Applause goes to Walmart for trying to do it’s part to become more environmentally responsible. The goal to cut 20 million tons from its carbon footprint is admirable. You just have to wonder what tactics it will use to accomplish this goal. It’s common knowledge that it isn’t easy for suppliers to negotiate with Walmart. In their drive to keep costs low for its customers, it constantly requests price concessions.  Again, while admirable, one has to consider what this will mean to its supplier base. What other cuts/shortcuts will suppliers have to take in order to afford to remain a supplier as they help Walmart achieve its environmental goals? Hopefully, Walmart will see it as a duty to subsidize those suppliers in making the necessary changes instead of just dropping them if they don’t make the changes because they can’t afford to.

The states of Wyoming and Montana have huge tracts of coal which, under the current fervor of climate change have started to look less appealing both environmentally and economically. Right now, a huge percentage of the population of eastern Wyoming and Montana owe their economic viability to the existence of coal mining. Now, with new technology on the horizon, the future of those communities and the people in them  is beginning to look a little brighter. Turning coal into a clean fuel alternative would have huge implications to that region as well as to the environment around the world. I just say, more “power” to them – play on words intended.

At the end of last summer, Ford announced four new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Now, it has provided a deeper look into its plans for rolling out a fleet of electric cars over the next few years – finally. It seems automakers (in general) have been slow to react to demand for “greener” vehicles. I think a lot of that can be attributed to the bureaucratic process they seem to have for designing and building new product lines – but that’s a story for another day.

One thing I like about Ford’s plans is their focus on a niche with the Transit Connect. I think that is smart – not only is that niche wide open, but they showcase small businesses in a very attractive way. The vehicle seems to solve a problem many small service businesses face today by putting a complete office and shop all together in a very mobile, “green” vehicle. Good niche, now stay focused on it.

Toyota was the first major car company to offer a hybrid car, the Prius and have definitely dominated that category ever since. Marketing gurus have said for some time that it is better to be first in a market than to be best. The Prius is a great modern example of that principle.

Now, the race for the first to have a plug-in car has intensified as Toyota steps up their efforts to get a plug-in into consumers’ hands. However, one wonders if there will really be a winner in terms of “first” with so many charging into this segment.

The Chevy Volt appears to still be on track to be the first – will they gain enough traction before another enters the market to truly take advantage of being first? In this case, I’m skeptical about their chances because of Toyota’s current dominance with Prius and their ramped up efforts to enter the market sooner than previously announced.

The one advantage GM will have is if their Volt is much more affordable to the masses since it appears Toyota’s version will be over-priced (around $33,770) for many US consumers. Let’s hope that the competitive nature of this particular race will force pricing to fit the pocketbooks of a much broader demographic.

I have long held the opinion that carbon credit markets as proposed by Congress are more effective for speculators to make money rather than an efficient way to reduce emissions. Now, of all people/organizations to join me, an environmental group has spoken out against the prevailing legislation. As I have watched carbon market trading, their arguments certainly seem to be supported by who is trading in credits. Just when the political machine in the US is gearing up to try to pass carbon credit legislation, along comes a tough argument from an environmental group against it. Perhaps it’s time for other environmental groups to take a closer look at this carbon trading nightmare we are about to embark upon.