While You Were Sleeping

The Gist of What You May Have Missed

by Brian K. Mahoney, May 26, 2009

In May, Coke announced that it will test a new plastic bottle in North America that’s partly made from sugar cane and molasses later this year with its Dasani and Vitaminwtare brands. The new bottle is made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30 percent plant-based materials that are by-products of sugar production.

The bottled water industry has received harsh criticism in recent years for creating vast amounts of plastic waste. Scott Vitters, director of sustainable packaging for Coke. “This innovation is a real win because it moves us closer to our vision of zero waste with a material that lessens our carbon footprint and is also recyclable.” It is estimated that over 85 million plastic bottles are used every three minutes.
Source: Sustainable Business


In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered General Electric to over 100 tons of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Hudson River. It is estimated that 1.3 million pounds of PCBsflowed into the Hudson north of Albany from two General Electric factories for three decades before they were banned, in 1977. (In high doses, PCBs cause cancer in animals and federal agencies list PCBs as a probable human carcinogen.) A 200-mile stretch of the Hudson River, from Hudson Falls to the tip of Manhattan, was declared a federal Superfund site in 1984.

On May 15, the initial phase of the dredging of PCBS from the Hudson began along a six-mile stretch across the river from GE’s former industrial site in Fort Edward. Twelve dredges are to work round the clock, six days a week, into October, removing sediment laced with PCBs. Mile-long freight trains running every several days will carry the dried mud to a hazardous-waste landfill in Texas. As per the requirements of the Superfund law, GE is supervising and paying for the cleanup. Estimates on the cost of the clean-up range from $750 million to more than three times that amount. The project is expected to extend through 2015.

A responsible party in 52 active Superfund sites across the country, GE has a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Superfund law working its way through federal court. Mark Behan, a company spokesman, said that the challenge to the Superfund law “has no bearing on the Hudson project.”
Source: New York Times


May 15 was National Bike-to-Work Day, but at outdoor-gear giant Patagonia, everyday is Bike-to-Work Day. Out of 165 full-time employees who work at the company’s distribution center five miles from downtown Reno, Nevada, more than half of them get there everyday in some form other than by driving a car. The building is equipped with showers and lockers, plus dozens of bike racks. Patagonia offers incentives to employees who bike, walk, carpool, or even ski to work. They can spend their earned credits on clothing and products at the Patagonia outlet store. Patagonia is consistently ranked near the top in “Best Places To Work” polls.
Source: KOLO TV-8