Next April Fools Day I’m not reading any blogs or media publications.. I just fall for them too easily. I opened up the Daily Grist newsletter to see that headline..

Sale Ends Today! - Wal-Mart pulls the plug on green initiatives

AAAArgh!.. I thought how could they do such a thing now!?? So I read the blurb, and became even more angry…

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott, who announced a high-profile series of green corporate initiatives last year, has now … taken them back. Citing high costs, Scott yesterday announced that Wal-Mart is canceling most of its sustainability programs, shifting its truck fleet back to diesel (from biofuels), shuttering its experimental hyper-efficient stores, and pulling organic products from its shelves. The only remaining evidence of Wal-Mart’s much-ballyhooed green makeover will be — you guessed it — light bulbs. “We’re keeping the compact fluorescents. Those are pretty cheap,” said Scott. “The rest of the stuff we tried was too expensive. In the end, our customers value low prices more than sustainability, and at Wal-Mart, we listen to our customers.” Grist

That just made me even more angry. So a clicked on what I thought was a link to the full story at the New York Times and got that page.. doh!

Original post by business news

Eric Fry of the impolite Awakening has penned an interesting spread about the solar revolution and the noose that looms for the traditional energy providers. Justice Litle goes into more detail on the workings of solar energy..

“In terms of imagining a solar future, there are two competing visions that come to mind. The first is thousands of solar-powered suburban homes, all of them with shiny panels on the roof or in the yard. The second vision is that of a huge, empty desert in which solar flowers bloom, covering thousands of acres as far as the eye can see.
The difference amoung the two visions comes down to one fundamental question: Will the electricity solutions of tomorrow be decentralized… or centralized? Will the average home be self-sufficient and wholly off the grid, using off-the-shelf technologies to generate ability… or will utility companies still supply potential to households through a capability grid, leveraging alternative technologies at gargantuan scale to do so?” The Solar Revolution

I wonder which option a traditional energy company would choose? A centralized energy source that they can profit from or a decentralized system where folks hold their create ability?

Original post by business news

The giant retailing company Wal Mart has hit a set back in it’s transformation into a soft, cuddly, caring, environmentally friendly company. It has been accused of labeling non-organic foods with organic labels.

The Washington Post said “The retailer recently began expanding its assortment of organic foods as part of an effort to attract wealthier, more urban customers. In a statement yesterday, Wal-Mart defended its program and questioned the intentions of the group, called the Cornucopia Institute.”

Mark Kastel from the The Cornucopia Institute said “We first noticed that Wal-Mart was using in-store signage to misidentify conventional, nonorganic food as organic in their upscale-market analysis store in Plano, Texas”.

The Cornucopia Institute is an organic farming watchdog that seeks to promote, defend, and govern the organics industry in the United States.

Original post by business news

The Climate Change Performance Index for 2007 has ranked countries according to their action to reduce pollution and minimize the effects of climate change.

The world’s only superpower and biggest emitter of greenhouse gas is ranked nearly last. The United States came in 53rd position, with only China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia ranking worse than America.

According to the organization that released the climate change report, “the big emitters among the 56 countries that profile the CCPI are not moving forward and even take steps back on climate protection. Furthermore, even those countries that have made it into the upper ranks are progressing rather slowly. The UK and Germany, for example, score well overall (ranks 2 and 5 respectively), but need to improve in assured areas. Through its wide range of factors considered, the index even allows an evaluation of the effectiveness of climate policy measures - like renewable energy support and emissions trading.” German Watch

The top ten best ranked countries working to fight climate change are..

• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• Denmark
• Malta
• Germany
• Argentina
• Hungary
• Brazil
• India
• Switzerland

The Top ten worst performers include..

• Australia (thanks to John Howard!)
• South Korea
• Iran
• Thailand
• Canada
• Kazakhstan
• USA (thanks to George W. Bush!)
• China
• Malaysia
• Saudi Arabia

The full report can be seen on the German Watch Website.

It’s all about leadership and making that leadership accountable. Leaders like the Australian prime minister John Howard and the American President George Bush are finally starting to take baby-steps towards some kind of action against climate change, but not necessarily considering they believe in it. It’s considering they can see that voters see climate change as an issue that would influence their vote. The citizens are speaking..
>> Climate Change, Environmental News, Politics

Original post by business news

As public start to be more concerned with the food they eat, big businesses are additionally having to adapt to these changes. KFC is the latest to give in to consumer demand and activist led campaigns that demand change.

New York City is plus considering banning the artery clogging trans fatty acids that restaurants use, as they say it has no nutritional value and increases the risk of heart disease dramatically.

“KFC said it will replace trans fats with a new low-linolenic-acid soyabean oil by the end of April at its 5,500 US restaurants.”
and
“KFC previously resisted change - in June, the chain said it had been using the same type of oil for 50 years and did not want to tamper with Colonel Sanders’s “finger lickin’ good” recipe. But it was hit with a lawsuit from the non-profit Centre for Science in the Public Interest, which maintains that trans fats contribute to 50,000 deaths annually in the US. The class action was in the name of Arthur Hoyte, a retired doctor who said he had eaten KFC’s chicken without being warned of the health risks.” Guardian

It’s just another case that proves the potential of the consumer. whether ample public produce abundant noise, which starts to affect the profits of a company, they will change. No company is too big and robust suitable to disregard the customer.
>> Business Ethics, Big Business News

Original post by business news

First it was tobacco, next fast food, now lawyers are looking at big car makers, oil companies, and utilities. With more than fifteen cases pending, big corporations with a history of polluting the environment are nervously looking by their shoulder.

It’s a very negative way of changing the way business sees the environment, but anything that makes large corporations think about how they treat the environment has to be a good thing. It’s a pity we need the stick rather than the carrot to change though.

Global Warming: Here Come The Lawyers
“As with tobacco, plaintiffs are trying out a variety of legal theories, some quite speculative. Judges and juries, however, particularly in hard-hit areas like the Gulf Coast, may be inclined to sympathize with even legally marginal claims. The Hurricane Katrina suit filed by Maples in Mississippi alleges that the emission of carbon dioxide is a “nuisance” under common law.” BusinessWeek

>> Big Business, Car Makers, Climate Change, Environment

Original post by business news

Whenever I’m reading a book from the library, I always have a small notebook close to me so that I can write down any good quotes I come across. It’s a habit I have had since I started reading books regularly.

I can refer back to the notebook of quotes later and the whole book comes flooding back to me.
I now buy more books than I borrow, so I just underline quotes that interest me, which makes the process a bit quicker. I just find the habit so useful, as I rarely ever read a book twice, but referring back to my favorite quotes and paragraphs is something I do often.

Anyway, here’s some Optimistic Quotes that I have found online. A lot of quotation sites online are filled with too many adds and popups, but there’s plus a few beauties out there.

Optimistic Quotes Online

• Miracles happen every day. Not just in remote country villages or at holy sites halfway across the globe, but here, in our own lives.
  Deepak Chopra Quote
• Leaders need to be optimists. Their vision is beyond the present.
  Rudy Giuliani Quote
• You stay in touch with the boy who dreamed impossible dreams.
  Hugh Hefner Quote
• We would achieve many more things whether we did not think of them as impossible.
  Vince Lombardi Quote
• A positive attitude is crucial, but it is only part of the story. Understanding how to surmount pain, doubt, and failure is a vital component in winning the game of life.
  Chin-Ning Chu Quote
• I was 52 years old. I had diabetes and incipient arthritis. I had lost my gall bladder and most of my thyroid gland in earlier campaigns, but I was convinced that the best was ahead of me.
  Ray Kroc Quote

There’s some more Optimistic quotes here.
>> Motivational Quotes

Original post by business news