Snails Save Bulgarian Farmers from Recession

Few industries have been spared during the global recession, with many still bracing for things to get worse before they get better. But farmers in Bulgaria have found a product that is seemingly recession-proof: snails. The cost to raise them is low and demand is so high, farmers can’t keep up with orders.

From MSNBC:

Businesses may shut by the day across Europe, and Bulgarian agriculture has been declining for 20 years, but snails — a delicacy particularly popular in France and Italy — have become a dynamic niche for the European Union’s poorest country.

September is harvest season and demand is outstripping supply for “escargots”, as the French call them (”ohlyuvi” in Bulgarian). The country has seized the chance to reinforce a position exporting luxury foods that are rarely consumed at home.

About 800 to 900 tons of snails and snail products — six times more than in 2008 — will be exported from Bulgaria this year to please the palates of aficionados, mostly in France.

300 new snail farms are set to open in Bulgaria next year as orders come in from all over Europe. People are really hungry for some snails.

Hey, sometimes tradition trumps smart spending, and people want little luxuries these days. Though why disgusting little slimy creatures are a luxury, I’ll never know.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Flickr user AussieGall

Older Green Workers Worry as Young Trainee Ranks Grow

Right now, there’s a veritable army of green workers being trained across the country in fields ranging from conservation to clean energy. That’s great news to most people – except the older green workers who are afraid they’re going to be pushed out of their jobs by young trainees.

The Labor Department is paying to train people for green jobs, and younger workers tend to get more training money than adults. The fact that older workers have to update their knowledge to compete, paired with the lower cost of employing apprentices makes even this booming job market tough if you’ve got experience under your belt.

Youth Radio’s David Dominguez interviewed L.A. green workers, young and old.

This is ETI, the Electrical Training Institute of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Here, you find a mix of older union workers, called journeymen, and young apprentices, like 24-year-old Anthony Hernandez. Right now, Hernandez and his fellow trainees are learning how to install solar panels.

Anthony Hernandez: “We’ll be brought up as apprentices with the solar and the green movement so the journeymen will have to relearn everything. Hopefully it will be to our advantage and easier for us to install.”

Anthony used to be non-union electrical contractor, but decided to join the union for the safety training and benefits.

Frank DuMarcos: “I’m learning not to change the future, but to keep up with the new technology.”

That’s electrical journeyman Frank K. DuMarcos. He’s a 10-year union veteran. He admits that jobs often boil down to the brutal bottom line of a contractor’s budget. And that creates tension.

“Some contractors hire apprentices because apprentices are cheaper than a journeyman. Some apprentices only make $20. A journeyman makes over $37. I’ve been on jobs where they had two journeymen and they had 15 apprentices.”

But older workers needn’t worry too much, according to Jerome Ringo, President of the Appollo Alliance, which is devoted to creating green jobs around the country. He says that older workers will have an opportunity to retrain and that all workers, regardless of age and experience, will have a chance to benefit from investment in green jobs.

Listen to this Youth Radio story at the American Public Media Marketplace.

Link [American Public Media]
Photo credit: Flickr user greenforall.org

Obama Administration Orders 14,105 Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

President Obama has lived up to his word on greening the federal fleet, ordering 14,105 fuel-efficient vehicles worth $210 million. The vehicles will be paid for with funds from the Recovery Act. The U.S. General Services Administration said that it ordered the vehicles from GM, Chrysler and Ford last week.

From GreenBiz.com:

“GSA is committed to spending Recovery dollars quickly and wisely,” Commissioner James A. Williams of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service said in a statement. “Simultaneously, we are focused on acquiring vehicles that will provide long-term environmental benefits and savings by increasing the fuel efficiency of the federal fleet.”

On March 30, Obama directed his administration to purchase about 17,600 commercially available, fuel efficient vehicles from American auto companies by June 1, to use funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — and to get the job done swiftly to boost the nation’s auto industry and replace aging vehicles with greener ones.

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement, the vehicle orders is “good for our economy, good for our workers, and good for our environment”. Way to go green and give people jobs at the same time – a fantastic way to approach both the economic and climate crises.

Link [GreenBiz.com]
Photo credit: The Huffington Post

Obama Puts $2.4B into Grants for Electric Vehicles

President Obama has announced $2.4 billion dollars in new grants for electric vehicle development. The funds are included in the $787 billion dollar stimulus plan. The plan will also give a $7,500 tax credit to people who buy plug-in vehicles. Obama has vowed to compete with foreign nations in the race to be world leader on renewable energy.

From The Huffington Post:

“We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad or we can create them here in America and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity,” Obama said on the second day of a campaign-style swing in California.

He set a target of putting a million of the environmentally friendly vehicles on US roads by 2015.

But that doesn’t compare favorably to plans by some other, smaller countries. Here at HuffPost Green, we marveled at Spain’s electric vehicle program just yesterday — that country, whose population isn’t quite one-sixth the size of ours — is shooting for a million electric vehicles by 2012, in addition to pilot infrastructure programs in three major cities.

We are definitely way behind, but who do we have to thank for that? 8 years of profits-over-people-and-environment Republican “leadership”. The Bush Administration was all about maintaining the environmentally unfriendly status quo for their buddies in industry, and Obama has done an admirable job thus far helping to make up for lost time.

Is $2.4 billion for electric vehicles enough? Maybe not, but it’s a thrilling start, and at least we’re finally getting somewhere.

Link [The Huffington Post]

Green Gigs Profiles Careers in Green

Ever wonder what an environmental scientist does? How about a health & safety officer? If you’re interested in jumping into a new, green career path but aren’t even sure what the various green job titles entail, Green Gigs has a new feature you’ll want to check out. “Profiles in Green Careers” interviews professionals who do the job every day to get the inside scoop on job duties, qualifications and what the day-to-day grind is like.

Here are a few examples of the interview questions, from Green Gigs’ Environmental Scientist profile:

Green Gigs: What are your job duties? What is your typical workday like?

Dave: Job duties at my level include managing field staff at various jobs, writing reports, managing financial aspects of various jobs and dealing with clients.

Green Gigs: Does your career lend itself to working from home, or is it mainly an office and/or field based career?

Dave: For entry level and junior staff, it is a field based career with limited office time. As you progress through the ranks, you will spend less time in the field. Although there are many aspects of the job that can be done from home, being in the office provides better access to the field staff, as well as the experience of coworkers.

Green Gigs: What advice would pass along to anyone looking to begin a career in environmental consulting?

Dave: Understand that you will need to “pay your dues” in the field. The first few years will be spent conducting field work. Field work is the foundation of everything else that we do.

Getting info like this from real eco-professionals is a great way to gauge whether a particular field is a match for you. Stop living a zombified existence at a job you hate – find your green dream job. Check out EarthFirst’s Green Jobs 101 and be sure to come back every Friday for our featured green job of the week.

Link [Green Gigs]
Photo credit: Canadian Water Network

The Recession’s Green Lining

It may be difficult to see a bright side to the global economic recession, especially if you’re among the millions who have lost their jobs, their homes or their businesses. But thankfully, as painful as the current situation is for most people, the news isn’t all doom and gloom. Things are looking up for the environment and human health in areas that have been long befouled by pollution as financially strapped factories begin to shut their doors.

From Newsweek:

It is no coincidence that some of the dirtiest industrial operations are falling victim to the global recession. Over the past two decades, much of the world’s manufacturing moved to where pollution standards are little more than mild suggestions. Since small, corner-cutting, inefficient facilities tend to both flout pollution laws and be most vulnerable to a sudden drop in demand, the global recession has hit such operations especially hard.

Thousands of factories in China’s Pearl River Delta have shut their doors since late last year, for instance; output of autos, electronics and other goods from factories in Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez, Monterrey and Toluca has fallen so sharply that the amount of cargo trucked across the U.S. border has dropped 40 percent.

In India, enough small steel-rolling mills around Delhi have closed that levels of sulfur dioxide (which forms acid rain) fell 85 percent in October 2008 compared with a year earlier. The recession is bringing a green dividend in the developed world, too. Reduced economic activity is projected to cut Europe’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief man-made greenhouse gas, by 100 million tons in 2009, and the United States’ by about the same amount.

So, while human progress – in the form of environmentally damaging industry and development – is temporarily hampered, the earth gets to take a breather. The key to making the best of this situation is to use this time to focus on cleaner economic activity so that those polluting factories don’t pop right back up again when the economy recovers.

Link [Newsweek]
Photo credit: Flickr user Taras Kalapun

Weed Could Save California’s Economy

Mendocino County, California is often called “America’s Marijuana Capital”, and for good reason: weed is this area’s number one cash crop. California, which is one of 12 of states in the U.S. to have legalized medicinal marijuana, allows residents to grow a limited amount of pot plants for medicinal use – though federal law, which bans growing marijuana for any purpose, causes clashes between state and national government agencies.

With an increase in border security after 9/11, California has become an even more popular spot to grow marijuana plants for sale in the U.S., and business is booming. With so much money changing hands, legislators are starting to recognize weed’s potential to save California’s floundering economy. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced “The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act”, which would go well beyond the decriminalization of marijuana to actually legalize the cultivation, sale, purchase and possession of the plant.

From The Itt List:

“With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense,” Ammiano said. “This legislation would generate much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes.”

As announced yesterday, the state of California would receive a $50 fee for every ounce of pot sold (which would be on top of whatever that ounce’s actual price is in a future free market). That fee and a proposed sales tax on medical marijuana would mean $1.3 billion “immediately,” according to Betty Yee, the chairwoman of the Board of Equalization who was at yesterday’s press conference. I wonder what the annual weed revenues would be, especially in a state that just barely averted a major fiscal disaster late last week. Yee called the new proposal “a responsible measure on how to work out the regulatory framework of the legalization of marijuana.”

Legalizing marijuana simply makes sense, not just for California but for the entire country. First and foremost, there are the economic benefits. The government and taxpayers would benefit hugely from diverting the billions that are currently spent each year on tracking down, prosecuting and jailing non-violent marijuana offenders to more important uses. Instead of chasing peaceful stoners and putting them in jail alongside rapists and murderers, they could be focusing more of their efforts on fighting real crime.

Plus, there are two major environmental benefits to legalizing and regulating marijuana cultivation. Marijuana operations could be brought out into the open, eliminating the need to destroy fragile forest ecosystems in an attempt to hide from authorities. And, noxious chemical spills caused by irresponsible growers could be reduced dramatically. Spills from improperly buried diesel fuel tanks and generators have leaked into California waterways, causing untold damage.

Unfortunately, this bill is unlikely to pass simply due to the ingrained negative view of the beneficial plant, courtesy of the misguided War on Drugs.

From SF Weekly:

Ammiano told SF Weekly that he doesn’t expect his bill to pass “overnight,” but doesn’t see it as merely a “placeholder.” As far as superseding federal law, he pointed to a similar bill recently introduced in Congress by Rep. Barney Frank; hopefully the law of the land will change. If not, Ammano hoped to exploit “fuzziness” regarding state and federal laws and the low priority this state has given to busting marijuana users entitled by Proposition 215. He predicted that, in these dire economic times, “support will fall all over” for his bill. Perhaps, perhaps not.

Legalizing weed would solve two of California’s most pressing problems: prison overpopulation and an unprecedented budget deficit. It’s a no-brainer.

Link [The Itt List] via [The Huffington Post] + [SF Weekly]

Hourglass to Oblivion

Here is the latest Cartoon from Earthfirst.com’s own Jerry King, a sad but seemingly true commentary on the current sate of affairs. Let us know what you think, and send us some of your ideas for future cartoons…..enjoy

Help Green for All Save Obama’s Green Recovery Plan in the Senate!

Green for All has an urgent message for all of us – they need our help now, to save Obama’s visionary green Recovery Plan in the U.S. Senate. The right wing is mobilizing to kill the plan despite broad support among Americans, and our Senators will be voting on it in the next few days.

From Green for All:

THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE TO ACT. Please call right now:

1. Call 1-866-544-7573 – This will take you to the Congressional switchboard, toll-free. Ask for your Senators’ offices. If you don’t know who your two Senators are, simply tell them which state you live in.

IMPORTANT: Lines may be clogged. Please keep calling back to get through to your two Senators’ offices.

2. What to say: Please pass President Obama’s Recovery Plan, with $500 million in funding for the Green Jobs Act. Thank you!

3. Forward this email to 10 friends.

4. Tell us how it went: Email team@greenforall.org.

Right now, Senators’ offices are counting every single call that comes in either for or against the Recovery Plan. Even if you just leave your zip code and stammer out a line of support for the act, it could have a major impact on how your Senators vote.

This is so important, and it will only take a few minutes of your time. Please take action now! There is also an online form you can fill out, but in these last few days, a call may be more effective.

Link [Green for All]

NY Senator Schumer Pushes for Transit Funding in Stimulus Package

As Obama deals with his nominees’ tax problems and members of both the Democratic and Republican parties spar over details of the economic stimulus package, NY Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing to get more mass transit money added to to the Senate version of the bill. Schumer is teaming up with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who succeeded in adding an additional $3 billion for transit into the House stimulus bill.

From Grist:

“In order for our economy to get the boost it so desperately needs from the stimulus package, we have to ensure there is enough funding to upgrade our nation’s transportation infrastructure, particularly mass transit,” said a statement from Schumer’s office on Monday. “We are going to work night and day to make sure this stimuluspackage gives New York’s subways, buses, and rails the boost they need to keep our mass transit system on track.”

Schumer introduced an amendment to the Senate stimulus package that would increase transit funding by $6.5 billion, making for a total of $14.9 billion. Money for transit capital projects would increase from $8.4 billion to $10.4 billion, $2 billion would be added for rail modifications, and another $2.5 billion would be added for the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program.

Unfortunately, many existing transit programs are in dire need of assistance to cover the cost of fuel, maintenance and employee salaries so they can stay up and running – and neither the House nor Senate version of the stimulus package includes operations funding. Some say that keeping existing systems running is more important than building new ones.

Either way, it’s important that mass transit gets some attention. A lot of focus has been on the automobile industry lately, and while it’s really important to move forward with green vehicles, mass transit needs to play a large role in transportation in the U.S. from here on out. We need to keep these programs running, and start more – many areas of America still don’t have reliable public transit.

Link [Grist]
Photo credit: Flickr user PhotoDu.de

$100 Billion in the Economic Recovery Bill for Environment and Energy

The House passed an enormous $819 billion stimulus bill this week with only Democratic support – the number of votes they got from Republicans was a big fat zero (surprise, surprise). The Senate is expected to pass an even larger (roughly $888 billion) bipartisan bill soon, as well. In case you were wondering just how much of that massive economic recovery package is actually going to go toward the environment and energy, the Natural Resources Defense Council has broken it down.

From The Daily Green:

Environmental groups were fawning over the House bill, which Al Gore had personally lobbied for and which, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s tally, paves the way for:

$3.4 billion for states for clean energy projects
A grants program for renewable energy technologies covered by the renewable energy tax incentives
$6.2 billion for weatherization of low income homes
$3.5 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (supports clean energy projects primarily at the city and county levels)
$2 billion for clean energy research & development
$6 billion for increasing energy efficiency in federal buildings
$12 billion for transit
$2 billion for ready-to-go drinking water infrastructure projects
$6 billion for ready-to-go sanitation infrastructure projects

The Sierra Club and NRDC are have praised the bill for “moving America to a clean energy economy” and creating jobs. Of course, not everything in the bill is green – and there are a few sour notes. The Senate is adding $4.6 billion for coal and $50 billion for nuclear energy.

It’s difficult to even comprehend how much money $888 billion really is. Hopefully it’ll work- a lot of people have their futures riding on its success.

Link [The Daily Green]

Photo credit: National Parks Service

10 Must-Read Articles for Green Job Hunters

So, the employment situation in America is looking mighty gloomy. That’s cause for anyone to worry, even if they’re not among the hundreds of thousands laid off in recent months – so preparing a back-up plan is a popular thing to do right about now. That beacon in the darkness? It’s the green collar job market. While so many other industries are laying people off, green businesses are growing, and there are thousands of green jobs to be had.

Green Gigs, a blog that posts daily lists of green telecommuting opportunities, came up with this list of 10 articles you should read if you’re seeking an environmental job or just want to get some info preemtively.

1) Get a Job: Top 10 Guides to Finding the Perfect Eco Career – TakePart: Where better to start then a list of must read environmental career guides?

2) Great Green Careers – CNNMoney Fortune: Learn how people are making green livings with this article that profiles five professionals and their chosen green career paths.

3) Ten Best Green Jobs for the Next Decade – Fast Company: Okay, you know you want a green career, but which to choose? Take a gander at this list of the ten hottest green jobs. Farming anyone?

4) Switching To Green-Collar Jobs -BusinessWeek: Just because you’re not a trained “green” professional, doesn’t mean you can’t forge a green career using your own expertise.

5) Opportunities For Green Growth: Myths and Realities About Green Jobs – Center for American Progress Action Fund: Go straight to the source – read Van Jones’ testimony before Congress regarding the realities of creating green jobs.

6) Where are the New Jobs for Women? – The New York Times: Uh-oh, all was going well until it was pointed out that most green jobs are dominated by males.

7) The ‘Green Jobs’ Myth – The Wall Street Journal: Hmmm…see what those in the EU have to say about U.S. “green jobs”.

Hot ‘Green’ Jobs Keep Evolving – U.S. News & World Report – Just what is a “green job”?

9) Why Obama’s green jobs plan may work – Los Angeles Time: It’s not all gloom and doom, maybe there is hope for a green economy.

10) Green industries offer job growth opportunity – msnbc: Yes, I knew it!

Check back with us early next week for the EarthFirst guide to nabbing a green job – info on how to prepare, which industries are the most promising and how to apply.

Link [Green Gigs]
Photo credit: Rainforest Action Network

The 25 Most Promising Green Businesses

There’s a lot of bad news out there right now, and green business has unfortunately suffered like any other industry in this unsettling economy. That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of green entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists making breakthroughs and building promising businesses, though – and Business Pundit has the proof. They’ve come up with a list of 25 incredible bright spots that’ll put a little spring in the step of anyone who’s rooting for the green movement.

25. Bionic Power Inc.

Bionic Power Inc.’s Biomechanical Energy Harvester uses the energy your body creates during the process of walking to charge portable batteries. The device, which after development should weigh about two pounds, is geared towards people need easy, cheap portable power. Importing disposable batteries costs heavily in terms of fuel for transportation. Target markets include the military, public safety officials, first responders, and others who need charged batteries during blackouts. Bonus: Wearers can charge their cellphones on it at night.

24. Feelgoodz

Feelgoodz manufactures eco-friendly shoes using hemp, bamboo, natural rubber, and recycled paper. 3% of its profits go to charitable causes, including the Fair Trade and 1% For the Planet. Their comfortable flip-flops are all-natural and 100% biodegradable. The flip-flops could be huge if they gain an international market.

23. DEKA: The Slingshot

Better known as the inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen is now manufacturing the Slingshot, a filterless water purifier that makes drinking water out of sketchy water sources like sewage, ocean water, and urine. It runs off of cow dung and generates enough electricity to run a building full of light bulbs. Hoping to instigate a phenomenon, Kamen is handing units to impoverished villages. The handy device costs the rest of us $1,000-$2,000.

22. WhiteWave Foods

Dairy food specialist WhiteWave Foods produces natural foods while offsetting 100% of its electricity with renewable power purchases. The company works with both human sustainability, in which soy and organics may play a big role, and industrial sustainability. Their flagship brands include the popular Silk (soy products), Land O Lakes, and Horizon organic dairy products. The company is recognized for its green power use by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

21. Ice Energy

Ever lived in a city that has rolling blackouts during the summer? Energy glutton air conditioners are a main reason for peak electricity issues. Ice Energy has a solution that lets you keep cool in summer and save energy
. Their Ice Bear cooling unit, which plugs into air conditioners, makes ice at night, when electricity is off-peak. During the day, the Ice Bear cools the air conditioner’s coolant (usually cooled with electricity) using ice, cutting electricity consumption by as much as 30%. So far, the company only sells to businesses, but look for it residentially soon.

Check out the remaining 20 over at Business Pundit!

Link [BusinessPundit]

‘Green For All’ Fights to Lift People Out of Poverty

In this tough economy, there has been a lot of talk about a green stimulus package and the promise of green jobs. But while politicians and pundits figure out how to best implement those goals, Green For All has been busy creating the blueprints for an inclusive green economy, strong enough to lift people out of poverty (see our profile of Green for All founder Van Jones).

From the Green For All website:

What’s the best way to give Americans of all socioeconomic backgrounds a tangible stake in fighting for issues like global warming? Easy: Make it their livelihood. Every day, about 135 million people go to work in the U.S. Imagine what would happen if millions of those jobs—plus new ones created for people who are currently unemployed—were in fields like renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and green building.

Solar RichmondBUILD at work:

Green For All is hosting a track of the upcoming Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference in D.C. from February 4th-6th. So if you’re in town, be sure to check out interesting panels like Prison Re-Entry & Green Jobs and Youth, Culture & Making Green Jobs Cool.

High Standards for Businesses Wanting in on Obama’s Green Stimulus

Businesses that want a piece of President-elect Obama’s green stimulus plan will have to jump a number of high hurdles in order to qualify. The Obama administration’s stimulus package is expected to range between $675 billion to $775 billion, and to get a piece of the pie, corporations will have to meet some strict criteria.

Projects will have to be green, ‘shovel ready’, short-term and job producing in order to qualify for funding. Obama’s team is interested in projects that will push America toward a greener, cleaner energy future while also producing economic benefits – and everyone from the nuclear power industry to Dow Chemical thinks they have projects that meet those standards.

From Business Week:

First, the projects must be “shovel-ready”—that is, ready to go immediately. “They told us that for business to get anything, we have to prove there’s a short-term job impact—within six months,” explains Brent Erickson, vice-president of the Biotechnology Industry Assn. (BIO), which is pushing for biofuels production incentives. But the projects can’t put Uncle Sam on the hook to spend money for more than a year or two. “They have to be temporary, not creating a permanent need for funding,” says Dow Chemical (DOW) lobbyist Peter Molinaro.

One proposal generating buzz predicts more than 7 million jobs from a $171 billion investment to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and homes. Commercial property owners would get short-term tax reductions, and homeowners could lower mortgage payments if they boosted their energy efficiency or amounts of renewable energy. Homeowners would get their interest rates cut to, say, 3% if they paid for home energy audits and enough insulation and other improvements to cut usage by 75%. “It gets people back to work in a way that’s extremely positive,” says Edward Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030, the Santa Fe (N.M.) research group that devised the plan.

The Obama team isn’t about to fall for any greenwashing attempts by corporations who just have dollar signs dancing in their minds. All claims made in relation to getting in on the stimulus package must be backed up with hard evidence. As a result, companies are hiring consulting firms to help them figure out just how many jobs they can create.

With so many green projects in the pipeline, 2009 is shaping up to be a promising year for sustainability. No doubt there will be a lot of bumps on the road, but we’re at least headed in the right direction.

Link [Business Week]

Recyclables Heading to Landfills as their Value Decreases

Yet another sad and unexpected effect of the current economic conditions: recyclables losing their value. Cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals are piling up across the country as recycling contractors fail to find buyers who will purchase the materials at a fair price. This slump in the scrap market means that many of those recyclables will end up in the landfill instead of getting new life as car parts, book covers and boxes.

From The New York Times:

“It’s awful,” said Briana Sternberg, education and outreach coordinator for Sedona Recycles, a nonprofit group in Arizona that recently stopped taking certain types of cardboard, like old cereal, rice and pasta boxes. There is no market for these, and the organization’s quarter-acre yard is already packed fence to fence.

“Either it goes to landfill or it begins to cost us money,” Ms. Sternberg said.

In West Virginia, an official of Kanawha County, which includes Charleston, the state capital, has called on residents to stockpile their own plastic and metals, which the county mostly stopped taking on Friday. In eastern Pennsylvania, the small town of Frackville recently suspended its recycling program when it became cheaper to dump than to recycle. In Montana, a recycler near Yellowstone National Park no longer takes anything but cardboard.

There are no signs yet of a nationwide abandonment of recycling programs. But industry executives say that after years of growth, the whole system is facing an abrupt slowdown.

Many recyclers are hoping the market will rebound in the next six months to a year, so they’re still stockpiling tons of material. In the meantime, they’re hurting. Prices have bottomed out – on the West Coast, for example, paper materials that sold for $105 a ton is down to $20 to $25.

This news is disappointing, to say the least. We can’t afford to lose public support for recycling. The good news is, most cities have no plans to cease recycling operations, but some are already limiting the types of materials they’ll take. If only more manufacturers would commit to using recycled materials for everything they possible could, we could keep the stream of recyclables moving until the economy rebounds.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Jody Hilton for The New York Times

Wisconsin Towns Could Print Local Money to Encourage Local Spending

Two Milwaukee neighborhoods are considering printing their own currency for exclusive use in local stores and businesses, to encourage residents to spend their money in ways that benefit the local economy. The neighborhoods of Riverside and East Side are currently discussing the possibility, in the hopes of keeping their local economy afloat even while the nation suffers a recession.

From The Chicago Tribune:

“You have all these people who have local currency, and they’re going to spend it at local stores,” said Sura Faraj, a community organizer who is helping spearhead the plan. “They can’t spend it at the Wal-Mart or the Home Depot, but they can spend it at their local hardware store or their local grocery store.”

Incentives could be used to entice consumers into using the new money. For example, perhaps they could trade $100 U.S. for $110 local, essentially netting them a 10 percent discount at participating stores.

This is a really cool idea. It makes sense to support your local community first, especially during times of economic turmoil. Incentives to buy local could really help small companies stay in business until the national economy gets back on track, and we all know the environmental benefits to buying local.

I can see something like this really taking off in my own community, where the ‘shop local’ movement is vocally and passionately supported by residents.

If you’re interested in starting something like this in your town, just make sure the money you design looks nothing like real federal money, or you’re stepping into counterfeiting territory.

Link [The Chicago Tribune]

GM Giving Up 2 of 5 Private Jets Amid Criticism

C-SPAN isn’t exactly known for being the channel to watch when you want a good laugh. But, during the congressional hearings last week with the heads of GM, Chrysler and Ford, viewers were treated to some unexpected and bittersweet hilarity when the Big Three executives got skewered for arriving in Washington D.C. on a private jet. Their expressions during the barrage of questions belied the fact that they didn’t even consider how bad the luxury trips looked in light of the purpose of the hearings.

It’s bad enough that all three head honchos showed absolutely zero humility while begging Congress for a multi-billion dollar bailout. But then, Wagoner simply smirked when the three executives were asked if they planned to sell their private jets and fly back to Detroit via commercial airline. The response the public got from the auto companies afterward was simply that it’s “company policy” for the CEOs to travel on private jets, and that it was a “private matter”.

It was only after getting a verbal whipping from members of Congress that GM announced they’d be giving up their private jets.

From CNN Money:

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said the auto maker, which leases the planes, had decided to get rid of two of its five remaining jets before this week’s hearings as part of deep cost cutting under way at the company. The company sold two planes in September.

“We understand the symbolic issue of people showing up in Washington in corporate jets,” Wilkinson said. “We’re very sensitive to that.”

All travel at the company is getting cut dramatically as GM, which burned through $6.9 billion in cash in the third quarter, struggled to stay afloat. GM has eliminated half the workers who staff its Detroit-based hangar and planes, Wilkinson said.

“There’s a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off them with tin cups in their hands,” Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D.-N.Y.) said. “It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high-hat and tuxedo.”

It’s pretty sickening to hear that the company considers it a “symbolic issue”. Continuing to revel in such unnecessary excess while asking for a handout isn’t going to garner much sympathy from the taxpaying public.

Link [CNN Money] + [YouTube]

Green Building Market Still Growing Despite Weak Economy

The economy may be on a downward spiral, with investors keeping their funds closer to the chest, but so far the green building market looks like it’s still on the rise. Public perception of the costs of green buildings is changing – people are becoming aware of the fact that many aspects of green building save money in the long run.

From BizJournals Green:

McGraw-Hill Construction released a report on Wednesday that found the value of green building construction starts was up five-fold from 2005 to 2008. According to the Green Outlook 2009: Trends Driving Change report, starts were up from $10 billion in 2005 to $36 to $49 billion this year and could triple by 2013, reaching $96 to $140 billion.

The report — based on data found in the McGraw-Hill Construction Network — was released on Wednesday at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston. The survey found that, since 2005, the perceived benefits of green building have increased as people become more informed about green building. The decrease in operating costs is the most often cited benefit (13.6 percent, up from 8 percent to 9 percent in 2005), followed by the increase in building values (10.9 percent, up from 7.5 percent in 2005).

It’s yet another example of how the green market is going to continue to shine through this downturn. As we’ve noted before, during tough times, the things people do to save money are often environmentally friendly by nature. Now is a great time to push green ideas that save money, energy and resources.

Link [BizJournals Green]
Photo credit: Independence Station

Next Page »