Environmental Sustainability ________________________________________

Legacy Amendment Could Be Job Engine
Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment never was envisioned as a jobs engine when it was crafted years ago. But pumping $481 million into the amendment in the next two years could bring some welcome ripple effects.

Though no analysis of potential job creation was crunched while drafting the legislation, MinnPost called several agencies, nonprofits and businesses to see what kinds of jobs are likely to become available.


How Mature Activists Could Save the Planet
Men and women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond are plunging into environmental activism in ways that are redefining the term.

Not content simply to join environmental groups, write letters, or stand holding placards — they're taking the lead in getting results they can see.


In a Recession: Rethinking Design
What about a house that heats itself? A refrigerator cooled by magnetic fields — rather than one with an iPod docking station?  High-capacity batteries powered by genetically engineered viruses (it's happening at MIT)? Solar panels as cheap and ubiquitous as vinyl siding?

Along with everything else: let's rethink design.


The Real Cost of Bottled Water
The Environmental Law Foundation has sued eight bottlers for using words such as "pure" to market water that contains bacteria, arsenic and chlorine. Bottled water is no bargain either: It costs 240 to 10,000 times more than tap water.

Clearly, its popularity is the result of huge marketing efforts. Global consumption reached 41 billion gallons in 2004, up 57% in just five years.   Even in areas where tap water is clean and safe to drink, such as San Francisco, demand for bottled water is increasing.


Green Technology Jobs: Minnesota Wants Its Share
The Big Stimulus Package is making big decisions about how to energize our economy by investing in infrastructure, renewable energy, conservation programs and green technologies.

HIRE Minnesota wants to make sure that people who need jobs the most benefit from those investments.
Renewable Energy: It's Blowin' In Minnesota's Wind
There's something in the wind at locations like Buffalo Ridge.

By the end of last year, Minnesota ranked fourth in the nation with 1,377 megawatts of installed wind-power capacity — behind only Texas, California and Iowa.

What's driving this new marketplace? A combination of aggressive energy legislation, focused economic development programs, and workforce education/training.

►  The Rest of the Story ...


Business, the Environment, and the Bottom Line
 
The process of greening business operations is becoming more important in today’s sustainability-conscious marketplace. At GreenBiz.com, hundreds of organizations now offer jobs in the new Green Economy.

You can review which companies are marketing themselves as "green". Search a database by type of job and geographical location. Post a resume. Listen to podcasts on the opportunities and pitfalls posed by eco-entrepreneurship. Use career tools. And sign up for the GreenBiz free weekly newsletter.


Oilman T. Boone Pickens Sounds the Alarm
At current oil prices, T. Boone Pickens says, the US will send $700 billion dollars out of the country this year alone. That's four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. Projected over the next 10 years, Pickens adds, the cost will be $10 trillion — the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind.

"I've been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of," Pickens says. "But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil." First step: Pickens plans to build the world's biggest wind farm in Texas.

The good news? The United States is the Saudi Arabia of wind power — the majority of it in the Midwest. The Pickens Plan website outlines the facts, figures, and challenges.


Environmental Pollution: What's Your Community's Score?
Which pollutants pose the biggest hazard to our nation's air, water, and earth? Who's emitting them? Which communities rate highly, and which score badly?

Answers to those questions — and more — at Scorecard, the pollution information website. You'll also discover how Scorecard visitors use this information to protect and educate their communities.


The We Campaign
The We Campaign is a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection — a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore.

The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years.  More Info Here ...


Recycling in the Twin Cities
Where can I find out about basic recycling?  Who will take my old PC and monitor off my hands?  I'd like to start composting, how do I get started?

A go-to guide for commercial and residential recycling is at GreenGuardian.com.  Sign up for their Recycling Tips newsletter.  Just launched: free CFL (compact flourescent lights) recycling at all Menard's stores.


Appreciation and Gratitude for a Beautiful Planet
Sunset at the North Pole
Appreciation is a powerful emotion with scientifically validated results. This one emotion has been shown to positively impact our entire system — from our attitudes and immune system to our heart and mental clarity.

The bottom line: we take better care of the things we appreciate. On this Earth, we are now 6,658,000,000 strong. The more we focus on appreciation and gratitude, the more we'll value and care for our planet.

View an exquisite slide show with music at HeartMath.