In an Earth Day nod, the
U.S. House of Representatives April 22 approved legislation for grant programs
to reduce the volume of discarded electronic products as well as for
education and training in clean energy and high-performance building design.
The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act (H.R. 1580) requires the Environmental Protection Agency to
award multiyear grants for research to create innovative and practical approaches
to reduce the volume and manage the environmental impacts of electronic waste.
"This is a step toward a better end for the millions of old cell
phones, televisions, computers and other electronic devices Americans discard
every year," Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Science and
Technology Committee, said in a statement. "Right now, we send most to
landfills, where toxic materials, like lead and cadmium, may leech into soil
and water, and where valuable materials, like gold and copper, are
unusable. We store a lot in our closets or junk drawers, for lack of a
better alternative, and we recycle a small percentage."
The Green Energy Education Act of 2009 (H.R. 957) requires the Secretary of Energy to
contribute energy
research and development funds to the National Science Foundation for the
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program to support
graduate education related to green energy building projects.
"Buildings consume
more energy than any other sector of the economy. We have a significant
opportunity to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fostering and
using innovations in high-performance building technologies, materials,
techniques and systems," said Gordon. "The legislation would
provide interdisciplinary education and training in high-performance building
design and construction to the next generation of architects and engineers that
we’ll need."
The
legislation now moves to the Senate.
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