• Socially Responsible Criteria Elude Top Mutual Funds
  
• Virginia Tech Wins $34 Million in USAID Ag Grants
  
• Bill to Block Animal Transport for Canned Hunts Introduced
  
• Federal Grant Trains Energy Savvy Contractors
  
• Smart Building Controls Manage Peak Energy Demand
  
• Long Island Wine Region Established By Law
  
• New Jersey Offers Artificial Reef Update for Public Comment
  
• Boreal Birds Winging South Identified in Interactive Guide
  

Socially Responsible Criteria Elude Top Mutual Funds

In an article in the four U.S. magazines published by Dragonfly Media, Hawken, director of the Natural Capital Institute, says the analysis showed that the socially responsible investment industry’s use of "negative" screens does not exclude companies involved with weapons manufacturing, or extractive and polluting resource development.

Hawken explains that socially responsible investing can be determined by what is called a negative screen - "if you don't do something, you qualify. Or if you say you do something even though you really don't (such as screening for environmental responsibility), you also qualify. That's all it takes to be named an SRI mutual fund," he writes.

"The term 'socially responsible investing' is so broad it is meaningless," writes Hawken. "If a fund doesn't own companies involved with gambling and pornography, it can be called socially responsible. Never mind that it owns Halliburton and Monsanto."

The article lists the holdings of numerous SRI funds that are not in alignment with socially responsible principles.

As of December 30, 2003:

• 23 SRI funds were invested in Haliburton
  
• Wal-Mart was held by 33 funds
  
• tobacco maker Altria (formerly Phillip Morris) was held by 12 SRI funds
  
• weapons manufacturer Raytheon was held by 12 funds
  
• ExxonMobil was held by 40 SRI funds
  
• Monsanto, maker of genetically modified seeds and Round Up weed killer, was held by 19 SRI funds.

There is some movement towards creation of standards for the SRI industry. An article in the April 2004 issue of the Future 500 Group on Corporate Accountability Practice says, "The surge of standards for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is creating tremendous challenges and opportunities for leadership companies."

Director Aileen Ichikawa writes, "CSR standards cover an overwhelming breadth of topics which touch every aspect of corporate operations. There are over 60 major CSR initiatives and standards that focus on a particular issue, geographic area, or stakeholder group, and more than 180 codes of conduct that have different emphases (labor, human rights, community, etc.), scopes (domestic, international, industry-specific, etc.), and methods of implementation (obligatory, certification requirement, voluntary declaration, etc.) Some companies receive several questionnaires a month from CSR and SRI groups, driving an epidemic of "survey fatigue."

In Canada, the Social Investment Organization (SIO) has launched a national consultation on a Statement of Standards and Principles for the socially responsible investment industry.

On October 6, SIO issued a concept paper detailing possible approaches to an SRI Statement of Standards and Principles. "The SIO believes there is growing demand for a mechanism to provide investor assurance on how SRI fund companies are meeting SRI guidelines," the concept paper states.

Hawken's article, "Is Your Money Where Your Heart Is?" is available now at: www.dragonflymedia.com.

The full report, which also outlines steps the industry can take to improve its social responsibility, will be available after October 15, 2004, at www.naturalcapital.org.

Virginia Tech Wins $34 Million in USAID Ag Grants

The work will enhance food security while limiting negative impacts on natural resources through sustainable agricultural programs in developing countries, said President Charles Steger.

Virginia Tech will be the lead university and the Management Entity for agricultural research and assistance programs designed to improve crop yields through ecologically sound practices for people in developing nations around the world.

Of the $34 million, $5 million for each of the two projects will be garnered from the USAID missions around the world.

The USAID uses U.S. land grant universities to promote its development assistance through the mechanism of Collaborative Research Support Programs (CRSPs). There are nine CRSPs, each with a distinct mission.

Virginia Tech is now the only university managing two CRSP projects. One $17 million grant provides for Phase III in USAID’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP), continuing the university's management of the previous two phases.

In Phase III, grants will be offered for new IPM activities in regional as well as global pest management programs.

The second $17 million award makes Virginia Tech the lead institution and the Management Entity in the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM CRSP), which was formerly managed by another land-grant university with Virginia Tech as a sub grantee for the West Africa program.

These ecologically based programs help people in developing countries worldwide implement the latest knowledge to manage natural resources and agriculture with the fewest negative impacts, emphasizing ecologically based management of pests and land use methods to enhance productivity, food security, and preservation and enhancement of natural resources.

"Research results will benefit the countries involved through increased farm income, reduced pesticide use, greater involvement of women in Integrated Pest Management and natural resource management decision-making, and increased sustainable agriculture and natural resource management research and education," said S.K. De Datta, associate provost for international affairs and director of the Office of International Research, Education, and Development at Virginia Tech.

"Virginia and the United States will benefit through reduced pesticide residues on imported fruits and vegetables, expanded demand for our export products as incomes grow in developing countries, and reduced threats from invasive species," De Datta said.

Bill to Block Animal Transport for Canned Hunts Introduced

Federal Grant Trains Energy Savvy Contractors

The funding is intended to advance the development of a national infrastructure of certified technicians and accredited contractors to deliver whole house energy efficiency improvements.

Building Performance Institute (BPI) is expected to expand its efforts of technician testing, set additional standards for whole-house diagnostics for heating and cooling systems and the building envelope, and will enhance its quality assurance requirements.

BPI certifications go beyond those typically provided by individual trades by utilizing the "house as a system" concept as the foundation for each of its job designations, the institute says.

BPI has a relationship with the low income Weatherization Assistance Program in several states to certify qualified technicians. As part of its performance for this grant BPI is expected to review its current standards with a nationally recognized group of building science experts and increase capacity by developing its affiliate network.

BPI technician certification and contractor accreditation can complement the nationwide expansion of Home Performance with ENERGY STAR which uses the ENERGY STAR brand of energy efficient appliances and building technologies to facilitate whole house energy improvements.

BPI certified technicians are performing whole house energy efficiency improvements in New York and Kansas City for programs that use Home Performance with ENERGY STAR as a marketing platform.

The residential sector in the United States is responsible for about 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions released each year from power production, according to the EPA. "If just one household in 10 were to improve their energy efficiency by 30 percent, each year, homeowners would save $4 billion dollars and keep 69 billion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air," the agency says.

Funding for the grant comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Energy as well as from the EPA.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce air pollution by giving consumers simple energy efficient choices. Today, the ENERGY STAR is featured on more than 40 types of products as well as on new homes and buildings. More than 9,000 organizations have become ENERGY STAR partners working to improve the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. For more information, see: http://www.energystar.gov.

Smart Building Controls Manage Peak Energy Demand

In a demonstration with the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency, PNNL is exploring the impacts of reducing electrical demand and on-site energy production at several buildings in Richland, where PNNL performs research for the federal government.

At the Applied Process Engineering Laboratory, PNNL installed a 30-kilowatt microturbine system. The small, natural gas-powered turbine can be started remotely by the Bonneville Power Administration to produce electricity for the building during times of peak electrical demand.

This on-site production, called distributed generation, helps reduce stress on transmission lines by supplying some of the power for the building directly instead of pulling from the regional power grid.

A second project eases stress on the grid by allowing BPA to reduce the demand for power by remotely turning off heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment at two smaller buildings and the 200,000-square-foot Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). At the big lab building, six air handlers are cycled on and off, 10 minutes at a time.

Unlike radio-controlled methods that utilities have used elsewhere, this system uses the Internet and computerized equipment to make changes without any physical action necessary at the buildings.

"Our engineers have preprogrammed a sequence of power-saving actions that take place once BPA remotely initiates load shedding," said Srinivas Katipamula, PNNL's project manager. "But ultimately, occupant safety and comfort take precedence."

Elsewhere, utilities have demonstrated that reduced demand and distributed generation can defer the building of new electrical generation facilities. In the Northwest, the Bonneville Power Administration through its Non-Wires Solutions program, is exploring ways to defer the construction of new transmission lines throughout the region. The PNNL demonstration project is part of this effort.

Mike Hoffman, a Bonneville Power Administration public utilities specialist, says, "It is not unusual for construction of a transmission line to cost upwards of $100 million or more."

Commercial buildings are considered an untapped resource for direct load control, and there are more than 4.7 million commercial buildings in United States. "While the PNNL demonstration project is relatively small, providing a total of just 175 to 275 kilowatts of load reduction at any given time, the potential for savings is great," said Katipamula.

Long Island Wine Region Established By Law

The new law will promote the growing Long Island wine and related agri-tourism industry by combining the separate wine trails into one region that includes more than 30 wineries in eastern Suffolk County.

"New York's wine industry is one of the finest and fastest-growing in the nation," Governor Pataki said. "Long Island wineries produce some of the best wine in the world and the natural beauty of the region serves as a wonderful backdrop that attracts tourists from across New York and around the globe. I'm proud to sign this legislation into law because it will help us better promote Long Island and the world-class wineries the region has to offer."

The governor was joined by state and local officials and representatives of the Long Island wine industry at the bill signing ceremony at Cornell University's Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead.

Assemblywoman Patricia Acampora, who represents the district, was pleased with the new designation. She said it will help preserve open space for the East End of Long Island.

"This has been in the works for quite some time to ensure that the Long Island Wine region is recognized by designating the North Fork Wine Trail and the Hampton Wine Trail as the Long Island Wine Region," she said. "The wineries are a vital part of our local economy and continue to provide open landscapes to help keep the East End green."

The new Long Island Wine Region includes 60 vineyards with more than 3,000 planted acres, which produces more than 500,000 cases of wine annually.

According to the Long Island Wine Council, the region's wine industry produces almost $65 million in gross annual sales, generates $3.5 million in annual sales tax revenues and employs approximately 4,000 people. Almost a half million people visit wineries on Long Island every year.

The number of visitors to New York wineries has increased 50 percent since 1997. New York wineries host around three million visitors annually at the state's four main wine producing regions: the Finger Lakes, the Hudson Valley, the Lake Erie region, and Long Island.

New York has nearly 200 wineries and ranks third overall in grape and wine production behind California and Washington.

Recognition for New York wines is just taking off. A 2002 Riesling from Heron Hill Winery in the Finger Lakes was voted Best of Show White Wine at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, which included over 3,800 wines from around the world. New York wineries received a total of 155 medals, including eight double golds, and 19 golds, at the Florida State Fair International Wine Competition in February.

State Agriculture Commissioner Nathan Rudgers said, "Recognition for New York wines is growing all the time, and Long Island wines are a big part of this growth. With such a large population so close to eastern Suffolk County - the state's leading agricultural county in terms of value - it is important for us to showcase the wonderful products grown on Long Island to its many visitors. The new Long Island Wine Region will help include the region's great wines with the many tourism opportunities on the East End."

More information on the Long Island Wine Region and the wine trails, including a map, is available on the Long Island Wine Council's website: www.liwines.com. The New York Wine and Grape Foundation is at: www.nywine.com

New Jersey Offers Artificial Reef Update for Public Comment

The plan has helped to guide New Jersey’s reef building efforts at 14 artificial reef locations for more than 17 years. The reef sites encompass a total of 25 square miles of sea floor and extend from Sandy Hook to Cape May.

"This plan will strengthen our reef program through appropriate standards and fisheries goals," said DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell. "Artificial reefs are an environmental and economic boon for New Jersey. New fishing and diving opportunities enhance our shore economy, while our marine ecosystems gain new habitat."

The new draft of the plan establishes a protective standard for the stability, durability and effectiveness of various materials used in reef construction. Currently there is no uniform national standard for the durability of reef materials.

The standard states that the reef materials shall not pose a threat to the marine environment, and they shall not be toxic, hazardous, explosive or radioactive.

New Jersey is making an effort to control toxic materials encountered in the artificial reef deployment process. As pieces of obsolete steel-armored telecommunications cable are recovered from the sea floor they are spliced together and rolled onto a drum. The "repeaters," which may contain PCBs are removed and recycled. The cable is deployed from a stationary vessel by unspooling the wire onto a confined pile, approximately 100 feet in diameter, on the seafloor. Since cable can snag anchors, all cable deployments will be restricted to a one square mile area of the Atlantic City Reef Site.

Over the years, New Jersey has had "tremendous success with its artificial reef program," Campbell says. Past studies of artificial reefs show that they may be colonized by up to 200 species of fish and invertebrates. Reefs have 800 to 1,000 times more biomass than open ocean. Artificial reefs can also form important nurseries for juvenile fish.

Nearly, 20 percent of the state’s recreational catch of saltwater fish are now taken on reef sites.

In recent years, the DEP added several ships and tugboats to its reefs, as well as more unusual materials such as the 250 decommissioned New York City subway cars added at five reef locations in the summer of 2003.

DEP has formed an independent committee to oversee a multi-year monitoring program at the subway car sites that will study water quality, fisheries and biota, and the durability of the reefs. The results of this study will further help New Jersey refine its artificial reef program.

The DEP is accepting public comments on the draft for the next 60 days. The plan update is available at the DEP website at: http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/reefplan04.htm.

Boreal Birds Winging South Identified in Interactive Guide

Millions of those winged migrants are in the air right now, heading to points in the United States and farther south. To help U.S. bird watchers who track birds at their backyard birdfeeders and in nearby woods and fields, the Boreal Songbird Initiative, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Federation, is offering the first interactive, on-line field guide to boreal birds.

"Fall migration is underway," said Marilyn Heiman, director of the Boreal Songbird Initiative. The new boreal bird guide will help bird enthusiasts in the U.S. recognize which of the birds they see in their communities have traveled from nesting grounds in Canada’s threatened and largely unprotected boreal forest region."

The bird conservation groups are working to inform the public about boreal birds and the increasing threats to their habitat in time to save them from the hazards of development.

"Logging, oil and gas and hydropower development are rapidly moving northward in the boreal region," warned Heiman. "I encourage birders who visit our new online guide to get involved and help the effort to protect the boreal region before it’s too late."

Canada’s boreal forest is a 1.4 billion acre greenbelt of forest, wetlands, tundra, rivers and lakes that stretches across the center of Canada from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean.

Up to five billion birds - warblers, sparrows and thrushes, ducks, pelicans, cranes, and shorebirds - migrate from Canada’s boreal forest to wintering grounds in the United States and farther south.

More than 500 million warblers of 27 species and close to a billion sparrows of 25 species are estimated to migrate out of the boreal forest each year. In addition, almost half of North America’s ducks and geese use the boreal forest for some portion of their lifecycle.

Dr. Jeff Wells of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who contributed to the new guide, said, "The boreal forest provides one of the world’s most critical blocks of breeding habitat. It is really the bird bank for the U.S. since without it we would be without the vast numbers of birds that we see in migration and winter in our backyards, parks, wildlife reserves. Literally, billions of familiar North American birds are born there each year."

Many of these species are passing through the United States now or will be arriving for the winter in October and November.

Swainson’s thrushes, on their way to Central America and Northern South America, migrate through much of the U.S. in October. White-throated sparrows have begun to arrive at backyard feeders in much of the Eastern United States where they will spend the winter.

Common loons are later migrants, with large movements in November and even December arriving at their wintering grounds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States.

The new guide features an interactive map. Visitors will be able to click on one of 25 U.S. cities to see a comprehensive list of boreal breeding birds that migrate through or winter in that area.

For some cities, including Los Angeles, Boston, and Seattle, the guide includes detailed local narratives about sighting boreal birds.

The new bird guide includes recorded calls, flyway maps and breeding, feeding and habitat information for commonly sighted boreal birds. The Boreal Songbird Initiative plans to add more species accounts shortly.

The guide is posted on the Boreal Songbird Initiative website at: http://www.borealbirds.org/boreal_species_sub-home.html. See the map at: www.borealbirds.org/forest.html