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Economic Outlook: Who knows green?

By ANTHONY HALL, United Press International
Anthony Hall
Anthony Hall

A decision at U.S. retail giant Walmart has such reach the one thing the retail industry cannot do is try to ignore it.

Giving it some thought, suppliers cannot ignore Walmart either. Neither can unions. Neither can local politicians when Walmart slips a building permit application in at the local code enforcement office. In the labor market, if anyone is wagging the dog, it's Walmart. Competitors would be wise to know when Walmart puts potato chips on sale. What metaphor really fits here? The British Empire? The Catholic Church? Sam Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley put together?

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This week, Walmart, the late Sam Walton's behemoth announced, or maybe decreed, that it would increase its purchases of local U.S. produce for its grocery shelves up to 9 percent, twice the current target, and spend $1 billion on efficiencies in produce deliveries, such as trucks and storage facilities, the better to get an apple on the shelves quicker, cutting down on waste and increasing shelf life. Profits, with less waste and shinier apples, should increase for the store and the farmer, The New York Times reported.

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To define two critical parameters: Local to Walmart is defined as purchases made from farmers in the same state as the store is located and, secondly, Walmart happens to be the world's largest grocer.

Walmart's clout is such that a new policy, also announced this week, to label foods it buys with information on the grower's environmental impact, came with a Walmart program to train farmers on sustainable agriculture. What goes on a Walmart label, essentially, has potential to sway what farmers have been discussing for 25 years or more: What constitutes the commercial definition of organic farming?

In September, Walmart said as many as 30 stores in California and Arizona would be outfitted with solar panels, many using a new thin film technology, prompting Environmental Defense Fund Vice President for Corporate Partnerships Gwen Ruta to remark the decision "could provide the scale and credibility needed to bring the next generation solar technology more fully into the marketplace."

Green has been the straw to grasp in the United States all but officially since President Barack Obama walked into the Oval Office. Earlier this week, on Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar flew to Pueblo, Colo., to attend the official opening of the Vesta Towers wind tower plant, which employs 400 workers (it is already up and running) and has the full-speed capacity of producing 1,090 wind towers a year. As if hinting that the torch was being passed, Salazar said, "The steel industry has and will continue to play a large part in Pueblo's identity, but as seen here today the renewable energy industry is carving its own path in the city and state's history."

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General Motors this week had something green to say. Production of the battery and gas-powered Volt is to begin Nov. 10 with the first cars reaching dealership showrooms about a month later.

After untold dollars spent on research and development, engineering and factory overhaul, GM is waiting for word from the Environmental Protection Agency on what fuel-efficiency rating it will give the hybrid.

The car cannot be sold without a sticker that declares its mileage rating, which GM once said would be 230 miles per gallon, using a formula that is no longer in use, the Times reported.

For all the effort, it is unclear whether the Volt would have a higher rating than the Toyota Prius, which is rated at 51 miles per gallon in city conditions.

"Right now it looks like there's going to be a lot on the label. They're trying to figure out what are all the variables that customers are going to see out there," said Thomas Stephens, GM's vice chairman for global product operations.

In international markets Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan shed 0.87 percent and the Shanghai composite index in China rose 3.18 percent. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.4 percent and the Sensex in India fell 1.82 percent.

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In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.22 percent.

In midday trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 in Britain lost 0.19 percent, while the DAX 30 in Germany added 0.68 percent. The CAC 40 in France gained 0.14 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.18 percent.

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