With every innovation in the 20th century, one pattern stands out: where technology advances, a rise in public concern follows. From HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey to wireless devices, new technology gives rise to new questions and new concerns. This is certainly true of nanotechnology – a topic on which I’ve written extensively, and which has been the subject of vigorous debate.

Last month, at the first ever conference of the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization in Washington DC, Michail Roco of the National Science Foundation, and architect of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative provided a response. He said, “every industrial sector is unsustainable…and nanotechnology holds the promise of making every one of them sustainable.”

It’s my belief that that is true: nanotechnology, or the ability to manipulate matter at a scale of one billionth of a meter, has far-reaching implications for the improvement of sustainable technology, industry and society.

Already, it is being used widely to enable more sustainable practices. Safer manufacturing, less waste generation, reusable materials, more efficient energy technologies, better water purification, lower toxicity and environmental impacts from chemotherapy agents to marine paints are all current applications of nanotechnology. There is no reason for this technology to develop in an unsustainable manner.

In the past, a lack of foresight has resulted in costs to society – people, businesses, and governments, and— that could have been avoided by proactive efforts to manage risks. Today, the tools to develop safer technologies and less harmful products exist. Let us not miss this opportunity.

The opportunity for emerging technologies and cutting edge materials to improve our quality of life, and decrease our impact on the planet is compelling. However, we know from past experience that novel materials can have unforeseen impacts. Brominated flame retardants, for example, added to consumer products to reduce their flammability have been detected in household dust, and in people and polar bears. We now have to phase out these chemicals, and introduce new ones.

My just released book, Nanotechnology Health and Environmental Risks Second Edition explains how we can manage the risks while gaining the benefits of this exciting enabling technology with applications that sound so whiz bang they could be science fiction, not current technology. Through a combination of screening risk analysis, life cycle thinking, and iterative analysis, better decisions can be made early in the product life cycle. Chapters contributed by esteemed colleagues in fields of nanotoxicology (Richard Pleus), exposure assessment (Thomas Peters), environmental assessment (J. Michael Davis), and risk perception (Ann Bostrom and Ragnar Lofstedt) describe the cutting edge science and emerging approaches in the field. The developments in the field since the first edition, in 2008, are many and our understanding has improved significantly.

CLF Ventures is working with a variety of public and private organizations to guide their efforts to be proactive in addressing the risks of emerging nanoscale materials and nanotechnologies, while our understanding continues to grow, and our regulatory structures develop. As with all types of innovation, the need for confidence about the safety of the products and demonstration of the benefits is critical to adoption. The potential benefits of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies are transformative and mission-advancing; their impacts must be addressed in order to achieve their benefits.

In 2011, CLF Ventures, the strategy-consulting arm of CLF, received a grant from the EPA to help two New England fishing/whale watching vessels replace the aging, inefficient engines on their vessels with cleaner-burning, more efficient four-stroke diesel engines. In this video, Captain Brad Cook of the Atlantic Queen II and Captain Chris Charos of Captain’s Fishing Parties reveal how the EPA grant and CLF Ventures enabled them to update their vessels’ technology, reducing emissions and substantially cutting their fuel use:

The EPA’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance program is designed to reduce air pollution and exposure to diesel fumes by covering up to 75% of the cost of an engine upgrade or repower. Replacing an outdated engine with the clean-burning technology used by Captain Brad and Captain Chris reduces asthma-causing particulate matter emissions by 63 percent and smog-producing nitrogen oxide emissions by 40 percent.

The program also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions by improving efficiency and reducing fuel use by up to 14 percent. Fuel use is a serious concern for the fishing industry. A 2005 report published in AMBIO revealed that in 2000, the industry consumed about 13 million gallons of fuel, or 1.2 percent of global consumption. If the fishing industry were a country, it would be the world’s 18^th-largest consumer of oil—on par with the Netherlands. Fishing is also one of the only industry sectors to consistently become less fuel-efficient in recent years. With declining stocks sending fishermen farther from shore, this problem will only become more severe without significant investments and improvements in technology. Programs like EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Program play an important role in greening the fishing fleet and helping to make fishing more sustainable.

The program isn’t just good for the environment; it’s also good for fishermen. A more efficient engine can save a fisherman 9,500 gallons of fuel per year, cutting fuel costs and increasing profit margins. Crew aboard these vessels reduce their exposure to harmful diesel fumes, which were recently classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization and placed in the same category as deadly toxins like asbestos and arsenic.  Consumers asking for sustainable options will appreciate the reductions in emissions and fuel use, too, and recreational fishermen and whale watchers aboard vessels with new engines can enjoy a quieter, cleaner ride.

Still, new engines can only go so far in cleaning up the fishing fleet. The industry is built on technology that made sense decades ago, when fuel was cheap, fish were more plentiful close to shore, and consumers weren’t demanding sustainable seafood choices. Down the line, greening the fleet will mean rebuilding it from the water up and introducing lighter, safer vessels that inherently use less fuel.

Urban agriculture holds great promise for Boston.

This post was coauthored by Melissa Hoffer & Jo Anne Shatkin.

We are excited to share with you the news that today CLF and CLF Ventures released a report that, for the first time, details the economic development potential for urban agriculture in Greater Boston, assesses its environmental and health co-benefits, and examines current market and policy barriers to expanded food production in Greater Boston. The report‘s findings confirm that urban agriculture can play an important role in creating a more livable, carbon resilient, healthier, economically vibrant, and environmentally sustainable city—if we put smart policies in place and encourage market development for Boston grown foods.

Download a free copy of the report here.

The City of Boston has taken important steps over the past two years to advance urban agriculture, and new businesses are taking root, including City Growers, a Mattapan-based farming business that is featured in this report. There is a palpable sense of excitement about the potential of this new urban vision for agriculture for communities; possibilities abound. But CLF and CLF Ventures believe it is more than possible— it is a necessity, and an urgent one at that as we face the challenges of climate change, an obesity epidemic, lack of availability of healthy foods in many communities, and a fragile economy.

The report found that converting as few as 50 acres of vacant or underutilized land around Boston into agricultural production would spur job creation, improve access to healthy, local, fresh food, and reduce environmental harms. Key findings of the report include:

• Land is available. 50 acres – an area the size of Boston Common – is a small portion of the vacant or underutilized land available in Boston.
• Urban farms would stimulate the economy by creating jobs. 50 acres of urban agriculture in Boston will likely generate at least 130 direct farming jobs and may generate over 200 jobs depending on actual business characteristics and revenue.
• Healthy, local and affordable food. 50 acres in agricultural production would provide enough fresh produce to feed over 3,600 people over a six-month retail season. If the produce is used to prepare healthy school lunches in Boston Public Schools, 50 acres could provide more than one serving of fresh produce for each lunch served to a student eligible for free or reduced school lunch over a six month period. If 800 acres of potentially available City-owned land were put into agricultural production, the food needs of approximately 10 percent of Boston’s total population could be fully satisfied during a six-month retail season.
• Significant environmental impacts. Urban agriculture in Boston will result in a net reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 50 acres of properly managed soils would sequester about 114 tons of cabon dioxide (CO2) per year and may result in an additional CO2 reduction of up to 4,700 tons per year.
• Community adaptation. No less than 6,000 new temperature records were set during the recent March 2012 heat wave, and more than 40,000 have been set for the year-to-date. Meanwhile, the July 2011-June 2012 period was the warmest 12-month period of any 12-months on record for the contiguous U.S., with the first half of 2012 being the hottest ever recorded. The International Energy Agency’s recent projection of a 10.8 degree F temperature increase over pre-industrial levels by the end of this century underscores the fact that a more decentralized food system will be necessary to enable our communities to better adapt to changing climate conditions, including the impacts of more frequent severe weather. Urban agriculture is a part of this solution.

As Jo Anne said in the press release announcing Growing Green, it’s clear that even 50 acres of sustainable agriculture on available land would be an economic stimulus and environmental resource for Boston. While we focused on a 50 acre test scenario, these conclusions are scalable across New England. Imagine how vibrant New England would be like with a robust and sustainable regional food system.

In addition to the potential benefits, the report also considers the policy and market barriers to fully realizing the potential of urban agriculture, examining the ways in which promoting urban agriculture will require city and state involvement and key needs for such involvement. Such barriers include the need for policies that provide affordable access to land, one of the key market barriers for both new and experienced farmers; strategies to reduce the risks associated with the Commonwealth’s hazardous material cleanup law; improved access to high quality compost; and better financing options to overcoming prohibitive capital and operating costs, amongst other findings.

Our ongoing work seeks to link urban agriculture to the larger regional food system, and focuses on how to overcome some of the barriers we have identified.

Boston is ideally positioned to play a lead role in coordinating with the Massachusetts Food Policy Council, other New England states, and cities around the region to build a vision for a New England regional food system and make it happen. Boston is emerging as a national leader in urban agriculture innovation, and can be a voice for the benefits of urban agriculture and as one of the region’s largest consumers, help to build the market for regionally grown food.

Download a free copy of the report here.
Find an infographic detailing the report here: http://bit.ly/clfgrowinggreen
To read more about CLF’s Farm & Food Initiative, click here: http://www.clf.org/our-work/healthy-communities/food-and-farm-initiative/

Innovation – a word commonly used, and commonly associated with big money and big business. But as 15-year-old Jack Thomas Andraka, recent winner of an Intel prize for his cancer detection technology, demonstrated: innovation is unfolding in unlikely places. We should nurture these innovations, and we must do more to leverage these breakthroughs.

If you haven’t already, I suggest viewing this passionate and inspiring video of Jack Andraka winning the Intel Gordon E. Moore prize for medicine. It is a rare treat to experience the sheer joy of a 15 year old being recognized for an innovation some spend careers pursuing. In this case, Jack’s idea turned disruptive technology was for a simple, elegant, inexpensive and accurate cancer detection technology. By coating single walled nanotubes with antibodies and attaching them to a paper strip, Jack found he could accurately identify pancreatic cancer cells, enabling wide screening for deadly cancers.

Despite not knowing this young scientist, I am proud of him for his stellar accomplishment. He picked an important problem, and focused on an innovative technological solution. Society will undoubtedly benefit from the availability of a simple screening test that can be widely adopted.

He’s not the first to put nanotubes, a manufactured nanoscale material that is a rolled up tube of carbon, into paper, nor is he the first to coat them. But, he has succeeded in leveraging the benefits of nanotechnology for society’s benefit.  If the technology achieves its potential it will result in the widespread use of these strips in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics.

Because of our name, CLF Ventures meets many entrepreneurs who have developed innovative ways to address society’s pressing problems. Through our networks, we are often able to help them gain market access, or make introductions. There is often resistance to adopting new approaches and technologies, particularly when adoption requires a shift in existing policies or infrastructure, as is often the case with clean or “green” technologies. It’s human nature to resist change and maintain the status quo: we like what is familiar. Yet, as Jack Andraka demonstrates, there are often great benefits associated with new technologies.

To that end, it is critical to support innovation, and to maintain openness to new ideas and options. Three things are critical to enabling this support.

1. There is a need to make adoption straightforward, to leverage the benefits for society and for the environment.
2. It is also important to balance the risks with the benefits, to consider the broader impacts of the inevitable disruption new technologies bring, and to manage those impacts to avoid adverse effects on health and the environment.
3. We need to ensure our resilience and ability to manage the unanticipated, and innovation enables our doing so.

Kudos to Andraka and to Intel for inspiring the changes.

CLF President John Kassel (right) accepts check for a Clean Diesel project from EPA Region 1 Administrator Curt Spalding

CLF Ventures, Conservation Law Foundation’s non-profit consulting affiliate, has been awarded an EPA grant to help two New England charter fishing vessels reduce their diesel emissions. The project will repower four “tier 0″ marine engines on the vessels The Atlantic Queen, out of Rye, NH and The Captain’s Lady II, out of Newburyport, MA. Jo Anne Shatkin, PhD, CEO of CLF Ventures, said the funding will allow CLF to work with the two vessels to reduce their impacts on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce fuel costs.

EPA’s Clean Diesel projects help create and retain jobs, as well as reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days and other health impacts associated with air pollution from diesel engines. John Kassel, CLF president, accepted a check for $391,500 from EPA Region 1 Administrator Curt Spalding at a ceremony today in Boston. Read EPA’s press release here.

We’re proud to announce that our annual “State of the Region” issue of Conservation Matters has arrived. Learn about four areas of advocacy in which CLF has experienced great success over the last year, from public transportation and fisheries management to kicking New England’s coal habit and tackling the nutrient pollution that is threatening some of our region’s most vital water bodies. Bonus feature: Get up to speed on the great work that our non-profit affiliate, CLF Ventures, is doing in the public sector.

Download the PDF.

Tell us what you think at e-info@clf.org.

Want to get a copy of Conservation Matters delivered right to your door? Become a member of CLF.

See more issues of CM >

Over the past several months, CLF Ventures has been participating as a founding member of a new collaborative effort with diverse organizations to improve their social and environmental performance. The Stewardship Action Council is a collaborative multi-stakeholder membership organization dedicated to partnerships that advance environmental performance in the broader context of sustainability. Conceptually, this means continuous improvement at the corporate and facility level to reduce environmental impacts, advance community goals, and report on progress.

CLF Ventures’ goal in joining the SAC is to develop collaborative efforts that drive excellence and raise the bar on sustainable innovation. The unique value of this collaboration is the multi-stakeholder approach where varying levels of experience among participants provide opportunities alternatives for leaders and learners—those that commit to putting an Environmental Management System in place and those for whom an EMS is already functioning. This broad based, multi-sector network of partners and organizations creates a learning network focused on the exchange of ideas, sharing of best practices and implementation of collaborative projects enabling our members to improve their social and environmental performance and includes representatives from the academic, state government, non-governmental organization (NGOs), investment and industrial and services sectors.

CLF Ventures is an Alliance Member and plans to work with our Participating Members to coordinate partnership opportunities, data review and analysis, and best practice development. In particular, we are excited about the opportunity to advance principles of sustainable innovation – that is, how members can efficiently and sustainably develop new products that advance environmental performance. Members will share best practices, participate in discussion forums and research studies, and collaborate on improvement projects.  The founding members of the Stewardship Action Council represent a breadth of NGOs, industry and service sectors, state government, and academic institutions.   Moving forward we will be designing a sustainability standard, to be used by members to both direct and measure sustainability improvements. Additional goals include providing research data to academic institutions, provide a link for students at the participating academic institutions with innovative companies, and link NGOs looking to partner with industry on unique projects.

Please contact me to discuss your interest in collaboration. For additional information about the Stewardship Action Council and how to check out the website at www.stewardshipaction.org .  A webinar providing additional information on membership in the Stewardship Action Council will be held in the next several weeks.

Grist, the environmental news website has a good piece about a book called Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth about “the 2 billion or so young people who will be stuck dealing with global warming and weirding for their entire lives — and who have to figure out how to do it sanely and humanely.”

As the author of the book Mark Hertsgaard notes in an article  in The Nation adapted from his book, “”My daughter and the rest of Generation Hot have been given a life sentence for a crime they didn’t commit.” Despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, there are still climate deniers out there who claim that global warming isn’t real–and we need a multifaceted, aggressive, solutions-oriented approach to overcome that hurdle and start cooling things down (so to speak). The latest paleoclimate data suggests that things are even worse than computer models have projected–up to two times worse, according to Climate Progress author Joe Romm.

States like Massachusetts are developing nation-leading strategies to reduce that life sentence, maybe even with a chance of parole. Most recently, last month, Governor Patrick announced the release of the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan, which will reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. That’s the maximum target authorized by the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act– a sign that the state is committed to combating climate change. A centerpiece of the Plan is Pay-As-You-Drive auto insurance (PAYD), a market-based, mileage-based solution that rewards drivers for driving less, and an initiative that CLF has been working on for over a decade.

But the work is far from done. Before we can implement measures that will lead New England to the clean energy future it deserves, we have to eradicate the outmoded, dirty sources of power that brought us here in the first place. CLF’s Coal-free New England campaign is designed to do just that, by pushing for the shutdown of the seven major coal-fired power plants in New England that are still in operation, and combined provide about 10 percent of the region’s power and 25 percent of the power in Massachusetts.

Generation Hot may be hot right now, but you know how trends work–they fade. And with a lot of hard work and ingenuity, Generation Hot will be on its way to becoming the most unfashionable generation yet.

CLF congratulates Jo Anne Shatkin, CEO of CLF Ventures, for receiving the 2010 Outstanding Service Award from the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) for her extraordinary service to the Society, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology and emerging nanoscale materials.

BOSTON, MA  December 13, 2010 – The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) has presented Jo Anne Shatkin, CEO of CLF Ventures, with its 2010 Outstanding Service Award. The award is presented annually to a Society member in recognition of extraordinary service to the Society.

Shatkin is a distinguished expert in risk analysis related to nanotechnology. In 2006, she organized a group of 75 SRA members to work on the complex issues raised by the use of nanotechnology and emerging nanoscale materials. Now numbering more than 130 members from around the world, the resulting Emerging Nanoscale Materials Specialty (EMNMS) is actively engaged in multidisciplinary discourse on the subject.

The award was presented to Shatkin by Dr. Rick Reiss, the outgoing SRA President.  Reiss said that “Shatkin has been instrumental in bringing a discussion to SRA about the potential risks of nanoscale materials and is up and coming leader in the Society.”

Since establishing EMNMS four years ago, Shatkin has played a leadership role in advancing the specialty within SRA, including teaching an introductory training course on the health and environmental risks of nanotechnology at SRA annual meetings. In 2008, she organized a workshop with SRA and outside experts seeking to advance the science for nanomaterial risk analysis, and later organized several symposia featuring prominent speakers on specific topics such as life cycle frameworks for risk analysis. In addition, Shatkin has spearheaded SRA initiatives to build collaborations with groups such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials. As a result, OECD co-sponsored a workshop at the 2009 annual meeting entitled, Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials in a Regulatory Context. Most recently, Shatkin co-edited a series of papers on nanomaterials and risk in the November 2010 issue of the SRA’s journal Risk Analysis.

Of receiving the Award, Shatkin said, “I am honored to be recognized by SRA for my contributions to the Society. It has been particularly rewarding to see how the interest in nanotechnology and nanomaterials risk analysis has grown within the SRA membership, providing an unparalleled forum for education, discussion and discovery in an emerging area. I am grateful to the Society for supporting my efforts to establish and grow this important discipline within SRA.”

Shatkin was named CEO of CLF Ventures in September 2010, after spending three years as managing director. She specializes in health and environmental risk analysis, with a background in technical, regulatory and public involvement work on waste sites, industrial facilities, emerging contaminants and drinking water. She is the author of Nanotechnology Health and Environmental Risks, published in 2008 (CRC Press).

CLF Ventures, a non-profit affiliate of Conservation Law Foundation, works at the intersection of business, stakeholder, and environmental issues to optimize environmental and economic performance, from project launch and business operation to responsible closure of surplus assets.

The Conservation Law Foundation (www.clf.org) works to solve the most significant environmental challenges facing New England. CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to create innovative strategies to conserve natural resources, protect public health and promote vital communities in our region. Founded, in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.