Viridian Note 00444: Ecomagination
Key concepts: General Electric, multinational megacorporate sustainability
Attention Conservation Notice: If you don't consider this development a big deal, then you probably don't belong on this mailing list. Send me some email, I'll prune you off pronto.
(((Oh gosh, look at that, we've got a Viridian
Cafe-Press site. I want to hear from the first
person to wear the Viridian barbecue apron.
Are those RENEWABLE barbecue coals? They'd
better be!)))
http://www.cafepress.com/viridian
Source: Terrawire
TERRA.WIRE
"GE to invest more in green technology"
((("GE defects to Greenhouse believers,
Exxon-Mobil doomed")))
"WASHINGTON (AFP) May 09, 2005 "General Electric Co. announced plans Monday to double its investment in 'cleaner technologies' for energy, transportation and other areas in a major new environmental initiative.
(((Have a look at the way GE is slanting this.
It's kind of brilliant, actually. Look how
GE CEO J. Immelt actually transmutes, right on
the web, into a green silhouette! Boy did that
make me happy.)))
Link:
http://ge.ecomagination.com/@v=050905_0848@/index.html
(((Meanwhile, Exxon-Mobil attempts to cover
their massively profiteering while still
uttering not a word about climate change:)))
http://www2.exxonmobil.com/corporate/Campaign/Campaign_energysaving_conservation.asp
"GE, the world's biggest company in terms of market capitalization, (((ha ha ha, it's all downhill from here, tra la la))) called the announcement an 'initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges."
(((You know what's nice about GE? Unlike, say, Enron, GE can actually execute business plans! For instance, GE now owns Enron's wind power. You wonder how GE bought all that wind stuff for a song from the wreckage of a cratered company? Because they're NOT STUPID at GE, that's why!)))
"The company will invest 1.5 billion dollars annually on the research by 2010, up from the current level of 700 million dollars, aimed at developing new products and technologies. GE said it would also work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of its own operations and that of its customers."
(((Before you wax all Greenpeace and start griping,
"Gosh, a mere one and a half billion sure isn't much
compared to GE's bloated capitalist exploiter
profits," consider that Exxon-Mobil spent only
about eight million dollars and logjammed Kyoto
with that for years on end.)))
Links:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/05/some_like_it_hot.html
(((Meanwhile, the Swiss are swaddling their
melting glaciers in a doomed attempt to
save their tourism industry:)))
Link:
http://www.terradaily.com/2005/050510203249.4l577zv0.html
(((What do you think will happen when the Swiss have to swaddle the glaciers at the Davos Forum? The Swiss have a lot of money. How much cash to you think it would take to hire the whores at Exxon's Competitive Enterprise Institute? For eight million dollars == (cheaper every year, given the decline of the dollar) == the Swiss could hire the Republican echo chamber themselves and put everyone in Exxon-Mobil under indictment.)))
"GE chairman Jeff Immelt, in a Washington speech, (((nice choice of venue, Jeff))) said the program is called 'ecomagination.' (((Kind of a clumsy coinage, but, well, I don't think Jeff hired any science fiction writers to invent his neologisms.)))
"'Ecomagination is GE's commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water,' Immelt said. (((I want to see somebody come out against that on the floor of the US Congress.)))
"'And we plan to make money doing it. Increasingly
for business, 'green' is green."
(((It certainly is if the market says it is.
If investors get the feeling that fossil companies
are too "exposed" to the mayhem, all bets are off.)))
Link:
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=725358
The Institutional Investor Summit on Climate Risk
"He said the company hopes to take in revenues of 20 billion dollars a year on these products by 2010, double the current level."
"Immelt said the initiative will include more environmentally friendly technology for wind and solar energy, hybrid locomotives, fuel cells, lower-emission aircraft engines, lighter and stronger materials, efficient lighting and water purification technology. (((I hope Amory Lovins is a happy guy today.)))
"The company has operations ranging from aircraft engines to insurance to film and broadcasting, and manufactures products ranging from light bulbs to medical scanners.
"'We will establish partnerships with our customers to tackle their most pressing environmental challenges and double our research spending to develop the products and services they need,' Immelt said. 'And we will use these technologies to improve our own energy efficiency and environmental performance.'
"Immelt was joined in his appearance at George Washington University by Jonathan Lash, president of the Washington-based World Resources Institute.
"'This is a hugely important step by one of the world's most important companies,' Lash was quoted as saying in a GE statement. (((He said that because it's true.)))
"'It is particularly encouraging that GE is focusing its research on cleaner technologies and making a serious, meaningful and accountable commitment to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.'
"'Other companies represented at the session were American Electric Power, Boeing, Canadian Pacific Railway, Cinergy, Delphi and Pardee Homes." (((I wonder where BP, Shell, and Xerox were. Oh well == they'll show up, they have to.)))
