is a new company created to provide intelligence on the distributed generation industry, with a particular focus on financial issues and investing. Technologies covered include fuel cells, photovoltaics, microturbines, and cogeneration. Among the company’s three principals are two leading advocates of energy efficiency in buildings from the U.S. Department of Energy: Gregory Kats and Joseph Romm. The third principal, Henry Habicht, was a senior vice president at Safety-Kleen Corporation and is CEO of the nonprofit Global Environment and Technology Foundation. The premier issue of the company’s newsletter,

Capital E Report, is online at

www.Cap-E.com.

The new

International Society of Industrial Ecology has been launched from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Industrial ecology looks to nature as a guide for making more integrated and efficient industrial processes, such as co-location of industries that can make use of each other’s wastes. The society serves as a focal point of research activities worldwide. The

Journal of Industrial Ecology is its official publication. Information is available on the ISIE Web site:

www.yale.edu/is4ie.

and

Owens Corning have joined more than 20 other companies in filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code because of financial pressures resulting from asbestos-related liability. There currently are approximately 173,000 and 460,000 personal claims against Armstrong and Owens Corning, respectively. Both companies have taken this action as a way of handling all of the claims (exposure totals in the billions) and eliminating contingent liability. Filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 protects normal business operations and allows control over company cashflow.

has announced that he is stepping down as CEO of Interface, Inc., effective July 1, 2001. He will stay on as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. Succeeding Anderson as CEO will be

Daniel T. Hendrix, presently Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

International Prize for Sustainable Development from the Houston Advanced Research Center. The $100,000 Mitchell Prize was awarded for the seventh time since 1974 on January 29, 2001 during the Woodlands Conference. Further details are online at:

www.harc.edu/pressroom/01_0115.html.

On January 15, 2001 Maharaj Muthoo took over as the new Executive Director of the

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Dr. Muthoo has a doctorate from the University of Oxford and has devoted the past 30 years to issues of social and economic development and environmental management. For 15 years, he was the Director of Forestry Operations at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome. He has overseen forest and watershed management and related renewable resources conservation and community development programs and projects in over 100 countries. Dr. Muthoo works out of FSC headquarters in Oaxaca, Mexico. See

www.fscoax.org.

On December 5,

the nation’s smallest commuter rail system began operation in Burlington, Vermont. The Champlain Flyer carries passengers just 13 miles (21 km)—between downtown Burlington and Charlotte. The rail service is initially free, but a charge will be imposed by April, when frequency of train trips is expected to increase to 10 per day. The $18 million dollar public transit project has been controversial, with opponents claiming that the money could have been better spent elsewhere, but Vermont Governor Howard Dean is an avid supporter. “This is the beginning, I hope, of a real renaissance in rail,” he said at the debut of the rail service. According to the American Public Transportation Association, it is very unusual for such a small community to have rail service (the greater Burlington area has a population of only 150,000). The Champlain Flyer becomes one of just 22 commuter rail systems in the U.S.

In January 2000 (

Vol. 9, No. 1), we reported on the just-released

National Resources Inventory (NRI) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which tracks land uses every five years. The 1997 USDA figures, it turns out, were incorrect due to a software error. The reported rate at which open space is being lost to development between 1992 and 1997 was 30% high. Rather than the 3.2% increase in developed land per year during that five-year period, the actual rate was 2.2%. The total increase in developed land area between 1992 and 1997 was 11.2 million acres (4.5 million ha), not 16 million acres (6.5 million ha). For more information, see

www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/NRI/.

A ballot initiative that passed in Oregon on November 7, 2000 is worrying both environmentalists and fiscal conservatives.

Measure 7, approved by a margin of 54% to 46%, amends the Oregon constitution to require state and local governments to reimburse private property owners when regulations reduce the value of their property. It applies only when regulations were imposed since a property was acquired by the owner and when those regulations demonstrably reduce the property’s value. This “takings” issue could hamper Oregon’s progressive growth-control initiatives, including urban growth boundaries, as well as measures to protect waterways and beaches from pollution. Governor John Kitzhaber, who opposed the initiative, predicted prior to the election that “beach protection laws would be impossible to enforce.

A new car-sharing program was launched last November in San Francisco. Joining similar programs in Portland and Seattle,

City CarShare began with 30 members, a handful of vehicles, and 12 parking spaces set aside at four city-owned parking garages. Members pay a one-time refundable fee of $300 to join, a $10 monthly administrative fee, and usage fees of $2 per hour and 45¢ per mile driven. While Car Sharing Portland, established in March 1998, is operated as a for-profit business, City CarShare in San Francisco is a nonprofit organization. The organization has benefited from a $742,000 federal grant and $200,000 in private foundation support. Co-director Elizabeth Sullivan hopes that in five years they will have 100 cars, including some operating on alternative fuels. For information, call 415/995-8588 or visit their Web site:

www.sfcarshare.org.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has established the

New Jersey Green Homes office. Residing within the Division of Housing and Community Resources, the office’s mission is “to fundamentally improve the environmental performance, energy efficiency, quality, and affordability of housing in New Jersey.” The Green Homes office will be involved in advocacy, education, and technical assistance in an effort of “accelerate the use of innovative green design and building technologies, raise building standards, and create a consumer demand for efficient and environmentally responsible high-performance homes.” Contact director Darren Port at 609/292-3931 or by e-mail at njgreenhomes@aol.com.