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ENERGY

California requiring energy-efficient handset chargers in 2013
Slash Gear
The eco-friendly state of California has just passed a unanimous vote requiring device manufacturers to ship energy-efficient handset chargers starting 2013. This new requirement applies to all cellphones, tablets, and hundreds of other electronic devices. The new law was passed by the California Energy Commission with a 3-0 vote despite objections from electronics makers. The CEC says that these power-sapping chargers waste as much as 60 percent of the electricity they consume. Many of these chargers also continue to draw power from an outlet even when a device is not attached. There is an estimated 170 million of these so called “vampire” chargers and they account for up to 13 percent all the power used in California.

Energy conversion, Jefferies, Patriot Coal: U.S. Equity Movers

Business Week
Shares of the following companies are having unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of 2:25 p.m. in New York. CVR Energy Inc. (CVI US) advanced 2.1 percent to $22.71 after rising 9.3 percent, the most intraday since Aug. 11. The refining company formerly owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said entities associated with billionaire Carl Icahn have invested in the company.

Green energy investment soared in 2011
On Earth
Global investment in clean energy reached a new high of $260 billion last year -- despite the financial crisis and the anti-environment agenda of Republicans in the United States Congress, a United Nations investors' summit was told on Thursday. Data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which tracks clean energy investment, showed a 5 percent increase compared with 2010, driven largely by a surge of money going to the solar industry. Investment in solar power rose 36 percent last year to $136.6 billion. And while the U.S. domestic political scene was riven by the furore over a $535 million government loan to the now bankrupt solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra, there was apparently little immediate direct fallout for industry.

Midwest energy efficiency leaders recognized for groundbreaking achievements
Market Watch
The eight winners of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance's (MEEA) 2012 Inspiring Efficiency Awards are industry leaders who have delivered innovative advancements in energy efficiency saving consumers and businesses money. Projects range from Minnesota's Energy Innovation Corridor - a clean energy and transportation proving ground located along an 11-mile route between St. Paul and Minneapolis - to an Interactive Learning Lab in Davenport, Iowa that uses fun, hands-on displays to engage students and adults to promote smart energy use. "The 2012 Inspiring Efficiency award winners demonstrate the strong commitment to energy efficiency in the Midwest," said Jay Wrobel, MEEA Executive Director. "These winners developed innovative and creative programs to save consumers money, reduce energy usage and help businesses be more competitive."

Energy conversion devices catches up on its debt
Detroit Free Press
Auburn Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices said today that it is now current on its debt obligations, having made an interest payment that it had deferred in mid-December. The maker of solar roofing materials is trying to restructure or refinance its $236 million in debt due in June 2013 and find additional capital. In November, the company suspended its manufacturing operations and announced it would lay off or furlough 900 workers.

ENVIRONMENTAL

EPA chief criticizes Pa.'s DEP over water issues

AJC
The head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency says Pennsylvania officials aren't doing what they should to help people whose wells have been found to have been contaminated since natural gas drilling began in their area. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says federal regulators need more data to decide whether to ship water to residents in the northeast Pennsylvania village of Dimock (DIH'-muhk). About a dozen residents have filed a lawsuit claiming that the drilling caused contamination. Jackson said at a news conference Friday in Philadelphia that it was "puzzling" that Pennsylvania's environmental protection secretary wrote her last week to criticize the EPA's knowledge of the situation.

EPA: NY should map gas wells, set radiation limits
ABC News The Environmental Protection Agency says New York regulators should set limits for radioactive materials in gas-drilling wastewater sent to public treatment plants before allowing any hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in the state. The federal agency made that suggestion and others related to radiation from gas-drilling activities in 44 pages of comments submitted Wednesday night on the state Department of Environmental Conservation's proposed rules for high-volume hydraulic fracturing. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said Wednesday that the state agency received an unprecedented number of comments on its environmental review, which began in 2008. DEC spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said Thursday that 32,100 comments have been tallied so far and the number is expected to exceed 40,000 when all are counted.

Greenhouse gases not "immediately harmful" to public, representative of Michigan Environmental Council says

M Live
Knowing what large facilities in the state give off greenhouse gases is useful in tackling the issue of global warming, a representative from the Michigan Environmental Council said. Five Jackson-area facilities are among a statewide list of large sites that emit greenhouse gases, according to data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The data was collected as part of the EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program. “Greenhouse gas emissions are not going to be immediately harmful to the people in the area,” said Hugh McDiarmid, Jr., spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council.

CA accused of improper OK to strawberry pesticide
Mercury News
Environmental groups say state regulators ignored science and broke public health laws when they approved a controversial pesticide for strawberry fields. Lawyers for a coalition of pesticide reform and farmworker groups argued Thursday that officials favored the input of the chemical's manufacturer, Arysta LifeScience, over scientists' recommendations. The groups are asking an Alameda County Superior Court judge to vacate approval for the use of methyl iodide, which kills bugs, weeds and plant diseases and is used by some growers of tomatoes, peppers and other crops. The state Department of Pesticide Regulation approved its use before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's term ended. Environmentalists say regulators violated state law by mischaracterizing methyl iodide's approval as an emergency action in order to gain approval before a new administration takes office.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Pa. transportation infrastructure in trouble

News Max
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan for improving transportation infrastructure will likely fall short, which could result in dire consequences for the state’s roads, bridges, transit, and the economy. Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch said Corbett is considering reworking the state’s wholesale and retail gasoline taxes to produce a growing revenue stream, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. However, Corbett isn’t likely to embrace the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission’s proposal to raise registration and license fees for the first time since 1997 to catch up with inflation. The commission says its plan could raise up to $2.5 billion in new annual revenue for roads, bridges and public transportation. Schoch said the governor’s plan may also include borrowing some money, if the loans are fully financed by a new revenue stream.

Toll-road woes show risk of loans lawmakers aim to expand

The San Francisco Chronicle
Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress are united in pushing an eightfold boost to a loan program designed to attract private highway funding, even as revenue gaps in existing projects may cause taxpayer losses. Of the six open highways backed by the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, one reorganized in bankruptcy at an upfront cost to taxpayers of $79.5 million; a second probably needs its debt restructured, and the rating on a third is six notches below investment grade, according to Fitch Ratings reports and government records.

Minnesota advisory group to examine highway, transit funding
Minn Post
Saying that Minnesota's highways, roads, bridges and public transit systems are in decline, Gov. Mark Dayton wants an advisory board to find ways to reverse the trend. Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel will set up the Commissioner’s Transportation Finance Advisory Group, which has this lofty mandate: "...identify investment opportunities to support a thriving economy and a high quality of life for Minnesotans over the next twenty years, identify and analyze the potential of various revenue sources and non-traditional approaches to transportation financing, as well as opportunities for public-private partnerships to invest in transportation improvements, and help develop a strategic marketing plan to obtain public support for the investment plan and any additional steps needed to obtain the funding."

TRANSPORTATION

PSU scores $3.5 million grant to promote sustainable transportation

Sustainable Life Oregon
Portland State University won a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for research and education on sustainable transportation topics. The Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, a joint project of PSU, the University of Oregon and Oregon Institute of Technology, will manage the grant-funded project, along with the University of Utah. Projects funded by the grant will be awarded competitively, beginning in the fall. Projects will focus on health and safety; increasing the efficiency of bicycling, walking and transit; making the best use of data, performance measures and analytical tools; integrating multimodal transportation with land use; and long-term actions on transportation emissions and climate change.

Schneider called a visionary, risk-taker in transportation industry
Green Bay Press Gazette
Former Schneider National president and chief executive officer Donald Schneider died in De Pere today after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 76. He leaves behind a legacy not only with his family’s trucking company, but also within the trucking and logistics industry as well as the Green Bay area. “He really cared deeply about people, and he cared very deeply about the associates and company, and that always came through,” said Chris Lofgren, Schneider’s president and chief executive officer who has been with the company since 1994. “And that never changed over the time I worked for him and with him.”

WATER / WASTEWATER

Study supports use of treated wastewater as a public water source
Superior Telegram
A new study may boost the idea of using treated wastewater to augment local drinking water supplies. Treated wastewater in places like Milwuakee is already sent into Lake Michigan, for later re-use after going through drinking water filtration plants. A committee of the National Research Council has taken a closer look at more direct reuse of municipal wastewater. Panel member Dr. Henry Anderson of the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health says the basic conclusion is that wastewater treatment is improving. Anderson says more wastewater plants force water through a fine rubbery membrane that doesn't let organisms and large chemical compounds through. In some drier parts of the country, treated wastewater is sometimes used on farm fields and golf courses.

Missouri's mountaintop reservoir masterpiece
American Infrastructure magazine
It is of utmost importance that all components of America's aquatic infrastructure operate flawlessly in order to assist with trade, agriculture, hydroelectricity and other essential needs. It is also equally crucial to be aware of what can happen when flaws occur. Located in Ironton, Mo., the Taum Sauk Dam Upper Reservoir, a 440-megawatt-hours (MW) pumped-storage system, pumps water overnight from its lower reservoir component through a 6,000-foot penstock into a vertical shaft that meets the upper reservoir at 1,500 feet. The water then contacts a pair of 220-MW hydro-turbines and is discharged back into the lower reservoir. But in 2005, operational disaster struck. On Dec. 14, 2005, a 700-foot section of the upper reservoir dike of the Taum Sauk Dam failed, sending more than 1 billion gallons of water down Mt. Proffit, the highest peak in the state at 1,590 feet. Although no injuries were reported, Gov. Matt Blunt called the catastrophe "the worst man-made disaster in the history of Missouri."