(Reriani Communications) --- The American Filtration and Separations Society will hold its fall topical conference at the Turf Valley Hotel in Ellicott City, MD on October 4-7, 2010. The topics for this conference are water filtration and filter testing. The conference will be co-located along with the Water Quality Association's (WQA) fall meeting. "A Taste of the Chesapeake a Bountiful Harvest and its Challenges" is the topic of the luncheon talk by Gerald J. Lynch, P.E., president of Sigma Design Company, on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.

Mr. Lynch was thinking about the kind of issues that would be of interest to our AFS members and felt that since our conference is being held in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed area and that the environmental issues regarding the protection of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is a global issue, in the news everyday, that this would make a great keynote topic. His presentation will address many of the related issues and how new product development, filtration and separation testing has been used to assist in this battle:

(Reriani Communications) --- When Jerry Yudelson wrote his recently released book "Dry Run, Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis," he was focused upon areas such as San Diego. Yudelson, who has keynoted more than 50 green building, business, industrial and development events in the past three years, will be the keynote speaker when SDSU’s College of Extended Studies hosts its third annual green event “Blue is the New Green: Water in the Built Environment,” Friday, Aug. 27 from 8-10:30 am in the SDSU Extended Studies Center.

“We will particularly focus around my new book and how the message is relevant for San Diego,” Yudelson said by telephone from his Tucson, Ariz. office, where he leads the consulting team at Yudelson Associates. “Obviously, the water crisis is a big issue in San Diego,” Yudelson added. “We want to get people to think about water and energy issues. Collection, distribution, and treatment of water consume almost 20 percent of all electricity produced in California.”

(Reriani Communications) --- Center Parcs is delighted to announce that it has achieved the Carbon Trust Standard for all its UK sites. Following rigorous assessments of Center Parcs' carbon reduction measures, by an independent assessor, the Carbon Trust Standard was presented to Center Parcs in acknowledgment for its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

In order to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard, organisations must provide an accurate footprint measurement including all required emission sources, demonstrate an absolute reduction of your footprint or equivalent relative efficiency improvement and demonstrate good carbon management including carbon governance, accounting, reduction methods and targets.

(Reriani Communications) --- Where does one begin to do their part in preserving the earth? A new presentation titled, America’s Next National Park – The Maine Woods National Park, by Thomas Mark Szelog and Lee Ann Szelog, answers this question and more by embodying the heart of sustainability and awakening peoples’ environmental conscience to think and act with determination for the benefit of mankind, wildlife, our earth and America the beautiful.

Since 2008 Thomas Mark Szelog and Lee Ann Szelog have logged over 15,000 miles putting a face to the land that is the proposed 3.2 million acre Maine Woods National Park, an area larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks combined. Through the Maine Woods National Park Photo-Documentation Project they provide inspiration, education, and motivation, with photographs and words, to encourage society to work together in the spirit of cooperation to create the Maine Woods National Park for the benefit of nature, wildlife, our planet and all mankind.

(Reriani Communications) --- Cypress Tees, LLC joined forces with America's WETLAND Foundation’s Conservation Corps to help with Louisiana’s oil-damaged marshes. By donating 30% of the proceeds from the sale of all ‘Bird of Paradise’ t-shirts or rompers, Cypress Tees is helping AWF’s restorative planting efforts to begin rebuilding Louisiana’s damaged coastal nesting grounds and habitats.

“We want to do something to help the oil spill clean up efforts.” Said Wendy Begneaud and Gretchen Durbin, co-owners of Cypress Tees, LLC, “We feel the best way to help is to look to the future and team up with a reliable, responsible group who will work to rebuild and restore the beautiful and vital areas of coastal Louisiana we all cherish.”

(Reriani Communications) --- eCampus.com, a leading internet textbook retailer, is taking initiative to solidify its position as a compassionate corporate citizen by announcing full sponsorship of four clean water projects in Northern Ethiopia over the next 12 months. Nearly one billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water, a startling fact that too often goes unnoticed in the western world. eCampus.com will provide funding for the projects which will be planned and executed through New York City based non-profit organization charity: water. “Our friends at charity: water tell us that nearly 42,000 people will die this week from diseases related to poor drinking water. Unfortunately, 90% of them will be under the age of 5” said eCampus.com CEO Matt Montgomery. “We feel it important to do our part to ensure that these numbers are forever changed.”

The concept and eventual implementation of the clean water initiative has risen from the June introduction of eCampus.com’s student textbook loyalty program, the eCampus Entourage (ecampusentourage.com). Adrian Grenier, star of the hit television show Entourage, is a fan and follower of charity: water’s work and mission and it is this connection that lead eCampus to charity: water’s doorstep. As fall approaches, the eCampus Entourage will be used to support the clean water projects planned for the people of Ethiopia. charity: water will use funding from eCampus.com to implement freshwater projects and integrate hygiene and sanitation into the communities served.

(Reriani Communications) --- LEED building owners in cities across the USA have another reason to celebrate independence this July. Houston, Texas-based GreenEfficient, Inc. offers a new level of freedom to LEED building owners still shackled by the burdens of utilities management. The company announced its Total Energy Management Services program, a service designed to manage utilities expenses in LEED buildings, to keep them running cleanly and efficiently at a low fixed monthly rate. GreenEfficient CEO, Rick Walker, says the program is a great way for LEED owners to help streamline their total building management costs and save money, guaranteed:

"This program is part of our company's commitment to serving the complete building management needs of our clients, a total package that covers janitorial, environmental, maintenance and of course utilities expense management," Mr. Walker said. "The flat monthly fee for the service is $500 per location, but if we can't slash at least that much off of our client's utility bill every month, there's no charge... It's zero-risk."

(Reriani Communications) --- Habitat Restoration Resources, Inc. is hiring up to 25 local laborers to clear vegetation to improve Scrub Jay habitat on approximately 1,900 acres of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This contract was awarded to Habitat Restoration Resources, Inc., as part of the federal stimulus funds program to increase employment opportunities.

“We are happy and pleased to announce these job openings, especially with Titusville area residents facing such high unemployment rates and few employment opportunities,” said Laurel Egan, President of Habitat Restoration Resources, Inc. “Our goal is to return sensitive environmental areas to a more natural state and to create financial opportunities for the Titusville-area workers who are looking for employment.” These positions will be temporary and lasting approximately six months. The job requirements consist of working 10-hour workdays, four days a week. The jobs will entail operating chainsaws in very harsh conditions with biting inspects and extreme heat. Work will be performed in very remote locations in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

(Reriani Communications) --- Gulf Coast American Indian Tribes in southeast Louisiana impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be hosting a cultural exchange with their Ecuadorean counterparts who have been severely impacted for decades by Chevron’s oil contamination in Ecuador’s rainforest. The Amazon leaders will tour areas of the Bayou affected by the spill, have community exchanges with the Houma and other Gulf coast residents, and participate in a public meeting in the heart of the largest Houma community on Thursday evening. The Ecuadorean leaders are scheduled to arrive Sunday and hope to share their experiences in recovery and protecting health, livelihoods, and culture in the wake of an oil disaster of this magnitude.

“The Gulf spill is an absolute threat on who we are as Houma people and our way of life. Our homeland and the health of our people are at risk and we must plan for the long-term effects of this catastrophe,” said Thomas Dardar Jr., Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation. “We look forward to meeting our brothers and sisters of the Amazon and sharing ideas and solutions regarding protecting the indigenous way of life when faced with such huge environmental impacts.”

(Reriani Communications) --- Center for Global Food Issues unveils its new blog entry, The Big Money Behind the Environmental Scare Movement - the attack on atrazine replays the alar scare, which calls for transparency into environmental activists' work to demonize and ban the herbicide atrazine. Written by Alex Avery, director of research and education for the Center for Global Food Issues at the Hudson Institute, the new blog entry questions why "activists (should) get a free ride when it comes to full disclosure", and outlines the significant dollars behind the assault on modern agricultural technologies, particularly the safe and effective herbicide atrazine.

In his blog entry, Avery digs deeper into the public financial records of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the organizations behind the 1980s "alar scare" and the current campaign against atrazine. Avery cites records that show that by 2004, the tax-exempt organization had received nearly $6.5 million in discretionary grants from the EPA since 1993, noting the EPA conceded all the discretionary grants awarded to the NRDC were awarded without competition. Additionally, Avery contends tax returns show NRDC received $350,000 in government money in 2007; similarly, the allied Land Stewardship Project also receives about 14 percent of its money from government grants.

(Reriani Communications) --- Bentley Prince Street, Inc. is looking forward to this year's NeoCon World's Trade Fair as an opportunity to introduce its new broadloom and carpet tile collections, as well as highlight its leadership in sustainability. Bentley Prince Street will showcase its newest collections Modern Block and Global Vistas and unveil the Hollywood Story, Domestic Alchemy, Pershing Square and Astronomie collections during the three-day event that welcomes over 40,000 attendees from the world of design. The company also plans to use NeoCon 2010 as a platform to educate the design industry about the seriousness of greenwashing in manufacturing, with three daily presentations called "The Truth about EPDs" (Environmental Product Declaration). NeoCon runs June 14-16, 2010 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Illinois. Bentley Prince Street's showroom is located on the 10th floor in suite #1060.

Sustainability Manager, Kimbrely Matsoukas, developed "The Truth about EPDs" to help educate attendees about the advantages of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for manufacturers and how some companies are greenwashing the truth. It will be presented daily in Bentley Prince Street's Chicago showroom, suite #1060. (See bottom of release for scheduled times.) Attendees of the presentations will be entered into prize drawings, with winners announced daily. Prizes include Lenovo IdeaPad notebooks.

(Reriani Communications) --- With the EPA-established deadline of April 22, 2010 requiring contractors to get their certification for Lead RRP past, CALINC Training, the primary source for lead-based RRP certification in Northern California and the training division of CAL INC - has certified 1,500 contractors in the first five months of 2010. Lead is a highly toxic metal that may cause a range of health problems, not only for the contractors working on a building but primarily for young children living in or around these buildings and whose immune systems may not be fully developed. "As Northern California's premier provider of lead-based paint, Asbestos, Hazwoper, and OSHA construction safety training, CAL INC is proud of our contribution to ensuring all EPA compliance requirements are met by contractors working around lead-based paint in pre-1978 dwellings," commented David Esparza, president and CEO of CAL INC. "And we are continuously working to add more programs to assist contractors in their certifications."

The EPA's Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule (40 CFR 745) requires notification/education of occupants and the use of safe work practices when working around lead paint in all pre-1978 homes, child care facilities, and schools. This includes any disturbance or removal of building components that have not been certified lead-free. A disturbance is any activity that may cause lead paint to become airborne, including sanding, surface prep, demolition, drilling, cutting, grinding, etc. Any contractor that performs renovations must be trained and certified in compliance with EPA requirements. This requires an EPA-approved 8 hr Certified Renovator course.

(Reriani Communications) --- You may have come across grubs in your lawn while expanding a flowerbed or planting a tree. They are the white, C-shaped larvae of scarab beetles, which include June bugs and Japanese Beetles. Grubs can be serious pests for the home lawn. A grub infestation not only damages the roots of your grass and a high concentration of grubs will attract animals such as skunks or raccoons that will further damage your lawn by digging. It is important to follow a lawn treatment program to keep your lawn green and healthy as a preventative measure. Healthy lawns tolerate a grub infestation much better than lawns in poor condition. A professional lawn-care service can engineer a program to ensure that you have the healthiest lawn possible.

Generally, the adult beetles typically emerge in Late May or early June. Then they mate and lay eggs from the end of June until early August. It only takes about two weeks for the eggs to hatch. The resulting tiny, destructive grubs grow quickly. Some species of scarab beetles, like the June bug, actually have a three-year life cycle. Still, all of these species do the same type of damage. Someone with a severe infestation will start to notice yellow, dying patches of sod in an otherwise healthy lawn in July or August.

(Reriani Communications) --- Lipten was awarded a contract for a Renewable Energy Recovery System. This contract includes engineering, procurement, controls, site construction management and start-up services for a new 3MW waste-to-electricity system at a wastewater treatment facility near Cleveland, Ohio.

The Energy Recovery System includes a steam turbine, generator, main surface condenser, auxiliary condenser, water treatment system, condensate storage and transfer system, deaerator, feedwater system, plate & frame heat exchangers, desuperheating valve systems, steam & hydronic specialties, instrumentation, process controls, and electrical power generation controls for a fully integrated feedwater and electrical production system.

(Reriani Communications) --- Concern about damage to wildlife from the current oil slick problems, Upper Elementary students from Montessori International Children’s House (MICH) took action by raising funds for the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. Every year MICH elementary students plant and care for vegetable seedlings started by the primary students. This year’s vegetable was lettuce. The bountiful crop was harvested, packaged and sold by the students to raise funds. MICH students donated $250 to help the endangered wildlife.

Montessori International Children’s House, a coeducational Toddler through 6th grade school, inspires excellence, nurtures curiosity and enhances creativity. Accredited by the Association Montessori Internationale, MICH’s student centered learning community emphasizes hands-on experiential learning, respect for self and others, and the development of inquiry skills that enhance life-long learning. For more information about MICH visit www.montessoriinternational.org or call 410-757-7789.