Responsible Care Global Charter

If there was a wine and cheese social for global charters, then the Responsible Care Global Charter would act distinctly different from the others. It would probably hang out by the punch bowl and make idle conversation, friendly but clearly not part of the crowd. Thats because the Responsible Care Global Charter contains several principles geared toward the long-term improvement of risk assessment, risk management, and information on products and their safe handling. In the area of social responsibility, the charter calls for increased dialogue with chemical industry stakeholders.

The global chemical association (ICCA) presented the RCGC at the recent United Nations’ International Conference on Chemicals Management in Dubai. The charter summarizes the new tenets of the global chemical industry’s Responsible Care initiative, which was launched in 1985 to promote continuous improvement in health, safety and environmental performance. Companies from 52 countries have committed themselves to Responsible Care via their national member associations, and recently Bayer and BASF signed the charter.

Dozens of New Species Found

Scientists exploring in New Guinea have discovered dozens of previously unknown plant and animal species. Near the Foja mountain range in a remote jungle area of New Guinea, the researchers found twenty new species of frogs, four new butterflies, five plant species, a tree kangaroo that was thought to be on the brink of extinction, and spectacular birds.

More expeditions are planned to the remote jungle, and scientists are optimistic about discovering even more species.

Green Roofs in Toronto

In a step towards building sustainable urban infrastructure, Toronto is set to become a North American leader in the development of Green Roofs. Green Roofs help to insulate buildings from the elements, provide a natural animal habitat in the middle of urban development and help reduce a city’s environmental footprint. The City of Toronto has approved “Making Green Roofs Happen,” an initiative to put pockets of nature on top of existing public buildings. Just in case lower heating bills and cleaner air aren’t enough of an incentive, the plan also recommends financial incentives for private Green Roofs.

Bush America to Use Less Oil

Richard wrote:

“President Bush announced something called the Advanced Energy Initiative to ween America off of its dependence on foreign oil in his state of the union address… it’s for maybe the wrong reasons, but it’s at least a small step in the right direction, from an environmental standpoint.”

Details can be found on the NASDAQ website.

Thanks, Richard!

Top 25 Green Energy Purchasers in the USA


The United States Environmental Protection Agency has a neat list on their best partners for promoting green energy. Together the top 25 partners consumed 3.3 million megawatt-hours of green energy.

The top 25 Partners are Partners whose annual green power purchase is the largest, and whose green power purchase has been completed. Their actions are helping drive the development of new renewable energy sources for electricity generation.

Number one on the list will surprise you.