Sustainable Industries Daily Update

Oregon wineries will soon be able to become officially certified for taking steps against carbon reduction

Beginning in 2011, a new $92,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will upgrade a voluntary carbon reduction program for Oregon wineries to a full-fledged certification process, leading them to become the first in the world to develop an industry-specific program. The grant  will evolve the Oregon Environmental Council’s Carbon Neutral Challenge by funding the development of long-term certifications for wineries that remain carbon neutral, and others that follow their lead.

Due a federal legislation ban phasing out U.S. incandescent bulb manufacturing starting in 2012, Home Depot  is now selling a 40-watt replacement LED lightbulb online for $19.97--a price that is less than half of what consumers were expected to pay for such bulbs just a few months ago.

Centennial, Colo. IKEA shoppers will be cooled and heated by geothermal energy by fall 2011. The store is the first IKEA location in the U.S. to be built with geothermal heating and cooling. IKEA  has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to showcase and study the advantages of a geothermal heating system.