… Goal: Good Sports … By unanimous vote, the eleven members of California's Air Resources Board agreed to require new pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles to comply with the state's vehicle emission requirements by 2004. Previously exempted from those requirements due to an historic loophole, sport-utes spew up to two-and-a-half times the pollution of cars currently covered by the regs. Other states are expected to jump on the clean-air stationwagon.

… Sticking it to 'em … Recognizing the existential contradiction of "environmental bumperstickers," Progressive Promotions [PO Box 122, Arcata, CA 95521, (707) 822-7472; fax: (800) 829-6202] has created a host of mini non-bumperstickers suitable for sticking on bikes, skateboards or the heels of your rollerblades. Some eco-amiable phrases include: "Be Green"; "Cancer Cures Smoking"; "Attitudes are the Real Disability"; "TOBACCO SUCKS the Life Out of You"; "Real Men Don't Use Violence" and "If You Haven't Changed Your Mind Lately, How Can You Be Sure You Still Have One?" This outfit also proffers progressive buttons, stickers, mugs and t-shirts and sports a staff that will whip-up your own custom orders for that obscure iconoclastic cause.

… Green goes the edict … Nebraska Gov. Benjamin Nelson has issued an executive order on renewable energy and energy efficiency that requires that all state agencies use renewable energy, water conservation and energy efficient technologies when remodeling or constructing new facilities "wherever cost-effective and practical." The order also calls for the increased use of photovoltaic cells to produce power in remote areas of the state. By 2000, one quarter of Nebraska's Transportation Service Bureau fleet will be made up of renewable-fueled vehicles. [Atmosphere Alliance, (360) 352-1763, atmosphere@olywa.net]

… Clean 'n green 'n rebated in CA … Clean 'n green energy [c'ng, 151 Bernal Rd., No. 1, San Jose, CA 95119, (408) 360-9356, www.go-green.com] is not only the California's lowest-cost energy provider, it is also the only power company not affiliated with a utility company. C'ng only offers energy derived from wind, solar, geothermal and biomass resources generated by local and independent energy producers. As c'ng prez Rick Kohl points out, by choosing environmentally preferred power, "a typical California consumer using about 550 kilowatt hours of electricity per month [can reduce] carbon dioxide emissions by about 445 pounds."

… Cutting emissions negatively … Oil lobby alarmists claim that curbing global warming as required by the 1997 Kyoto climate agreement would cost millions of jobs, boost the cost of consumer goods by 50 percent and raise the price of a gallon of gas by 70 cents. "Faulty economic analysis!" retorts the Union of Concerned Scientists [2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238, (617) 547-5552, ucs@ucsusa.org]. In the Fall 1998 Nucleus magazine, UCS Deputy Director of Programs Warren Leon points out that domestic actions to reduce the use of coal and oil can meet nearly all of the Kyoto Protocol's mandates for emissions reduction with zero or negative net costs. If the US wants to attain a leadership position in emerging 21st century technologies (electric vehicles, photovoltaics, windpower and biomass) it might do well to take (positive) note.

… Recycling Exxon's Bucks … A group of environmental groups including San Francisco BayKeeper and the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society sued Exxon after the company's Benicia, California, oil refinery leaked selenium into San Francisco Bay. Exxon was found guilty, ordered to reduce the discharge and pay restitution in the amount of $900,000. The Rose Foundation [6008 College Ave., Oakland CA 94618, (510) 658-0702], a neutral clearinghouse for handling litigation settlements, will administer the money through its San Francisco Bay Citizens Action Fund where it will be used for grants "to other charities working to reduce or mitigate similar pollution problems."

… Activism, woodwise… "Woodwise Consumer Guide," a resource directory of products and practices for forests-protection, is available from Co-op America [1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006, 800-58-GREEN, www.woodwise.org]. A few tree-saving suggestions: Avoid paper cups by investing in a reusable travel mug; buy tree-free or recycled stationery; share a newspaper or magazine subscription or replace it with online news services or radio shows. The "Woodwise Consumer" centerfold sports activist postcards with which to deluge the likes of Home Depot (hardwood forest-destruction beneficiaries and exploiters) and the Direct Marketers Association (tree-chopping paper-guzzling junk mailers). We have one suggestion for Co-op America: Print the next edition of "Woodwise" on tree-free paper.

… The revolution will be bused … A combination of battery and propane power propels a low-emission AC Transit bus created by CALSTART [(818) 565-5606, www.calstart.org] that is now being tested in Northern California. Two electric motors (powered by an advanced nickel-cadmium battery pack) produce a 180-horsepower thrust that drives the wheels. The electric generator runs on propane (consuming only 2.8 gallons per hour). The bus can travel 45 miles per charge with zero emissions while a high-powered model can do up to 230 miles per charge, depending on terrain). This prototype could be the flag-bus of a new generation of urban transit.

… Listen VERY closely … If the Y2K glitch leaves commercial radio and TV communications in limbo, low-wattage solar and battery-powered micro-radio stations might become crucial community links and clearinghouses. A Positive Notes violin serenade to all those tiny, volunteer-staffed and FCC-badgered stations such as Lawrence Community Radio [KAW 88.9-fm, Lawrence, KS, kaw.fm@mailcity.com] and Free Radio Gainesville 94.7-fm [94.7-fm, PO Box 15094, Gainesville FL 32604], which manage to keep on pouring out eclectic locally-brewed mixes and nationally-syndicated progressive programs such as "Making Contact" [National Radio Project (510) 251-1332] and "Alternative Radio" [(800) 444-1977] onto what are supposed to be "our free" airwaves. [Is there a web site guide to US micro broadcasters? - Gar]

… Handbook highlights health and home … The Seventh Generation Guide to a Toxic-Free Home is a treasure trove of useful lore (40 percent of Americans will have cancer in their lifetimes!!) on such domestic dangers as what makes a chemical a poison, when a cleaning product is considered toxic, which carpets and floors slowly release chemical vapors and the 10 most important organic foods. The booklet is free for the writing, emailing or downloading [Seventh Generation, One Mill Street, Suite A26, Burlington, VT 05401, recycle@seventhgen.com, www.seventhgen.com]

… A plan for all seasons … Oberlin College's new Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies is one of the most advanced examples of ecological architecture in the US. Solar panels atop the 14,000 square-foot building make the structure a "net exporter" of electricity. All materials used in the building are, noncarginogenic and sustainably produced. Wastewater is recylced through a Living Machine, a biological water treatment system installed under curving glass walls that employs communities of living orgsanisms to remove harmful bacteria. The system will eventually connect to a wetlands area outside the center. The building is the dream two Journal contributors, visionary Oberlin ecology professor David Orr and architect William McDonough [Oberlin College, 153 West Lorain St., Oberlin, OH 44740, (440) 775-8474]

… Earth's "911" … Dial these digits for the best ways to reduce, reuse and recycle resources. This site is replete with information on how to handle auto waste, paper, metal, plastic, glass and reusables [US Environmental Hotline, 800-CLEANUP, www.1800cleanup.org]

… A wild sweetness … A resurgence of the wildlands philanthropy tradition has surfaced, according to the Summer 1998 quarterly conservation journal WildEarth [PO Box 455, Richmond, VA 05477, (802) 434-4077] which cites habitat protection purchases within the past few years by individual and institutional funders such as Ted Turner and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

… Land banking on the future … Developers, conservationists, government agencies and bankers will convene in Atlanta in June [1999?] to refine a new approach to resource conservation that mitigates environmental losses by using land - instead of cash - as the medium of exchange. Terrene Institute [4 Herbert St., Alexandria, VA 22305, (703) 548-5473, terrinst@aol.com, www.terrene.org] will sponsor the conference to pursue "environmental solutions for the bottom line" that will increase the quality and quantity of the nation's wetland resources.

… Making it perfectly clear … EarthAction [30 Cottage St., Amherst, MA 01002, (413) 549-8118, amherst@earthaction.org] aims to simplify complex environmental issues like climate change, identify positive solutions and mobilize effective action through global letter-writing campaigns. EarthAction's recent efforts include campaigns to save Venezuela's pristine Imataca rainforest and Indonesia's Yamdena forests. EarthAction volunteers have also penned letters in support of Russian nuclear whistleblower Alexandr Nikitin and the crusade to create an international criminal court.