From Green Right Now Reports

Star Market at Chestnut Hill in Newton, Mass., recently became the first grocery store in the nation to receive US Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership platinum store award. The advanced refrigeration technology in the new store, which is part of the Shaw’s line of supermarkets, significantly reduces its impact on climate change and the stratospheric ozone layer by cutting the use of refrigerants by 85 percent compared with the typical supermarket.

Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, called the store’s efforts “wicked cool.”

“This store shows that smart design and advanced technologies help us right now to better protect our climate, the ozone layer, and our health,” McCarthy said in a statement.

The GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership is an EPA cooperative alliance with the supermarket industry to promote advanced technologies, strategies, and practices that reduce refrigerant charges and emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.

GreenChill partners emit about 50 percent less emissions than the industry average, and have pledged to continually lower them as part of the program. EPA estimates that if every supermarket in the nation joined GreenChill and reduced emissions to the current GreenChill average, the U.S. would prevent 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 240 tons of ozone-depleting substances annually, and save $108 million in refrigerant costs each year. GreenChill has 46 partners, with more than 6,500 retail food stores in 47 states.

Under the program, GreenChill Partner stores agree to:

• Transition to non-ozone-depleting refrigerants;
• Reduce refrigerant charges;
• Reduce both ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas refrigerant emissions; and
• Promote supermarkets’ adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies

Earlier this year, the EPA honored a handful of supermarkets for reducing their use of greenhouse gas refrigerants that deplete the Earth’s ozone layer and contribute to climate change. Awardees included  Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods, and Hill Phoenix.

Sprouts Farmers Market, which owns stores across California, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, received a New Partner Award.

New partners pledge to go above and beyond regulatory requirements by measuring and tracking refrigerant emissions that affect climate change and the Earth’s ozone layer, and then setting reduction targets for these emissions. Partners also agree to use only ozone-friendly alternatives in all new and remodeled stores.

“We look forward to a productive and mutually beneficial partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market,” Keilly Witman, GreenChill Program Manager, said in a statement. “The public wants to do business with companies that share their environmental values. By joining GreenChill, Sprouts Farmers Market is proving to consumers that they care about the Earth’s ozone layer and climate system.”

Whole Foods Market’s newest store in the North Atlantic Region, located at Legacy Place in Dedham, Mass., was recognized for its environmentally friendly design, construction, and operations with the Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globes certification and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill certification.

For the Green Globes certification, the Dedham store was evaluated in six categories, including energy, water, resources, emissions, indoor environment and environmental management systems, and received a three out of four “Green Globes” rating. The EPA’s GreenChill certification program promotes advanced technologies, strategies, and practices that reduce refrigerant charges and emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.

“With the combined power generated from our fuel cell and solar panels, the Dedham store is essentially able to generate almost 100 percent of its power needs on-site with clean energy resources,” Kathy Loftus, global leader of sustainable engineering, maintenance, and energy for Austin-based Whole Foods, said in a statement. “We are the first supermarket to use fuel cell technology in the state.”

By generating most of its power on-site with a fuel cell, Whole Foods’ Dedham store will prevent the release of more than 764 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually, the equivalent of planting more than 175 acres of trees and removing over 90 cars from the road, according to the natural foods grocer. The peak power generated from the photovoltaic (PV) solar energy system is enough to meet the store’s entire lighting power needs.

To achieve a Green Globes rating, Whole Foods used Green Globes’ online and interactive program to monitor the environmentally friendly building upgrades. A GBI-authorized third-party building science expert was engaged to review the building documents, conduct an on-site inspection and assess an official Green Globes rating.

Whole Foods Market announced today that it purchased 776 million-kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits from wind farms — equal to 100 percent of its electricity use in its North American operations. The company said nearly 90 percent of this year’s purchase will help fund E.ON Climate & Renewables’ recently-completed Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm.

The Panther Creek wind farm iis 50 miles east of Midland in Big Spring, Texas. It began operating in 2008, and its final phase of construction was recently completed. The project is built and operated by EC&R North America, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Chicago, with development offices in Austin and Denver. The remaining RECs come from a number of different wind farms in locations across the U.S. and Canada. The total purchase of 776,115,000 kilowatt hours, the largest to date by a U.S. retailer, was made in partnership with Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy.

“Support from companies like Whole Foods Market with partners like Renewable Choice Energy creates a valuable revenue stream for us that helps make new wind farms like Panther Creek possible,” said Dean Tuel, vice president of Energy Marketing for E.ON Climate & Renewables North America. “EC&R is developing a number of large scale wind projects in the U.S. over the coming years. Extra funding from renewable energy credit sales will play a crucial role in this growth.”

Whole Foods Market said the wind power purchase will help avoid up to 868 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. The environmental impact is similar to taking more than 72,000 cars off of the roads for a year, or planting nearly 3.6 million mature trees.

One of the nation’s leading environmental organizations, The Sierra Club, released its Third Annual Sierra Cool Schools list in the September/October issue of The Sierra Magazine.

The 135 schools were graded on a 100 point scale, and given final grades of A+ to F. There were eight categories that were taken into account:

• Efficiency
• Energy
• Food
• Academics
• Purchasing
• Transportation
• Waste management
• Administration

Many colleges and universities’ efforts to stop global warming were applauded, 27 of the 135 schools were given As. While many schools are making an environmental difference, 10 were given a failing grade.

Who made the top marks grade? Of those 27 making As, six schools nabbed an A+:

1. The University of Colorado at Boulder
2. University of Washington at Seattle
3. Middlebury College
4. University of Vermont
5. College of the Atlantic
6. Evergreen State University

To find out more about the green movement underway at universities across the nation, GreenRightNow took a closer look at some schools, including the University of California at San Diego and Emory University in Atlanta.

Our interviews revealed that many colleges, not just those at the A+ level, are getting serious about greener practices as they try to preserve land and water, lower energy costs, provide local food, develop green technology and instill a sense of responsibility toward the environment among students.

UC San Diego, for instance, has started a unique program using student educators called EcoNauts. (See our story.)

Carl Pope, the Sierra Club’s executive director, predicts that green will continue to be an important color for those considering a college.

“The next generation of students cares deeply about stopping global warming, and schools that take the initiative to become environmentally responsible are doing the right thing for the planet and are better poised to attract the best students,” he said in a news release.

According to the Princeton Review, two-thirds of students say they take into account a school’s environmental credentials. Students are more concerned with the planet now than ever and want to consider, and possibly attend, the greenest universities and colleges.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Signaling that the American marketplace may be at a tipping point, a new survey from Pike Research finds that 48 percent of consumers say they would be “extremely” or “very” interested in purchasing a plug-in hybrid that has a 40-mile range on a single charge.

“Plug-in hybrids match the driving requirements of most consumers we surveyed,” Pike’s managing director Clint Wheelock said in a statement. “Eighty-two percent of respondents drive 40 miles or less per day, with an average daily driving distance of 27 miles.”

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are one of the most highly anticipated new product categories of recent years. They promise dramatically improved fuel economy over standard internal combustion engines, and are expected to drive significant benefits in the form of reduced carbon emissions and lesser dependence on foreign oil.

Other key findings of the Boulder-based Pike Research survey included:

• 85 percent of consumers stated that improved fuel efficiency would be an important factor when choosing their next vehicle.
• 65 percent of survey respondents interested in PHEVs expressed a willingness to pay a premium price, over and above the price of a standard gasoline vehicle, with an average premium of 12 percent.
• Consumers indicated that the availability of workplace, private, and public vehicle charging stations in their local area would be very important.
• 79 percent of consumers would be interested in investing in a fast-charging outlet for their home; however, willingness to pay is out of line with industry expectations.

Pike Research’s report, “Electric Vehicle Consumer Survey,” analyzes results from a web-based survey of 1,041 U.S. consumers. The report includes a detailed analysis of consumer demand and willingness to pay for PHEVs and their associated vehicle charging infrastructure. Segmentation analysis includes an examination of demand within different demographic and behavioral groups. An executive summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

Exxon-Mobil Corporation, the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Denver to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in five states during the past five years, the Justice Department announced.

The company has agreed to pay fines and community service payments totaling $600,000 and will implement an environmental compliance plan over the next three years aimed at preventing bird deaths on the company’s facilities in the affected states. According to papers filed in court, the company has already spent over $2.5 million to begin implementation of the plan.

The charges stem from the deaths of approximately 85 protected birds, including waterfowl, hawks and owls, at Exxon-Mobil drilling and production facilities in Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas between 2004 and 2009. According to the charges and other information presented in court, most of the birds died after exposure to hydrocarbons in uncovered natural gas well reserve pits and waste water storage facilities at Exxon-Mobil sites in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

The company has entered into a plea agreement with the government, calling for guilty pleas to the five charges and a sentence of $400,000 in fines and $200,000 in community service payments. The fines will be deposited into the federally administered North American Wetlands Conservation Fund. The community service payments will be made to a non-profit waterfowl rehabilitation foundation in Colorado and the congressionally chartered National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, designated for waterfowl preservation work in each of the affected states. During a three-year probationary period, Exxon-Mobil also must implement an “environmental compliance plan” designed to keep birds from coming into contact with oily waters at its facilities in the five affected states.

“The environmental compliance plan that Exxon-Mobil has agreed to in this multi-district plea agreement is an important step in protecting migratory birds in these five states,” John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, enacted in 1918, implements this country’s commitments under avian protection treaties with Great Britain (for Canada), Mexico, Japan and Russia. The Act creates a misdemeanor criminal sanction for the unpermitted taking of listed species by any means and in any manner regardless of fault. The maximum penalty for a corporate taking under the MBTA is $15,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, and five years probation. The birds killed in the five cases include ducks, grebes, ibis, passerines, shorebirds, owls, martin and a hawk. None of these species is listed as endangered or threatened under federal law.

Migratory birds often land on open wastewater ponds at oil and gas facilities and become coated with, or ingest, fatal amounts of hydrocarbons discharged into the water during drilling or production operations. Such killings can be prevented by scrubbing the water of contaminants before discharge, removing the ponds, placing an obstruction such as netting or plastic “bird balls” over the water to prevent contact, or installing commercially-manufactured electronic hazing devices which detect incoming flights of migratory birds and deploy noise and lights to scare them away from the area. Exxon-Mobil’s environmental compliance plan will employ these techniques, tailored to each facility, to prevent future mortality.

The cases were investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Robert S. Anderson of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Carey of the District of Colorado.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Mayor Thomas Leighton won the 2009 Mayors’ Climate Protection Awards, the U.S. Conference of Mayors announced today.

The awards, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., recognizes mayors for innovative practices in their cities designed to increase energy efficiency and curb global warming. An independent panel of judges determined the winners from a pool of 140 applicants.

Conference President Manuel Diaz, Miami Mayor, said the two winners were “great examples of the local action taking place within our cities to become climate friendly.”

Denver worked with the area’s 32 metropolitan mayors and the Regional Transportation District to win support for a sales tax increase to build FasTraks, the largest transportation initiative in the country with 119 miles of new light rail.

Regionwide, 51 of the 57 new stations will have Transit Oriented Development potential – meaning the potential to reduce sprawl, and provide pedestrian- and bike-friendly environments that encourage residents to live, work, shop, and play in close proximity to transit, thus reducing their carbon footprint. Last year, Mayor Hickenlooper also pledged to make the Democratic Convention the greenest in history.

“We were able to demonstrate to residents throughout the metropolitan area how they would benefit — that even if they wouldn’t ride light rail, they’d end up with shorter commute times by getting as many people possible off the highways and onto the trains,” Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a statement. “FasTraks will be a crown jewel for Colorado and a clear example of what can happen when government and the communities they serve come together for a common goal.”

Wilkes-Barre initiated an efficient energy service program that lessened the city’s impact on the environment while saving an estimated $170,000 annually. The broad-based, public initiative relied on a combination of energy efficiency upgrades in various city departments. These ranged from new compact fluorescent lamps; overhead and pyramid lighting in public parking garages and public spaces; LED traffic signalization lamps; and a new HVAC system in city hall.

The project was completely financed through a 15-year bank loan to the City of Wilkes-Barre. In 15 years, the annual energy savings to the City of Wilkes-Barre will be sufficient to pay back the loan with interest.

“By winning this award, we hope to serve as a model for other communities and businesses who strive to become more environmentally conscious,” Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas M. Leighton said in a statement.

The following cities were selected as finalists for the awards:

Large City Finalists:

Boston; Charleston; Chattanooga; Colorado Springs; Frisco, Texas; Honolulu ; Houston; Louisville; San Francisco; Seattle; Stamford; and Tallahassee.

Small City Finalists:

Carmel, In.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Columbia, Mo.; Highland Park, Ill.; Manhattan Beach, Calif.; North Miami Beach, Fla.; and Pleasanton, Calif.

Dell and Goodwill Industries International announced they are expanding Reconnect, a free drop-off program for consumers who want to responsibly recycle any brand of unwanted computer equipment.
The program is adding 451 new donation sites in seven states — Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The program also will expand in Wisconsin to the Southeastern and South Central parts of the state.

Reconnect is now available in 18 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Goodwill said it will have 1,400 stores participating in Reconnect nationwide. Goodwill, focused on creating job opportunities for individuals with disabilities or others having a hard time finding employment, plans to hire additional staff to oversee the expanded recycling program.

Consumers can drop off any brand of used equipment at participating Goodwill donation centers in their area and request a donation receipt for tax purposes. You can find a list of participating Goodwill locations across the U.S. at www.reconnectpartnership.com.

Odwalla is continuing its successful plant-a-tree program by donating $100,000 worth of trees to be planted in state parks in California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Michigan and Virginia.

Visitors to www.parkvisitor.com/odwalla can choose their preferred state to receive a tree — no contribution or registration is required. The trees will be used to support important reforestation and planting initiatives across the country.

Since debuting in 2008, the Odwalla Plant a Tree program has provided more than 60,000 trees to state parks across the country. Trees donated through the 2008 program were planted through volunteer and other events at local parks.

The Odwalla Plant a Tree program runs from May 27, 2009 through December 31, 2009. The species of trees donated will vary by region and will be planted in fall 2009 and early 2010.

Cars.com recently released its second Green Cities Index, ranking cities on their interest green vehicles. The list was calculated by evaluating the number of hybrid searches as a percentage of overall car searches in each market, then ranking them.

West Coast buyers, particularly the Pacific Northwest, showed the greatest interest in hybrid vehicles. Eight of the top 10 cities on the list are in Oregon, California or Washington, with Eugene, Ore.; Portland, Ore.; and Santa Barbara, Calif., taking the top three spots.

“What’s interesting to note is, aside from the cities on the West Coast that one might guess would have a very strong interest in hybrid technologies, college towns rank high on the list for their interest in hybrid technologies,” Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder said in a statement. “Among the top 15 cities on the list are a group of smaller cities with large state universities where hybrids are very popular, including Charlottesville, Va., home to the University of Virginia; Gainesville, Fla., home to the University of Florida; and Madison, Wis., home to the University of Wisconsin.”

The Cars.com Green Cities Index monitors hybrid-vehicle shopping in all 210 designated market areas across the country. Here are the complete rankings:

RANK CITY
1 Eugene, Ore.
2 Portland, Ore.
3 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo,
Calif.
4 Monterey-Salinas, Calif.
5 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.
6 Charlottesville, Va.
7 Medford-Klamath Falls, Ore.
8 Chico-Redding, Calif.
9 Juneau, Alaska
10 Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
11 Boise, Idaho
12 Eureka, Calif.
13 Gainesville, Fla.
14 Austin, Texas
15 Madison, Wis.
16 San Diego, Calif.
17 Phoenix, Ariz.
18 Butte-Bozeman, Mont.
19 Salt Lake City, Utah
20 Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif.
21 Lexington, Ky.
22 Denver, Colo.
23 Honolulu, Hawaii
24 Helena, Mont.
25 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
26 Glendive, Mont.
27 Idaho Falls-Pocatello, Idaho
28 Rochester-Mason City, Iowa-Austin, Minn.
29 Portland, Maine
30 Fairbanks, Alaska
31 Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y.
32 Billings, Mont.
33 La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis.
34 Duluth, Minn.-Superior, Wis.
35 Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dubuque, Iowa
36 Missoula, Mont.
37 Reno, Nev.
38 Bangor, Maine
39 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville), N.C.
40 Palm Springs, Calif.
41 Washington, DC (Hagerstown, Md.)
42 Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.
43 Columbia, S.C.
44 Tucson (Sierra Vista), Ariz.
45 Lafayette, Ind.
46 Lansing, Mich.
47 Boston, Mass. (Manchester, N.H.)
48 Bend, Ore.
49 Fresno-Visalia, Calif.
50 Tallahassee, Fla.-Thomasville, Ga.
51 Ft. Wayne, Ind.
52 Spokane, Wash.
53 Los Angeles, Calif.
54 Kansas City, Mo.
55 Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, Wash.
56 Sioux Falls (Mitchell), S.D.
57 Casper-Riverton, Wyo.
58 Harrisonburg, Va.
59 Charlotte, N.C.
60 Nashville, Tenn.
61 Wilmington, N.C.
62 Great Falls, Mont.
63 Bowling Green, Ky.
64 Anchorage, Alaska
65 Louisville, Ky.
66 Syracuse, N.Y.
67 Las Vegas, Nev.
68 Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M.
69 Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney, Neb.
70 Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.-Asheville,
N.C.-Anderson, S.C.
71 Omaha, Neb.
72 Terre Haute, Ind.
73 Fargo-Valley City, N.D.
74 St. Louis, Mo.
75 Cincinnati, Ohio
76 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.
77 Jacksonville, Fla.
78 Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich.
79 Wausau-Rhinelander, Wis.
80 Ft. Myers-Naples, Fla.
81 Des Moines-Ames, Iowa
82 Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill.
83 Columbus, Ga.
84 Green Bay-Appleton, Wis.
85 Tulsa, Okla.
86 Springfield, Mo.
87 Topeka, Kan.
88 Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.
89 Panama City, Fla.
90 Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va.
91 Charleston, S.C.
92 Mankato, Minn.
93 Indianapolis, Ind.
94 Oklahoma City, Okla.
95 Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers,
Ark.
96 Chattanooga, Tenn.
97 Rochester, N.Y.
98 Milwaukee, Wis.
99 Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colo.
100 Dayton, Ohio
101 West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.
102 Providence, R.I.-New Bedford, Mass.
103 South Bend-Elkhart, Ind.
104 Knoxville, Tenn.
105 Peoria-Bloomington, Ill.
106 Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo.
107 Hartford-New Haven, Conn.
108 Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va.
109 Richmond-Petersburg, Va.
110 Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson (Williston), N.D.
111 Evansville, Ind.
112 Pittsburgh, Pa.
113 Lubbock, Texas
114 Joplin, Mo.-Pittsburg, Kan.
115 Dothan, Ala.
116 Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota), Fla.
117 Binghamton, N.Y.
118 Columbus, Ohio
119 Macon, Ga.
120 Jackson, Tenn.
121 Bakersfield, Calif.
122 Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss.
123 San Angelo, Texas
124 Rockford, Ill.
125 Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
126 San Antonio, Texas
127 Abilene-Sweetwater, Texas
128 Johnstown-Altoona, Pa.
129 Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pa.
130 Salisbury, Md.
131 Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island-Moline, Ill.
132 Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C.
133 Buffalo, N.Y.
134 Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa), Ala.
135 Grand Junction-Montrose, Colo.
136 Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, Miss.
137 Sioux City, Iowa
138 Baltimore, Md.
139 Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, N.C.
140 Atlanta, Ga.
141 Philadelphia, Pa.
142 Augusta, Ga.
143 Chicago, Ill.
144 Marquette, Mich.
145 Toledo, Ohio
146 Wichita Falls, Texas-Lawton, Okla.
147 St. Joseph, Mo.
148 Watertown, N.Y.
149 Traverse City-Cadillac, Mich.
150 Utica, N.Y.
151 Twin Falls, Idaho
152 Presque Isle, Maine
153 Memphis, Tenn.
154 Erie, Pa.
155 Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.
156 Wichita-Hutchinson, Kan.
157 Elmira, N.Y.
158 Cleveland-Akron (Canton), Ohio
159 Tri-Cities, Tenn.-Va.
160 Huntsville-Decatur (Florence), Ala.
161 Quincy, Ill.-Hannibal, Mo.-Keokuk, Iowa
162 Sherman, Texas-Ada, Okla.
163 Amarillo, Texas
164 Ottumwa, Iowa-Kirksville, Mo.
165 Paducah, Ky.-Cape Girardeau, Mo.-Harrisburg,
Ill.
166 Rapid City, S.D.
167 Youngstown, Ohio
168 Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.
169 Parkersburg, W.V.
170 Savannah, Ga.
171 Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich.
172 Tyler-Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches), Texas
173 Hattiesburg-Laurel, Miss.
174 Cheyenne, Wyo.-Scottsbluff, Neb.
175 Houston, Texas
176 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
177 Mobile, Ala.-Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach),
Fla.
178 New York, N.Y.
179 Charleston-Huntington, W.V.
180 Detroit, Mich.
181 Baton Rouge, La.
182 Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C.
183 Clarksburg-Weston, W.V.
184 Lima, Ohio
185 Yuma, Ariz.-El Centro, Calif.
186 Montgomery-Selma, Ala.
187 Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
188 Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas
189 Odessa-Midland, Texas
190 Monroe, LA-El Dorado, Ark.
191 Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill, W.V.
192 New Orleans, La.
193 Jackson, Miss.
194 Wheeling, W.V.-Steubenville, Ohio
195 Jonesboro, Ark.
196 Shreveport, La.
197 Lafayette, La.
198 Corpus Christi, Texas
199 Zanesville, Ohio
200 El Paso, Texas
201 Albany, Ga.
202 Lake Charles, La.
203 Alpena, Mich.
204 Alexandria, La.
205 Victoria, Texas
206 Meridian, Miss.
207 Greenwood-Greenville, Miss.
208 Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen, Texas
209 North Platte, Neb.
210 Laredo, Texas

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Do not underestimate the excitement of Earth Day. Trust us. There is a lot to look forward to this year – the Green Apple Festival and Earth Day Network are making sure of it.

The two organizations have teamed up to put together the largest Earth Day festival in America. The event will take place April 17 to 19 (the weekend before the official Earth Day on April 22) and features simultaneous service events in 10 major cities across the nation including New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

Volunteers who help out over the weekend will be given a green gift bag and tickets to attend a free “Thank You” concert in their city. And of course, the national flagship festival “Earth Day on the National Mall” will take over in Washington, D.C. The free festival is open to volunteers and the public and will feature performances and speakers throughout the day.

The “Thank You” concerts serve as a great incentive for rolling up your sleeves and making a meaningful contribution to the planet (check out the line-up below).  But just as motivating is the opportunity to be a part of some really creative and significant projects:

• Like finding out why you should have a worm in your apartment. The Lower East Side Ecology Center of New York City is teaching people how to deal with their smelly trashcan problem by keeping Red Wiggler worms handy. You learn how the Red Wiggler rapidly eats kitchen scraps and turns waste into fertilizer, and then learn how to set up and maintain a worm bin in your own crib and use the compost for feeding plants.

• Or discovering why it’s important that everyone aim for energy efficiency. In Austin, you can help retrofit a house for a family in need. The organization 1 House at a Time is teaching volunteers first-hand about home energy efficiency as they install water and energy conserving fixtures and appliances.

• You could even try to atone for your addiction to oil. Builders and bird enthusiasts are being recruited in San Francisco to help construct a cage, shed and rehabilitation pond for oiled birds in recovery at the International Bird Rescue Research Center.

Across all 10 cities there are opportunities to work in parks, beaches, schools and forests and focus on lasting climate change solutions, but you have to sign up to participate, and you have to sign up soon. Volunteers have until Tuesday, April 14 at 11:30 p.m. to register for a service project in their area. The events are listed on the Green Apple Festival site and from there a link takes you to the PlanetGreen website to sign up.

If you don’t live in one of these 10 cities, don’t worry. You can visit Planet Green’s Green Guide to Volunteering to make your own Earth Day plans.

You can also use the EDN green event locator.

Thank You Concert Lineup

Atlanta, GA – Funk and jazz band Galactic & Friends with opener country singer Victoria George at Variety Playhouse.

Austin, TX – Grammy Award-winning Country star Travis Tritt & Friends at Antone’s (note: this one’s on Monday April 20).

Boston, MA – The funk/jazz trio Soulive & Friends at Paradise Rock Club.

Chicago, IL – Alt-rock favorite Cracker & Friends at The Metro.

Denver, CO – Funk band Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk & Friends at Cervante’s Masterpiece.

Los Angeles, CA – The Hotel Cafe Presents indie rock singer-songwriter Cary Brothers & Friends at The Roxy.

New York City – The Soul legend from the James Brown Band Deep Banana Blackout featuring Fred Wesley & Friends at Bowery Ballroom.

San Francisco, CA – BassNectar & Friends at Slim’s.

Seattle, WA – Hip-Hop group The Blue Scholars & Friends at The Crocodile.

Washington, DC – Artists to perform on the National Mall have not yet been announced (it’s all about the suspense).

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

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Want to spend the summer restoring a wildlife habitat on the Dolores River? There is a camp for that. Or would you prefer learning first-hand how to cultivate a thriving organic farm? There is a camp for that, too.

With more than 5,000 overnight camps and more than 1,400 teen tours across the nation, there is a camp to suit the interests of almost every child. But we’re not talking basic glue noodles to paper, play tether ball and call-it-a-day sort of camps. We’re talking traveling the world, adapting to foreign cultures, nurturing wildlife and embracing conservation.

And the best part is these summer options are incorporating green practices and green teachings into every aspect of their programs.

“Most parents want to make sure their child comes back from camp with community service or academic credit, ” explains ChoiceCamps.com co-founder Peter Ross. ChoiceCamps.com is a new website that provides expert advice, online recommendations and testimonials from parents and campers on more than 300 of the best summer camps and teen travel programs.

“Often that credit takes the form of some environmental program. That could be anything from studying species migration to building a dam to help supply water to a village.”

“There really is a green theme throughout a lot of these camps,” Ross says. “And parents are certainly happy when their child is doing something like studying the ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands. That’s a life experience.”

Most camps on ChoiceCamps accept applications on a first come first serve basis, and nearly every camp listed on the site still has space available. Be sure to ask about any deals the camps may be running or any sibling or friend discounts they might be offering.

Choosing the Right Camp

With so many options, you want to be sure you’re signing up for the camp that best suits your family.

The most important thing is that you are matching the child to the camp. Certain programs are meant for certain kids, Ross says, so you’ll want to consider these three major points:

1. What does your child really want to get out of their summer break?

2. How long do you want your child to be at camp? Camp stays can range anywhere between five days to more than 30 days, but two week long programs are most popular.

3. Where is the camp located?

It’s also important to decide whether you’re looking into the more traditional overnight camps (usually for younger children) or a more travel-oriented our for teens. Teen tours generally include a community service component, a travel component or a language component – and often it’s all three. Some adventures accept kids at young as 13, but the majority caters to 16- to 18-year-olds. The groups are often smaller (10 to 40 campers) and the staff to camper ratio often higher.

Because teen-oriented trips feature more traveling than traditional camps, they tend to focus on interacting with the environment and methods of preservation (like “leave no trace” camping), says Ross. Overnight camps, on the other hand, can focus on stressing the importance of green practices like organic farming.

Here are a few of Green Right Now’s favorite Overnight Camps and Teen Tours:

Berkeley Farmers Markets announced Monday that it will be the first farmers market to eliminate the use of plastic bags and packaging from their three weekly markets. They will be hosting a Zero Waste Event on April 25 from 10 a.m. – 3p.m to kick off the new campaign.

“Berkeley, a city known for its progressive politics, is once again taking the lead by phasing out plastic bags and packaging at its farmers’ markets,” said Ben Feldman, Program Manager of the Berkeley Farmers’ Markets, in a statement. The plastic bags are harmful for the environment and can take up to 400 to 1000 years to break down.  The markets now encourage shoppers to bring their own cloth bags or previously used paper or plastic bags.

As a recommendation from the committee, the farmers will be asked to charge $.25 a bag in hopes of discouraging customers from using them. Vendors at the markets have the opportunity to purchase compostable bags, made from renewable resources from the Ecology Center at half price.

Berkeley is just one of the nations current farmers markets that are considered Zero Waste Zones. The Boulder, Colorado farmer’s market was the first to initiate a Zero Waste Campaign, which focused on not generating waste by reducing and recycling plastic bags and packaging. Monterrey and Irvine, Calif., have started to eliminate plastic bags but not packaging.

For more information about the Berkeley Earth Day celebration check out this website.

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