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Air Products has signed contracts with more than 20 recycled copper manufacturers in China to provide its oxy-fuel product that it says improves productivity and material qualities compared to conventional air-fuel technologies. It also decreases harmful emissions and reduces energy consumption and fuel costs.

A new maritime fuel regulation from the EPA could crowd roads and increase onshore air pollution, according to a shipping group. The rule requires the use of high-cost, ultra-low sulfur fuels in ships operating within the 200 nautical mile boundary of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).

Due to Con Edison's Green Team, Columbia University saved more than $700,000 a year in energgy costs through upgrades to the water-chilling system

(UN Food and Agriculture Organization) calculates that the world throws out 33% of the food it produces, resulting in 1.3 billion metric tons of food waste per year. This wasted food results in 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, requires 3.5 billion acres of farmland, and costs the world $750 billion per year (excluding seafood).

Australian researchers say they have found a way to recycle plastic shopping bags into high-tech carbon nanotubes. That might reduce manufacturing costs in such fields as electronics, medicine and energy.

Facebook and eBay are among companies spending to make their data centers more eco-friendly and energy efficient. New software tools helped Facebook reduce energy use at one server farm by 38%, yielding cost reductions of about 24%.

Hyundai and Honda both made fuel cell vehicle news at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. Hyundai says it plans to offer its next-generation Tucson Fuel Cell vehicle for the US market for $499 per month for a 36-month term, with $2,999 down. This includes unlimited free hydrogen refueling and At Your Service Valet Maintenance at no extra cost. Availability will begin in spring 2014 at several Southern California Hyundai dealers.

Emissions trading offers the best and most cost-effective way of mitigating aviation emissions and climate impact by 2050, according to a report by Manchester Metropolitan University's Centre for Air Transport and Environment (CATE).

Starting this month, the big box giant aims to drive down the price of organic food nationwide with its new in-house line of 100 or so products in exclusive partnership with Wild Oats, a pioneering health brand of the 1980s. Walmart's new Wild Oats organic products - including kitchen cupboard staples like olive oil and black beans - will cost about 25 percent less than those sold by competitors, based on price comparisons of 26 national brands.

The White House has announced a new plan to reduce America's methane emissions, which are thought to account for up to 14% of the country's total greenhouse emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency will monitor methane emissions from the fossil-fuel sector, and the Interior Department will develop a plan to capture and sell methane emitted by coal mines on federal land. The effort will depend on "cost-effective, voluntary actions and common-sense standards," said Dan Utech, special assistant to the president for energy and climate change

The airline expects that across the lifetime of the new trays, they will see a 45% reduction in greenhouse gasses (and associated fuel costs) compared with the old trays

Up to $10 million in grants from the Department of Energy will be available for advanced biofuel and other biobased product initiatives. The program is in support of the agency's aim to lower the cost of advanced biofuels to $3 per gallon of gasoline equivalent by 2022.

Brewing company New Belgium increased production by almost 50% and saved more than $400,000 in labor costs last year using Schneider Electric's Wonderware MES Performance software. The software provided machine performance data that enabled the company to reduce unscheduled downtime.

The U.S. could reduce electricity costs by $7.68 billion per year by installing 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power, according to a study supported by the Department of Energy. The goal of the National Offshore Wind Energy Grid Interconnection Study was "to identify and help address the market barriers to the large-scale introduction of offshore wind energy into the U.S. energy portfolio," according to its authors. The report said offshore wind power could be especially useful in densely populated coastal areas

The cost of doing business in California has risen for builders who, in the face of the severe drought, now need to find grey water to keep the dust down. In addition, many are building xeriscaping into home design to reduce water use. "We're addressing a social need -- that we have to find ways to live with less water," said Barry Grant, Northern California division president for Meritage Homes. American City Business Journals/Sacramento, Calif. (5/7) 

Microsoft's internal carbon pricing has helped the company recoup $10 million a year in energy savings and has reduced companywide emissions by the equivalent of 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. "Microsoft has been a pioneer in facing the facts, which are that climate change is happening and is going to mean a certain amount of change in the economy," said Paula DiPerna, a special adviser to the Carbon Disclosure Project. "Companies need to know what the hidden costs are."

George's Chicken reduced its fleet size by 10 percent, cut road miles by 5 percent, and reported saving $31,000 a year on fuel costs. George's has 250 stores in the Northeast US.

The Environmental Protection Agency's rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions by power plants has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The 5-4 ruling said the EPA was wrong to not have "properly" considered the "punishing costs" of abiding by the rule. However, many utilities have already started to make changes to be in compliance

ChargePoint, developer of the world's largest electric vehicle charging network, launched a new lease-to-purchase program that will enable companies and municipalities to purchase charging stations at no upfront cost

Marriott is avoiding over 816 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year after installing energy-efficient televisions from LG at U.S. properties. The company also expects to save almost $700,000 in electricity costs over the lifetime of the products.