Forbes, March 12, 2013 Google Now may level the playing field for independent business. Walmart is often cited as the death of main street. The big box stores are to blame for all of our job woes and economic challenges. Independent retailers taking their last breaths thanks to Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, not to mention … Read More
Silicon Beat, March 11, 2013 Walmart has about 4,500 stores in the United States (which includes retail stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers). That’s a lot of big, flat roofs: perfect for solar PV. Many stores are 80,000 to 120,000 square feet in size; some are as large as 180,00 square feet. To date, Walmart has … Read More
Washington Post, March 11, 2013 Richard Vitullo has seen the future of trash, and it is moldering under his kitchen sink. Eggshell by eggshell, the Takoma Park architect is training himself to bypass the garbage pail and drop food scraps into the new screw-top bucket squeezed in beside the dish soap and sponges. Once a week, … Read More
The New York Times, March 9, 2013 The chief burnisher of Wal-Mart Stores’ reputation is leaving the company as its image is under new strains. Wal-Mart said on Friday that Leslie Dach, a former aide in the Clinton administration who is credited with polishing the company’s image through energy conservation, environmentally friendly packaging and philanthropy, is … Read More
PR Watch, March 7, 2013 Members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the Georgia Legislature are pushing a bill to thwart locally-owned internet in underserved communities, an industry-sponsored effort that effectively reinforces the digital divide. A vote in the Georgia Assembly is scheduled for Thursday, March 7; if Georgia passes the bill it would … Read More
Renewables International, March 7, 2013 The Institute for Local-Reliance (ILSR) has begun publishing a series of Local Energy Rules podcasts. Installments will be added twice a month on the first and third Thursday of each month. The third installment shows how community ownership is a great option for Americans – but also how unnecessarily complicated the … Read More
The Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2013 Sensing a threat to their business model, telecom companies are pushing more states to curb the spread of publicly funded high-speed Internet access, arguing the networks could squash competition. Time Warner Cable Inc., Windstream Corp., Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. are among the companies that have gotten involved in … Read More
New York Times, March 6, 2013 If you wanted to get large numbers of people actively engaged in helping to solve global warming, how might you go about it? For years, the main approach in the environmental movement has been to sound the alarm bell and implore people to consume less, switch to green products, recycle, … Read More
Jackson Free Press, March 6, 2012 If there’s one thing Mississippians love, it’s their discount stores. Jackson politicians went all aquiver back in January when the news hit of Sam’s Club imminent departure from its north Jackson location to, presumably, cushier digs in Madison. The rumors and political fur began flying almost immediately. The building had … Read More
