Gore Praises Walmart for Enviromental Effort

[Brandon]

Wow! Al Gore has praised the largest employer for its stand on protecting the enviroment.

This is a shock to my nervous system. A liberal praising Walmart! Is hell a little cooler?

Walmart added that it plans on reducing company waste to zero and using renewable energy. The size of Walmart alone would allow small contributions from the retail giant to make a large impact on the enviroment.

*end of rant*

 

[sushimonster]

We will just have to see how it pans out. Walmart could fall back on its word.

 

[capitalist_junkie]

It wouldn't surprise me if they did. Seriously, as much as I love capitalism, I have no faith in most corporations to fulfill their promises.

Still, it seems as though Walmart is a necessary evil. I attended a presentation at a research conference which analyzed perceptions of Walmart in depressed rural areas. People here may have been aware of Walmart's sketchy business practices, but nonetheless realized that without it, they could not afford clothes and shoes for their kids.

 

[w.harbaugh]

I praise walmart for uniting the white trash nation. I hate Walmart more than anything the only people I see in there are literally illiterate white trash people.

 

[palefrost]

LOl hey now i used to work for walmart! Overall they are driven to succeed but they do try and take care of the employees they have. the profit sharing and open door policies they have in place is alot better then any union company i have ever seen. Seriously a cashier working for walmart could retire very very rich if they invest into the profit sharing and stock options they allow.

Heck at least they are trying to give alittle something back.

 

[daria564]

leaving aside my own opinions about walmart:
hating walmart for exploiting its employees is great. hating walmart because "illiterate white trash" people shop there is...ahem.

what exactly do you accomplish by despising people who are poor and unable to further their educations?

 

[capitalist_junkie]

Exactly. I'm living in one of the few rich sections of a very poor, rural county in Ohio . . . And yeah, there are so-called "white-trash" people here, but it's not really their fault. I'm living in the second-most economically depresed county in my state. Around here, it's a major accomplishment for some families if you even can afford community college. It's not like there are tons of options around here, and it's not like people have a lot of ability to get out. People don't shop at Walmart because they're white trash. I shop at Walmart, and I'm solidly middle-class . . . I'm just a middle class college grad with no steady income yet. People shop at Walmart because it's the best they can do, sometimes.

 

[Brandon]

To dehumanize people as being "white trash" is horrible. People shop at Walmart because they sell things cheaper. A poor family can stretch a buck further by shopping there.

 

[vicki2]

Wal-Mart filled a need and they've done well at it. I have no problem with that. If I have a complaint, it's that main street businesses have gone under because of them and it's hard to see what used to be a vital busy area now sort of a ghost town. But everyone needs clothes, food, etc. as reasonably as they can get it and the mom and pops couldn't compete anymore.

For what ever Wal-Mart is that is bad, they also have some good traits too.
One friend of mine, who is crippled, has a great job with Wal-Mart ...no one else would hire him and he's thriving there.

 

[OneofaKind]

The problem I have with this is that Corporate Social Responsibility has virtually become a fad at the moment. Even tobacco companies have CSR policies.

As someone else said lets see what happens in the longer term

 

[vicki2]

Boy do I agree with the idea that social responsibility is a fad! I can remember a few years ago when the large corporations were being pounded on about environmental responsibility. Massive amounts of dollars were poured into big advertising campaigns so they could talk about how much they care ...more money, I suspect, than went into actual clean up.

 

[Brandon]

I will also have to agree. Companies only want good PR and if the company does something unpopular they certainly do not want that in the open. It was the environment last year, social responsibility this year and some other new fad for 2007.

 

[Word2Action]

Haha, funny thing is that I just went to a walmart for the first time in my life yesterday. All I have to say is they have comfortable pillows. Oh and now I can say i've see it all with a liberal like Gore together with a big company like wal-mart.

 

[daria564]

I will also have to agree. Companies only want good PR and if the company does something unpopular they certainly do not want that in the open.

yup. i suspect there are a great many companies doing wal-mart-esque things to their employees but have not been ripped apart for it because they are smaller and thus fly under the radar a bit.

 

[Word2Action]

Hey I just got this magazine and on the cover it says wal mart saves the earth. They were referring to it being so green now.