A Sunoco gas station in Markham, Ontario has opened

Canada’s first solar car wash. The Canadian government and Suncor Energy Products Inc. are teaming up to convert standard car-wash stations to use solar systems similar to residential solar water heaters. Car-wash stations use an average 69 gallons (260 l) of hot water—roughly the amount used in an average North American household each day—to wash each vehicle. The Markham station is expected to save about 570,000 ft³ (16,000 m³) of natural gas, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 30 tons (27 tonnes) each year. For more information, call Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) at 613/996-7252.

Researchers at Smart Growth America and Rutgers and Cornell Universities have announced the results of the most

comprehensive study on sprawl ever undertaken. The research team created a sprawl index based on 22 measurable factors relating to residential density; neighborhood mix of homes, jobs, and services; strength of activity centers and downtown areas; and accessibility of the street networks. Of the 83 American metropolitan areas the team measured, Riverside-San Bernadino, California was diagnosed with the worst case of sprawl. Riverside is followed by Greensboro and Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Greenville, South Carolina. New York City and Jersey City are far and away the most compact cities, according to the study. The top five compact cities also include Providence, Rhode Island; San Francisco, California; and Honolulu, Hawaii. Supporting the claims of some anti-sprawl activists, the study also found congestion delay to be independent of the sprawl index of a city.

International Forest Products (Interfor) surprised Canadian wilderness advocates in October with the announcement that they would

stop logging the Elaho Valley of British Columbia, about 125 miles (200 km) north of Vancouver. The valley is home to the spotted owl, possibly Canada’s most endangered species. Fewer than 25 breeding pairs are thought to remain in the province. British Columbia’s Small Business Forest Enterprise Program, which at present is logging more spotted owl habitat than any other BC company, now faces pressure to follow Interfor’s lead.

Under a September executive order signed by Governor Gary Locke, every Washington state agency must establish

sustainability objectives and prepare biennial sustainability plans. The newly named Sustainability Coordinator and Sustainability Advisory Council will organize the plans around energy and water efficiency and a shift to renewable energy sources. The executive order is online at

www.governor.wa.gov/eo/eo%5F02%2D03.htm.

Torrance, California will soon be home to a 501 kW rooftop PV system. The array, to be installed by PowerLight Corporation, will bedeck 52,000 ft² (4,800 m²) of the Toyota Motor Sales USA headquarters. Details are available online at

www.powerlight.com.

Land surface changes may be as much to blame for

global climate change as greenhouse gases, according to research by Roger Pielke Sr., professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, and his colleagues. The study, published in a recent issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London and released by NASA in October, shows that land-use changes, such as irrigation, deforestation, and urbanization, redistribute heat in the atmosphere, dramatically altering climate patterns.

The

Santa Fe Public Utilities Committee believes it has found a way to stretch the city’s limited water supply to satisfy an ever-growing population. If the committee’s controversial “

toilet tax” is accepted by the City Council, builders will have to replace 8–12 toilets in existing Santa Fe buildings with low-flow models to earn each new building permit. Still under contention is whether the builders should have responsibility for the retrofits or pay the city to install the water-saving toilets.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which is fitted with 7,000 ft² (650 m²) of photovoltaic panels. The $600,000 system is expected to generate 66 kilowatts of electricity, offsetting 10 to 15% of the cathedral complex’s energy demand. It is the first of 16 solar systems to be installed this year atop churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious buildings as part of the Los Angeles Interfaith Environmental Council’s Green Sanctuaries program.

has become the first city in the nation to officially recognize a threat to public and environmental health posed by persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic chemicals (PBTs), including dioxins, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The city is currently developing criteria for its own departments, offices, and agencies requiring that PBT levels be taken into account in addition to other environmental, social, and economic factors in all city purchasing decisions.

Governor Davis signed a second bill in September requiring that

residential clothes washers meet commercial water-use standards by 2007. AB 1561, the first bill of its kind in the nation, demands that no more than 9.5 gallons (42 l) of water be used to clean one cubic foot (0.03 m³) of laundry. Each machine is expected to use 7,000 fewer gallons (26,500 l) of water per year than a conventional machine, saving the state 1 billion gallons (3.8 billion l) annually. Though the efficient machines will be more expensive at the outset, the EPA predicts a savings of $48 per machine per year due to decreased energy and water costs.