Green Business

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on June 5 announced the initiation of a carbon offset program as part of its efforts to survive in the current and projected economic climate. The industry lost $10.4 billion last year and expects to lose $9 billion this year due to falling demand and consumer confidence, along with the fear of pandemics.

Sony Ericsson has the broad goal of cutting their global emissions by 20% by 2015, and they have taken some steps in the right direction recently by releasing two new handsets that will dramatically reduce the environmental impact

A plant that’s been around for ages could be the answer to our destructive addiction — to oil and timber. No, we’re not talking about marijuana — this is industrial hemp, a strain of the species Cannabis sativa that has too little of the active ingredient tetra hydra cannabinol (THC) to produce a high.

So, on Sunday, I and a couple of friends went for a walk on Main Street in Manayunk. We happened into a vintage boutique called Goldmine Unlimited. We were drawn in; maybe by the bar stools, maybe by the antique projectors, maybe by the cool blue cruiser, parked out front. Whatever it was that compelled us to go in, go in we did.

On June 3, the West Virginia Supreme Court refused to take up a dispute over the construction of a wind farm, allowing state approval of the $250 million project to stand. The electric-generating facility and associated interconnection facilities will be built along a ridge in north-central West Virginia in Barbour and Randolph Counties.

Managers looking for practical and economical ways to be environmentally responsible don’t have to look any further than their desktop. Buying pre-owned office furniture is energy efficient, cost-effective and improves employee morale. In some cases, it’s possible to upgrade to higher quality used furniture for the same price or less than the cost for lower-grade new furniture.

A report released June 3 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative states that $117 billion was invested in renewable energy projects, including geothermal, wind, solar and biofuels, in 2008. This is a five percent increase since 2007, mostly attributable to emerging economies such as China and Brazil.

Arizona Public Service (APS) and Starwood Energy Group Global LLC have announced plans to construct a new solar plant west of Phoenix that will be one of the largest in the world and will produce enough electricity to power more than 73,000 homes.

The United Nations has declared 2005-2015 the International Decade for Water, as diminishing supplies of fresh water affect millions around the globe.

The U.S. pavement industry is slowly starting down a more environmentally friendly road — and quite literally. Several companies have begun to switch over to green asphalt production in order to keep our country cooler. The newly adopted process keeps emissions down, though it is not as new an idea as many may think. And no, it’s not actually green, either.