Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

THE LOS ANGELES CLEAN TECH CORRIDOR WILL MAKE L.A. THE LEADER IN GREEN TECHNOLOGY

By Jodi Summers

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) hope to transform L.A. into ‘the global capital of clean technology.” The goal is to transform the manufacturing corridor east of downtown into the center of green innovation. The mayor and his team are marketing this industrial parcel, dubbed the CleanTech Manufacturing Center, as a green business incubator, the way Silicon Valley hatched technology.

“We will make clean tech as synonymous with LA as motion pictures,” Mayor Villaraigosa boldly declared. “We will make LA the capital of green technology … and transform the city into a laboratory for green development.”

The CleanTech Corridor city planners envision spans 2,236 acres — about 10% railroad-owned — east of Alameda Street, and is accessible by the Metro Gold Line. It begins at a swath of land straddling the L.A. River, near Los Angeles State Historic Park (the former Cornfield), that Councilman Ed Reyes hopes to transform into a neighborhood where bicycles and pedestrians would rule and carbon emissions would be cut by 35%. Then it runs south through the site of a future Department of Water and Power research center into the Artists-in-Residence district, which stretches from Alameda to the river and from 1st Street to south of 7th Street. The vacant CleanTech Manufacturing site at Santa Fe Avenue and 15th Street, just south of the 10 Freeway, forms the corridor’s southern anchor.

“…The City is standing with the world-class academic institutions of Los Angeles and our dynamic business community to stake a claim as a global leader in the clean and green technologies that will drive the 21st century economy,” the mayor pronounced. “From R&D to manufacturing to design, this partnership taps into the creative assets and innovative spirit of our City to foster new industry and spur job growth.”

Of course, there are no local funds to make this conversion happen, so the city of Los Angeles will be calling for private investment and money from state and federal sources,

Last fall, CRA officials and the mayor’s business team began courting clean technology companies — talking up the purchasing power of the city’s public utilities, as well as the array of federal, state and city tax incentives available to business.

More than 100 companies, from solar and electric car manufacturers to a garment recycling business, expressed interest in the CleanTech site, which the city purchased from the state last April for $14 million.

“The Los Angeles Business Council believes that attracting green-tech companies will be a prime economic driver for the region,” said Los Angeles Business Council President Mary Leslie. “We were proud to launch the website CleanTechLA.org at our Sustainability Summit last year and look forward to continuing our partnership with the consortium to build a vibrant green economy in Los Angeles.”

For capitalist development, the Los Angeles Times reports that the most intensive push has been for an Italian rail manufacturer, AnsaldoBreda, which is angling for a $300-million rail car construction contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. If it secures the contract, AnsaldoBreda has promised to build a $70-million manufacturing plant. The contract is controversial because some MTA officials have been unhappy with the company’s performance in meeting rail car contract specifications in the past, but the company has several political insiders in town pushing this deal, said to be Los Angeles County Federation of Labor lobbyist Chris Lehane, and the green building company Shangri-LA Construction, founded by prominent Democratic contributor and Villaraigosa donor Steven Bing.

More altruistically, farther north in the corridor, a DWP research center focusing on renewable energy, climate change and water intended to attract companies that want to work with area universities.

Dubbed CleanTech Los Angeles, the city is seeking to create a research alliance (not unlike the Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Alliances) involving local area educational institutions, with major roles being played by the California Institute of Technology, University of California Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, among others.

“I’ve often said that Los Angeles may have the best collection of intellectual talent of any county in the nation. I believe it’s important to invest our intellectual capital in programs that enhance the quality of life for all of our citizens” noted University of Southern California President Steven Sample. “USC is delighted to partner with our colleagues in higher education, and with our friends from the public sector and from private business, to help make Los Angeles the greenest city in America.”

“Broader recognition of Los Angeles as a global regional center of science and engineering research and clean technology development bodes well for its economic competitiveness in a rapidly changing world,” added Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, President of the California Institute of Technology.

The cluster of laboratories would be housed in an old transformer warehouse overlooking the river on the DWP’s Main Street site, and the DWP recently secured a private donation that will allow the department to perform a $4.5-million “green retrofit” of the building.

Among the projects planned: development of aerospace technology with Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that would help the DWP better measure snowpack in the Eastern Sierra and dust in the Owens Valley.

In the basement of the DWP building, UCLA would build a wind tunnel testing facility. Meanwhile, USC is exploring the site as a home for a research institute that would study how to make data centers more energy efficient.

“The city really provides a platform to have a lot of technologies tested,” said John X. Chen, the DWP’s executive director of customer service and water conservation. He said the city will be spending billions of dollars trying to reach the mayor’s renewable energy goals. For those reasons, he argued that when competing for grants, “We will be very, very competitive against anybody out there.”

And, you can’t have business without housing nearby. At the northern end of the corridor, the Cornfield/Arroyo Seco specific plan area spans more than 600 acres — from Los Angeles State Historic Park, across the river into Lincoln Heights. It will be one of those picture pretty pedestrian- and cyclist-centered neighborhood

The city would also place special restrictions on developers within a mile of the river, requiring open space and measures to reduce carbon emissions in the neighborhood.

FYI…The L.A. Times notes that the CleanTech corridor is a critical component of the mayor’s “green jobs” agenda as he eyes a probable run for governor in 2010. And it could be a test of his pledge to transform Los Angeles into “the greenest and cleanest big city in the nation,” drawing more than a third of its electrical power from renewable sources by 2020.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-clean-tech28-2009apr28,0,669366,print.story

http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/news/article.asp?parentid=3347

http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/la-to-become-the-capital-of-green-88893.aspx

http://cleantechlosangeles.org/

http://www.lachamber.com/clientuploads/EWE_committee/RFI_FINAL_9_16_2008.pdf

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/hoDaoA3nwB-/Mayor+Antonio+Villaraigosa+Votes+Election/jvGcHFcTcLF/Antonio+Villaraigosa

20% OF CITIES HAVE PASSED GREEN POLICIES

20% OF CITIES HAVE PASSED GREEN POLICIES

Edited by Jodi Summers

Here’s a note of real estate optimism in dismal economic times - according to a recent survey by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), more than one in five U.S. cities with populations greater than 50,000 report having a policy to promote green buildings.

The AIA report, titled Green Building Policy in a Changing Economic Environment, is an inventory of legislation intended to help policymakers advance a more sustainable legislative agenda for growth and development.

The report contains detailed case studies of the green building programs in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Nashville, and Grand Rapids, Mich.

“It is encouraging that cities are recognizing the economic benefits of energy-efficient buildings, and equally encouraging that the number of programs across the country are increasing despite such difficult economic conditions,” said AIA Executive Vice President / CEO, Christine McEntee. “Our ultimate goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030 and that all design projects will be sustainable as a matter of course.”

Highlights from the report:

* 138 cities have green building programs, compared with 92 cities in 2007 – an increase of 50 percent

* 24 of the 25 most populated metropolitan regions in the United States are built around cities with a green building policy

* The Western region has the most green building programs with 56 cities in just six states

* The Mountain region is second in the percentage of cities with green building programs, with 24 percent of residents living in those cities

* The Eastern region has seen a 75 percent rise in green building programs since 2007

* The central region has 21 cities with green building programs

The report goes on to make recommendations McEntee added, “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is helping to move sustainability efforts forward, with programs such as the Energy Efficient and Conservation Block Grant that are providing an unprecedented opportunity for the advancement of green building efforts nationwide. The inclusion of strong green building provisions in energy and climate legislation before Congress shows that our message about the importance of sustainable design is getting through.”

There are also a series of recommendations for steps a municipality could take to green their city. The AIA initially conducted this survey in 2007 for a Local Leaders in Sustainability report that has just been updated. It accounts for more than 53 million people.

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http://www.aia.org/walkthewalk

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http://www.aia.org/press/AIAB081674

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http://www.archicentral.com/wp-content/images/lakeside.jpg

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA’S 30/10 INITIATIVE WILL BRING INDUSTRIAL GROWTH TO LOS ANGELES

By Jodi Summers

Bravo to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for going to Washington to push his 30/10 initiative. The mass transit financing method that he has proposed so that Los Angeles can build their 30-year mass transit model in 10 years’ time, could be a new model for federal-local partnership, that could help cities across the country rebuild their infrastructure, strengthen urban development and revitalize the economy, and stimulate industrial growth.

“We are trying to define density not as a bad word, but as a word that can have elegance to it, and be green, and be smart,” the mayor said. “Yet the city needs to change even more, and the 30/10 plan is one of the routes to that change.”

Senator George Voinovich from Ohio, a former mayor, noted that regions like Los Angeles should be rewarded for raising our own transportation funding.

The 30/10 proposal would allow Metro to construct the full Westside extension, but also two easterly extensions of the Gold Line, two new branches for the Green Line, several busways in San Fernando Valley, a link along I-405, and new light rail lines downtown, along Crenshaw Boulevard, to Santa Monica, and via the West Santa Ana branch corridor. The West Santa Ana branch corridor would be served by commuter rail. All by 2020.

It was a brilliant solution to an intractable political problem by ensuring the extension of transit in corridors everywhere in the county within a tight time frame. The fight over which lines to prioritize would simply not have to happen

The 30/10 proposal that went to Washington looks something like this:

o Current long-range transportation plan assumes $18.3 billion in transit expenditures over 30 years. 65% of funds would come from Measure R, with 23% from New Starts and 12% from other sources.

o The 30/10 Initiative would allow total expenditures to be reduced to $14.7 billion because of avoided inflation, since projects would be completed in ten years, twenty years ahead of schedule. More cost savings could also be possible because of a cheaper construction market.

o Of that $14.7 billion, $5.8 billion is expected to be available from existing sources, with around $8.8 billion still necessary, which could be provided through a loan from the federal government.

o Measure R would then pay back its $8.8 billion in debts for projects completed between 2010 and 2020 with $10.4 billion in tax revenue received between 2020 and 2040.

In Washington, Mayor Villiarigosa got support Oregon Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer also supports the effort. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood signaled that he was open to the opportunity in a meeting in Los Angeles

“Four years ago, when I talked about the subway to the sea, people laughed,”

Villaraigosa recalls. “But we are going to build it. All of these transit plans will happen.”

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http://www.laedc.org/businessscan/index.html

http://www.globest.com/newspics/la_urbanmarketplacepanel.jpg

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/03/01/how-feasible-is-antonio-villaraigosas-3010-gambit-for-los-angeles-transit/

http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/04/22/3010-survives-the-metro-board-of-directors/

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/opinion/la-oe-rutten27-2010feb27

http://www.globest.com/news/1622_1622/losangeles/184054-1.html

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/subwaymayor-760786.jpg

LOS ANGELES IS A BETTER PLACE THAN PARIS TO BUY INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

LOS ANGELES IS A BETTER PLACE THAN PARIS TO BUY INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

by Jodi Summers

Sacre bleu! Los Angeles is a better real estate…according to Forbes.com. In a recent top 10 article called World’s Best Places For Real Estate Buys, Ten cities investors will target in 2009 our beloved Los Angeles was #7 – after San Francisco and before Paris.

Washington D.C. topped the list this year, thanks to the proposed $1 trillion swell of government spending. As Forbes notes, “At present, D.C. has the lowest unemployment rate in the country–4.1%, compared to the 7.2% national average. With President Obama’s stimulus package recommending $1 trillion in new spending, it’s unlikely government jobs–and those they support–will be leaving the District anytime soon.”

Not many investors were looking at L.A. in 2008, as we were hammered by the subprime crisis and a massive volume of foreclosures. As we all know, our perceived property poverty curtailed spending and our whole local economy limped along. We were 19^th on the 2008 Forbes World’s Best Places For Real Estate Buys, so this 12-point rise is a huge boost for real estate morale.

“It’s all about perception,” notes a local investor. “If people perceive Los Angeles is a good value, then it becomes a good value, and prices grow strong.”

Good news for local property owners - sales surged 102%in the residential sector, according to Radar Logic, a derivatives firm, and Forbes notes that this wave “has that market hinting at a bottom.”

The 2009 Top 10 Best Places For Real Estate Buys

1. Washington, D.C.

2. London, U.K.

3. New York, N.Y.

4. Tokyo, Japan

5. Shanghai, China

6. San Francisco, Calif.

7. Los Angeles, Calif.

8. Paris, France

9. Houston, Texas

10. Singapore

Please note Forbes’ rankings come from the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, a research association that tracks where member investors are finding the best opportunities around the world.

Get the whole story @ http.//www.forbes.com/2009/01/21/investment-obama-realestate-forbeslife-cx_mw_0121realestate.html?partner=alerts

http://mightyminnow.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/washington-dc.jpg

http://www.pointernet.pds.hu/touristinfo/free_wallpapers_2/France_Paris_Night.jpeg

THE INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET IN L.A. IS GROWING STRONGER

By Jodi Summers

“This particular cycle has caught us with something we have never seen before. We have been left with a significant amount of industrial space,” observed Ken Jackson, director of sales and acquisitions at Dynamic Builders. “Nonetheless, the demand for industrial space is still strong, he said.”When you are Downtown, and look to the southeast and see the one-story and two-story buildings out there, there are thousands of apparel and general merchandise companies that started there. It shows the huge strength of L.A.”

In 2009, the industrial market had one of the worst years in decades, purchase prices and lease rates reached 10-year lows. The U.S. vacancy rate for industrial properties hit 10.3% at the end of last year, according to the Urban Land Institute. Other firms, such as Grubb & Ellis, peg it slightly higher at 10.7%. Locally, we have always been blessed, as Los Angeles, peaked at 3.3% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation – up from 2.2% a year earlier.

Now, the industrial property market is slowly returning. “The worst has passed,” confirmed Craig Meyer, a managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle. “We’re clearly at the bottom looking up.”

Major cargo hubs like Los Angeles, Seattle, Kansas City, Houston and Dallas are expected to bounce out of the slump faster than other markets. While Phoenix, Chicago and Detroit are among the cities projected to lag.

Exports are up and manufacturing activity jumped last month to the fastest pace in more than five years. Around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle about 40% of the nation’s cargo container shipments, sales and leasing activity for industrial properties began rising last summer. Cargo volume posted a 28% annual increase in February, reinforcing the continued strengthening of the industrial real estate market.

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http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/apr/09/industrial-property-market-recovery-seen-2011/

http://www.laedc.org/businessscan/index.html

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/29/business/la-fi-ports-exports29-2010mar29

https://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/docviewer/AmericasEconomicPulseMAY2010.pdf?id=c33600033p&repositoryKey=CoreRepository&itemDesc=document&cid=c27400005p&crep=Core&cdesc=binaryPubContent&Country=GLOBAL&Language=EN&just_logged_in=1

http://www.globest.com/newspics/la_urbanmarketplacepanel.jpg

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/03/01/how-feasible-is-antonio-villaraigosas-3010-gambit-for-los-angeles-transit/

http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/04/22/3010-survives-the-metro-board-of-directors/

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/opinion/la-oe-rutten27-2010feb27

http://www.globest.com/news/1622_1622/losangeles/184054-1.html

http://somaweb.org/lacre/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/amerappar.jpg

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/los-angeles-2.jpg

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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-01/26/xin_190103251121249355818.jpg

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-california/Panorama%20along%20Broadway%20St.,%20Los%20Angeles,%20showing%20City%20Hall,%201946-500.jpg

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cleantech-la-aerial.jpg

http://suebellyank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/panoramicviewfromrunyoncanyon.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/includes/soundslides/then_now_city_hall/05a.jpg

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect4/los_angeles_skyline.jpg

15 NOTEWORTHY CLEAN ENERGY STOCKS

15 NOTEWORTHY CLEAN ENERGY STOCKS

Edited by Jodi Summers

Green Stocks Investing has researched publicly-listed renewable energy stocks including solar power companies, wind energy stocks, geothermal power producers, wave energy, tidal power, green mutual funds, emerging clean energy technology companies, and come up with a list of Top Alternative Energy and Renewable Power stock picks for 2010:

1. ITRI - Itron, Inc. (Itron), provides products and services to utilities for energy and water markets globally, and is a provider of metering, data collection and software.

http://www.itron.com/

2. AMSC - American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) is an energy technology

solutions company, offering products and services based on programmable power electronic converters and high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires. It serves are the wind energy market and the power transmission and distribution or power grid market. http://www.amsc.com/

3. CSIQ - Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI) designs, develops, manufactures and sells solar cell and module products in China that convert sunlight into electricity. CSIQ mplements solar power development projects, primarily in conjunction with government organizations. http://www.canadian-solar.com/

4. CLNE - Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Clean Energy) is a provider of natural gas as an alternative fuel for vehicle fleets in the United States and Canada. CLNE designs, builds, finances and operates fueling stations, and supplies customers with compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and also helps them acquire and finance natural gas vehicles, and access government rebates and incentives. http://www.cleanenergyfuels.com/

5. LON-CWP - Clipper Windpower PLC (Clipper) is engaged in the design, engineering and manufacturing of advanced wind turbines and developing wind energy projects, including engineering, construction, and plant operation. It manufactures the 2.5 megawatts Liberty wind turbine and actively develops wind power generating projects in the Americas and Europe. http://www.clipperwind.com/

6. BOM: 532667 - Suzlon Energy Limited (SEL) is an India-based wind power

company engaged in the manufacture of wind turbine generators (WTGs) of various capacities and its components. http://www.suzlon.com/

7. CVE:WND - Western Wind Energy Corp. (Western Wind) owns two wind energy

electrical generation facilities and is developing wind energy projects in California and Arizona. WND currently owns over 500 wind turbines with 34.5 MW of rated capacity and a further 131MW of expansion power purchase agreements in California and Arizona. http://www.westernwindenergy.com/

8. YGE - Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (Yingli Green Energy) is a vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer in China. The Company designs, manufactures and sells PV modules and designs, assembles, sells and install PV systems in worldwide markets such as Spain, Germany, the United States and China. http://www.yinglisolar.com

9. TSL - Trina Solar Limited is an integrated solar-power products manufacturer based in China. The Company’s market reach includes Germany, Spain and Italy. http://www.trinasolar.com/

10. ORA - Ormat Technologies, Inc. (Ormat) is engaged in the geothermal and recovered energy power business. The Company designs, develops, builds, owns and operates geothermal recovered energy-based power plants, usually using equipment that it designs and manufactures. http://www.ormat.com/

11. APWR - A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Ltd. (A-Power) is a renewable energy company in China, engaged in providing onsite distributed power generation systems and micro power grids for industrial companies to recapture previously wasted heat and gas from their manufacturing processes to generate electricity.

http://www.apowerenergy.com/

12. AMAT - Applied Materials, Inc. (Applied) provides Nanomanufacturing Technology solutions for the global semiconductor, flat panel display, solar and related industries, with a portfolio of equipment, service and software products. http://www.appliedmaterials.com/

13. JASO - JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JA Solar) is engaged in the development, production and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity in China. http://www.jasolar.com/

14. AOS - A. O. Smith Corporation is a manufacturer of water heating equipment and electric motors, serving a diverse mix of residential, commercial and industrial end markets principally in the United States. http://www.aosmith.com

15. OTC: SHCAY (Sharp Corp ADR) - Sharp Corporation is a Japan-based company

engaged in the manufacture and sale of electronic telecommunication devices, electronic machines and components. The Sharp Solar division is a world-leading alternative energy manufacturer. http://sharp-world.com/

http://agreenrealtor.blogspot.com/2010/01/15-clean-energy-technology-groth-stocks.html

HUD AND DOT WORKING TOGETHER FOR MORE LIVABLE CITIES

HUD AND DOT WORKING TOGETHER FOR MORE LIVABLE CITIES

By Jodi Summers

Government statistics show that the average working American family spends nearly 60 percent of its budget on housing and transportation costs - making these two areas the largest expenses for the average household. Now the government wants to help.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are working together in hopes of helping American families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs by creating affordable, sustainable communities.

Like putting in our light rail system, this is a long process. Over the next four years, every major metropolitan area in the country will do an analysis of integrated housing, transportation, and land use planning and investment.

Recently, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood presented the official vision for sustainable communities at a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing hearing titled, “Livable Communities, Transit Oriented Development, and incorporating Green Building Practices into Federal Housing and Transportation.”

“One of my highest priorities is to help promote more livable communities through sustainable surface transportation programs,” offered Secretary LaHood. “This partnership will help expand every American family’s choices for affordable housing and transportation,” said Secretary Donovan. “HUD’s central mission - ensuring that every American has access to decent, affordable housing - can be achieved only in context of the housing, transportation, and energy costs and choices that American families experience each day.”

DOT and HUD have created a high-level interagency task force to better coordinate federal transportation and housing investments and identify strategies to give American families:

• More choices for affordable housing near employment opportunities;

• More transportation options, to lower transportation costs, shorten travel times, and improve the environment; and

• Safe, livable, healthy communities.

The HUD/DOT task force has the goal of enhancing integrated regional housing, transportation, and land use planning and investment. Planning grants will be made available to metropolitan areas, and create mechanisms to ensure those plans are carried through to localities. DOT will encourage Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to conduct this integrated planning as a part of their next long-range transportation plan update and will provide technical assistance on scenario planning, a tool for assessing future growth alternatives that better coordinate land use, and transportation planning.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cir/test090318.cfm

http://www.inman.com/news/2009/03/19/partnership-targets-affordability-transportation

http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/safety/sso/MeetingSummary/images/1-dotlogo.gif

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REGISTER YOUR CELL PHONE ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST

REGISTER YOUR CELL PHONE ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST

By Jodi Summers

Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month….meaning cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive annoying sales calls on your cell phone…and YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.

To prevent this, call the National DO NOT CALL list number from you cell phone. That number is - 888-382-1222.

Registering will block your number for five (5) years.

FYI - You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

YALE PICKS THE TEN MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY COUNTRIES

YALE PICKS THE TEN MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY COUNTRIES

Edited by Jodi Summers

Every year, Yale University releases an Environmental Performance Index (EPI), calculating national environmental factors such as a country’s environmental health, air pollution, water resources and productive natural resources. So let us present to you the most recent top 10 winning countries who can boast the title of the most eco-friendly nations in the world.

1 - Switzerland

Switzerland’s hard-line legislation on pollution makes it one of the world’s most eco-friendly nations. Switzerland’s strategy is to continue to foster cooperation between organizations and individuals. To make sure everyone is acutely aware of how precious the environment can be, Switzerland charges for their water and waste management services as well as establishing severe environmental taxes. Prevention is the third key tenet, shown by the 2006 development of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), to sustain natural resources and develop safety measures for natural hazards.

2 - Norway

Overcast Norway is the home of the world’s largest solar production plant, owned by REC Group. Norway has also taken emissions seriously, and is now planning on becoming carbon neutral by 2030, not 2050 as originally expected. The change in anticipated timing has been reduced because of what Norway has learned by funding green projects abroad and reducing at-home driving and flying.

3 - Sweden

Sweden’s mandate for a country free of fossil fuels by 2020 puts it as the third most eco-friendly country on the planet. Already, a majority of Sweden’s power is either nuclear or hydroelectric. Solutions for automobile and flight transport include ethanol and animal waste conversion. Additionally, Sweden is one of the world leaders working on harnessing the power of waves. At the University of Uppsala, Sweden is developing “wave power” which converts waves into 4x as much energy as solar power in the same amount of time, with no waste and no emissions.

4 - Finland

Finland is experiencing a remarkable recovery from industrialization, using initiatives to clean up water and air quality in industrial areas, and practicing land preservation. Bravo as Finland has managed to reverse deforestation. The country’s forests are now growing at a greater rate than they are being deforested, showing an environmental gain even with the annual timber harvest. Finland can also be attributed with starting the United Nation’s Environmental Program (UNEP) Task Force for Sustainable Building and Construction, which looks not only at the sustainability of the building, but of the resources and process used to construct it.

5 - Costa Rica

With 5% of the world’s biodiversity contained in one country, Costa Rica has always been on the forefront of environmental conservation. Did you know that a full quarter of the nation is devoted to park preservation? That helps the country score high on the EPI list. Couple their conservation efforts with the fact that Costa Rica uses hydroelectric power in 80% of the country, and add on their 5% gas tax which funds environmental programs, and Costa Rica comes in fifth.

6 - Austria

It’s very impressive that Austria’s environmental conservation measures are enforced by all levels of government, from federal to municipal authorities. For example, waste disposal is a highly regulated department encompassing everything from individual waste to corporate chemical, air and agricultural pesticide pollution. Water quality and forest preservation, are extremely high on Austria’s list of priorities, thus the quality level for Austria’s lakes and rivers is among the highest in the world. The development of Austria’s National Protective Forest Plan has also helped in keeping the nation’s natural beauty pristine.

7 - New Zealand

New Zealand‘s relatively small population in relation to land mass has helped preserve this nation’s natural resources. While automotive emissions and industrial pollutants are still problematic, New Zealand is working hard to develop restrictive legislation and alternative energy sources. The nation was host to the 2008 World Environment Day, and has developed the Environmental Risk Management Authority, which regulates the introduction of non-native species and environmental components so as not to threaten New Zealand’s pristine atmosphere.

8 - Latvia

The Baltics weigh in. By monitoring and reducing water pollution, Latvia’s salmon crop and freshwater bodies are all in the range of “good.” Taken steps toward improvement, Lativia has begun dismantling pollutive farms to reduce fertilizer and insecticide chemicals and allow room for the return of natural forests. Since obtaining freedom from the Soviet Union 1990, Lativa has decreased stationary pollution by 46% and wastewater by 44%, devoting a major portion of environmental funds to water treatment and energy conservation techniques.

9 - Colombia

Beating Costa Rica, Colombia is home to 10% of the world’s species, giving the country a wealth of ecological diversity. While Colombia has had problems in the past concerning deforestation, the detrimental effects of the coca trade, and political strife involving their natural oil deposits, these factors have served to motivate Colombia towards energy conservation and new, less politically tumultuous resources. Colombia has also begun programs for the cultivation of natural parks that support the growth of native medicinal plants with preserves such as the Orito Igni-Ande Medicinal Flora Sanctuary, a 10,626 hectare preserve.

10 - France

The French government is very aware of the problem of climate change. Their strict environmental protection measures are incorporated into the national Constitution and reviewed every year with the eventual goal of 54 million tons of saved C02 by 2010. France is one of the few in the Kyoto agreement to cut such a large amount of emissions so quickly. The country’s laws are comprehensive, covering every layer of production from supplier to producer to consumer. This has helped make France the number one producer of renewable energy sources in the EU, 78% of its energy being nuclear powered, which in turn has reduced nitrogen oxide and other hazardous emissions by 70%.

**

Sources:

http://epi.yale.edu/Home

http://epi.yale.edu/CountryScores

http://www.bemoreeco.com/2009/03/top-10-eco-friendly-countries/

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/International/europe/Sweden.jpg

http://greenferret.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/switzerland-mountain-lake.jpg

http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/tag/norway

http://www.ippnw-students.org/Chapters/Finland/finland.jpg

http://www.unitedplanet.org/volunteer-in-costa-rica-long-term/images/costa-rica-ocean-view.jpg

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0510/photos/Jpegs/NewZealand.jpg

http://www.austria-trips.com/images/Austria-Mountains.jpg

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/riga/jpgs/jurmala_latvia_hoskins_m06.jpg

http://img5.travelblog.org/Photos/61720/335583/p/f/1781.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/2qncqxi.jpg

http://www.bargesinfrance.com/premier-burgundy-countryside.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2352156385_c389b09b15_b.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/pj48/image/45644972/original.jpg

SCHWARZENEGGER HAS A GREEN LEGACY, BUT OUR ECONOMY STILL SUCKS

SCHWARZENEGGER HAS A GREEN LEGACY, BUT OUR ECONOMY STILL SUCKS

By Jodi Summers

Arnold Schwarzenegger is now an international superstar in more than one arena. First it was movies, now it’s global warming. During his terms as governor, California’s bold energy programs are influencing national and international policies.

Three years after California adopted AB 32 - California’s landmark 2006 global warming initiative,

1- The Obama Administration announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will adopt a vehicle emissions standard modeled after California’s first-in-the-nation standard

2- The International Code Council announced the state’s newly adopted Green Building Standards Code will serve as a foundation for commercial buildings worldwide.

3- California participated in the launch of China’s first GHG emissions registry.

Being a leader in clean energy standards has made California a leader in clean energy investment and green jobs. In the last three years, more than $6 billion in venture capital has been pumped into California’s economy, making us the national leader in the number of clean businesses. Green jobs have also skyrocketed, growing 10 times faster in California than in other areas. This growth is expected to continue. According to a recent study, California is on track to more than double its power generated by solar panel installations in 2009.

Sounds brilliant, yet our economy is currently down the tubes. Only our future is filled with green.

**

http://gov.ca.gov/issue/energy-environment/

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_13345618?source=rss

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-power16-2009sep16,0,3412344.story

http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/38053-relase_greenhouse_gasses_atmosphere_believed_cause_global_climate_changes_following_causes_increase_greenhouse_gas_emissions.jpg

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArnoldSchwarzenegger

http://en.cop15.dk/files/images/1col_492px/chinaenergy_19980822-134048-7_web.jpg