Non Toxic Vision

Prius Headlamp Trouble

 

I just received this article, published in Advertising Age on June 29, 2009:

Amid the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid, Toyota is taking a beating online and in court by owners who charge that some older models of the popular car have faulty headlights that can cost more than $1,000 to replace. Owners have complained to federal safety officials and in online chats that Prius' upgraded optional lights, known as high-intensity discharge headlamps, have a tendency to fail. U.S. federal safety officials started looking into the matter in late April, and a lawsuit was filed last month against Toyota on behalf of Prius owners. The suit called the situation "a dangerous but undisclosed safety defect."

Read the entire article

More Plactic Bag Stats....

• Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year
• As many as one trillion [1,000,000,000,000] plastic bags are used annually worldwide and only 1% of these are recycled
• Plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is a thermoplastic made from crude oil. In China, people use billions of plastic bags and their ban on free plastic bags will save them over 37 million barrels of oil annually!
• It takes 1,000 years for polyethylene bags to break down
• As polyethylene breaks down, toxic substances leach into the soil and enter the food chain
• Plastic bags account for 10% of all coastline debris in the U.S.
• Eight million pounds of plastic end up in our oceans killing our wildlife to the tune of approximately one billion seabirds and mammals. These animals suffer a painful death.
• Plastic bags choke landfills
• If one out of five people in North America convert from plastic bags to reusable cloth totes, it will save our environment from the damage of 1.3 trillion [1,300,000,000,000] plastic bags in our lifetime

Wind Development in New York

New York's wind energy development has grown exponentially in the last decade.  In 1999, New York had no wind energy generation.  By December 2008, however, 831 megawatts (MW) had been constructed.  Each MW is enough generation to power approximately 500 NYC apartments.*  That means that in 2008 enough wind generated electricity was produced in New York State to power over 300,000 NYC apartments!

New York has 15 wind farms that generate electricity, including the Fenner Wind Farm in Madison County and the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lewis County.  Nearly 463 MW are currently under construction.  New York ranks 15th on the list of states with the greatest wind energy potential and 9th on the list of states for wind-powered electricity generation.  Green power programs (like ConEdison Solutions' Green Power Program) increase the demand for new wind energy resources, driving new wind farm development.  Likewise, the introduction of the New York State renewable portfolio standard helps increase demand for new projects by requiring that 25% of the electricity generated within the state come from renewable sources by the year 2013.  Together, green power programs and the renewable portfolio standard will continue to encourage new wind energy projects in New York.  Visit www.AWEA.org for more information on wind energy in New York and the US.

Many of us are familiar with the phrase "support local business."  Now, ConEdison Solutions is happy to help you find local green-powered businesses!  The list below highlights a few local businesses that have chosen to join the ConEdison Solutions Green Power Program:

Chelsea Piers                100% Wind Powered         www.chelseapiers.com
The City Bakery             100% Wind Powered         www.thecitybakery.com

Barcade                        100% Wind Powered         www.barcadebrooklyn.com
Green Apple Cleaners    100% Wind Powered         www.greenapplecleaners.com