NRDC’s analysis.

Arsenic and heavy metals such as lead and mercury have been linked to increased incidence of cancer, hormone disruption and impaired cognitive abilities among children.

The threat from coal waste is especially acute because states typically have weak regulations, and the federal government has failed for the last three decades to finalize national regulations, NRDC experts said.

This waste “has never been regulated at the national level,” said Peter Lehner, executive director of the NRDC at a news conference. “Currently it’s just dumped into ponds and unregulated landfills and abandoned mines.”

Even outside the “Filthy 15″ no state has successfully controlled the problem, he said.

Lehner applauded the announcement earlier this week by the Obama Administration that the EPA would move forward with regulating coal ash. But he said the agency should act swiftly, adding: “We fully expect the coal industry is going to fight back very, very hard.”

One area of debate has involved the recovery of coal waste for believed beneficial uses, like filling abandoned mines. The practice provides a way to get rid of coal waste and the coal ash is supposed to neutralize acids in the mines and improve water quality in the area; but NRDC research suggests the practice can backfire with toxins leaking into the water supply.

In addition, the EPA has found that coal waste dumps have contaminated water (groundwater and at the surface) at 24 sites in 13 states, according to the NRDC report Dangerous Disposals: Keeping Coal Combustion Waste Out of Our Water Supply.

Aside from ongoing (and difficult to track) potential poisoning of soil and water, coal plants pose a danger from calamitous accidents such as the one in Harriman, Tenn., where a Tennessee Valley Authority waste pond spilled more than a billion gallons of coal sludge.

“Coal waste is one more nail that should be driven into the coffin of coal,” said Tom (Smitty) Smith, director of the Texas Office of the Public Citizen, who appeared at the conference.

“We need to stop permitting coal,” said Smith, ticked off the industry’s other polluting attributes, from shearing off mountaintops to causing acid rain and more carbon pollution than any other single source.
“The toxic toll of coal,” he said, “is too great for the country to bear”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Related links:

• NRDC: Contaminated Coal Waste
• Watch Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars at SnagFilms.com
• Texas Business for Clean Air

1. Texas (8 proposed plants; 4,093,087 tons of coal ash waste)
2. South Dakota (2; 952,630)
3. Florida (3; 911,118)
4. Nevada (3; 888,272)
5. Montana (3; 848,278)
6. Illinois (4; 797,450)
7. South Carolina (2; 731,110)
8. Ohio (3; 711,616)
9. Wyoming (5; 697,850)
10. Michigan (5; 686,897)
11. Kentucky (4; 593,662)
12. Missouri (4; 515,709)
13. Wisconsin (3; 512,632)
14. Georgia (2; 507,952)
15. West Virginia (3; 445,202 )

Related links:

• Watch Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars at SnagFilms.com

Photo: The Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve and Alpheus Media

Narrated by Robert Redford, Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars, followed the story of Texans fighting a high-stakes battle for clean air.

Here’s an excerpt from my new book, Saving The World At Work:

Every day at work, you are surrounded by waste that could be easily converted into social nutrition for your community. Have you ever counted all the broken or outdated computers, monitors, printers, phones, desks, and chairs gathering dust?

Many innovators are turning their trash into food by partnering with nonprofit groups with expertise in preparing used items for community distribution. Electro-Motive, a LaGrange, Illinois–based manufacturer of electric-diesel locomotives, took a novel approach to a recent company-wide upgrade of its computers. Instead of throwing out 700 old computer workstations, the company donated them to Chicago’s Computers for Schools, a nonprofit that refurbishes computers for local school systems. And when executives discovered that the recycling program was popular with employees, they organized a three-day recycling drive. Employee enthusiasm was so high that organizers created a follow-up event for the general public at Chicago’s United Center. Between the two events, more than 80,000 pounds of computer and office equipment were collected.

Don’t stop at computers. In Lynchburg, Virginia, the local nonprofit Crayons to Computers works with dozens of local businesses to redistribute unused or discarded office supplies, equipment, and furniture to community area schools. Similarly, Maryland farmer Rod Parker lets the Washington Area Gleaning Network, a local nonprofit that feeds the needy, pick over his farm after the annual harvest.  As a farmer, he’s committed to feeding people, and he derives satisfaction from knowing his unpicked items are being put to good use.  Larry’s Markets in Seattle donates expired or dented canned goods to local food banks. Fletcher Allen Healthcare, a medical center in Vermont, donates unused produce from its cafeteria to local nonprofits that feed the homeless.

Your company meetings and events may provide you with an opportunity to give back to your local community as well. I’ve attended hundreds of them over the last few years as a public speaker, and I’m always amazed how much food is wasted. In the fall of 2007, the socially minded rock band Phish, along with event vendors, donated all the edible leftover food from its concert in Limestone, Maine, to Catholic Charities Maine. The results were not trivial: Volunteers collected more than $5,000 worth of frozen, dry, and canned food.

Read more from Tim at SandersSays.

Other than the intoxicating smell of new text books and notebooks, the familiar scents of back-to-school may be changing. Ammonia-scented hallways, newly sealed and fuming gym floors, odorously painted classrooms as well as lawns with the subtle scents of pesticide treatments, may be a thing of the past.

In today’s more environmentally conscious world, public and private schools are rethinking how they maintain their buildings. Reducing toxic chemicals in schools – as in our homes — is not only good for the environment, but for those who use these buildings.

In Maryland’s Montgomery County outside of Washington D.C., the public schools have long taken a pro-active approach in using non-toxic cleaners.

“We want our buildings to be clean and at the same time healthy for our students, faculty and the person doing the cleaning,” says Larry Hurd, building services trainer for the school district.

Ten years ago, the district, which oversees 200 schools, changed from an oil-based sealer for their wood gym floors to a water-based sealer. It works well, says Mr. Hurd, and toxins are no longer an issue. “The oil-based sealer was bad for the students and other visitors to our schools, but it was real, real bad for the person applying the sealer.” That person was exposed to the sealer fumes for as much as four hours.

Another major change in Montgomery County involved switching to a single less-toxic cleaner that replaced seven conventional cleaners that had been used in the schools — one for windows, another for floors, another for restrooms and so on. Starting about three years ago, the school system began using the green cleaner Alpha HP, made by Johnson Diversity, for all their cleaning uses, Hurd said.

The wood floors throughout the district are no longer stripped with caustic chemical strippers. Instead they are top-scrubbed with water and Alpha PH, which removes the two top coats, says Hurd, and involves less time and no toxins.

Alpha HP, a hydrogen peroxide-based cleaner, has been certified by Green Seal, a nonprofit company that promotes products that don’t harm the environment. Hydrogen Peroxide cleaners break down in the environment into basic elements faster and more completely than many other chemicals, such as ammonia or chlorine bleach, used in conventional cleaners.

More and more schools are getting on board with environmentally safe cleaning products, says a Green Seal spokesperson. In fact, schools across the entire state of New York is now going with Green Seal-approved cleaning solutions, and in May the state of Illinois adopted a similar green cleaning program, the Green Clean Schools Act.

In addition to being safe, Hurd points out that the Montgomery County School District saves on water since Alpha HP uses a measured dispenser system. Depending on the job, the Alpha HP powder is measured out and then mixed with just the right amount of water. And the one quart Alpha HP container is also recyclable.

“We’re really proud of our program,” says Hurd. “All our custodians are put through basic training. We take a systematic team approach to cleaning in which we clean all year long, looking for healthy ways to clean around the clock. We detail one quarter of our buildings every day – walls, floors, lights — so by the end of the week, everything has been thoroughly cleaned.” Years ago, Hurd notes, schools spent the summer cleaning to get ready for fall. But with the buildings being used all year long, “you can’t wait till summer to clean.”

No Kids Were Harmed During This Cleaning

At the Northwest School in Seattle, Washington, the environment is one of the three legs on which the school is founded, notes science teacher and environmental program director Herb Bergamini. The private school (pictured at top) was founded in 1980 and one of its key tenets, Bergamini says, is that “the students be invested in taking care of their space, their environment from the get-go.” Taking care of their environment at a young age, he says, will help them take care of it once they enter the “real world.”

Recycling, reducing carbon emissions and composting are not all these kids do. They actually are responsible for keeping their school clean. Scraping gum from the desks, cleaning toilets, vacuuming, maintaining wood floors are part of their day. Led by a senior, each student group is made up of all grades, sixth through 11th, as well as a faculty member who assists the seniors with leadership skills. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, classes stop at 9:40 a.m. and for the next 10 minutes, each team does their assignment. There is also a janitor who oversees the restrooms and dining rooms.

Besides learning responsibility, the students realize that their actions – such as sticking gum under a desk or leaving a half-filled recycled bottle in a bin – have an effect on their fellow students.

In the last year, says Bergamini, “we have switched to the ‘Simple Green’ line of products. We also use Bon Ami scouring powder and Murphy’s oil soap for the wood floors. Because our building is more than 100 years old, we have a lot a wood.” Simple Green cleaners are non-toxic and biodegradeable and meet Green Seal’s environmental standards. The non-toxic Bon Ami , Bergamini points out, has no dye, chlorine or perfume and is safe for the environment.

In the Irving Independent School District, composed of 35 schools and located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, crews use another Green Seal-approved cleaning product called Stride Citrus Neutral Cleaner. In addition, Irving schools spokesman Tony Thetford says the school district is in the process of taking competitive bids on several green cleaners in hopes of adopting them. “We have gone out for bid on the Aquaria Floor Finish, Freedom Floor Stripper, Alpha-HP Multi-Surface Cleaner, and Glance NA Glass Cleaner that are Green-Seal certified. These products will be added to our inventory as soon as possible,” Thetford said.

Beginning with all 20 elementary schools, custodians are using new Pro-Team Super Coach HEPA Vacuums with HEPA filters that remove nearly 100 percent of dirt and allergens from floors and surfaces, Thetford says.

Leslie Reichert, aka the Cleaning Coach, advises homeowners and cleaning professionals on green methods of cleaning. But her advice can also be applied to schools. In fact, she recently assisted the Northbridge High School in the Worcester area of Massachusetts by suggesting they use microfiber cloths, one of the mainstays of her cleaning program.

“The new design of the school was nearly all glass. The janitors were spending a lot of time spraying the class with ammonia-based cleaners. I gave them the blue micro-fiber cloths which they just spray with water. No chemicals are involved. It saves on paper towels and they’re not filling up the students and janitors’ lungs with chemicals,” Reichert said.

Reichert also recommends mops that come with removable and washable microfiber pads or central vacuum systems.

Keeping Critters Out

Pesticide maintenance is another issue that affects the environment. The Northwest School in Seattle recently completed a major remodeling, says Bergamini. Although the Seattle area is probably not a mecca for critters, he says they made sure they removed all points of entries.

In warmer climates, such as Texas, keeping the schools free of bugs is more of an issue and may require some form of pesticide. Andy Garza, the Regulatory Compliance and Training Coordinator at Irving ISD, says Irving “has implemented a pro-active Integrated Pest Management approach. We are conducting structural and landscaping inspections to identify any repairs that need to be completed to prevent pest ingress. We are using monitors to identify pest activity before it becomes a problem. Finally, we use safe, non-chemical control methods (glue boards, light traps, etc.).”

The EPA doesn’t rule out the use of pesticides, stating that they are “powerful tools for controlling pests.” But they advise that they be used judiciously since children tend to be more sensitive to these chemicals than adults – especially young kids who may be crawling or putting their hands in their mouths. Specifically, the EPA suggests that schools use integrated pest management (IPM). As stated in their website: “IPM is a safer and usually less costly option for effective pest management in a school community. A school IPM program uses common sense strategies to reduce sources of food, water and shelter for pests…and takes advantage of all pest management strategies, including the judicious and careful use of pesticides when necessary.”

Among the common sense strategies suggested by the EPA:

• Make sure the problem or pest is identified before taking action.

• Vegetation, shrubs and wood mulch should be kept at least one foot away from structures.

• Cracks and crevices in walls, floors and pavement are either sealed or eliminated.

• Lockers and desks are emptied and thoroughly cleaned at least twice yearly.

• Food-contaminated dishes, utensils, surfaces are cleaned by the end of each day.

• Garbage cans and dumpsters are cleaned regularly.

• Litter is collected and disposed of properly at least once a week.

• Fertilizers should be applied several times (e.g.,spring, summer, fall) during the year, rather than one heavy application. (And, we might add, there are organic fertilizers that help build the soil and don’t produce nitrogen-heavy runoff.)

• If pesticides are necessary, use spot treatments rather than area-wide applications. (See our interview and video with Michael Bohdan of The Pest Shop in Plano for more ideas on organic pest control.)

In Irving, Garza says the key to using chemicals is in the application. “What makes a chemical safe,” he says, “is the person applying it and the way in which the chemical is applied. The IISD strictly enforces appropriate application times and waiting the proper amount of time necessary for safe reentry.”

More and more, environmentally clean schools are becoming the standard. As Montgomery County’s Larry Hurd says “Kids and staff are happier when their school is clean. When the air is good, you feel better. It’s a better experience for everyone.”

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media