Business News Blog

Wal-Mart Quits Green Initiatives

2007-04-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

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 this 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 this page.. doh!

Solar Power

2007-02-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Eric Fry of the Rude Awakening has penned an interesting article 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 vast, empty desert in which solar flowers bloom, covering thousands of acres as far as the eye can see.
The difference between the two visions comes down to one important 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 power... or will utility companies still provide power to households through a power 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 people hold their create power?

Wal Mart Selling Non Organics as Organics

2006-11-17T00:03:00.000-08:00

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 test 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.

Climate Change Performance Index

2006-11-16T04:12:00.000-08:00

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 almost 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 form 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 certain 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 because they believe in it. It's because they can see that voters see climate change as an issue that would influence their vote. The people are speaking..
>> Climate Change, Environmental News, Politics

KFC Cuts Trans Fats

2006-10-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

As people begin to be more concerned with the food they eat, big businesses are also 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 also 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 power of the consumer. If enough people make enough noise, which starts to affect the profits of a company, they will change. No company is too big and powerful enough to ignore the customer.
>> Business Ethics, Big Business News

Suing Big Corporate Polluters

2006-10-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

First it was tobacco, then 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 over 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

Optimistic Quotes

2006-10-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

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 also 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 accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
Vince Lombardi Quote
A positive attitude is important, 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

Wal Mart Seeing Green

2006-10-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

The world's largest retailing company is working hard to turn around it's poor environmental image. After years of criticism, the $300 billion giant is making positive changes, making money from it, and getting praise from environmental groups and people in power.

Among Wal Mart's latest changes is a plan to reduce packaging by 5% over 5 years. It sounds insignificant until you think about the size and influence of the company. It employs more people than any other company in the world (1,800,000 employees), and is second in terms of revenue generated.

Anything that Wal Mart does has a far reaching effect that influences suppliers, competitors, and consumers in a range of ways.

Wal Mart has also vowed to invest $500 million each year into energy saving technology. Here's a few more initiatives being taken by the retailing giant, taken from USA Today..

Slash gasoline use by its trucking fleet, one of the largest in the USA, and use more hybrid trucks to increase efficiency by 25% over the next three years and double it within 10 years. That will save $310 million a year by 2015, the company says.
Buy 100% of its wild-caught salmon and frozen fish for the North American market only from fisheries that are certified as "sustainable" by the non-profit Marine Stewardship Council within three to five years. That designation means areas of the ocean aren't fished in ways that destroy fish populations.
Cut energy use at its more than 7,000 stores worldwide by 30% and cut greenhouse-gas emissions at existing stores by 20% in seven years. Wal-Mart is the largest private electricity user in the USA.
Reduce solid waste from U.S. stores by 25% within three years.

>> Wal Mart News, Green Business News

Andrew Fastow of Enron gets Six Years

2006-09-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

The man that engineered the accounting fiasco of the energy trading company Enron has been sentenced to serve six years in prison. Andrew Fastow received a lighter sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud and for testifying against two major Enron executives, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.

64 year old founding former chairman of Enron, Ken Lay avoided any sentence by dying from heart failure on July 5 this year.

Here's part of a report from MarketWatch..
It also took into account the one year his wife, Lea Fastow, served in a federal prison in Houston. The former Enron assistant treasurer admitted in May 2004 to signing a false tax return to hide the flow of money from her husband's many Enron partnerships.
Hoyt ordered no further fines against Fastow, who has already agreed to forfeit nearly $24 million in ill-gotten gains.
Fastow, 44, was the mastermind behind a labyrinth of off-balance-sheet partnerships at Enron, several bearing the initials of his wife and two sons, that inflated the company's earnings, hid its ballooning debt and funneled millions of dollars into his own pocket.
>> Business Scandals

BMW Hydrogen Car

2006-09-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

There's still no clear winner when it comes to environmentally friendly vehicles on the road, but the car manufacturers that are trying to blaze a sustainable path down unknown pathways are sure to profit, if not financially, than at least morally.

Car makers like Toyota and their Prius Hybrid or even their Camry Hybrid are doing well financially. They hardly need a marketing budget for the Toyota Prius as it generally sells itself.

High fuel prices and a need to be friendlier towards the environment is forcing car makers to offer alternatives. Those that don't change will be left behind (thinking of two big American car manufacturers!).

BMW is soon to release their attempt to be greener, with the recent announcement of the BMW Hydrogen 7 vehicle. In 2007 there will be a limited number of hydrogen cars offered to customers, with reports that the vehicles will be leased, rather than sold, because of the high costs.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 will be powered with a more than capable 260 hp twelve cylinder engine that will get you from zero to 62 mph in about 9.5 seconds.

Obviously this is not the final answer to solving our energy and environmental problems, but any attempt to step forward should be commended. The BMW Hydrogen 7 features and benefits are below..

By using hydrogen produced from water and renewable energy, such as wind, sun or hydropower, in an internal combustion engine, the car's emissions in hydrogen mode are essentially nothing but vapor.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 features dual-mode drive technology and a combustion engine capable of running on both hydrogen and gasoline. The cruising range in the hydrogen mode is more than 125 miles, with another 300 miles in the gasoline mode.
This car will play a pioneering role in driving forward hydrogen technologies. BMW has gained an excellent reputation for significantly reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by using ultra efficient, yet very dynamic gasoline engines.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 clearly proves that liquid hydrogen may by all means be used as a source of energy for the production car. By introducing the BMW Hydrogen 7, the BMW Group establishes powerful momentum for the ongoing development of a supply infrastructure serving above all to set up additional hydrogen filling stations providing sustained mobility on a broad basis also in the future.

See more information on the actions that BMW is taking to become a more sustainable company at BMW Group. The Hydrogen Highway in Norway may see a few hydrogen BMWs zooming up and down it!
>> Sustainable Cars, Alternative Energy

Green Business of the Year 2006

2006-09-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Co-op America is inviting people to submit their favorite green business for the People Choice Award in 2006. For every green business you submit, you will also go in the draw to win $300 worth of gift certificates to green stores.

For the next three weeks, Co-op America will collect nominations and then in mid-October they will hold an online vote to choose this year's winner from the top ten nominees submitted by visitors.

What are Green Businesses?
Companies that work to help.. not hurt.. people, communities, and the planet.
See more about the prize and submit your green business entry over at the Co-op America website.

>> Green Business News

Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth

2006-09-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

After the positive reaction to the Inconvenient Truth in the United States, Australian cinemas are expecting a similar buzz when the film starts on the 14th of this month.
Australian readers can find out where the film will be screening by checking Yahoo movies.

From the website of the movie, they say..
"Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced." About the Film

The Australian Conservation Foundation has an article up about the upcoming release of the film in Australia. They also have a few suggestions to get the attention of politicians..

Do you know an Inconvenient Truth?
"Gore wastes no time in telling us that we can no longer afford to view climate change as a political issue, but must realize this is the biggest moral challenge facing our civilization. He questions why our leaders are not listening to the warnings and taking more meaningful action, and encourages ordinary individuals to do their bit to contribute to a global solution." Read the full ACF Article

Al Gore was also praising the actions of one of the biggest companies in the world recently, when he said Wal Mart was doing a good job in changing.
>> Politics, Environmental News

Steve Irwin "Crocodile Hunter" Moves on

2006-09-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

Australia and the world lost a man full of life and love for nature. Steve Irwin, known internationally as the Crocodile Hunter was struck in the heart by a sting ray while filming a new documentary series in Port Douglas, northern Queensland. The larger than life character died doing what he loved most, which is sharing his love of nature.

While the world bestowed great fame and fortune upon him, he piled his cash back into nature reserves, the Australia Zoo, and into spreading his message of conservation.

The Crocodile Hunter handled dangerous animals all his life and was never bitten by a venomous snake or seriously bitten by a crocodile. His most deadly encounters were with being bitten by parrots! So it is a sad irony that Steve Irwin would have his life taken from him by such a beautiful, graceful animal that is rarely ever a threat to man.

He has left behind a loving family that shared his love for nature and the environment.

Nature lost a true friend and passionate advocate.
Stephen Robert Irwin
22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006

>> Environment

Political Points for Ethanol Support

2006-08-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ethanol has gained enough importance and support throughout the United States to be an important campaigning tool for politicians. With rising gas prices, an increasing concern for the environment, and the good times it is bringing for farmers, some areas of the country wouldn't be too happy about an anti-ethanol politician..

"It's absolutely important to support that industry when campaigning here, in a state where a large chunk of our economy is based on corn," Erin Seidler, spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic Party, said. UPI

"Politicians from both sides of the aisle and across the whole spectrum realize what we face in terms of an energy crisis," Matt Hartwig, spokesman for EthanolRFA, told UPI.

Ethanol plants are popping up all over the place and ethanol investing is now a hot topic in all the business media. Politicians are all talking about ethanol too, but has the change been because it is a positive step for the environment? Or is it because there is political and/or financial gain to be made from the industry?
>> Ethanol Investing, Political News

Pope Benedict XVI on the Environment

2006-08-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised that religion hasn't embraced the environmental movement more in recent times, but Pope Benedict is now talking about it. From his summer villa just outside Rome, the Pope said "In dialogue with Christians of various churches, we need to commit ourselves to caring for the created world, without squandering its resources, and sharing them in a cooperative way."
He is referring to the poor just as much as the environment, which is fine, but I think it's an issue that is above rich or poor. It's an issue that every living thing, including the earth itself has to deal with.
It's great to see such a powerful organization working together to create positive change though. It's almost as exciting as Wal Mart going green!. ;-)

Pope warns against environmental damage, says it burdens world's poor
The pope said the created world was a great gift of God but is presently "exposed to serious risks by life choices and lifestyles that can degrade it. In particular, environmental degradation makes poor people's existence intolerable," he said. CNS
>> Environmental News, Climate Change

Tesla Motors Electric Car

2006-08-26T01:40:00.000-07:00

The electric car manufacturer, Tesla Motors has completely sold out the "Signature One Hundred" series of limited edition sports cars after just three weeks.
The famous actor George Clooney was one of the lucky ones to order one of the Tesla electric cars.
The Telsa electric car can drive for up to 250 miles before it needs recharging and reaches 60 mile per hour in just 4 seconds.

Tesla electric car sells out
"Each customer made a $100,000 deposit to join the Signature One Hundred Club and reserve their ”Signature One Hundred“ special edition Tesla Roadster. The ”Signature One Hundred“ edition includes a commemorative plaque in the cockpit personalized for the customer and signed by the company’s principals, a special Signature One Hundred trim package and all available options, including a state-of-the-art navigation system and a hard top. Deliveries of the Tesla Roadster are expected to begin in mid-2007." Composites World
>> Car News

Hydrogen Highway in Norway

2006-08-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

The forward thinking European country of Norway has opened its first hydrogen fueling station for vehicles. A project called HyNor plans to fuel vehicles with hydrogen from the capital of Norway, Oslo, to the port of Stavanger in the west of Norway.
HyNor hopes to have more than enough fueling stations along the 580 kilometer journey by 2009.

According to the HyNor website, the plan is..
"A unique Norwegian joint industry initiative to demonstrate real life implementation of hydrogen energy infrastructure along a route of 580 kilometers from Oslo to Stavanger during the years 2005 to 2008. The project comprises all steps required to develop a hydrogen infrastructure and includes various hydrogen production technologies and uses of hydrogen, in all cases with an adaptation to local conditions."
>> Alternative Fuels

Lights Out Hong Kong

2006-08-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Concerned citizens of the polluted city of Hong Kong (what major city isn't polluted though?) are trying to do something about the issue with a new initiative called Lights Out Hong Kong. The group is working hard to get businesses, offices, and individuals to turn their lights out for 3 just 3 minutes on the 8th of August, at 8pm.

The organizer of the event, Alastair Robins says "This is to tell the government that the community wants a strong stance on eliminating pollution.. We are not anti-government.. this is the only government we have, and we need to work together."
>> Environmental, Energy

Environmental News Blogs

2006-07-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Browsing blogs can use up so much time. They're a great way to procrastinate doing any real work and sometimes you may even learn something new. I browse a through industries that interest me, but I mostly stick to the environmental business and art blogs.
Anyway, here's some favorite business and environmental blogs that I often stop by (thanks to the handy services of Bloglines).

Joel Makower Blog - The two steps forward blog is an indepth environmental weblog that focuses on sustainable business, the environment, and green products. Posts are usually quite informative and written in an easy to read manner.
Grist Blog - Regularly updated and always entertaining or disturbing, depending on what environmental destruction is going on worldwide. Well worth reading.
Tree Hugger - Any new or innovative green products that are released or being talked about usually find themselves written about over here.
City Hippy - UK based group of bloggers discussing all things environmental and intelligent.
Eco Chick - Environmentally friendly chick talking about sweet mother nature and all things green.
Sustainablog - Is a great environmental blog about all things green, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.

There's a lot more excellent environmental blogs out there. These few are just a start. I quite often find myself reading a blog and clicking a link to the next blog, until I realize I have just spent two hours reading weblogs!

OK. back to doing some real work now.
>> Environmental Blogs, Environment

Ethanol Investing

2006-07-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

The ethanol investing green buzz is still red hot thoughout the United States, with new plants being built, expanded, or planned nearly every week. Bill Gates invests in it and president George Bush has been talking about it, but is it safe to invest in ethanol, and more importantly, is ethanol the answer to the current fuel and environmental crisis that we are in now?

John F. Wasik: "Green energy" claims dazzle investors, but the details are often sketchy
It's hard not to get caught up in the excitement over alternative energy. More than 50 ethanol plants are under construction as part of an expected $60 billion surge of total capital spending in green energy this year, up from $48 billion last year, according to New Energy Finance Ltd., a research firm in London, which predicts the renewable energy business will grow from a "25 billion to a $100 billion industry worldwide over the next decade." APP
>> Investing in Ethanol

Al Gore Praises Wal Mart

2006-07-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

Speaking to an 800 strong audience of Wal Mart employees, the former Vice President of America Al Gore said "I believe that this kind of commitment is so important that the rest of the world is likely to be listening and learning", referring to the environmental changes that the giant retailing chain has been making in recent months.
Al Gore has been impressing and shocking audiences lately, after the release of his environmental film "An Inconvenient Truth".

"The message from Wal-Mart today to the rest of the business community is, there need not be any conflict between the environment and the economy. We will find the way not only to reconcile (those), but to find new profits and new opportunities as we do the right thing." Al Gore

Gore Praises Wal-Mart for Sustainability Plans
"Last year, Wal-Mart emitted the equivalent of 20.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, while the best estimate for its supply chain -- all the production and shipping needed to fill Wal-Mart shelves.. is 10 times that, said Jim Stanway, director of project development in Wal-Mart's energy department." ENN

>> Wal Mart, Politics, Environment

Hybrid Car Incentives

2006-06-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

While hybrid cars remain more expensive than regular gasoline driven cars, there are corporations and local governments that are offering incentives to think green when buying a vehicle.
The city of Connecticut offers free meter parking for hybrids and some business are offering special parking for fuel efficient vehicles.
There's also financial institutions looking to support green thinking, with the Bank of America offering employees a $3000 cash incentive to buy hybrid cars.
As gas prices rise, companies are taking action. While the government scrambles for ideas or avoids the issue, there are more and more privately or publicly held companies taking action.
Bank of America to Offer Incentives to Buy Hybrids
"Hybrids are powered by a gas engine and an electric motor, increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. The hybrid Honda Civic, for example, gets 50 miles per gallon, compared to 34 miles per gallon for the regular Civic, according to hybridcars.com. But hybrid cars also cost more. The Bank of America rebate matches a $3,000 federal tax credit for buying a hybrid. On Wednesday, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney pushed a bill his administration drew up with Senate leaders that would provide a $2,000 state tax credit, and move the cost of hybrid closer to a regular car. The bill has not been passed by the House." ENN
>> Hybrid Car News, Big Businesses

Post Peak Oil World

2006-06-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

With the rising price of oil dominating the news each night there has been surprisingly little talk of a world without oil. Is it a problem that is just too difficult to contemplate, do we just want to leave it for the next generation, and is it simply a matter of us fearing a possible lowering in living standards?
The author of "Beyond the Oil Peak", Lester R. Brown briefly discusses the issue in an excerpt from his latest book..
The World After Oil Peaks
"In the coming energy transition, there will be winners and losers. Countries that fail to plan ahead, that lag in investing in more oil-efficient technologies and new energy sources, may experience a decline in living standards. The inability of national governments to manage the energy transition could lead to a failure of confidence in leaders and to failed states.
National political leaders seem reluctant to face the coming downturn in oil and to plan for it even though it will almost certainly become one of the great fault lines in the history of civilization. Trends now taken for granted, such as urbanization and globalization, could be reversed almost overnight as oil becomes scarce and costly.
Developing countries will be hit doubly hard as still-expanding populations combine with a shrinking oil supply to steadily reduce oil use per person. Such a decline could quickly translate into a fall in living standards. If the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer and importer, can sharply reduce its use of oil, it can buy the world time for a smoother transition to the post-petroleum era." Read the full article here..

>> Oil News, Political News

Is Ethanol Really Green?

2006-05-30T02:38:00.000-07:00

There's an interesting article over at the Grist magazine that discusses the ins and outs of the much talked about ethanol fuel and asks is it really as green as people are saying?
Having a believer in ethanol fuel like George W Bush probably meant that sooner or later, he would find a way to make a green fuel black. With the support of Bush, more and more ethanol manufacturers will be powering their plants with dirty coal, while the cleaner and costlier natural gas alternative will become a thing of the past.
Isn't this just taking one step forward and two steps back? Why bother with ethanol anyway! Why not just invade some countries and steal their oil? Oh wait, that's already happening.
Anyway, that's my rant for the day..
The article over at Grist is worth checking out..
Warts and Ethanol
"Instead of striving to produce the cleanest, greenest ethanol, however, many in the industry want to keep production costs as low as possible, and they're supported by members of Congress who also want to use ethanol's soaring popularity to bolster the coal industry. In March, the EPA -- reportedly at the behest of at least one corn-state politician -- proposed changing a rule in order to let ethanol-fuel plants more than double their air emissions, from 100 tons per year of any pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act to 250 tons per year." Grist

>> George W Bush, Ethanol Investing

XXX Domain Names

2006-05-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

After the recent rejection of the .XXX domain by ICANN, a Florida based company is planning to sue the US government because of the influence it had on ICANN.
Various influential groups and organizations are objecting to the xxx domain because of ideological reasons, but wouldn't it make it easier to filter these type of websites? Of course there will always be porn using .com and .net domains, but at least filtering .xxx domains would easily block a big portion of porn.
Obviously it is in the financial interests of the ICM Registry to have the .xxx domain approved as they stand to make many millions every year from them, but I haven't seen one good reason why there shouldn't be a dedicated .xxx domain for porn websites.

Domain Wars Rage On
"None of ICANN's ruling-committee members cited pressure from conservative groups or the Commerce Dept. as a reason for voting against the .xxx domain. But ICM Registry begs to differ and says a decision made on ideological grounds is illegitimate. "Commerce has been treating ICANN, an independent nonprofit, like a government agency without the authority to do so," says Stuart Lawley, Chairman and President of ICM Registry." Business Week
>> Politics