Wal–Mart Chief Pledges to be Greener

In a speech that promised widespread improvement and reform throughout Wal-Mart and its supply chain, Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr., pledged to cut the energy used by many of its company's products 25 percent, reports the New York Times. "We live in a time when people are losing confidence in the ability of government to solve problems." But Wal-Mart, he said, "does not wait for someone else to solve problems."Since 2005, Wal-Mart has committed itself to a number of energy reforms. Its sale of 145 million compact fluorescent light bulbs has, according to Scott, saved enough electricity to forestall the need for three coal-fired power plants.