"After all, if there's one thing profit-hungry companies don't have to be forced to do, it's save money." Cameron J. English, El Dorado County Conservative Examiner.
I agree completely.
Case in point:
McDonald's was criticized and ultimately challenged about cutting fuel costs on beverage delivery. Incrementally, the company effected reforms which morphed into McDonald's current beverage delivery system as featured in a 2009 brochure to the trade:
"The Chart Bulk program includes the bulk CO2 system and the bulk system for Coca-Cola® Classic. Both systems are permanently installed inside the restaurant and become an integral part of the beverage system. The tanks are refilled from outside the restaurant without entering the stores or interrupting operations. The McDonald’s bulk CO2 and bulk syrup program is a convenient and safe way to improve profits, safety and quality in a restaurant operation."
The company conserves and saves money, the customer is happy and the government has not forced anyone to do anything. Except charge sales tax.
One airline used to discard the rough-wood palates utilized for freight shipping. That's right, threw away solid wood materials!
In the '90s someone realized the value of not doing that and eventually the airline sold off the formerly tossed palates. Mmmm...revenue...
No government, just good old fashioned profit motive.
Nationally and in Northern California, including Sacramento, there are many NGOs promoting green building as a means of saving materials, energy, utilizing new technologies and create jobs. "Green building" includes retrofitting.
This new ethic is finding resistance and even political opposition which slows progress. A down economy and a stubborn "business-as-usual" chorus distracts and disappoints.
However there is another side to this debate as noted at comstocksmag.com:
"Locally, industry experts say office owners are considering — and in some cases making — buildings more sustainable through retrofits or operational changes. The trend is just beginning, experts say, and marks a change in building management."
At the grass roots, many small business owners are switching out their "status quo" lighting for energy-efficient bulbs. No government edict. Presumably some of those owners are even "conservatives".
Conservatives who conserve. What a concept.
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