ICIS Blogs : general

Real time global carbon counter in NYC

Green Chemicals — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:19:13 GMT

I haven't seen this yet but definitely worth checking out during my lunch break. A new real-time global carbon counter was unveiled last week in the heart of New York City at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, outside Madison Square Garden and Penn Station...(read more)

The challenge of biopesticides

Green Chemicals — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:13:07 GMT

Got the copy of my latest article about biopesticide , with pretty cool (and a little gross) graphic of a venus flytrap. As previously tweeted , I was intrigued by how the biopesticide industry have been struggling in the overall pesticide and crop protection...(read more)

How to check if your compost is ready

Green Chemicals — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:57:20 GMT

I saw this bit "How to check if your compost is ready" a few months back and forgot about it until somebody retweeted it today (thanks to @greenbiztweets). It is very timely as I just finished my bioplastic article, which talked about compostable...(read more)

Celebrating World Environment Day

Green Chemicals — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:41:37 GMT

I have no idea that there is such a thing as World Environment Day but I was reminded from this corporate e-mail that came in from Reed Elsevier (our parent company) this morning: -------------------------- Dear Colleagues, Today, on World Environment...(read more)

Is Organic Food Sustainable?

Green Chemicals — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:17:37 GMT

Interesting debate from ooffoo.com about the sustainability of the organic food industry. In the US, organic food sales still grew 16% last year already occupying almost 4% of all food products sales in the US, according to the Organic Trade Association...(read more)

Is this a green soap to you?

Green Chemicals — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:13:58 GMT

I read an article from the New York Times' Green Inc. blog about their interview with hotelier Richard Spigler, president of Great Addresses, the company that manages the Carlyle and also the Savoy Suites in D.C. Spigler talked about, among other...(read more)

NAMPA BPA meeting leaked

Green Chemicals — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:06:54 GMT

This has been going around the twittering world (in my twittering world anyway) which led to various outraged comments and further cynicism from various environmental/health advocates on bisphenol- A's (BPA) supposed safety as according to BPA manufacturers...(read more)

Learning from Green's History

Green Chemicals — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:00:30 GMT

Speaking of history, have you ever wondered how the green movement came to being? An article from ICIS Chemical Business (the magazine I work for) examined the rise of green consciousness during the 1960s triggered by Rachel Carson's 1962 bestselling...(read more)

Wind farm 'kills Taiwanese goats'

Green Chemicals — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:44:39 GMT

Bats may not be the only creatures having problems with wind farms. It seems these are also being blamed for these goats' insomnia-related deaths. According to this report from BBC News, the poor goats (about 400 of them) died from exhaustion because...(read more)

Guides to safe plastics

Green Chemicals — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:58:56 GMT

Plastic manufacturers beware! I've been seeing a lot of these "Guides on safe plastics" in the tweeting world... Here's one from the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility . They place HDPE (#2), LDPE (#4) and PP (#5) as safe plastics...(read more)

Teflon lawsuit didn't stick

Green Chemicals — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:16:58 GMT

Catching up on some of the twitter news I encountered last week, one is a May 1 ruling from Judge Ronald Longstaff in Iowa that said DuPont is off the hook with its Teflon case. DuPont said the Des Moines, Iowa, federal court dismissed a consolidated...(read more)

AOCS wrap-up Day 3

Green Chemicals — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:39:57 GMT

The green blogger focused mostly on regulatory issues in the cleaning industry during the last day of the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) centennial meeting in Orlando, Florida, even though her doppelganger (who was lounging in the hotel pool) was...(read more)

AOCS wrap-up Day 2

Green Chemicals — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:55:04 GMT

[Photo of AOCS annual meeting 1945. Photo Credit: AOCS] The second day at the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) centennial meeting was particularly interesting as in their Hot Topics Symposia for the morning session, I have to choose between Historical...(read more)

Chemical companies: Green surfers or divers?

Green Chemicals — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:54:33 GMT

ICIS (the company I work for) in cooperation with technology start-up company Genomatica is working on a survey on whether chemical companies these days are just riding the sustainable chemistry wave e.g. looking at energy/manufacturing efficiency, using...(read more)

AOCS wrap-up Day 1

Green Chemicals — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:16:43 GMT

So here's a snapshot of my days at the American Oil Chemists Society's (AOCS) 100th year meeting in Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, Florida. The meeting was attended by around 1,520 delegates, down from last year's 1,700 mostly because...(read more)