The Internet Advocacy Roundtable is a monthly forum brought to you by I Am Progress, the Center for American Progress Action Fund's online advocacy program. We feature in-depth discussions about digital technology strategies for advocacy and policy campaigns. We strive to help the advocacy community use digital technology more effectively and provide a gathering for those working in this space to network and learn from their peers.

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On Thursday, January 15, 2009, the Center's Director, Christian Stalberg, testified before an Environmental Protection Agency hearing in Research Triangle Park on EPA's Proposal for the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI). Christian's testimony was prepared in cooperation with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

Medical waste incineration has been identified by the EPA as the third largest known source of dioxin air emissions, and a contributor of about ten-percent of mercury emissions to the environment from human activities. Almost half of the medical waste generated in the United States is trucked into North Carolina and incinerated at the Stericycle incinerators in Haw River (Alamance County) in any given year.

by Andrew Leonard

[Originally published on Salon.com]
According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the gas sulfur hexafluoride, commonly employed to clean reactors in silicon production, is considered by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change to be "the most potent greenhouse gas per molecule; one ton of sulfur hexafluoride has a greenhouse effect equivalent to that of 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide."

The manufacturing of solar power panels consumes a lot of silicon, presenting us with a nasty paradox. If solar power production is ramped up as part of a global effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by burning fossil fuels, the chances of accidental releases of sulfur hexafluoride in the silicon production process will only increase, which, says the SVTC, could "greatly undermine the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions gained by using solar power."

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A group of 14 U.S. companies has reportedly formed a coalition that is seeking $1 billion in federal funds to help them make new kinds of batteries for electric cars.

Calling themselves the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, the group includes industry giants like 3M Corp. (NYSE:MMM) and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE:JCI), as well as Bay Area startups Envia Systems Inc. of Hayward and Mobius Power Inc. of Fremont.

Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the group is setting itself up like Sematech, the government and industry funded group that helped the U.S. chip industry regain its competitiveness two decades ago.

It seeks to build the first large-scale plant in the U.S. to build lithium-ion batteries which are seen as the next technological step for use in plug-in electric cars. The market for current electric car batteries is dominated by Asian companies and that part of the world is also considered to have the lead in developing lithium-ion batteries today.

Source: http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/12/15/daily57.html

By measuring post-holiday spice levels in waterways, scientists hope to raise awareness of the public’s role in protecting water quality

As the aroma of spices fills the air this holiday season, scientists from the University of Washington (UW; Seattle) want citizens to remember that what they consume has a direct impact on their local waterways.

In 2006 Richard Keil, associate professor of the UW School of Oceanography, started monitoring benign spices in the local waterways. His goal was to find an interesting way of showing citizens how their everyday activities affect the natural world.

Keil works with Research Scientist/Laboratory Manager Jaqui Neibauer, SoundCitizen Program Coordinator Brittany Kimball, and his students to gather samples and perform the research. Water samples are processed in UW’s Aquatic Organic Geochemistry Lab, where the team measures levels of cinnamon, thyme, and vanilla.

“The nice thing about the spices is that they’re not threatening,” said Neibauer. She explained that university scientists hope people make the connection between consuming spices and consuming other compounds such as medicine to start understanding how their routines have a significant impact on the surrounding environment.

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List of North Carolina Community Supported Agriculture Farms

Link courtesy of North Carolina Cooperative Extension, an educational partnership helping people put research-based knowledge to work for economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and an improved quality of life.

Economists Appraise Bhutan's Happiness Model

Thursday 04 December 2008

by: Don Duncan, The San Francisco Chronicle

Based on Buddhist principles, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has implemented a unique economic policy called Gross National Happiness. (Photo: Lynsey Addario / National Geographic)

    Thimphu, Bhutan - In the thick of a global financial crisis, many economists have come to this Himalayan kingdom to study a unique economic policy called Gross National Happiness, based on Buddhist principles.

    When considering economic development, policymakers here take into account respect for all living things, nature, community participation and the need for balance between work, sleep and reflection or meditation.

    "Happiness is very serious business," Bhutan Prime Minister Jigme Thinley said. "The dogma of limitless productivity and growth in a finite world is unsustainable and unfair for future generations."

    From his ornate pedestal at the 4th annual Gross National Happiness conference last week, Thinley said it is common knowledge in Buddhism that every creation requires destruction.

Kill Your Plumbing
The Greywater Guerrillas say it's time to use less water.
By Matthew Green
July 16, 2008

After the driest spring on record and a statewide drought proclamation, North Oakland resident Laura Allen would seem an ideal candidate for some sort of conservation award. Armed with little more than some piping, a few buckets, and a bit of creative plumbing knowledge, Allen built a home graywater system that bypasses the sewer system by reusing the water from her sinks, showers, and washing machine to flush the toilets and irrigate the deep-rooted plants and trees in her lush backyard garden. Her five-member household uses about 100 gallons of water a day, almost 80 percent less than an average East Bay household of the same size. Too bad that in California, what she's doing is not allowed under the state plumbing code.

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Bill Moyers sits down with Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley, to discuss what direction the U.S. should pursue in the often-overlooked question of food policy. Pollan is author of IN DEFENSE OF FOOD: AN EATER'S MANIFESTO.

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North Carolina Department of Defense Farm to School Program

The North Carolina Department of Defense Farm to School Program was formed through a partnership between the Department of Defense and the Markets and Food Distribution Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 1997. The program began by testing the market for Red and Golden Delicious apples grown in Western North Carolina. After the success in Western North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of Defense Farm to School Program was expanded throughout the State. All school districts in North Carolina have the ability to be part of the North Carolina Farm to School Program and in 2004, about sixty school districts took advantage of this opportunity.