In Case You Missed It - The Week of December 18-December 24

Happy Holidays!  First, a few holiday-oriented bits of environmental news given the confluence of holidays this week:

* As noted by the Huffington post, an electronics store in Vietnam built a Christmas tree from 2500 unusable cell phones to raise awareness about hazardous waste and environmental responsiblity.

* Rabbi AB Itkin of Chabad of Ulster County lit a solar-powered menorah in Woodstock, New York in celebration of Chanukah.

* Malaysia Youth 4 EcoGreen Coalition (MY4Eco) organized the GoGreen Winter Solstice Celebration, which featured a tang yuan (glutinous rice ball dessert) making session and a catwalk with models wearing clothing made from organic material, in order to raise environmental awareness.

Second, in other non-holiday-oriented news:

* The European Commission unveiled Energy Roadmap 2050, the next step in its plans to reduce carbon emissions by at least 80% without disrupting energy supplies and competitiveness.

* The European Court of Justice upheld charging airlines flying in and out of Europe for their carbon emissions.

* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first national Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

* The U.S. Department of Energy awarded nearly $7 million in research and development funding to help reduce the current costs of electric vehicle chargers by 50 percent over the next three years. 

* The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection approved two new solar power projects, the largest commercial projects thus far in the state.