Work(ing Title)

Wal-Mart has committed to selling 100 million compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the next 12 months. Specifically their aim is for each of their regular customers to buy at least one of these bulbs, and they want to make it the one bulb to change the world. CFL bulbs consume around a quarter of the energy of traditional incandescent bulbs. They should also appeal to the laziness within everyone; CFL bulbs can last up to a decade.

So at this point it feels like a ‘cute’ idea. Use less electricity and replace the bulbs in my house—yippee. Well half of the electricity in the United States is generated from coal-burning power plants, which are therefore the single largest source of greenhouse gases. Wal-Mart’s decision to aggressively sell these bulbs could have a significant effect on the global warming crisis.

I love it when the market forces evolution. To me it’s one of the most beautiful byproducts of our capitalist system, and it happens so infrequently that it’s like a techie aurora borealis. Some people will be boring and quibble about the quality of light and the higher cost of CFL bulbs. To the first point, I say either you put more lights in your room if you want it brighter (or just go outside already). Cost is probably the most short-sighted of any argument here. If you aren’t willing to put your money into something that will ultimately save you cash and benefit the environment then I’ve got two words for you…

via Treehugger

It’s the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world at 3,859 miles long. It supplies water to almost 200 cities along its banks, through some of China’s most concentrated populations. It’s the Yangtze River, and just on the other side of this decade, it will be a dead river.

According to China’s state media, billions of tons of waste and sewage will obliterate the river’s remaining plant and wildlife species. This news follows the terminal pollution of the Yellow River last year. It is estimated that 300 million people in China live without safe drinking water.

So first the Three Gorges Dam is installed in order to supply power and prevent floods, and now pollution will render the water unsafe. Hydrate by candlelight or die under fluorescent bulbs…

(via BBC, Wikipedia)