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(01/26/10 1:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Supreme Court decided to hear its first genetically modified crop case last week when a federal court banned Monsanto Co. from selling genetically engineered alfalfa seeds. The case brought up an on-going worldwide debate about the environmental and health impacts of GM food.GM crops have been altered in a way that does not occur with natural conditions. Latest improvements in bioengineering give scientists the opportunity to select certain genes from one organism and apply them to another to get the desired trait.The question, however, remains whether consumers should be able to identify what products are genetically altered. Unlike European nations, the U.S. law does not require labeling for GM products.Europe and Canada banned milk with Monsanto-manufactured rBGH, a genetically engineered hormone to increase milk productivity in cows.Jacob Goodman, manager of Bloomingfoods Coop, said there is no guarantee that one can find 100 percent natural food.GM crops are preferred by farmers because of their resistance to pests, disease and harsh environmental conditions.Greg Reynolds, a farmer from Minnesota, said one of the reasons for the widespread adoption of GM crops is that they grow more easily and the fields look nicer without the unwanted weeds.Indiana, one of the largest farm states in the country, is now planting more than seven times more genetically adopted corn than it did in 2000, according to USDA data.Nathan Mosier, a Purdue University agriculture and bioengineering professor, said in an e-mail that such traits improve crop yields and make the processing of inedible plant material easier and more economical to convert to energy. However, he mentions the possible negative impacts of genetically engineered crops.“There are some real environmental concerns that should be continued to be addressed,” Mosier said.
(11/03/09 3:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The strongest federal policy could create up to 45,000 jobs in Indiana, increasing incomes by $1,200 and growing the state economy by $2.5 billion, according to a press release by Indiana Businesses for a Clean Energy Economy. The study, led by the University of California, examined the long-term economic impacts of climate legislation on the U.S. economy. According to the study, the United States can gain up to 1.9 million jobs and increase the household income by $487 to $1,175 per year by 2020 through energy conservation, renewable energy and limits on carbon pollution. The new economic analysis came prior to the U.S. Senate deliberations on clean energy and international climate change negotiations, which will be held in Copenhagen in December. Tina Noel, representative for IBCEE, said Indiana can become a leader in clean job creation, and such clean jobs can involve making wind turbine parts in Indiana versus buying them overseas. “Wind power, solar power, geothermal energy will have extraordinarily positive impact on Indiana’s economy,” Noel said. The study is an economic assessment of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. The ACES, which was approved on June 26, focuses on a cap-and-trade global warming reduction plan and a transition to a clean-energy economy. Senate committee hearings started this week on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, which was introduced in the Senate on Sept. 30 by Senators John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. The bill aims to reduce carbon pollution by 80 percent by 2050 from 2005’s levels. Jesse Kharbanda, the executive director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said the major criticism for the bill is that it will drive up consumers’ energy bills. However, he said the actual numbers are reasonable prices to pay when the country as a whole is facing a number of different challenges, including dealing with energy security, revitalization of manufacturing and mitigating impacts of global warming. “Indiana is very well positioned to attract clean energy jobs,” Kharbanda said. Devin Hartman, a graduate student at SPEA, said sometimes studies do not emphasize the reduction of jobs in other areas. He said it is important to consider the net effect of the economy when conducting these kinds of studies.“Creating green jobs will also cause loss of dirty jobs,” Hartman said.
(10/22/09 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Members of the Bloomington community gathered at Upland Brewery on Wednesday to discuss green movements.Green Drinks Bloomington, a networking event with focus on environmental issues, is a monthly social event that is currently active in 630 cities worldwide.The Bloomington crowd included a mixture of residents, environmental and business professionals and IU professors. In a casual atmosphere they were able to discuss and share ideas about making a greener world.Bill Brown, director of sustainability at IU, was the featured speaker of the night. His talk focused on highlighting the progress of sustainability at IU.“If Midwest were a country, it would rank No. 4 in the world in terms of carbon emissions,” Brown said, while highlighting the climate change action of October.Brown continued to emphasize the areas that need to be improved to make a greener campus. Brown said campus-wide efforts improved IU’s score from a C+ to a B- on the College Sustainability Report Card issued this year. He said some of these efforts include rescuing 832,000 tons of electronic waste from going to landfills and encouraging energy and water conservation among students living in residence halls.Brown said the future goals for IU are to decrease carbon footprints on campus by 80 percent by the year 2050. He said this would be possible by doubling the amount of trees on campus and making existing buildings, such as the Indiana Memorial Union, more energy and water efficient. Amanda Shaw, the organizer for the event, said that Green Drinks brings different members of the community every month from students to Bloomington residents interested in local grown food. Shaw said the event started in Bloomington in February.“We were looking for the best idea to attract the most people and be the most fun,” Shaw said.Loren Stumpner, a building contractor, said he often attends Green Drinks.“It is informative and inspirational,” Stumpner said.Even though the event usually has a good turnout, Green Drinks also welcomes spontaneous walk-ins or people bringing friends.“I often come here with a friend, who enjoys coming here and meeting people with similar interests,” said Melissa St. John, a regular attendee of Green Drinks Bloomington.
(10/06/09 3:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>More than 16,000 people “opt-in” for online directories and mobile applications as an alternative to printed phone books, WhitePages Inc. announced on its Web site this month. WhitePages, an online and mobile directory, introduced the BanThePhoneBook campaign to encourage green alternatives to printed phone books. The opt-in delivery program would allow the distribution of phone books only by request. The campaign emphasizes the heavy burden on taxpayers in addition to the five-million trees cut each year to create white-pages phone books. WhitePages estimates $17 million is spent each year to recycle phone books. Law in most states requires local phone companies to deliver paper phone books to each land line subscriber every year. Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Missouri have already adopted the opt-in program, according to a WhitePages press release. “There is no need to waste taxpayers’ money and paper,” John Lusk, vice president of marketing at WhitePages, said. “People don’t want the phone books. They don’t use the books. They throw them away.” However, Lusk said the two biggest obstacles for the BanThePhoneBook campaign are educating American consumers about the environmental impacts of paper phone books and bringing awareness to lawmakers.“Changing laws does not happen very quickly,” Lusk said. He is, however, hopeful the campaign will keep its speed, as some legislators from California and Minnesota have already contacted WhitePages to get more information about the campaign. Graduate student Julie Faas said she did not realize laws forced phone companies to deliver phone books to each land line subscriber.“I get two phone books each year that I do not use,” Faas said.Paper reduction could also help Bloomington be greener, as the city has disposed of 1,292 tons of paper combined with phone books since January this year, said Shelby Walker, director of sanitation for Bloomington. Similar to the BanThePhoneBook initiative, Yellow Pages offers an opt-out program, a service that removes subscribers who do not want to receive phone books, to support the movement against unsolicited phone book delivery. The popularity of interactive mobile directories through iPhone, Blackberry, Android and SMS also seems to be leaving print phone books behind this century, with features such as caller identification and reverse phone lookup, click-to-call, GPS-aware directory services and directions.The campaign, which has more than 3,000 Facebook fans, is expected to continue for 24 months.
(10/05/09 7:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>More than 16,000 people ‘opt-in’ for online directories and mobile applications as an alternative to print phone books, the WhitePages, Inc announced on its Web site this month.WhitePages, an online and mobile directory, introduced the BanThePhoneBook campaign to encourage green alternatives to printed phone books. The ‘opt-in’ delivery program would allow the distribution of phone books only by request. The campaign emphasizes the heavy burden on taxpayers in addition to 5 million trees cut each year to create white pages phone books. WhitePages estimates $17 million spent each year to recycle phone books.Law in most states requires local phone companies to deliver paper phone books to each land line subscriber every year. Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri have already adopted opt-in program, according to a WhitePages press release."There is no need to waste taxpayers’ money and paper," said John Lusk, Vice President of Marketing at WhitePages. "People don’t want the phone books, they don’t use the books, they throw them away." Check tomorrow's IDS for the full story.