Given the feedback from the last post, I wanted to provide an update from my contact on the Florida coast. She reports that this weekend she “watched the filthy muck swirl in, right through the Perdido Pass into our back waters, and my heart broke into a million pieces.  It was slimy, and shiny….and nauseating. … What you see on TV is accurate.” Read the complete blog, and see the photos, on Womenetics.com:: http://womenetics.com/expert-blogs/-living-green/2010/06/update-from-the-coast-gulf-oil-spill-2010/

Last week EPA issued its first new primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for SO2 in 40 years. The new standard revokes the current 24-hour and annual SO2 standards and sets a new one-hour SO2 standard at 75 parts per billion (ppb), a level designed to protect against short-term exposures ranging from five minutes to 24 hours. EPA is also changing the monitoring requirements for SO2. The new requirements assure that monitors will be placed where SO2 emissions impact populated areas. Any new monitors required by this rule must begin operating no later than Jan. 1, 2013. EPA estimates that… Read more

A friend lives in Orange Beach, Florida and snapped up these shots yesterday. It sure didn’t take long for the spill to make it the last 10 miles to shore. Read the complete blog, and see the photos, on Womenetics.com:  http://womenetics.com/expert-blogs/-living-green/2010/06/oil-spill-2010-welcome-to-the-florida-coast-bp-pictures-from-the-front-lines/

On Tuesday, June 8, SGR will co-sponsor Verde, hosted by Generation Green of the Georgia Conservancy and honoring Atlanta’s sustainability community. The event will be held on the terrace of Piedmont Park’s Greystone building, overlooking Lake Clara Meer. Guests will enjoy organic, local foods prepared by Affairs to Remember, organic wines from Bonterra Vineyards and beer from Atlanta-based SweetWater Brewery. At Verde, Generation Green will recognize the 2010 winner of the Longleaf Award, Korri Ellis, as an up-and-coming environmental leader for her work with Grady High School’s environmental programs. The event will also feature exhibits from several Atlanta-based, eco-conscious artists…. Read more

Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law on May 20, 2010 legislation intended to encourage financing of alternative energy, energy efficiency and water conservation projects. Effective July 1, the amendments to the Georgia Code will pave the way for city and county development authorities to finance conservation projects, such as solar energy installation projects. Specifically, House Bill 1388 amends the term “Project” and provides development authorities with the authority to provide financing to property owners “for the purpose of installing or modifying improvements to their property in order to reduce the energy or water consumption on such property or to install… Read more

It was Friday afternoon and I had been the kind of slammed at work where you just laugh at your to-do list. Needless to say, I pulled back from my desk and realized that I had a friend coming to meet me in an hour and absolutely nowhere to stay in Sonoma County for the weekend. So, I pulled up Google and searched ”green hotel + Sonoma County” and came up with the Vintners Inn. A vintner is a term for a winemaker, and Vintners Inn is a charming bed & breakfast located among 80 acres of the Ferrari-Carano vineyards…. Read more

Last Fall, EPA finalized its GHG reporting rule, requiring certain industrial sectors to monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and report them to EPA, beginning January 2010. On April 30, EPA sent a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget for approval, expanding the reporting requirements to four new sectors: industrial landfills, wastewater treatment, underground coal mines, and magnesium production. Those additional sectors are added to reporting requirements for some sources of fluorinated GHG emissions, onshore oil and gas operations, and underground carbon dioxide injection operations, which are covered under separate rules EPA previously sent to OMB for… Read more

Until recently, a sustainable hotel was one that asked you to help them to save water by not having your towels or sheets washed daily. (And let’s be honest, most places did it to save the money on water and electricity, not the planet.) So if you wanted to “go green” you were likely camping under the stars and bathing in the river, which is just lovely. But when I’m on vacation, I want to be on vacation. I want to lounge around in a plushy robe and drink champagne and eat delicious, local foods. Is it too much to… Read more

Did you know that cosmetics are not subject to any testing or federal approval before they hit the shelf?  Neither did I.  Turns out that the Food & Drug Administration regulates drugs, not cosmetics. Beauty companies are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded, but that’s where industry oversight ends.  So, with the exception of color additives, anything that is meant to be “rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed” on your body to make you look better is not regulated.  Read the complete blog on Womenetics.com: http://womenetics.com/expert-blogs/-living-green/2010/03/organic-beauty-the-myth-the-facts/

The capture and use of waste energy, now unrestrained through the U.S. economy, is widely recognized as one of the lowest hanging fruits in the effort to improve efficiency in the economy and reduce emission of greenhouse gases (GHG’s). Known as Combined Heat and Power (CHP), or cogeneration, the practice in 2006 provided more than 12% of U.S. power, more than is supplied by nuclear reactors. The capture and use of waste energy could further reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 17%, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Recognizing this, EPA has indicated that future climate change regulations will be… Read more