Tag Archives: Sustainable

US Battery companies “shocked” by low demands and high costs ?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Dec 5, 2011) describes the plight of US battery companies, funded by over $ 2.4 billion in Federal grants, but struggling to win contracts from automakers. In the case of Ener1, low sales … Continue reading →

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Justifying the LED light bulb

Posted on December 1, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (Nov 30, 2011) describes the calculation being done by companies like WalMart as they switch to light bulbs made from light emitting diodes (LEDs), which last potentially 10 times longer than regular light … Continue reading →

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Turkey tails, Samoan obesity concerns and WTO entry

Posted on November 30, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 28, 2011) describes the quandry faced by Samoa, which was forced to drop its ban on turkey Tails, the 78% fat content part of the turkey.  Obesity is rampant in Samoa, with the fatty imports … Continue reading →

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Light Bulb regulation in January 2012 and supply chain impact

Posted on November 26, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in he New York Times (Nov 16, 2011) describes the impending regulation that bans manufacturing of the traditional light bulb in January 2012. While sales from inventory can continue, new light bulbs will be required to be more … Continue reading →

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Paper pallets at IKEA and supply chain benefit

Posted on November 26, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 28, 2011) describes efforts by IKEA to replace its 10 million annual usage of wood pallets with paper pallets. The paper version is 90% lighter, designed to pack more load, is single use and can … Continue reading →

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Walmart’s environmental efforts in China and US retail impact

Posted on November 26, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the Atlantic (December 2011) suggests that 70 % of Walmart’s $420 billion in sales are provided by 20,000 Chinese suppliers. Walmart’s efforts at decreasing waste, pollution etc thus impact its supply chain in China significantly, and increase … Continue reading →

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Slower, larger, less polluting but on time ships

Posted on November 20, 2011 by aviyer2010

In an interview with Nils Anderson, CEO of Moller-Maersk, in Fortune (Nov 7,2011), he claims that ships have a 50% on time arrival rate.  His company is now adding larger but slower ships, which will emit 50% less CO2, but … Continue reading →

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A closed loop CO2 Supply chain?

Posted on November 20, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune (Oct 17,2011) describes the mismatch between demand for CO2, its indequate supply in pure form, but its prevalence in the air.  Demand for CO2 is from soda manufacturers to make bubbles, greenhouse gases to speed plant … Continue reading →

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Ozone regulation, local compliance and manufacturing impact

Posted on November 18, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (17 Nov, 2011) describes the Federal govt’s decision to retreat from the EPA recommended standard of 70 parts per billion (ppb), a revision of the current 84 ppb rule.  Resistance from manufacturers was … Continue reading →

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US Natural gas production and the return of manufacturing ?

Posted on November 6, 2011 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Nov 7, 2011) describes the rise of shale gas extraction, suing fracking, and the US becoming the world’s largest natural gas producer. With natural gas becoming a low priced energy alternative to coal, with lower greenhouse gas emissions … Continue reading →

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