Shanghai Rising
from Chicago Sun-Times
With a push of my hotel room's bedside button, the window shade lifted like a theater curtain. Now showing: Shanghai. Eighty-two floors below, thousands of lights twinkled across China's largest city—a city packed with six times as many people as Chicago. Tiny pairs of headlights zoomed through the streets, and equally tiny boats navigated their way along the Huangpu River. From way up here in my lofty perch, I felt like I could reach out and pluck the colorful spheres off the nearby Oriental Pearl TV Tower like apples off a tree. More

Obama's Proposed Budget Increases Workplace Safety Funding
from Kansas City Star
Asserting that mounting workloads and dwindling staff have hindered the government's ability to protect workers, President Barack Obama is pledging to increase the enforcement of workplace safety. Obama's budget blueprint seeks to increase funding to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. More precise funding details for the job safety agency and other federal programs won't be released until April. More

UK Green Building Regulations Not Under Control, Warns Report
from Energy Efficiency News
Despite making moves in the right direction, the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has no direct control over green building regulations and their enforcement, warns a report from the Public Accounts Committee. While the Government’s domestic energy efficiency programs have resulted in a drop in energy use between 2004 and 2007, this trend is unlikely to continue, says the report. More

Entire Swedish City Switches to Biofuels to Become Environmentally Friendly
from Chicago Tribune
Though a fraction of Chicago's size, this industrial city in southeast Sweden has plenty of similarities with it, including a long, snowy winter and a football team the town is crazy about. One thing is dramatically different about Kalmar, however: It is on the verge of eliminating the use of fossil fuels, for good, and with minimal effect on its standard of living. More

Taiwan Breaks Ground on a Trio of Green-Roofed Skyscrapers
from Inhabitat
Taiwan recently broke ground on a trio of interconnected energy efficient skyscrapers topped with lush rooftop gardens. Designed by Los Angeles-based NBBJ Architects in collaboration with Fei & Cheng Associates, the Chinatrust Bank headquarters will take advantage of a host of green building strategies geared toward reducing energy consumption and optimizing passive heating and cooling. The complex is expected to receive the Taiwanese equivalent of a LEED® Gold rating upon its completion in 2012. More

Google Finding More Fans in the Workplace, Schmidt Says
from PC World
More companies are trying out Google's products for the workplace, possibly because IT budgets are tight and they are looking for cheaper alternatives, CEO Eric Schmidt said. Google has seen an uptick in the number of companies trying out products like its Search Appliance, for locating corporate data, and its Google Apps hosted productivity suite, said Schmidt, who spoke at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco. He attributed the increased interest from businesses to either the economy or a recognition that Google makes good-quality products. "Either reason is fine with us," he said. More

Familiarity Breeds Success
from Occupational Health & Safety
We know the basics of head and face protection: impacts, flying particles, glare, radiation and chemical exposure are givens, as is bloodborne pathogens exposure for medical personnel. Injuries range from the simplest scrapes to deaths and activities from medical care to heavy construction. Most companies have the physical items of PPE (personal protective equipment) to work safely in all types of situations. Considering the potential for a workplace head/face injury, is basic really enough? More

The Sears Tower Goes Green
from Mother Nature Network
Chicago’s Sears Tower was built in 1973, in a time when energy efficiency was not a key building strategy. Instead, the building’s claim to fame was that it was the tallest building in the world. Now the owners of the building are planning to make some energy efficient upgrades to the building. More

Paid Sick Days Bills Moving Across Country
from Progressive States Network
Fifteen states have introduces paid sick days legistaltion to ensure that workers are able to regain their health without losing pay, or even worse, their jobs. These are based on model policies that have been already passed in San Francisco, Calif., Milwaukee, Wis., and Washington, D.C. More

Ultimate in 'Green' Energy: Plants Inspire New Generation of Solar Cells
from Science Daily
The ability of plants to turn sunlight into energy through photosynthesis has been successfully mimicked by scientists at the University of Southampton to produce a new generation of solar cells. More