The Buffalo News Prospectus -- The Year's Business Forecast -- 1/25/2009
Western New York business takes an ENVIRONMENTAL approach
Green Dreams Colliding with Recession Realities[My note: despite the negative-sounding title, this feature article has some very positive stories about the successful greening of local business.]
Carubba Collision, after hiring a waste solutions advisory firm to oversee its waste stream, launched a program to recycle virtually all of the waste produced by its collision-repair business. Plastic parts, used headlights, steel and aluminum parts and cardboard all are recycled.
[click image to enlarge]
Ecology & Environment consulting firm was awarded the highest level of LEED certification for their headquarters building, one of only 10 existing buildings in the country, and the oldest structure in the world, to achieve that status.
[click image to enlarge] Full article.
Home Energy -- Audit is first step in energy efficiencyOnce an energy audit determines what improvements should be made, there’s a sizable chunk of money available to homeowners willing to make them. National Fuel will give rebates of up to $400 to consumers who install more efficient furnaces, boilers and hot water tanks. NY State offers low-interest loans, cash back on energy improvement expenditures, income-qualified subsidies.
Full article.
Jobs -- No shortage of options in search for green jobsThere are plenty of lesser-known, ready-to-go green jobs for a wide variety of workers. “It’s about simplifying the principles so we think about it in our daily lives,” said Aaron Bartley, executive director of the Buffalo chapter of
People United for Sustainable Housing. “For us, it is making a home more efficient and sustainable and providing jobs at the same time.”
Full article.
Federal Government -- Stimulus plan is sure to boost ‘green-collar’ job creationFew in official Washington doubt the importance of the “green-collar jobs” that will come as the nation transitions from fossil fuels to new, cleaner forms of energy.
Full article.
Buffalo Niagara Enterprise -- Kucharski sees bright spots in economyThomas Kucharski, president and chief executive of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, was thrilled to hear Gov. David A. Paterson single out Buffalo’s fast-growing bioscience industry as a bright spot in the economy. He was similarly upbeat with Paterson’s call for an energy plan that would aim for 45 percent of the state’s electricity produced through energy-efficient and renewable-energy measures by 2015. The governor estimated the initiative, which would specifically focus on clean-energy vehicle research, could bring up to 50,000 new jobs to upstate New York.
Full article.
Manufacturing -- Saving money by cutting wasteManufacturers are constantly looking for ways to reduce expenses by eliminating waste and limiting energy consumption. As they push to become leaner and more cost-efficient, they are embracing some of the same goals as the environmental movement.
Full article.
Restaurants -- Kitchens going green by recycling and staying localTina Ames had to swear that she would no longer use Styrofoam, and she had to prove that she recycled paper goods. The proprietor of the
Craftsmen Cafe in Clarence installed a rain barrel, put in a larger composter and emphasized her practice of buying food from local suppliers.
Full article.
This is a sample of the Prospectus 2009 articles, all of which are at the
Buffalo News Website.
