Good Grass Roots Idea

This is something anyone can do—and the impact could be huge:

My friend LaRa recently send me a copy of this great letter she had sent to Wal-Mart executives. My sister pointed out that it also needs to be sent to Sears, Best Buy and anyone else selling electronics. Please feel free to personalize and make this your own. Thank you LaRa for sharing this and for all you are doing to stop mountaintop removal and other gross indignities to the planet.

*PLEASE join in this campaign with LaRa and contact Walmart regarding this gross waste of energy. Please send this email far and wide.
Thank you.

Take talking points from the letter below.
Mailing Address Below
Phone # 1-479-273-4000 - leave message for Mr. Walton
FAX: 1-479- 273-4329
website: walmartstores.com
(Could not get an email address.)
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Walmart Senior Management December 7, 2009
Walmart Board of Directors
Attention: S. Robson Walton
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611

Dear Mr. Walton,

The staff of your stores has been very willing to reach out to the local communities to assist with worthwhile projects. Thank you. Here I want to challenge you to a project that covers six southeastern states as well as all of the areas where your 8,150 Walmart stores are located.

Are you aware that the demand for coal to create electricity has resulted in blasting the tops off of over 500 mountains and covered 2,000 miles of stream with toxic soil in the states of VA, W.VA, KY, TN, OH and PA? The blasting goes on daily and whole communities, animal life, and vegetation are being destroyed as I write to you.

So how does this relate to Walmart? In the last two weeks I have visited three Walmart stores in three different states to find that there are 30 to 40 TV’s turned on 24/7 in each store.
Multiply that by 8,150 stores; that is enough electricity to serve a whole community.

PLEASE CONSIDER LIMITING THE NUMBER OF TV’S THAT ARE EMPOWERED IN EACH WALMART STORE!

On your website under walmartstores.com you state,”Sustainability- Our aspirational goals are being supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, creating zero waste and selling products that sustain people and the environment.”

This is a grand challenge for you to work toward these goals and bring forth renewed resolutions and solutions for 2010 to waste less electrical energy and save the mountains and the people and the communities of Appalachia as well as other communities where your stores are located around the globe.

I plan to follow up on the results of this request in 2010 and I plan to send this letter to people who share these concerns with me.

Thank you most sincerely for your action on this very important world project.


Martha LaRa Gibson
2098 Chestnut Grove
Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363
Email: larag@localnet.com
Phone: 276-579-4374*