The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded $270,000 in research grants for innovative sustainability-related programs at Georgia Institute of Technology, Auburn University, The University of Southern Mississippi and Arizona State University.

As a result of federal government sequestration resulting in across-the-board spending cuts, recipients of payment under the 1603 Treasury Grant Program for awards made between March 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013 will see their award grants cut by 8.7%, effective immediately.

Strong demand for Ford’s three new plug-in vehicles has Ford certifying hundreds more dealers to sell them than expected – including 900 to be certified by spring and make Focus Electric, C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi available in all 50 states for the first time.

The 900 dealers represents about one-third of all Ford dealers in the U.S., triples Ford projections for the time frame and are an increase of 200 from November 2012, the second full month C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid were available.

Sales show these hybrids are resonating with customers, further strengthening the case for dealerships to certify. Ford delivered a record January hybrid sales month, following a record-breaking electrified vehicle sales quarter in the fourth quarter of 2012. Ford expects to announce record January sales for Fusion Hybrid.

Attacks on environmental safeguards and energy issues pose top threats to South’s air, water, communities, and special places

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the largest environmental advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the Southeast, released its fifth annual list of the top 10 places in the South that face immediate, potentially irreparable, threats in 2013.

According to Nat Mund, SELC’s Legislative Director, the chief threat to the South’s natural treasures this year is a combination of economic and political challenges in addition to a vigorous crusade by anti-environmentalists in Congress and state legislatures to weaken environmental laws and enforcement.

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that neighboring Bowling Green, FL and Zolfo Springs, FL will partner to receive technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program.

EPA consulted with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation to select this year’s 43 recipients from 121 applicants through a competitive process. EPA staff and national experts will conduct workshops that focus on the specific sustainability goal each community chose in their initial application to EPA. The agency offered nine tools this year, including using Smart Growth to build Economic and Fiscal Health, exploring neighborhood planning for healthy aging, creating a Green Streets Strategy, Building Fiscal and Economic Health, and creating Sustainable Strategies for Small Cities and Rural Areas.