Day: 26 May 2000

US Government announces brownfield assessment and training grants

The US Government is to make more than $35 million in grants for contamination evaluation and training across the US.

Israel to construct first major desalination plant

Israel has decided that the best way that the country can meet current water demands is to invest in large-scale desalination plants, according to an international marketing consulting company.

Edie launches environmental technology search engine

edie is proud to launch a new internet search engine which allows users to search over 5,000 companies active in the environmental market. Global Marketplace works like a fully-fledged search engine, with companies indexed according to business activity and a keyword search facility for custom searches.

OECD publishes free database of environmental taxes

"Green taxes work." This is the opinion of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and to spread the word it has launched a web-based database of about 170 environmental taxes and 160 environmental fees and charges in use in OECD member countries.

Susceptibility to particulate air pollution linked to genetic factors

Genetic factors may make some people more susceptible to serious illnesses caused by traffic pollution, a study has found.

Businesses can take part in UK Environment Week’s Sustainability Challenge

A sustainability questionnaire developed at Nottingham Trent University allows companies to assess whether they are a potential 'eco-liabilities' or if they are already well on their way to 'greening' their business practices.

Organic farms boast up to five times greater biodiversity

Organic farms support a greater diversity of wildlife than conventional, intensive farming areas, says a report published by The Soil Association.

JAPAN: Electronics firm achieves ‘zero emissions’ status for waste

Electronics multinational, NEC, has reached its target of zero waste emissions status for its headquarters, six manufacturing plants and three research and development centres, all located in Japan.

Indicators show UK water industry failing on energy use and C02 emissions

The UK water industry has launched a set of environmental indicators that show that the sector is falling behind in its attempts to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions at its fixed sites.

Environmentalists wary of US – China environmental agreement

Environmentalists have denounced the US House of Representative's decision to normalise trade relations with China, despite the fact that the two countries have just signed an agreement to co-operate more closely on environmental protection.

Sulphur-free fuel could increase overall CO2 emissions

The European oil refining industry has raised questions about the wisdom of further reductions in fuels' sulphur content. The president of the industry's trade association has stated that "any further tightening of fuels quality … will have adverse effect on [refineries'] CO2 emissions".

MPs question the future of BNFL’s nuclear fuel reprocessing

A cross-party committee of MPs has published findings of its inquiry into the viability of partial privatisation of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), concluding that "reprocessing on the current scale [is] based on a number of false premises".

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