regardingjohn

Wal-Mart may go with solar power. As the Arctic melts and hell freezes…

one person who saw the proposal said that if completed, it could amount to a significantly large installation–on the order of 100 megawatts of power over the next five years. “To put that into perspective, the solar system currently being installed at Google headquarters in California–the largest single corporate solar installation in history–is 1.6 MW, about 1/60th the size,”

This is a good start that could turn into a big thing. Here’s what would happen if Wal-Mart decided to use solar or wind power:

• Development of cheap solar and wind power. You know they have the clout to “work with the manufacturer” to get them at low cost. Then, to draw attention to their eco-friendliness, they’d have sales on solar-powered junk at Wal-Mart prices. Almost immediately, the masses would have solar.
• They’d also get tax cuts. You know they would — from the Feds, the States, and at the local level. And if they did, then others would (maybe not at the consumer level though; consumers have very little sway in political happenings — don’t fool yourself).
• This would also move sustainability into political rhetoric and the public sphere of discussion. More powerful than dying polar bears or Jimmy Carter, being green would become de rigeur (I’m pretty sure I butchered that word).

Yay Wal-Mart? It’s like saying “thank god for the devil!”