2018 Energy Vision Awards Honor Leading Adopters and Advocates of Renewable Natural Gas

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Oct 12, 2018, 19:20 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At its awards reception in Manhattan this week, the NGO Energy Vision honored business and government leaders and advocates who are speeding adoption of renewable natural gas (RNG) made from organic waste. RNG is the lowest–carbon fuel available, and net carbon-negative as a transportation fuel.

The awardees include:

Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, Director of the Global Public Health Program at Boston College's Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, who advocates adopting clean alternatives to diesel vehicles to improve public health. "Diesel exhaust is nasty stuff," he said. "It's a complex mix of gases and particulates, potent respiratory irritants, and metabolic toxins. They waft through the urban air and make us all sick. The alternative New York City proposes is 'cleaner diesel' but that's like proposing 'safe asbestos' – there's no such thing. Getting rid of diesel in New York City is the right thing to do."

The City of Toronto, which collects residential food waste and processes it into RNG to power its refuse trucks. "Since 2002, we have been quietly working to harness the green energy potential of the biogas from Toronto's source separated organic waste," said Carlyle Khan, Director of Infrastructure Development and Asset Management for Toronto's Solid Waste Management Services Division. "Our vision is to reduce our impact on the planet by creating a renewable resource."

The Kroger Co., the largest grocery chain in the U.S., which processes its organic waste into RNG in anaerobic digesters at its locations in California and Indiana, and uses it to heat warehouses and power trucks. "Our goal is to eliminate all waste across our more than 2,700 stores, 42 distribution sites and 36 manufacturing facilities, distribute the edible food and find productive uses for the rest," said Nick Cortolillo, Kroger's senior director of manufacturing. "We're proud of the work we are doing, and we know it is important to our customers."

James S. Cannon, president of Energy Futures, Inc. who has conducted seminal research on alternative energy and fuels since 1971. "Out of the pits of the Vietnam War came the largest body of environmental legislation ever hatched by any country at any time," he said. "Maybe there are young people out there who out of this difficult time can help ignite the next revolution and the next exciting step."

Contact: Stephen Kent, [email protected] 914-589-5988

SOURCE Energy Vision