Okay, so maybe dishing out $1,000,000 to purchase cleaner-burning wood stoves is a bit far-fetched, but here are the requests that I would make of the biggest retailer in the known universe:
--Annual discounts to all teachers purchasing school supplies for their classes
--Discounts on any item that will be used in a school or community garden
--20% off for anyone who shows up on a bicycle or via public transportation
--"Farmer's Market Sundays": On Saturday afternoon Walmart purchases all of the remaining Saturday Farmer's Market produce from local growers and then sells it the following day at a competitive price.
--Conversely, should they expand to sell fresh produce, refuse to sell product shipped in from south of the equator (i.e. New Zealand apples in March).
--Demonstration of attractive, drought-tolerant landscaping using native plants
--Use of permeable concrete in the parking lot
--Charge 10 cents per disposable bag used, with the proceeds going towards cleanup efforts in nearby Little Chico Creek (including removal of plastic bags)
--Include a label on domestically-sourced foods that identifies county and state of origin
Many ask, why pick on Walmart? What about K-mart, Costco, etc? My answer is simply that we have to start somewhere. We have passed that threshold where it is okay for people and companies to continually take without giving back. Walmart has the resources to be a leader in this regard, and I for one applaud the Chico City Council for pushing them to do so.
About Me: Jeremy wears many hats, including substitute teacher, school garden educator, hike leader, youth group advisor, Gardener's Swap Meet coordinator, husband, and father. His lifelong quests include the search for the perfect burrito, and more recently, how to sprout an avocado tree from a pit.
All sounds good. You say why start with Walmart. And you say we have to start somewhere. Well, I say lets be fair and demand this of ALL the stores. Again, you are just biased against Walmart, because you are one of the American sheep that has bought the brainwash nonsense that Wally World is trying to take over the world. Grow up and get a life. Believe me the City Council is going to grow up fast when it gets slapped with a lawsuit over its discriminatory practices. Then we all get to pay more in taxes because of some lunitic fringe in our community that has an insane idea that Walmart is the GREAT SATAN. hahahahahahahaha. ITS A STORE, ITS A STORE... GET IT, HAHAHAHAHAHA
Funny, I don't feel very sheepish. An no, I don't see Walmart as the great satan, rather, I view it as an icon of where American society is today, the Bad, the Ugly, and even some Good. By good I mean the sustainable practices and philanthropy that the company is already implementing, but it is a drop in the bucket as compared to what I believe a company that size can and should be doing, especially at a local level.