November 16, 2007

Office Depot says that its bottom line is green. It aims to be an environmental steward among national retailers and does everything from recycle paper and ink cartridges to invest in renewable energy projects. Altogether, it has spent $20 million making its stores energy efficient while providing 4,000 in-store products that have recycled content.

Its latest forays, though, are less known. Office Depot is buying renewable energy credits to offset its energy use. Companies of all sizes have the ability to purchase blocks of green power -- energy that is then used to displace so-called brown or dirty fuels. While companies will never know what types of electrons are powering their facilities, they will know that they are guaranteeing the production of clean energy.

November 14, 2007

Things are looking up south of the border. But restrictive policies in the electricity and natural gas sectors still hamper growth in Mexico.

Over the past 20 years, Mexico has made great strides reducing trade barriers and thereby allowing more private investment. While its current gross domestic product is growing annually at 4.8 percent, it still needs to enact more regulatory reforms to lift per capita GDP growth, raise living standards and reduce poverty at a quicker rate, says the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Plymouth, MI (September 18, 2007)

Green Street Fair, Inc. was founded to help educate and inform people of all ages about the benefits of green, organic, and eco-friendly products and services. To promote global interest and personal well-being, the Green Street Fair, will blend companies, artisans, entertainers, workshops and speakers together in a friendly and family-oriented outdoor environment.

State and federal policymakers may be digging coal into a hole. In a first-ever, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment denied an air quality permit for two proposed coal generators based upon the expected level of carbon emissions. Meantime, a movement is afoot on Capitol Hill to limit heat-trapping emissions.

Together, the actions work to set a new tone - one that considers it vital to the nation's environmental and economic futures to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2). While not immediate, the United States is well on its way to enacting legislation that would control CO2 emissions, which most scientists say causes climate change.

Russia will always remain a mystery. Over the last 15 years, the nation has evolved from one that is tightly regulated to one that is more open -- and then partially back again. The nation's electricity sector, however, is about to be largely privatized.

Shareholders of RAO Unified Energy Systems just voted to liquidate the company, in a process that will be completed by July 1, 2008. The state will still own about 52 percent of the enterprise but 45 percent of it will be sold to investors on the London Stock Exchange. That's a major move for the Russian government, which has decided to expand its influence in certain economic sectors and namely in natural gas and aerospace.