In today’s news, Macy’s agreed to pay a $49.725 penalty for allegedly mishandling spent compact florescents and other types of light bulbs at 2 of it’s stores in New York state.
They agreed to ensure that their other 75 East Coast stores correct their procedures to avoid repeating this situation.
CFL’s contain mercury. A broken CFL creates a hazardous situation and needs to be dealt with very carefully.
You’d think that after all the efforts made by utilities to educate consumers about the importance of properly handling CFL’s, retailers like Macy’s would know to take precautions from the get-go.
It’s not so difficult to manage. There is packaging specifically made for recycling florescents – [...]
Macy's Sees the "Light"
A site to see
I won’t usually do plugs for products on this site. But I came across a website that environmentally-conscious folks will want to know about.
Be sure and check out Village Green Giftsfor an amazing array of eco-friendly gifts. It’s a special find you’ll definitely be glad to visit.
Border Governors Conference 2008 Part 4
According to Dr. Mario Jose Molina, a Nobel Laureate panelist for “A Conversation on Building Green Economies”, economic studies suggest that the cost of implementing new, more environmentally responsible pathways is 1% of the global GDP (Gross Domestic Product). “It’s something we can afford.”
Yet we aren’t moving forward in those new directions at warp speed. Some blame this on the current administration, and there is definitely responsibility to be laid at its feet. Some still say, however, that the technology we need to move forward isn’t there yet.
“Since Edison and the light bulb, there hasn’t been a good energy innovation,” said K.R. Shrider, CEO of Bloom Energy and former advisor [...]
Border Governors Conference 2008 Part 3
“Existing technology today”, said Nancy McFAdden, Senior Vice President of Pacific Gas & Electric, “could help us meet 50% of future needs.” A featured panelist at the “Conversations on Building Green Economies” at the Border Governors conference, McFadden said the problem is we don’t know how to take existing energy and use it efficiently.
It’s also a matter of direction. First world countries, said panelists, are moving along unworkable, unsustainable pathways. “The developed world,” said Pachauri, has to re-develop,” go a different direction.
“You can’t expect developing nations to see what we do and not want to emulate that. We have to set a different example,” he said.
It’s got to be about [...]
Border Governors Conference 2008 Notable Beginnings 2
The threads of urgency and awareness were strong throughout the “A Conversation on Building Green Economies” panel on August 13th’s precursor to the Border Governors conference in Universal City, California.
Among the 6 esteemed panelists, Dr. Mario Jose Molina, Professor at U.C. San Diego and the first Mexican to receive the Nobel Prize in chemistry (his research led to the worldwide elimination of CFC’s from aerosols & refrigerators), said there’s no “silver bullet” to ending climate change or global warming.”We have to take many avenues – wind, solar, even nuclear – but we must start now,” he said.
Another Nobel Prize recipient, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Director General of Tate Energy Research Institute, [...]
Border Governors Conference 2008 Notable Beginnings
Prior to the official opening of the 26th annual Border Governors conference, a noteworthy forum was held. In keeping with the conference’s theme, the topic of the panel was “A Conversation on Building Green Economies.”
The prestigious panel was comprised of 2 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, a former NASA advisor, several CEO’s of noted alternative energy companies, a top executive of Pacific Gas & Electric, and the leader of the carpenters’ union.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a surprise appearance. With characteristic charisma and humor, in his opening remarks, he stressed that California has shown “we can have a clean environment and a thriving environment.” He emphasized that you can successfully “stimulate the [...]
A Critical Topic Discussed
Yesterday’s panel on Human Trafficking hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver was riveting. Prior to beginning, large video screens flashed pictures of a variety of trafficking victims. Scenes depicted a child’s hand grasping a tall chain link fence, a malnourished infant resting in a box filled with packaging peanuts, a young child’s haunting face, and a young person in leg irons. A heart rending beginning to an eye opening, often wrenching discussion.
Attendees included a group of young girls who had escaped that unimaginable horrific life. Shy and smiling, they declined to be interviewed, quietly saying that for many of them, legal issues prevented them from speaking publicly.
Ms. Shriver showed knowledge and compassion as [...]
A Look at Human Beings
Tomorrow morning, the First Lady of California will be moderating a breakfast panel at the outset of the Border Governors conference. Her focus? Human Trafficking: A United Call to Action”.
Afterwards, I will be interviewing Ms. Shriver, to get her first-hand perspective. It’s an awesome opportunity. Be sure to check back here over the next few days to see what she said.
A Hopeful Perspective?
These next few posts will be somewhat of a departure from what you might anticipate here. But because of the nature of the topics, this may be a perfect forum.
I am currently part of the press covering the Border 26th annual Governors Conference in Universal City, California – just down the block from the famed Universal Studios.
Why am I here? Because the governors of the 9 border states will be discussing issues impacting the future and the environment. This afternoon, a number of Nobel laureates and key leaders will be holding a forum called “A Conversation on Building Green Economies”.
As the promotional material says, the speakers will present not only the challenges of global [...]
A Questionable Solution
Compact florescent lightbulbs, otherwise known as CFL’s. They’re being touted as an amazing energy saver, the lighting solution for homeowners everywhere. Even though they have, as the EPA admits, “a small amount of mercury” in each one, they’re being promoted and pushed by every retailer in a frenzied race to see who can sell the most in the shortest amount of time
But are they really so terrific? And are they really safe? That’s a critical question that I’ll be examining in the next article, coming very soon. There are a lot of facts to separate out from hype. This is an important subject to educate yourself about. Check back soon for [...]