Environmental Groups Aim to Turn On Consumers to 'Green' Energy

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Environmental Groups Aim to Turn On Consumers to 'Green' Energy New 
Consumer Scorecard to be Unveiled

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2000--In keeping with Earth 
Day's "Clean Energy Now!" theme, the nation's leading environmental 
organizations announced today that they will release on June 20th an 
environmental scorecard to empower consumers with the information 
they need to choose cleaner sources of electricity. 

According to national surveys, consumers want to purchase electricity 
with low environmental impacts, but lack credible information upon 
which to base their decisions. In response to this need, an 
environmental coalition including Environmental Defense, the Izaak 
Walton League of the Midwest, the Natural Resources Defense Council, 
the Northwest Energy Coalition and the Union of Concerned Scientists 
have developed a consumer information tool, called the Power 
Scorecard (TM), for rating the environmental impacts of all sources 
of electricity generation. The Power Scorecard (TM) promises to be a 
powerful tool for consumers to use in choosing among electricity 
products that will be offered in competitive retail markets today and 
in the years ahead. 

Electricity production has enormous local and global effects on the 
environment and human health. The burning of fossil fuels to produce 
electricity is the nation's largest source of air pollution. 
Emissions from power plants contribute to respiratory illnesses like 
asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and cancer. These air pollutants also 
are a major factor in the destruction of forests and lakes due to 
acid rain. And fossil fuel combustion is the principal source of 
greenhouse gases that are the cause of global warming. Nuclear power 
is a major source of radioactive waste that must be isolated from the 
environment for tens of thousands of years. 

The Power Scorecard (TM) assesses the environmental impacts of all 
sources of electricity and provides consumers with easy to understand 
ratings of each product that allows them to compare and choose among 
competing electricity suppliers. The overall goal of the Power 
Scorecard (TM) is to give consumers the information they need so they 
can make an informed choice about power supplies based on their 
environmental values. 

Beginning June 20, 2000 the Power Scorecard (TM) will evaluate and 
rank electricity products offered to residential customers in 
California and Pennsylvania, the two states with the most mature 
retail electricity markets. The evaluation will be done in other 
states as their electricity markets open up to competition. The 
ratings will be publicized by partner environmental organizations in 
each state. 

The Power Scorecard (TM) was developed with the technical support of 
the Pace Law School Energy Project which pioneered in identifying and 
quantifying the environmental costs of electricity production. The 
Baseline Institute in Lafayette, CO assisted the Pace Energy Project 
with the development of the Internet web site tools. Development of 
the Power Scorecard (TM) was funded in part by the Department of 
Energy's Office of Solar Energy Technologies. A public education 
campaign using the Power Scorecard(TM) will be coordinated locally in 
Pennsylvania by Clean Air Council, a statewide nonprofit, member-
supported 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html