Green Jobs For Youth

By Paige Donner

From May until June, Los Angeles is putting another 1,250 youth to work in summer jobs. Starting now our city is placing over 16,500 young people in jobs through the fiscal year 2009-2010. This is the first use of the Workforce Investment Act that is part of the $20.3 million dollars Los Angeles is receiving as part of the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act. On the steps of City Hall Monday morning, both Mayor Villaraigosa and Governor Schwarzenegger announced that California, particularly Los Angeles, is leading the nation in youth employment.


What isn't clear yet is whether small businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors, especially in the green space, can partake in any of these stimulus-funds-supported employment programs. I hope to get an answer to this shortly. Small businesses, long the backbone of our economy, are deserving of recovery act assistance as much as are large corporations.


HIRE L.A.'s Youth Employment Program connects young adults with local businesses to employ men and women ages 14-24, many of whom are from low-income households. LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia referred to the "Earn and Learn" Program as one that makes a difference to our youth and makes a difference to our city and our city's future. The Governor noted that kids who have summer and afterschool jobs are likely to lead more productive lives especially when they have the opportunity to earn their own money. "Kids will be working in hospitals, as tutors, as lifeguards," he said. Schwarzenegger also noted that California is the only state in the nation to appoint an Inspector General to scrutinize every cent of the stimulus money being spent in our state. We here in California have been allocated a total of $415 million in Recovery Act funding that is being distributed to 49 local Workforce Investment Boards. We have invested this money in 60 days, rather than taking the 120 days allotted to us by the Feds.

 Read Full Article Here...


Mayor Villaraigosa had the assembled workforce youth chant with him, "Thank you President Barack Obama for believing in our youth." Representatives of Vons (Safeway Inc.) and Kaiser Permanente were also on hand to acknowledge their pledge to employ 500 and 600 jobs, respectively, to the Youth Employment Program.

"The White House now understands that cities are where the workforce of America is. It's about investing in our cities again. It's about investing in our next generation." Mayor Villaraigosa then went on to fondly recall how that first summer job or afterschool job that you get is one that you will always remember. "That's an experience you will never forget...struggling with that first job, earning your own money for the first time." He noted that when he took office, the city had 3,000 employed through the Youth Emploment Program. By 2010, L.A. will have 16,500 youth employed through the program. On hand with the Mayor was the Chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District, Marshall Drummond.


Just on Friday, Governor Schwarzenegger announced his Green Jobs Employment initiative also as part of the Economic Recovery Act. A spokesperson for his office explained that California's leadership is in support of jobs that are for the 21st century. In many cases, they said, that would mean "green" jobs.
California Green Corps., dedicated to building up communities and the state's green workforce, will place at-risk young adults aged 16-24 into jobs in California's emerging green economy.


"President Obama and I share similar priorities right now when it comes to helping the economy rebound and creating a greener California and America," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "Green jobs are exactly what our economy and environment need right now - and the California Green Corps targets that need while helping at-risk young adults realize a brighter future."


And with the Energy Stimulus Funds, California is out in front, too. Schwarzenegger announced today that California's Energy Commission is investing $15 million to build a green workforce to meet renewable and alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technology needs.


"The Energy Commission will expand on this plan and leverage $20 million in Recovery Act funds to create a more extensive green workforce on energy efficiency and clean energy sources, including wind and solar energy," announced the Governor's office.


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Green Jobs For Youth

On Earth Worshipping and Going Pagan

By Paige Donner

You know that something's changing when Earth Day begins to morph into Earth Week with accompanying celebrations akin to High Holy Week. I'm not, actually, a pagan, but here in L.A. at least, the festivities all week long celebrating Mother Earth could easily have converted me. Earth Day, the culmination of an extended weekend celebrating Earth restoration, was spent with the Interfaith Environmental Council.

Their 8th Annual Environmentalists of the Year Awards reception was attended by former Governor Gray Davis, who was honored with the Environmental Stewardship LIfetime Achievement Award. The event was hosted by the Zimans of Beverly Hills and Lee Wallach of Faith2Green. L.A. Business Environmentalists of The Year are: Gay Browne of Greenopia; Ellen Strickland of Livingreen; and Steve Glenn of LivingHomes. As Eric Garcetti noted in his welcoming remarks to the familiar faces of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life of Southern California, each of those recognized have shown true dedication to their innovative endeavors. Senator Maria Cantwell was also honored but not present.

Two startling facts: Earth Day was first established by Republican President Richard Nixon and the entertainment industry is more rooted in environmental awareness than one might at first believe. Universal Studios' theme park ride "Waterworld" welcomes its audience with the greeting, "The Polar ice caps have melted," and then leads us into a world that that future would look like: a world of all water and little dry land. If one lacks the imagination to grasp what this would mean for us all, Disney's Earth movie, in wide release on Earth Day, documents an adult male Polar bear swimming for his life...but unable to reach land mass, as the ice is out-melting his capacity to swim. When he finally does reach landmass, he is too weakened to hunt for food, and thus perishes.




 

Watch Trailer Here


My Earth weekend began with Mercedes letting me test drive an ML320 Blue-Tec Clean Diesel to various Earth events. Sheryl Crow is a big fan of the German-engineered V6 24-valve, 210 horsepower vehicle that can run on a B5 biodiesel mixture. BlueTec achieves its 80% reduction of NOx from its AdBlue exhaust injection.

Read Full Article Here...


First stop in my Arctic white ride was Senator Fran Pavley's Open House in Santa Monica. Her staff explained that they had just hung the pictures up that very morning in her new offices near Santa Monica College. A who's who in environmental activism paid tribute to the Green Queen who authored AB32, hailed around the globe by leaders as one of the most groundbreaking, progressive, earth-friendly pieces of legislation ever.


In good showing was the water tribe. Conner Everts, of Desal Response Group, had just come from City Hall. He was quick to relate that the water rate hike was, finally, approved. He pointed out that it's not really a rate hike -- it's more a rewards system for people who practice water conservation. [Evert's Op-Ed piece.]

Esther Feldman, President of Community Conservancy International, spoke to me about their Green Solution Projects. These "improve water quality by using soil, plants and natural processes to capture, filter and clean polluted runoff, while creating new parks, natural habitat, recreation and other open space lands."

Switching to California's dedication to Low Carbon Fuel Standards...I asked Senator Pavley what she thought about the L.A. Times Op-Ed piece by Gal Luft claiming that our proposed emissions standards favor petroleum. She noted that she hadn't read the Op-Ed piece but that it's always important to not only consider life-cycle cost analyses for all fuels, but also to research who's invested and in what.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger commented on Earth Day:

Did you know that enough sunlight falls on the Earth every hour to power all of humanity's energy needs for a year? Or that there's enough hydrogen in the water discharged by sewage treatment plants to power all of our cars, trucks, trains and aeroplanes? But why am I so optimistic that we can also make such a massive transformation worldwide? Because we've done it before. Imagine it's 100 years ago. Your business in 1909 would have relied on technologies such as gas lamps, ice boxes, the telegraph and horse-drawn buggies. Within a decade, those were replaced by electric lights, refrigeration, telephones and automobiles. A century of prosperity followed. We can do it again.

Obama chimed in on Earth Day and said, "Now, if California can do it, then the whole country can do it."


Disney's Earth

El Capitan on Hollywood Boulevard premiered DisneyNature's new Earth movie. For every ticket sold opening week, they'll plant a tree. Earth is a breathtaking family film starring wild animals. There are moments when the tougher "circle of life" segments can make the tender-hearted wince. For the most part, however, Earth is filled with images of baby elephants, fuzzy baby ducks learning to fly and baby whales learning to swim -- all shot by superb cinematographers.

MillionTreesLA
 
Saturday morning kicked off my Earth Weekend when MillionTreesLA invited me out to plant trees with SouthWest Airlines. The EPA just awarded MillionTreesLA with a 2009 Best Practices Award, said Lisa Sarno, Executive Director. Other large cities are beginning to copy the program template for their urban reforestation. Trees were provided by Crown Disposal Co. Inc., a privately held company invested in waste management and who is now investing in renewables. Mayor Villaraigosa and Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz, along with Southwest Airline crews and California Conservation Corps., came out to lend a hand with the plantings. It's estimated that a tree canopy adds about 20% market value to any land parcel or neighborhood.

Universal Studios


Universal Studios sponsored its Eco-Fair on Sunday outside the gates of its theme park. Eliot Sekuler, co-chair with Aimee Kool of NBC-Uni's Green Team, said that it's the little things that add up to big things. "It can't be an 'eat your peas,' sort of approach," he emphasized.


Still, though, a quick tour around the theme park reminded me of how much waste it produces even on a daily basis -- all those snack wrappers and sodapop containers. When I brought this up to Sekuler, he grinned and told me that they're very proudly recycling 80% of their waste.


"We have millions of people who come here annually," commented Sekuler, "and theme parks, by definition, give off a lot of waste. It's something we've always struggled with. Two years ago, we were at about 40% of our waste that was recycled. At that time, we were given the challenge to make it 50%. It all goes in one place; we sort our waste. This year, we finally reached 80% of our waste that is being recycled now. We've eliminated all Styrofoam these past twelve months. And our kitchen is totally responsive in terms of composting all their waste as well. We're talking about mountains and mountains of stuff that we've diverted away from the landfill."


Their new Simpson's Ride was built as a LEED friendly building. By using LED lights, smart motors/generators and other environmentally-friendly building practices, they reduced the ride's carbon footprint by 60% as compared to other theme park rides built just two and three years earlier.
Warner Bros.


Warner Bros. new 21,600-square-foot Stage 23, was just unveiled and is pending LEED certification. It incorporates the latest knowledge of sustainable design and construction practices such as local and environmentally preferred construction materials -- including Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber, which is harvested from responsibly managed forests; recycled steel and metals; non-toxic paint and adhesives; and concrete foundations with 35 percent recycled fly ash. Rain water around the stage is allowed to percolate into the ground instead of running off into the Los Angeles River thanks to the perimeter of pervious asphalt.



Warner Bros. Sustainable Stage 23


According to Warner Bros.' Stacey Hoppe, the recycled materials were directed appropriately such as the metal to metal recyclers, lumber was sent to refinishers of reclaimed wood as well as some materials that were used in-house.


Warner Bros. New Solar Array Installation

The Studio also expanded its solar electrical system, which will now generate more than 500 kilowatts of clean energy. "Through projects such as Stage 23 and the solar array expansion, we not only improve our environmental performance but provide innovative ways in which we can better service the production community," said Jon Gilbert, President, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities.



Stage 23, Warner Bros. Lot, Burbank


On Earth Day Eve, friends hosted their launch party at Kitson for LIV GRN, their new t-shirt brand. Ellen wore one of the t-shirts for the taping of her Earth Day show. Wow! You go green girls! That's some product placement!

Green Drinks downtown rounded up my paganistic celebrations of Earth Week. Lots of green people showed up and pledged to practice one eco-friendly habit. But if Earth Day is here to remind us that we need to care for the planet that cares for us, then, certainly, every day must have an element of Earth to it.

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On Earth Worshipping and Going Pagan

On Behalf of Baby Seals

By Paige Donner

Baby seals were the super stars of this year's Genesis Awards which honor members of the media and Hollywood community for their activism in drawing attention to the inhumane treatment of animals.


Photo by Nigel Barker LLC, Spokesperson for Baby Seals, HSUS Campaign

The annual awards show, named after a chapter in the Bible, is put on by the Hollywood office of the 11-million-member Humane Society of the United States. It honors people working in the media, both celebrities and journalists. Beverly Kaskey is the Sr. Director of the HSUS Hollywood office.


Nigel Barker, Baby Seal Spokesperson for Humane Society International poses on the Red Carpet with Paige Donner of Greening Hollywood at 23rd Annual Genesis Awards, Beverly Hills. Paige is wearing Peace Silk by The Battalion.Peace Silk is silk harvested with respect to the silk worm's lifecycle, i.e.it is allowed to live to become a butterfly. 


Spokesperson for the Baby Seals is Nigel Barker, photographer, who has earned his acclaim through fashion photography and also as a judge onAmerica's Next Top Model. Top honorees this year - the Wyler Award recipients - are Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, predominantly for the role they played in spotlighting Proposition 2 in California's last election. The law is an anti-cruelty to animals piece of legislation that won in California by a landslide.   READ Full Article Here....



Portia di Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres Receive Wyler Award at 2009 Genesis Awards in Beverly Hills, Photo by Paige Donner
Both the Humane Society's U.S. and International chapters devote themselves to a wide range of animal rights issues - from horse slaughter to factory farming to puppy mills. Nigel Barker was conscripted this past year for HSI's mission to stop the brutal slaughter of Canadian baby seals, killed in horrific ways as young as 12 days old for their fur. Barker's triple threat talents of photography, celebrity notoriety and genuine concern for the seals are put to good use in service to our adorable furry friends. One look at the faces of these white-fuzzy baby seals and the only human response possible is, What monster, let alone human, could hurt that?


Nigel Barker and Baby Harp Seal, Photo Credit Nigel Barker LLC


Barker has a new show on VH1, "The Shot," and also directs and produces commercials, films and documentaries. When he was a child, he thought he'd grow up to be a marine biologist, so inspired was he by Jacques Cousteau and the creatures he encountered in the ocean. Another of the ocean's creatures who are currently under threat are the majestic whales. Whale Wars is an excellent documentary out now that chronicles SeaShepherd.org's campaign for justice and peaceful living for whales.

Two major ways to help the baby harp seals and the Humane Society's Making History Initiative: boycott Canadian seafood and donate to humanesociety.org/protectseals, End the Seal Hunt!

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On Behalf of Baby Seals

L.A. Art Show's Visually Moving Feast

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By Paige Donner


The Los Angeles Art Show kicked off Thursday evening, opening its Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall doors to thousands of museum patrons, art collectors and supporters of arts education. Over 175 world-renowned domestic and international art galleries and curators have thousands of pieces of art worth inestimable value on show for purchase and appreciation at the Los Angeles Art Show this year, now in its 14th year.

Hoff, Partition, 2007, Oil/acrylic and resin on board, 24 x 72 inches, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts

The Los Angeles Art Show Opening Night proceeds benefit The Environmental Media Association, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Inner-City Arts, which is an educational "oasis" where professional artists teach children in a real studio environment.



Read Full Article Here....

A sampling of what you will see at the Art Show: The Robischon Gallery has original Zhang Dali paintings hanging, easily recognizable by the artist's style and his neon light accents on his art pieces. Zhang Dali is China's infamous "graffiti artist" who began, in the 90's, by imposing his profile onto buildings set for demolition in vast residential tracts of his country-men's cities. He has been arrested numerous times for his artistic self-expression by his government who does not agree with his reasoning that because they are forcibly removing these citizens from their dwellings in order to demolish the buildings and build commercially on the land, that spray painting his profile on building facades is only temporary "defacement" and that, really, it is art. At present, Zhang Dali is treasured by his people as a folk-hero, whose paintings sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars here in the United States.

Adjacent, you find the Jacob Karpio Galeria. Jacob Karpio is based in Costa Rica and his taste appeals to the fashionable art aficionado. Showing at his gallery is Andrew Moses who will delightedly speak with you about his "Aerial Nocturne Latitude," and how he captures movement in his paintings which is readily perceived the closer one approaches his artwork. It is only when you gaze from up close that his painting becomes a dynamic, rather than a static, art object hanging on a wall. Artists such as Trek Kelly and David Rosenbloom are also showing here and will welcome telling you about their art -- if you can catch them between their MTV3 with Chuy interviews, the Spanish bilingual MTV3 crews seemingly magnetized to the gallery booth.

Tasende Gallery has the Boteros, the Thiebauds (a cool 2.6 million hanging on the wall), the Armando Romeros, the Chillidas. Their La Jolla, California gallery is soon staging a 30th anniversary Exhibition of their international artists, including Botero, who shares a Basque heritage with Gallery owner Jose M. Tasende. They also maintain a W. Hollywood Gallery on Melrose.

George Rivera, Governor of the Pueblo of Pojoaque in northern New Mexico, has his colossal sculpture showing at the Glenn Green Gallery. "Buffalo Dancer," is his bronze sculpture standing 12 feet that he created in the tradition of his native heritage that "honors the animal for giving its life." The sculpture is massive and breathtaking and not to be missed.

Natvar Bhasvar can be found at he Sundaram Tagore Gallery Booth at the L.A. Art Show. Bhavsar's paintings are pure pigment released onto the canvas yielding voluminous color. Bhavsar creates his works using dry, sifted pigment that he releases onto the canvas, "in patterns that parallel the movements of the artist's body as he works." He is credited with "Easternizing," the Color Field language. His works will soon be showing at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

PanAmerican Art Projects has several of Kadir's, the Cuban Artist's, works on display. Both "Essolube," and "Coca-Cola," are pieces created from metal signs found from the 40's and 50's. The artist then super-imposed black-and-white photos of Cuban society from the same era onto these found signs, thus creating a piece of art lodged in a specific time and space, yet which transcends both.




The Los Angeles Art Show offers a feast for the eyes and senses. The City declared January 2009, "Los Angeles Arts Month in the City of Los Angeles," and intends to use the "confluence of over 50,000 visitors to the Los Angeles Art Show to anchor a month-long celebration of arts in the city," as stated on a Resolution signed by Councilman Tom LaBonge. He also stated in the resolution that, "Los Angeles Arts Month is an opportunity for the Los Angeles art community to synergize the Los Angeles Art Show with the City's artists and art institutions to create a cultural mecca that will showcase Los Angeles in its rightful place as a resurgent, innovative center for the arts."
Here are a few of the pieces you will find at the LA Art Show. Be sure also not to miss SuperSonic, a curated show of Student Artwork, also showcased in the West Hall.


Ossip Zadkine, Russian/French, 1890-1967, Femme Assise au Luth, Bronze, Cast in late 1920s, Inscribed: Zadkine



El Archiduque Leopoldo Guillermo




D.J. Hall, "Twinkle", 1986, Oil on canvas, 46" x 66" Koplin Del Rio Gallery



Bryan El Castillo, Untitled, 2008, Oil, mixed media on canvas, 48 x 36 in., Copyright 2008 Bryan El Castillo, Courtesy Westwood Gallery, NYC



Elling Reitan, Son Sun Magic, 2008, Oil on canvas, 39 x 47 in. , Copyright 2008 Elling Reitan, Courtesy Westwood Gallery, NYC



Willliam Hunter, Dance in the Storm, 2008, Red Ivorywood, 20" H x 20" W x 8" D, del Mano Gallery



Don Freeman (1908-1978), PLIGHTS OF STARDOM, Two color lithograph.14 3/8 x 12 3/8 inches. 1935. Lee Stone Fine Prints



Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 - 1669): LA PETITE TOMBE (Christ Preaching). ca. 1652 (?) Hollstein 67i (of iii). Etching, drypoint and burin. A fine, velvety "black sleeve" impression on paper with a foolscap watermark. Very good condition. Provenance: A. Artaria (Lugt 33), and Sophie Rosenwald Adler (not in Lugt).


Shinsui Ito



Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987), Vincent Minnelli, c. 1980's, Screenprint on newsprint paper on linen, Unique, Artwork size: 40 x 40 in. , Framed size: 45 x 45 in., Copyright 1980 The Andy Warhol Foundation. Courtesy Westwood Gallery, NYC



Ginocchio Galeria, Xevii Vilaro, "So From Fallen Tears Shall Grass Grow Green And Strong"

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L.A. Art Show's Visually Moving Feast

Democratizing Sustainability

By Paige Donner

I'll 'fess up. "Democratizing sustainability," is not a phrase I coined nor one I've even used before. I first came across this "big idea" when reading a Fortune Magazine, July 2006 article about Wal-Mart, the "Green Machine," written by Marc Gunther. In it he says that, "The bigger idea here is that poor and middle-income Americans are every bit as interested in buying green products as are the well-to-do, so long as they are affordable."

Considering that Wal-Mart's sustainability initiatives can reach its 1.8 million employees, its 176 million weekly customers and its 60,000 suppliers, we're talking direct and massive influence exactly where it matters: on people's purchasing habits.

So when Charles Zimmerman, Vice-President of Prototype and New Format Development for Wal-Mart, walked onto the UCLA campus this past weekend to deliver his speech, it's no wonder people paid attention to what he had to say.


He began with a quick audit of the UCLA conference hall, "There are two CFL lightbulbs in this room, everything else is incandescent.," began the man who is leading the Sustainable Buildings Network program at Wal-Mart. "You know how many low-flow urinals I saw here? Zero." He continued, "We don't have to wait on President-elect Obama to change. We must all say to ourselves, I will fix this problem when I go home today."

Read Entire Article Here....

Government -mandated regulations or business-led change?

There's a conversation taking place these days, and it's focusing on how best to bring about these changes we know we need. Is it through government regulations or is it through enrepreneurial spirit and business-led initiative? Or is it a combination of both, a public-private partnership, as it were?




"I've never waited for government to do anything," said Michael Besancon, Sr. Global VP of Purchasing, Distribution and Marketing, Whole Foods Market. He cited the example of how Whole Foods drove the market for organic cotton clothing to points of purchase other than a clothing store.



Patagonia's VP of Environmental Programs and Communication, had this to say:

Rick Ridgeway: A Green Revolution as it were will have to be a combination of entrepreneurial initiative ideally with government support and subsidization. Obama has an opportunity to create a new Green Economy, as everyone is calling it, that in part would be based on incentives for entrepreneurial start-ups in the sector.

Paige Donner: If you had had subsidies when you were developing Patagonia, what specifically would have helped you?

Rick Ridgeway: If there had been support for organically grown and produced cotton that would have definitely helped us. When we made that conversion in the late 80's from only using organically grown cotton as a component percentage in our fiber mix to committing to using 100% organically grown cotton that commitment on our part created an initial loss because there wasn't enough organically grown cotton in the supply chain to meet even our own needs.

So, had there been some government support for those kinds of farming techniques, that definitely would have assisted us. Now, the market is going to drive those changes eventually and are even now as more companies, like Wal-Mart, are using these materials.
But there's a lag time involved and government support could eliminate the lagtime and boost the rate of conversion to those kinds of farming practices and benefit everybody, especially the planet.

Wal-Mart's Zimmerman said, "Wal-Mart's stock is up. The company that has taken the lead in sustainability is the one company whose stock is up this year." He continued by saying, "We don't need new legislation. We don't need a new President. We don't need a new Congress. We just need to do what we know is right."


For the $312-billion-a-year retailer, this m.o works. After all, the only entity that purchases more domestic energy than the Wal-Mart stores is the U.S. government. Even so, said Zimmerman, "As big as Wal-Mart is as an energy consumer, we still only consume less than 1% of the U.S.'s total energy." Nonetheless, they wield the purchasing power of a small country. They have asked their suppliers to conform, by 2009, to specified sustainable packaging perameters, which will "change the face of consumer goods packaging," said Barent Roth, a conference attendee and expert in sustainable packaging design. Wal-Mart Packaging Fact Sheet: Download file.



More from Wal-Mart


Charles Zimmerman, Sustainable Buildings Network, Wal-Mart

Paige Donner: Is this "green movement" best led by individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses as opposed to government?

Charles Zimmerman: From a personal, homeowner's standpoint there are things that obviously make sense but from an entrepreneurial standpoint I think you just need to look at the companies that have seem to have gotten it like the Wal-Marts and the BP's and the GE's and figure out how are they making these things work and making them viable businesses and how does that apply to whatever vertical I'm in?

Paige Donner: Will Wal-Mart be taking advantage of these new Incentive Tax Credits for solar paneling on rooftops?

Charles Zimmerman -- We have 22 pilot projects underway right now, 18 of which are in California, about half of them are completed, the others are underway. They are power purchase agreements. What we're doing is working with British Petroleum and two other companies with whom basically we've signed a 10-year lease where they put their equipment on our roof, maintain it and they file for any of the tax rebates and incentives. They maintain everything, we just buy the power from them.
We're not in the solar power business so it's really an efficient model for us and we really probably will go that direction going forward. So it would always be a 3rd party actually applying for those funds and then just applying those rebates and incentives towards what they can sell the power back to us for.

Paige Donner: Can you please elaborate on your healthy skepticism for Green Roofs? What do you think your auditing system may reveal?

Charles Zimmerman: I believe we are going to see a lot of thermal benefit. We'll have four inches of soil and planting media instead of just a thin roof, but at what cost? There can be a lot more cost-effective ways to achieve that thermal efficiency. Air quality -- our initial indications are that it's actually worse because you're pulling pollens and other organics off the roof. And water quality, we believe, it's also going to show that it's worse because of the organics from the soil media. So from a waste-water, rainwater storage standpoint, it'll show some benefits but there are probably a lot better ways to do that. And from a thermal standpoint as well.

Paige Donner: Will you tell us a little more about your carbon-dioxide secondary loop refrigaration system?

Charles Zimmerman: Most of our stores eventually will be heated by waste energy from our refrigeration system. There are presently only two such systems in the nation. There are a limited number of these units because it's new technology. When we say two in the U.S. we are talking about large scale grocery applications.

Paige Donner: When implementing a new sustainability practice, what kind of ROI do you look for?

Charles Zimmerman: It's important that the technology we use to make our buildings more energy efficient has an ROI. Many of the features we are incorporating into our stores have a 2-4 year average ROI. For example, the LED lights that have been added to our refrigeration cases have a 3 year ROI, due to three main factors -- 1. they use less energy than the traditional fluorescent bulbs, 2. They don't create as much heat, reducing the cooling load and 3. They last longer, reducing maintenance cost.

Paige Donner: Are your water conservation programs regional-specific?

There's a wide variety of water and energy and sewer rates across the U.S. today. Their paybacks may vary from one local to another. The necessity of those things really doesn't change. Three years ago nobody would've guessed that Georgia and South Carolina would have gone through what they went through so all of the initiatives that I've been speaking about are nationwide initiatives.

Walmartfacts.com To access compiled data on their environmental and sustainable business research.





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Democratizing Sustainability