Solar Power Informational Kiosks Opened by Sam’s Club at Nine Southern California Stores
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 08.15.08
photo: Sam's Club
OK, I’ll get something out of the way right at the start: I can’t stand Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, or any of the other big box stores blighting the landscape of the United States. Suffice it to say they are the complete antithesis of everything I hold dear: diverse small businesses, localization, human-scale development, short supply chains, attractive architecture...I could go on and on. With that out of the way, here’s something which does lift Sam’s Club up a notch.
Kiosks Part of New “Home Efficiency Centers”
If you live in southern California you now have a new place to go for practical information on solar power solutions: Sam's Club has announced that is has created
“Home Efficiency Centers” in nine of its stores.
They’ll feature the usual array of Energy Star appliances, low flow toilets and shower heads, but more interestingly Sam’s Club will be teaming up with Borrego Solar Systems and BP Solar to provide customers information on solar power at in-store kiosks.
Basic Information, Financing Options Provided
These kiosks will have basic information such as how does a solar panel work, how they get installed, how much energy will be saved, as well as financing and rebate options. Sam’s Club is saying that through this partnership, purchases will be able to save an average of $500 on their solar energy systems.
Participating Sam’s Club locations will be: Corona, Murrieta, Glendora, Ontario, La Habra, Chino, Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Torrance.
Spreading the word about the benefits of solar power, and how more people can access it is certainly a good thing. So, for the next 48 hours I’ll ignore any other economic, environmental, social, and aesthetic concerns I have about Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. The clock starts running now.
Big Box Stores, Renewable Energy
Turning Big Box Stores into Solar Power Plants in California
Easy For Staples to Go Solar
Wal-Mart: The Next Steps Toward Sustainability
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"OK, I’ll get something out of the way right at the start: I can’t stand Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, or any of the other big box stores blighting the landscape of the United States. Suffice it to say they are the complete antithesis of everything I hold dear: diverse small businesses, localization, human-scale development, short supply chains, attractive architecture...I could go on and on. With that out of the way, here’s something which does lift Sam’s Club up a notch."
take note of the irony of someone from brooklyn, ny writing this on a computer most likely not built locally for an audience that is all over the globe. is their anything less local than the internet? I am not not 100 miles from brooklyn, should I be reading this? should I only read articles on treehugger that are written w/in 100 miles of my home and on only locally built computers?
the greatest thing that could happen to solar power is globalization, not localization. it brings the best development, the best people, the most knowledge and the best scale to get prices down so that people could have their power as local as on their roof. note the irony again.
that is the end of my rant. *takes breath* I hope that was intelligent and cilvil.
I agree with hmm. Tree hugging doesn't need to be anit-globalization. You're mixing social agendas.