Metafore Further Meshes EPAT Paper-Buying Tool with Green Efforts
by: Greener Design, 2011-01-13 14:00:59 UTC

The latest update to the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool offers deeper data on the environmental impacts of paper production, helping companies make the greenest choices and achieve their supply chain sustainability goals.

Honda Takes Green Purchasing Guide Global
by: Greener Design, 2011-01-14 20:12:05 UTC

 Honda has revised its Green Purchasing Guidelines to go beyond Japan and cover all suppliers around the world.

Design Roundup: Four Loko Becomes Fuel, Israel's Hospital BPA Ban
by: Greener Design, 2011-01-14 22:15:04 UTC

 Read on for news on what's happening to banned energy drinks, the U.K.'s plans to cut toy waste, Israel's actions against bisphenol A and more.

igland design: pure sunlight
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2011-01-16 12:30:00 UTC

the table uses mirrors and glass to reflect sunlight into a room, decreasing users' dependency on artificial light during the daytime.
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flushtracker
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2011-01-16 09:30:00 UTC

designed to draw awareness to the fact that 40% of the world still lacks access to basic sanitation, web-based 'flushtracker' follows your toilet waste on its journey to sewage treatment plants.
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Red Cross Uses Solar-Powered Pumps to Increase Water Access in Sudan
by: TreeHugger Science, 2011-01-15 15:34:11 UTC
Image: whowillwewill.com However the referendum in South Sudan turns out, one thing will not go away quickly: the lack of water in the region. The International Committee of the Red Cross, however, is at work on a project that will mitigate that problem in at least one town, and will hopefully be replicated in other regions if ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

IndiGo Air Greens Fleet with Airbus "Neo" Jets
by: TreeHugger Science, 2011-01-16 00:19:46 UTC
The record-breaking order of the A320neo offers 15 percent more fuel-efficiency. Image courtesy of Airbus. An Indian low-cost airline, IndiGo, has been the first buyer of 150 Airbus A320neo fuel-efficient jets, not only expanding its currently modest 34-plane fleet but also marking the single largest order in commercial aviation history. Airbus claims the plane is a more environmentally-friendly version of its popular A320, reducing fuel consumption by an estimated 15 percent, and... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Study Finds Chemicals in Pregnant Women; What Can Be Done About It?
by: TreeHugger Science, 2011-01-16 19:20:09 UTC
Image: Nina Matthews Photography You have probably already seen the headlines, ranging from the emotional "Pregnant Women Awash in Chemicals. Is That Bad for Baby?" to the simply factual "Toxic Chemicals Found in Pregnant U.S. Women." Yes, it heralds yet another study that confirms what toxicologists increasingly know: the plethor... Read the full story on TreeHugger

A French Designer Brings Out Some Remarkable Wood Furniture
by: TreeHugger Design, 2011-01-16 13:08:56 UTC
Photos: Nicolas Scordia, J.P. Cervel, via OlivierDollé.com There's something great about wood furniture- it's solid, aesthetically pleasing, and has a lot of green potential, if it comes from reclaimed or sustainable sources. French designer and architect Olivier Dollé has come out with a line of wood furnishings that help remind us exactly where the wood they're made of comes from.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Study: Biking Infrastructure Projects Create More Jobs Than Auto-Based Initiatives
by: fast company, 2011-01-14 22:09:09 UTC

Bicycling is cleaner, more efficient, and in many cases more fun than driving a car around the city. Now a study (PDF) from the Political Economy Research Institute says that building bike infrastructures creates up to twice as many jobs than auto-based infrastructure projects.

The study, Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure, examined job creation data from 2008 provided by Baltimore, Maryland. The result: pedestrian and bike infrastructure projects create 11 to 14 jobs per $1 million of spending while road infrastructure initiatives created seven jobs per $1 million of spending.

Biking and pedestrian projects require more engineers than construction workers, according to the report. Projects that require more engineers are more labor intensive than simple construction jobs, and often have the effect of creating more supporting jobs. This is, the report explains,  because they have  "a higher employment multiplier. Projects with higher engineering costs (as a share of total project expenses) will therefore have greater employment impacts than projects with a smaller share of engineering costs."

So if cities really want to boost infrastructure jobs, they should get to work on sidewalks and bike paths. This kind of construction won't just create jobs; it will ultimately create more livable cities.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.