EPA Set to Spend Millions for Projects and Job Training in Environmental Clean Up

Redevelopment image courtesy of Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, R.I.

In its continuing efforts to clean up America’s brownfields, the Environmental Protection Agency has just announced that it will award $55 million in supplemental funding to qualified loan/grant applicants, in addition to currently operating projects.

The agency also announced that it will provide about $6.8 million in funding to be invested to train workers to clean up brownfields sites, which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants. The goal is to turn these sites into revitalized and productive properties.

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$750 Million to the National Parks Creating Jobs in a Variety of Fields

At the Dinosaur National Monument and Quarry, visitors can watch paleontologists remove fossils in a three-story glass building attached to a mountain, according to Dinosaurland KAO, Vernal, UT. Photo courtesy of Dinosaurland KAO.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congress has directed $750 million toward national park infrastructures projects through the Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C..

“Investments in national park infrastructure will help to improve safety and public access; restore our national heritage; and bring immediate economic benefits—including thousands of new jobs in rural and urban communities nationwide,” said Karen Hevel-Mingo, Southwest regional program manager of the National Parks Conservation Association, Washington, D.C.

Nearly 800 projects are planned, which the National Parks Service, Washington, D.C., plans to use to create jobs in areas including: construction, deferred maintenance, energy efficiency equipment replacement, trails maintenance, abandoned mine lands safety projects, and road maintenance.

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Auto Battery Cell Alliance Works On Proposal for Federal Investment in Research and Development

The movement of these lithium ions happens at a fairly high voltage, so each cell produces 3.7 volts. This is much higher than the 1.5 volts typical of a normal AA alkaline cell that you buy at the supermarket and helps make lithium-ion batteries more compact in small devices like cell phones. Graphic provided by HowStuffWorks.com

CHICAGO - The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, formed last month, is working on a proposal to the federal government for investment as part of the development of one or more manufacturing and prototype development centers across the United States, which will be shared by the Alliance members.

“The Alliance will develop and operate a state-of-the-art manufacturing foundry that will permit any U.S.-based battery companies to design, test, and manufacture proprietary and semi-proprietary large format lithium-ion battery cells that power next generation motor vehicles,” said Carlos Helou, president of Grep International, a Darien, Ill.-based consulting firm in the energy arena, and an advisor to the Alliance.

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