Credit where due. Wal-Mart is rolling out some newer, more energy efficient stores:
The High Efficiency stores use technology tested and developed in two experimental green stores Wal-Mart opened in 2005 in McKinney, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado, including a white roof that deflects the sun’s heat.
The latest generation takes the energy savings built into the HE.1 last year and adds new conservation measures focused on the refrigeration system and water heating and cooling, Wal-Mart said in a release.
Earlier innovations in the first-generation store included heating and cooling systems that recycle heat from refrigerators and freezer cases, higher-efficiency LED lights and sensors that turn off those lights when no customers are around.
Energy costs are rising, and W-M doesn’t want to have to raise prices. So it’s not altruism (although I’ve long believed that W-M’s PR “green” strategy is a way of blunting criticism about their labor practices). But this is exactly what’s supposed to happen in any effort to halt global warming. A carbon tax or cap-and-trade system increases the cost of consuming energy, and so business adapts accordingly. Yay, capitalism!
Of course, virtually no Wal-Marts are located within walking distance of anything, so any efficiency gains have to be weighed against the fleet of Chevy Suburbans glistening in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Now Playing: Episode 368
Terror in Mumbai, the collapse of Seattle banking and an update on the new Obama cabinet.
Links Mentioned: A timeline of the Mumbai carnage … SAM and WaMu … some early warning signs of trouble at the Seattle bank … Obama’s new Labor secretary?
If I can adapt an expression about democracy, capitalism is the worse sytem know to Man, except for every other system. The only way to have real wealth is to serve the needs of as many customers as possible in a sustainable manner. Why is it so shocking that a big “evil” corporation would find a way to serve customers and the environment at the same time. As to the vehicles found in a Wal-Mart parking lot, you need to get out more. My local store has a good mix with econo-boxes outnumbering land-yachts at any given time.
Keep expressing your thoughts and philosophies in this forum for all to read and hear.