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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (38091)	8/9/2008 9:32:53 AM
From: Riskmgmt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219628

Hi TJ: Will add my voice to the "blown away" group. What a fantastic presentation to the world of Chinese culture and values. The prominence of harmony, inclusion, nature, integration as the tools for solving some of the planets problems. Inspiring. The T'ai Chi show was incredible! Over 2,000 people moving in unison, coordinated and synchronized, as to appear to be one body. Even the announcer said "only in China" could you find that many T'ai Chi masters. I can't imagine any westerner who watched coming away with anything other than a deep respect for the Chinese culture and history. Well done, on getting seats for your family, Coconut will remember it for the rest of her life and be proud of her heritage. Almost wish I was part Chinese but checking my family history can't find any claims of it. All I can hope is that in 2012 the Brits come up with something equally spectacular. best regards, R.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (38091)	8/9/2008 6:06:35 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 219628

lord status in SOLAR energy arena IKEA to sell solar panels? IKEA plans to pour $77 million into clean-technology start-ups within the next five years and could add "green" goods such as solar panels to its inventory, according to Cleantech Group. The four-person, 50 million euro IKEA GreenTech fund has been operating for eight months, the report said. And it could invest in up to 10 fledgling companies in the next few years, perhaps first in Europe, where IKEA rings up about 82 percent of its sales. Efforts to commercialize new and affordable green technologies within several years could lead to IKEA selling the resulting products among its growing collection of stores, currently 283 in more than 30 nations. The goods reportedly would relate to energy in the form of solar panels, efficiency meters, and lighting; as well as more sustainable materials, and water treatment and conservation. In 2007, IKEA expanded sales of pre-fab, low-income, eco-friendly housing from Sweden into the United Kingdom. Could its catalog of 9,500 products someday add flat-packed, "smart" green homes available globally? Given IKEA's sheer reach, an aggressive focus on green technologies might reshape the furnishings industry. For instance, green-business gurus credit Wal-Mart's controversial efforts to green its shelves and practices with shifting big-box stores and shoppers' tastes toward less toxic and wasteful products. Among IKEA's latest moves in support of sustainability, by the fall, it will eliminate its checkout use of plastic bags, for which it began charging British customers about two years ago. More than 380 billion plastic bags are estimated to be trashed each year in the United States alone, polluting land and waterways with toxic chemicals. In the early years of this decade, the modern-furnishings goliath pledged to phase out unhealthy formaldehyde and PVC in its core products, and to stock wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Its Swedish stores use mostly renewable energy. Some of the 18,000 staff members use hybrid cars or bicycles. IKEA pledged to carry organic consumables, including coffee, jam, and schnapps within the year. But a nagging question remains: would solar panels from IKEA require an Allen wrench?