Hope for the planet

Some hope for the planet... I was in Bentonville, Arkansas all this week, where WalMart announced that it will be creating a system to put a sustainability index on every product it sells, and that it will work with other retailers and manufacturers to make it a single standard (webcast can be seen here).

The sustainability index will communicate the environmental and social impact of the product from a life cycle perspective.

WalMart and other corporations have funded the Sustainability Consortium, led by Arizona State University and University of Arkansas, to help provide the research needed to support the effort. I am excited to be part of the team that will develop an "open" life cycle inventory system. Such a system will enable companies to estimate the environmental and social impact of their product through raw material acquisition, manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal/recycling.

The world places a lot of emphasis on tracking carbon dioxide and other green house gases because of their effect on global climate change, but water--both its availability and its health--is a huge sustainability issue also.

From a production standpoint, most agricultural products require a lot of water--Did you know that it takes 300 gallons of water to make a 12 ounce can of Coke? Most of it is because of the water needed to grow the sugar cane. On the consumption side, drying of Himalayan glaciers could put one-sixth of the world's population at risk for fresh water.

Let's hope we can move as fast as we need to. (Explore Front Page)

Comments and faves

  1. ★

    369Photography.co.uk, Rezoan Ratul, rkramer62, unlimited inspirations, and 141 other people added this photo to their favorites.

  2. Majorlight (35 months ago | reply)

    Stunningly beautiful image, Kevin.....and thank you for sharing the webcast and the sustainability info...I did not know about it until now. Happy weekend, my friend.

    --
    Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)

  3. Native Iowan [deleted] (35 months ago | reply)

    Very impressive image Kevin. And thank you for being part of the team that developers an open life cycle inventory system. We only have one Earth.

  4. 369Photography.co.uk (35 months ago | reply)

    That is a piece of good news that a supermarket is doing that. The photo is very nice, I love those light rays.

  5. Rezoan Ratul (35 months ago | reply)

    Love those rays... Superb Capture!!!

  6. rkramer62 (35 months ago | reply)

    Good news! Wonderful shot of LM too!

  7. unlimited inspirations (35 months ago | reply)

    Fantastic composition and lights@

    :))

  8. Pristine™ (35 months ago | reply)

    wow...superb image. congrats! Have a great week end!

  9. klem@s (35 months ago | reply)

    Magnificent Light!
    --
    Seen on my Flickr home page. ( ?² )

  10. *♥* ṡhøώ ṃε υɾ ρïχ *♥* (35 months ago | reply)

    Oh my Kevin....Love the rays...such a wonderful capture....Heavenly...

  11. Raising Cane (35 months ago | reply)

    Very cool! Goodluck with your efforts! Yay for Walmart for starting this. I hope it works!

  12. HennyHR (35 months ago | reply)

    Excellent image!

    Hi,I’m an admin for a group called:


    ~New Envy of Flickr!~

    invited only

    Please add your photo to the ~New Envy of Flickr!~

    We’d love to have your photo in our group
    You can post 3 photos a day but ONLY invited photos. Thank you!!

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called The Carnival, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

  13. David Epstein photography (35 months ago | reply)

    I like the sun rays through the clouds- very strong image!

    So will Wall Mart charge extra for goods with low sustainability index or high sustainability index?

    --
    Seen on your photo stream. ( ?² )

  14. andreasfeusi.ch (35 months ago | reply)

    Strong image. Good rays.

  15. ~lala~(Lisa) (35 months ago | reply)

    WOW~ This is totally awesome, Kevin...wonderful capture!

  16. MyOakForest (35 months ago | reply)

    fantastic rays and shine over and in this wonderful lake!

  17. petrosyuk (35 months ago | reply)

    stunning capture, amazing lightning!

  18. Sarah Burnquist *Soon to be Mrs. Robinson* [deleted] (35 months ago | reply)

    Wonderful image! Stunning!

  19. Holly Ford Brown (35 months ago | reply)

    an instant favorite, the suns rays through the clouds reflected on the water are beyond breathtaking! and the lighting is gorgeous!! also everytime you put pen to paper, I learn something new, thank you for sharing. it is always a pleasure to see your work!

  20. Sasuhai (35 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful capture.
    Enjoy yr weekend my friend...

  21. `WT (35 months ago | reply)

    The photo is great. And thank you very much for posting this important information, kd
    WT

  22. ABUELA PINOCHO  (35 months ago | reply)

    Es una muy buena foto, en grande ha sido como estar ahí disfrutando como tú de ese momento GRACIAS !!!
    SUPERLATIVASSUPERLATIVAS
    Invitada a - Invited to www.flickr.com/groups/superlativas
    Please tag this photo with Superlativas when you add it to the pool.
    Tras añadir tu foto al Grupo, por favor etiquétala con Superlativas
    COMENTA UNA FOTO    -PLEASE COMMENT ONE PICTURE
    SOLO FOTOS INVITADAS-ONLY INVITED PICTURES

  23. Aamir Yunus (35 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful!

  24. *setsuna (35 months ago | reply)

    beautiful!!!!

  25. Vali... (35 months ago | reply)

    Mysterious and intriguing!!!!!!!!!!!wow

  26. lizfernandezg (35 months ago | reply)

    Fantastic shot!!!!!

    --
    Seen on your photo stream. (?)

  27. Tulay Emekli (still on a sort of break:) (35 months ago | reply)

    Great image with the mystical hues ...shining sea surface and that little bird !

  28. ♫ jon argos ♫ (35 months ago | reply)

    ...oh, this is fantastic, Kevin...the rays against the dark clouds are amazing, and that patch of light is awesome. I hope you're having a terrific weekend, my friend. Oh yeah, I got Lisa a D90...she seems to like it...lololol. :~}

  29. Paul M. Robinson (35 months ago | reply)

    Powerful shot Kevin. Great rays.

    I never knew it takes 300 gallons of water to make a can of coke either... That's insane...

    The sustainability index you mention sounds good, let's hope it works in practice and actually does something to help the planet.

  30. DuRo©Photo (35 months ago | reply)

    Fantastic shot,Nice work,happy weekend

  31. Salvatore Piermarini fotografo (35 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Festival della Fotografia di Roma: 29 Maggio - 2 Agosto 2009, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

  32. Amit Basu (35 months ago | reply)

    Mostly corporations do not do good things out of inner goodness. But I am glad they are doing it at all, even if just to look good.

  33. rev_adan (35 months ago | reply)

    Nice timing! Beautiful shot!

    --
    Seen on your photo stream. (?)

  34. greenschist (35 months ago | reply)

    Magnificent photo!

  35. david gutierrez [ www.davidgutierrez.co.uk ] (35 months ago | reply)

    amazing scene..well captured!
    have a great day!

  36. GlobeTrotter 2000 (35 months ago | reply)

    Great shot !

  37. Dark Spinner (35 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Phenomenal Picture Perfect (Invite only with 20 favorites), and we'd love to have this added to the group!

    Let's hope so. Thank you for the information.
    Beautiful image : )

  38. Dark Spinner (35 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called PicturePerfect (INVITE ONLY), and we'd love to have this added to the group!

  39. peggyhr (35 months ago | reply)

    Wonderful mood!

  40. i_still_believe_in_u (35 months ago | reply)

    im sure u'll be a star on the development team, that's great that wal-mart is showing a concern for the issues that affect us all, && wow, 300 gallons of water to make one can of coke, that's an incredible fact, i will tell my friends that!

    divine composition, i <3 how the light penetrates the rich darkness of the sky!

  41. Caitlyn Nehr (35 months ago | reply)

    Great Sky,
    I love the colors
    Nice reflections also.
    The rays are amazing.

  42. PAL1970 (35 months ago | reply)

    Wondrous picture, grand composition and timing. Congratulations on a fantastic job!

    --
    Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)

  43. Steve-h (35 months ago | reply)

    Gorgeous image, interesting caption.
    I recently bought a dishwasher that was supposed to be environmentally good. It has three cycles - the first lasts 30 minutes and get light soiling clean, the second lasts TWO-AND-HALF HOURS and I haven't tried the third...probably takes all night. I don't think much of the company's idea of helping reduce electricity consumption, whatever about water.

  44. IceNineJon (35 months ago | reply)

    Those rays of light are amazing! Excellent work.

  45. mikenpo (35 months ago | reply)

    cool info
    but an awesome image
    so cooool
    ♫♪♫ ♥♥ L'amicizia fa la differenza the original group ♫♪♫ ♥♥

  46. Ben124. (35 months ago | reply)

    Fantastic beautiful capture!

  47. eriani (35 months ago | reply)

    Magnificent Light

  48. prdsra7 (35 months ago | reply)

    Wonderful
    Compliments, I like it; Please add this photo to
    "as beautiful as you want" group

  49. Terry Cheng (35 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful shot. Lovely colour tones!

    Thanks for stopping by
    ...-Wink's Place-...

  50. Irene2005 (35 months ago | reply)

    Amazing rays and wonderful dark tones! Terrific!

  51. Greg Lilly Photos (35 months ago | reply)

    Spectacular!!! Nice shooting!

← prev 1 2 3 4
(159 comments)

Want to format your comment?
keyboard shortcuts: ← previous photo → next photo L view in light box F favorite < scroll film strip left > scroll film strip right ? show all shortcuts