Great Valley Center
GVC News: Green Building & Business
Going green, getting clean
Mar 1, 2010Ashley Gebb, Marysville-Yuba City Appeal Democrat
Cleaning is pretty simple for Ericka Pelechowicz.
Two months ago, the Yuba City resident traded in her bleach and chemicals for peroxide, vinegar and baking soda. Her 2-year-old cleaning business continues to boom after she made the switch to green cleaning.
"I don't want to poison the families I clean for," she said. "You cannot ignore the facts when you realize what are really in cleaning products — carcinogens, mutations, toxins."
Smucker's warehouse gets prized LEED gold certification
Feb 17, 2010Laura Urseny, Chico Enterprise Record
CHICO — Topped with more than 1,000 photovoltaic solar panels, a new distribution warehouse for Smucker Natural Foods' in south Chico has been awarded LEED gold certification.
Valley businesses like 'green' tax break plan
Feb 20, 2010E.J. Schultz, Fresno Bee
SACRAMENTO -- Hoping to spur job creation, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing a corporate tax break that could potentially siphon millions of dollars from the beleaguered state treasury.
And although Democrats typically cringe at such ideas, they are taking a close look at the sales tax exemption because it targets the environmentally friendly "green economy."
Lodi vintners on vanguard of eco-friendly innovation
Jan 9, 2010Jordan Guinn, Lodi News-Sentinel
"Waste not, want" not is more than just an adage to Lodi winemakers.
For the past several years, vintners around town have made a conscious effort to reduce their energy consumption through more advanced farming techniques, conservation efforts and state-of-the-art technology. Here is what some local winemakers and winery owners had to say about their efforts to reduce their energy usage and water consumption.
Ryan Leeman, winemaker, Van Ruiten Winery
Eco-wineries turn wine red, white and green
Jan 9, 2010Michelle Locke, Associated Press via Lodi News Sentinel
John Conover was looking for the best place to grow the Napa Valley's famous cabernet sauvignon grapes. Turns out the same southwest-facing, sunny hillside that gives him great grapes also raises a mean crop of solar panels.
"We wanted to be as green as we can be," says Conover, a partner in the Cade winery, which is on track for Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Report: California’s greenhouse gas law won’t hurt small businesses
Dec 9, 2009Staf Report, Central Valley Business Times
A new analysis of the possible economic impact of complying with California's anti-greenhouse gas law - AB 32, the Global Warming Solution Act - says costs to businesses should be "relatively small and definitely manageable."
The report is being released as international negotiations begin in Copenhagen, Denmark, to limit global warming emissions around the world.
Sacramento leads state in green job growth
Dec 9, 2009Melanie Turner, Sacramento Business Journal
“Green” jobs increased at close to three times the rate of total jobs in the state between 1995 and 2008, with the Sacramento region leading the state with 87 percent job growth in the green sector, or 4,743 jobs added, according to a report released Wednesday.
Green jobs range from those in air quality emissions monitoring and control to other jobs in the fuel cell and renewable energy industries.
Business Roundtable urges greenhouse gas reduction
Oct 21, 2009Jeff Bell, Sacramento Business Journal
One of the nation's more influential business groups is calling on Congress to focus on the development of renewable and traditional energy sources while shaping a policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A new report Wednesday from the Business Roundtable cites the need to protect the nation's energy security and economic growth while reducing emissions of greenhouse gases thought to contribute to global warming.
SMUD demo house in Fair Oaks shows how to save energy
Oct 14, 2009Jim Wasserman, Sacramento Bee
The 26-year-old house in Fair Oaks was a product of its time, all-electric and power hungry, built in an era of Rancho Seco nuclear power.
Remodeled in 2009, the house is now the product of a new time, and it's all about energy conservation.
Tucked away on a quiet, pleasant street near Hazel Avenue, the house is the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's newest demonstration of how Californians will use energy more sparingly in the future.
Apple quits U.S. Chamber of Commerce over global warming views
Oct 5, 2009Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury News
Adding momentum to the revolt against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Apple on Monday resigned from the business group because of its opposition to federal efforts to limit greenhouse gases.
Apple is the fourth company and the largest, as well as the first tech company, to part ways with the chamber as the debate over global warming legislation heats up in Congress. It is also the most significant defector because Apple is a leading American brand and consumers strongly identify with its products.
Sacramento-region governments plan for green improvements
Sep 29, 2009Jim Downing, Sacramento Bee
Local governments throughout the Sacramento region are moving quickly on plans that should make it easier for homeowners and businesses to finance energy-efficiency and renewable-energy investments.
Assembly Bill 811, signed into law last year, authorizes cities and counties to issue loans for energy-related improvements, with the payments wrapped into a parcel's property-tax bill and spread over many years.
Arborist runs into bureaucracy in eight-year effort to construct a very green industrial building
Apr 24, 2009Michael Shaw, Sacramento Business Journal
Eight years in the making, the greenest industrial building in the region is rising in Roseville after an arduous journey for its developer, a first-timer with a passion for trees.
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