Wal-Mart attempts to use less fossil fuel

Wal-Mart will look for ways to reduce the amount of nonrenewable fuels used to make the products it sells, the latest target in a set of environmental goals for the world's largest retailer, Chief Executive Lee Scott said. In an environmental speech in London, Scott said Wal-Mart could work with its thousands of suppliers to help them develop ways to rely less on fossil fuels in making their products.

Under Scott, the company has set goals to someday use only renewable energy, to create zero waste and to sell products that sustain resources and the environment. Scott has said the policy allows Wal-Mart to "do well while doing good," cutting its costs for energy and excess packaging while reducing pollution. "It is the responsibility of every corporation to be more sustainable," he said.

Last month Wal-Mart opened the first of a new line of energy-efficient stores in Kansas City, Mo., that uses 20% less energy than other Wal-Mart Supercenters. Scott said Wal-Mart is now moving past setting green goals for itself and wants to spread the message to its suppliers, employees, customers and communities.

(2007-02-09 13:02:56 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Top energy scientists agree, Bush wrong on alternative fuels

peakoil.com -> globalpublicmedia.com :

At an all-day Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee conference on "renewable biofuels," witnesses from three of America's premier energy research institutions cast grave doubt on the feasibility of reaching President Bush's State of the Union goal of manufacturing 35 billion gallons a year of alternative fuels by 2017.

Bush's State of the Union announcement was a major boost for the alternative fuels industry. But if the president has thrown out a number that is not supported by the best researchers in the field, the resulting loss of credibility could undercut investor confidence in the industry.

Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), the most senior Republican on the committee and its previous chairman, brought this damaging testimony to light in the last session of an all-day, all-biofuels marathon with some 33 witnesses in six panels. Domenici asked why would Bush have used the 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels goal for 2017 "when you're telling us you don't know how to do it."

So where did Bush's number come from? It remains to be seen whether the Energy Committee will follow through to find out how the president established one of the country's most important energy goals. In the meantime, the country just spent another $1 billion on energy today.

(2007-02-09 09:53:22 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Chrysler plans to cut 10000 jobs

news.yahoo.com :

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group plans to cut more than 10,000 factory jobs and close at least two plants to return the U.S-based unit to profitability, the Detroit News reported. A secret restructuring plan dubbed "Project X" is focused on transforming Chrysler into a smaller, more efficient automaker with closer ties to its German parent company and the Mercedes-Benz luxury division, the newspaper said, citing sources. Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines called the report "speculation" and declined further comment.

Chrysler was dogged by inventory management problems in 2006, including its disclosure that it had been holding large numbers of vehicles in a "sales bank" before they had been ordered for showrooms. At one point last year, the No. 4 U.S. automaker had about 100,000 vehicles sitting in the sales bank of unassigned inventory that were not being disclosed in its monthly sales calls for analysts.

(2007-02-09 07:52:01 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Toyota and DaimlerChrysler pass Ford

news.yahoo.com :

Ford's U.S. sales dropped 19% in January, allowing Toyota to pass it again as the nation's No. 2 automaker. But Ford's numbers were so bad that it was also passed by DaimlerChrysler, knocking the troubled automaker into fourth place for the month. Times are tough for Ford Motor Co., which attributed its decline to a long-term strategy of returning to profitability by cutting low-profit rental car sales and reducing its reliance on incentives.

Ford said its sales to rental companies were down 65% last month from January of 2006. General Motors said its sales dropped 16.6% as it, too, worked to wean itself from rental car companies. Toyota, on the other hand, continued to stomp on other manufacturers. Its sales were up 9.5% in January. DaimlerChrysler AG's total was also up, by 3.2%. Nissan sales rose 8.9%, while Honda reported its total rose 2.5% in January.

Jesse Toprak, chief economist for the Edmunds.com auto Web site, said Ford could pass Toyota again for a few more months - but not for long. "By summer, Toyota will be in the No. 2 position permanently," he predicted.

(2007-02-09 07:48:15 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

29 dead in Indonesia flood; 340,000 flee

news.yahoo.com :

Filthy brown water flooded large parts of Indonesia's capital Jakarta, forcing 340,000 people from their homes and cutting off power and clean water in the city, where at least 29 have died after days of torrential rain. Authorities estimated between 40% and 70% of the city of 12 million, which covers an area of more than 255 square miles, had been submerged.

In scenes reminiscent of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, residents of Jakarta waded through poor neighborhoods in water up to their necks, or floated on makeshift rafts bearing clothes and other salvaged possessions. Some scrambled onto roofs to await rescue from soldiers and emergency workers in rubber dinghies from floodwaters as deep as 12 feet. Rising along with the water was the threat of diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery. Also increasing were complaints and anger about the response to the floods by local officials.

Landslides and flash floods during the wet season kill hundreds in Indonesia every year, and the capital is not immune, but it has rarely - if ever - seen floods as bad as those in recent days. The high water washed into rich and poor districts alike, inundating scores of markets, schools and businesses.

Environmentalists blame the annual flooding on trash-clogged storm drains and rivers, inadequate urban planning, and deforestation of hillsides south of the city, often to make space for the development of luxury villas. Low-lying river areas — where thousands of poor people are crammed into shacks made of plywood and metal sheets — are often the most devastated.

(2007-02-09 07:41:03 SGT) [Env] Permalink

UN climate panel : global warming is man-made

news.yahoo.com :

The world's top climate scientists said global warming was man-made, spurring calls for urgent government action to prevent severe and irreversible damage from rising temperatures. The United Nations panel, which groups 2,500 scientists from more than 130 nations, predicted more droughts, heatwaves, rains and a slow gain in sea levels that could last for more than 1,000 years.

The scientists said it was "very likely" - or more than 90% probable - that human activities led by burning fossil fuels explained most of the warming in the past 50 years. That is a toughening from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) last report in 2001, which judged a link as "likely," or 66% probable.

"Faced with this emergency, now is not the time for half measures. It is the time for a revolution, in the true sense of the term," French President Jacques Chirac said. "We are in truth on the historical doorstep of the irreversible."

The report predicts a "best estimate" that temperatures would rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 Celsius (3.2 and 7.8 Fahrenheit) in the 21st century, within a likely range from 1.1 to 6.4 Celsius. Temperatures rose 0.7 degrees in the 20th century and the 10 hottest years since records began in the 1850s have been since 1994. Greenhouse gases are released mainly by burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars.

The report projects a rise in sea levels of between 18 and 59 centimeters (7 and 23 inches) in the 21st century - and said bigger gains could not be ruled out if ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland thaw. Rising seas threaten low-lying islands, coasts of countries such as Bangladesh and cities from Shanghai to Buenos Aires.

(2007-02-09 07:32:49 SGT) [Env] Permalink

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