by Alex Steffen
(via http://www.number27.org/ )
To live in the modern person is to be a purchaser of things. We all shop.
Many of us are paying more attention to the quality and impact of the things we buy. More and more of us are questioning how much we shop and whether we need so much stuff in the first place. But in the last few years, there’s been a quiet revolution emerging in where and how we shop as well.
Read the full story >> http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010171.html

College students flock to ‘green’ degrees, careers
By Jillian Berman
USA TODAY, August 4, 2009

Students interested in pursuing a job in sustainability now can choose from a variety of “green” degree programs.
With an increased interest in the environment and growth in the “green collar” job sector, colleges and universities are beginning to incorporate sustainability into their programs. From MBAs in sustainable-business practices to programs that give students the technical training necessary to operate wind turbines, students have an increasing array of options to choose from.
“Clearly, demand is there for these types of workers,” says Marisa Michaud of Eduventures, a higher-education research and consulting firm. “Colleges are seeing that, and they want to provide appropriate educational programs to meet that demand.”

Read the full story>>
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20090803/greencollege03_st.art.htm?POE=click-refer

Sarah Kuck, 29 Jul 09
From www.worldchanging.com

Green buildings are great, but the time for heralding each one as a symbol of sweeping change is over. To get our greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption under control, it’s time to make green building the norm.
One way to fast-track this change is to create compelling policy. Governments across the globe are working to craft policy solutions that will rein in greenhouse gas emissions from the housing sector. One of the most well known is the United Kingdom’s 10 year plan to take new buildings from non-regulated to carbon neutral. “Toward Carbon Neutral Development” provides for a gradual tightening of energy efficiency building regulations — lowering acceptable carbon emissions by 25 percent in 2010, by 44 percent in 2013, and down to the zero carbon target by 2016.

Read the full story at:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010214.html

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT | The Tampa Tribune, www.tbo.com

SEFFNER – In an effort to make Hillsborough County stand out among Florida counties seeking to lure new high-tech businesses, the Interstate 4 Economic Corridor is going by a new name – the I-4 Green Tech Corridor.
“This will be part of the state’s high-tech corridor,” said Heather Lamboy, of The Planning Commission, speaking Tuesday to a small audience in Seffner.
Designating it as a green technology corridor helps the county stand out in its quest to draw new industry that will put local talent to work in high-paying jobs, she said. Read the full story >>
http://plantcity2.tbo.com/content/2009/jul/16/161100/i-4-corridor-slated-go-green/

From the McKinsey Quarterly, online July 6, 2009

Protecting the natural environment isn’t the whole story: companies must consider their social, economic, and cultural impact as well. Sustainability in business means, above all, ensuring that the business thrives in the long term. Placing today’s social, economic, and cultural challenges-as well as environmental ones-at the core of a company’s strategy isn’t just lip service; it’s the key to sustained success. Adam Werbach, author of Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, shares an adaptation from his book and talks with the Quarterly about trading in green fashion for more enduring business solutions.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Energy_Resources_Materials/Environment/When_sustainabillity_means_more_than_green_2404

by ALEX STEFFEN  Posted  Jul 17, 2009
www.Worldchaging.com

Smarter Cities is an NRDC project designed to support urban transitions toward sustainability. It’s a good project.

The way the project has chosen to go about encouraging the potential of cities to “rethink and reshape” is to publish rankings of cities and their green efforts, based on a set of criteria which on the surface would seem to be great signs of progress — things like green buildings, green space and recycling rates. But there’s a problem… Read more: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010154.html

Tampa Bay Business Journal

The HHO Games & Exposition Summer Games, named after the mixture of pure hydrogen and oxygen being studied to help improve fuel economy in vehicles, is coming to the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg July 17-19. For more info click here >> http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/07/06/daily66.html?ed=2009-07-10&ana=e_du_pub

By GreenerBuildings Staff

Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) opened a new store in Round Rock, Texas, last year that tested several retail design and green building concepts. The prototype store sports recyclable carpet, rubber flooring, a rooftop solar power array, solar thermal water system, natural lighting, and energy efficient insulation, appliances and HVAC system, among other features. Read the full story and see other winning designs http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2009/07/06/rei-prototype-store-lands-top-sustainable-design-nod

From USF News Website
June 11, 2009

Students in the University of South Florida School of Architecture & Community Design are making Tampa a more beautiful place and winning awards in the process.
 
Two projects, the East Tampa Ponds Revitalization and the Canopy Park Village master plan, received awards of merit in environmental and master planning and urban design at the Hillsborough County Planning Commission’s 27th Annual Community Design Awards Program held at the Tampa Convention Center in May. A third USF project received recognition from and for the City of Temple Terrace in April.
 
http://usfweb3.usf.edu/absolutenm/templates/?a=1485&z=31

From Ceo’s For Cities
Posted June 18 Re Think e-newsletter

We know that driving less produces a substantial Green Dividend for cities (and the people who live there), but does walkability increase the value of a city’s residential real estate? That’s the question we’ve set out to answer with a new piece of research being released later this summer.

We’ll preview the findings with a partners-only presentation before releasing widely and then present the findings in more detail during our Urban Leaders Summit in Washington September 29-30.

Watch for updates on this query and information on its release in the coming weeks.