Sector Specific Resources

Audit and Energy Efficiency Information

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) has developed an Energy Service Performance Contract PowerPoint, including the list of contractors. 

State Executive Order 48 Annual report
The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME), in accordance with E.O. 48, maintains a system to monitor and report on progress made by state agencies toward reducing from its 2006 baseline energy costs and consumption for state-owned facilities.

The frugal cornucopian
Armory Lovins began making the case for resource efficiency decades ago, long before it became fashionable. Now things are going his way. September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

Biofuel and Green Cars Information

Results from Hopewell Cogeneration’s biodiesel test runs project: http://www.resourcesaver.com/file/toolmanager/CustomO124C402F97595.pdf

Results from H2Diesel biodiesel test runs: http://www.resourcesaver.com/file/toolmanager/CustomO124C402F97594.pdf

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation report “Biofuels and the Bay” 
This document summarizes the findings and recommendations from the two day Biofuels and Water Quality Conference.  Research, programmatic and policy agendas for renewable fuels are also outlined.

The Virginia Biodiesel Environmental Compliance Primer 
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, in cooperation with DMME and Virginia Clean Cities, recently posted new guidance material introducing the environmental regulatory obligations concerning biodiesel production. 

Cease the Grease
Saving the Planet with Bars of Soap and Trucks That Smell Like French Fries;
an Alabama utility enlists its customers' help to remove fog from sewers.

The car of the perpetual future
Transport: Mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell cars have been promised for a decade. Where are they? September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

The road ahead
The world's carmakers have mapped out their route to a greener future. September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) is a good source for learning about burner compatibility with biodiesel blends.

This is a list from National Oilheat Research Alliance of fuel distributors that sell Bioheat. There are several in Virginia, but not all Virginia oil companies that distribute biodiesel are listed here:
http://www.nora-oilheat.org/site20/uploads/BIOHEAT%20LISTweb8.7.207.pdf

 E.T. Lawson of Hampton is one of the Virginia oil companies on the NORA list, and an early adopter of Bioheat.  The Richmond-area list of Bioheat distributors would include James River Petroleum, Petroleum Marketers Inc. (PMI) and Woodfin at a minimum.

 

http://www.nora-oilheat.org/site20/index.mv?screen=bioheat

Fact sheet on Bioheat that was put together by NBB and NORA.  At the bottom of the fact sheet in the link above, you can download two studies by Brookhaven National Laboratory. They are large documents, but both include executive summaries or abstracts.

 

You can find many more resources on Bioheat at the NBB website, including a toolkit for marketers: http://www.biodiesel.org/markets/hom/default.asp

The Alternative Fuels and Carbon Reduction project intends to expand the Central and Northern Virginia alternative fuels corridor, link air quality improvements to the use of alternative fuel vehicles and demonstrate that the conversion to alternative fuels and petroleum conserving technology should be priority choices for improving air quality, limiting mobile-source GHG emissions and reducing dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Green Buildings and Construction Information

To use the ENERGY STAR Challenge Toolkit, please follow this link: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=challenge.challenge_toolkit 

Home, green home
Energy and the Environment: Even as housing markets in many countries collapse, demand is growing for low-impact "green" homes. September 4, 2008, The Economist print edition.

Another green revolution
Most homes are in the developing world. They are going green, too. September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

Tailpipe power
Thermoelectrice devices: Generating electricty directly from wasted heat is becoming more practicle, in both vehicles and buildings. September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

Whole Building Design Guide

The WBDG is the only web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria and technology from a 'whole buildings' perspective. Currently organized into three major categories—Design Guidance, Project Management and Operations & Maintenance—at the heart of the WBDG are Resource Pages, reductive summaries on particular topics.

Fighting Global Warming Block by Block is a Washington Post article about how communities across the U.S. rethink how they operate and grow.  

Friendly and Efficient Education is a Times article that explores the trend of developing "green" school buildings that are environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.

The Class Isn't Always Cleaner is another New York Times article regarding the efficiency of public school buildings and how policy makers are instigating new measures of reform.

The New Oases is an article from The Economist looks at a new type of lifestyle and its effects on changing architecture of public buildings from purpose-specific to a more generalized lay-out.

The Engineering and Construction Bulletin is a guide includes the basic Army policy for implementing SDD on all Army projects and includes recent changes.  

The Sustainable Design and Development Update is a memorandum designed to update SDD policies for Army facilities.

The USACE Army LEED Implementation Guide is uses to assist USACE project delivery teams to meet the Army's Sustainable Design and Development Policy.

The VA DEQ and VDOT PowerPoint presentation on the Green Highways Partnership Roadway Construction Demonstration Projects  provides information and photos of the pilot project and beneficial use of industrial materials.

To learn more about examples of Low Impact Development (LID) practices in the Richmond region in order to educate builders, planners, and commissioners who want to better understand these stormwater treatment practices, follow the link below:
http://www.richmondregional.org/Planning/Stormwater/stormwater.htm

Climate Change Information

A changing climate of opinion?
Some scientists think climate change needs a more radical approach. As well as trying to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

The world in a test tube
From plug-ins to planktonic algae, technology is part of the solution to climate change. But what technology? September 4, 2008 The Economist print edition.

CFL Disposal and Recycling Information

EPA ENERGY STAR has a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Mercury and CFLs fact sheet

Currently DEQ has a list of mail-in programs for CFL disposal as well as other management options. For more information, please visit DEQ’s website about fluorescent lights at: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/info/lightbulbs.html

Efficiency Vermont provides technical assistance and financial incentives to Vermont households and businesses, to help them reduce their energy costs with energy-efficient equipment and lighting and with energy-efficient approaches to construction and renovation.

There's a New Bulb in Town is a website specifically about CFLs which includes an Interactive Guide and Savings Calculator. 

Home Depot announced that it will take back old compact fluorescents in all 1,973 of its stores in the United States, creating the nation’s most widespread recycling program for the bulbs. To read more about Home Depot's CFL recycling program click here.

For a New York Times article highlighting Home Depot's new option for disposing of CFLs click here. For more information read Home Depot's press release.

If you are a household, a business, an institution, or a non-profit organization, find out how to manage your end-of-life electronics in a safe, environmentally-sound manner at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/eCycling/index.htm

Earth 911 provides users with a tool to find recycling or re-use locations for various household items.  The website also provides information about product stewardship, green shopping, and composting. 

On February 17, 2009 all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital. Digital broadcasting will allow stations to offer improved picture and sound quality and additional channels. Find out more about whether or not you will be impacted by the digital TV (DTV) transition at: http://www.dtv.gov/

There are many places and ways to recycle your cell phone. Recycling your phone recovers valuable materials and helps save energy! Learn more at : http://www.epa.gov/cellphones/

The EPA Region 3 eCycling website has information for businesses, organizations, and the general public about the best ways to manage their unwanted electronics. It also provides funding and other resources for collection programs throughout the Mid-Atlantic States.

The EPA Region 3 Identified Virginia Electronics Recyclers
This excel document provides the contact name and information of electronics recyclers around the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

The Cathode Ray Tube Rule Handout
The Notice is designed to provide members of the electronics recycling industry and others impacted by the CRT Rule, along with the members of the public, with a comprehensive summary of the Rule’s requirements.  For a complete copy of the “Final Rule” on the CRT management requirements click here.

Under the National Electronics Recycling Infrastructure Clearinghouse (NERIC), NCER has published two brief studies on electronics recycling costs.  The studies, along with more information about NERIC, are available at the following links:

The Manufacturer E-Waste Compliance Study estimates the manufacturer e-waste compliance costs in 2010 at $71 million using a set of baseline assumptions regarding current state and local electronics recycling laws.  

http://www.ecyclingresource.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=34&ParentID=35

 
The Recycler Pricing Study provides a snapshot of the range of prices charged by electronics recyclers in the United States.

http://www.ecyclingresource.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=32&ParentID=17

 The U.S. Department of Energy and its partners are working to accelerate advances in solid-state lighting - a pivotal emerging technology that promises to fundamentally alter lighting in the future.  Find out more at:

http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/index.html

To access the presentation from a drum-top crusher technical workshop held on March 14, 2007 Click here.  It also includes a listing of regulatory focus areas for revising the VADEQ regulations to make them acceptable to EPA for authorization. To learn more about the EPA drum-top crushing study which EPA conducted to gain more information about the performance of drum-top crushing units, follow the link below:
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/drumtop/drum-top.htm

DEQ Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Management Fact Sheet provides information on several questions concerning the proper way to dispose of hazardous waste, and answers questions regarding collection sites.