02 January 2007

Climate Change: The Power of Wal-Mart

The New York Times reported today that Wal-Mart is putting its muscle behind compact flourescents and leaning on its suppliers to unscrew their traditional bulbs and replace them with the energy-saving curlicues. According to the Times, the bentonville Barons are "determined to push them into at least 100 million homes.

"And its ambitions extend even further, spurred by a sweeping commitment from its chief executive, H. Lee Scott Jr., to reduce energy use across the country, a move that could also improve Wal-Mart’s appeal to the more affluent consumers the chain must win over to keep growing in the United States.

"'The environment,' Mr. Scott said, 'is begging for the Wal-Mart business model.'"

It remains to be seen if treehuggers will embrace the megachain this time around. Some greenies viewed the discount retailer's earlier announcement with skepticism. But who cares? Wal-Mart rules much of the world and if they can use their influence and impact to reduce the costs of energy-saving, carbon-reducing products and materials, then more power to them.

On a personal note, my household is now almost 100 percent switched over to compact flourescents, with the execption of a few enclosed ceiling fixtures and lamps in which CFs don't fit. And we switched to LED outdoor Christmas lights this year. The bluish light they gave off got a lot of compliments and comments from passersby, neighbors, and friends. I still need to calculate the energy savings associated with all of these changes. Next year, we tackle the tree.

To read the full Times article: Wal-Mart

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1 comment:

The Green Skeptic said...

Check out Seth Godin's blog post on CFs: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/how_many_blogge.html

and his Squidoo lens: http://www.squidoo.com/changealightbulb/