Hello again.

Sorry for the long silence, I had a Jan. 20 date in Washington I couldn't break.

And while I was there, this new president dude was sworn in and he's already making all kinds of radical changes.

For example, it turns out President Obama didn't think much of his predecessor's policies as they relate to this global warming thing threatening the existence of life on Earth. Turns out, he's against it and intends to adopt a "pro-Earth" policy. Who knew?

So among the first things he intends to do once he'd finally mastered that pesky Oath of Office (both he and Chief Justice Roberts have pledged to take remedial Swearing In classes) was to issue executive orders increasing fuel efficiency standards on automobiles and to allow states to impose limits on carbon dioxide, something the Bush administration rejected.

As Reuters reported here, "if the EPA reverses the previous ruling, more than 12 U.S. states could proceed with plans to impose strict carbon dioxide limits. California wants to reduce the emissions by 30 percent by 2016 -- the most ambitious federal or state effort to address global warming."

Obama "is scheduled to deliver remarks on jobs, energy independence and climate change in the East Room of the White House on Monday," Reuters reported.

By March, he wants the Department of Transportation to set the new mileage guidelines, that will be in effect by 2011.

As The New York Times reported here, once states freed to enact standards do so, "automobile manufacturers will quickly have to retool to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies have lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court."

Seems to me, those auto makers have a choice, get with the program or give back the bailout money. It's not as if they haven't seen this coming for years. Hell, if they had spent half the money re-tooling their plants that they've spent on lawyers fighting the obvious need to re-tool their plants, their plants would be re-tooled by now.

(Strange, don't you think, how the words "tool" and "auto companies" keep coming up in the same sentence?)

Not satisfied there, Obama "will also order federal departments and agencies to find new ways to save energy and be more environmentally friendly. And he will highlight the elements in his $825 billion economic stimulus plan intended to create jobs around renewable energy," the New York Times reported.

Speaking of which, let's consider how well that might work. If only there were some kind of real-life example we could turn to....hmmmm.

If only there were some sort of report showing how green technology might affect growth...

We take you now good citizens to the pages of the Los Angeles Times where we find evidence of -- wait for it -- yes! a report on a report that shows how green technology might affect growth.

In two words or less -- "very well."

The report, by a non-profit research group called Next 10, found "Green-collar jobs are growing faster than statewide employment. Clean-tech investment in the state hit a record last year, despite steep stock-market declines. California leads the nation in patent registrations for green technology. Efficiency measures pioneered (in California) over the last three decades have created 1.5 million jobs and allowed California businesses to generate many more goods and services per unit of energy consumed than other states."

"Those green jobs encompass a variety of occupations, including research scientists, wind-energy technicians and solar panel installers. Such positions are growing fast, the report showed. Green employment was up 10% between 2005 and 2007. Statewide job growth was 1% over the same period," The LA Times reported.

California has already adopted the toughest energy efficiency standards in the country. "The result is that the state's energy productivity -- energy consumed compared with economic output -- is 68% higher than that of the rest of the country, according to the report."

"Venture capital investment in clean technology in California totaled $3.3 billion in 2008, more than double the amount invested in 2007. Between 2002 and 2007, 607 green-technology patents were registered in California, the study said. That's more than any other state," the LA Times reported.

Hm. And all without cutting taxes for rich people.

But really, who can believe some wacky non-profit with a weird name out on the left coast?

OK, would you believe Wal-Mart?

"When Wal-Mart first embraced green initiatives, its fortunes were sagging," The New York Times reported in this article.

"After blanketing the country with its giant, all-in-one stores, it began cannibalizing its own sales. Older stores looked tattered and tired, and Wal-Mart’s flirtation with higher-end merchandise, like skinny jeans with fur trim, alienated low-income shoppers who preferred unadorned basics. "

So CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. did what smart business people do, he stepped back, looked at the big picture, saw the future and then, by virtue of what the Times calls Wal-Mart's "Herculean size," it led.

"By virtue of its herculean size, Wal-Mart eventually dragged much of corporate America along with it, leading mighty suppliers like General Electric and Procter & Gamble to transform their own business practices.

"Today, the roughly 200 million customers who pass through Wal-Mart’s doors each year buy fluorescent light bulbs that use up to 75 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs, concentrated laundry detergent that uses 50 percent less water and prescription drugs that contain 50 percent less packaging," the Times reported.

"By selling only concentrated liquid laundry detergent, an effort it began last year, Wal-Mart says, its customers will save more than 400 million gallons of water, 95 million pounds of plastic resin, 125 million pounds of cardboard and 520,000 gallons of diesel fuel over three years," the paper reported.

"Wal-Mart says it now saves itself $3.5 million a year just by recycling loose plastic and selling it to processors. After changing the design of its trucks and how efficiently it loads them, its fleet had a 25 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. Amory B. Lovins, a MacArthur fellow and chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit research organization, said Wal-Mart would save nearly $500 million a year in fuel costs by 2020. "

So, "as the saying goes, Wal-Mart has also done well by doing good. Along with the McDonald’s Corporation, it was one of only two companies in the Dow Jones industrial average whose share price rose last year.

"Profits climbed to $12.7 billion in the 2008 fiscal year, from $11.2 billion in the 2006 fiscal year, while sales jumped to $375 billion, from $312.4 billion, during the same period" and this as the recession was beginning to take hold.

Hmm, Go Green, Make Green.

You can use that if you want.

Your heart raced as you tore the paper off the package ... YES! that new iPod (or Blackberry, or computer, or MP3 player, or BIG SCREEN TV)! Santa came through big time.

Your hands trembling, you disconnect the old dinosaur (barely two years old) in your entertainment center, sweeping away the dust and accumulated DVDs and make room for your new baby...just in time for the SUPERBOWL!

Or how about this? The old Zenith won't get that new digital signal that starts next month, so rather than get the converter box, you decide it's time to get a new TV.

Or maybe you have heard such good things about Vista (OK, let's face it, that would never happen) that you've run out and purchased a new computer.

All of these scenarios have one question in common: What do you do with the old one?

Well, in a previous life, you would have put it at the curb, surprisingly still legal in Pennsylvania.

But what you may not know, or have chosen not to question, is that many electronics contain dangerous chemicals, heavy metals in particular.

Why are they potentially harmful? The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection informs us that electronic equipment contains metals like cadmium, lead and mercury.

• Cadmium - The largest source of cadmium in municipal waste is rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries.
• Lead - Monitors and televisions contain a picture tube known as a cathode ray tube (CRT). The CRTs contain leaded glass, and are the largest source of lead in municipal waste.
• Mercury - Some electronic equipment also contains recoverable quantities of mercury.
  

Electronic discards include computers, monitors, televisions, audio equipment, printers, and other electronic devices. Rapid advances in technology means that consumer electronics, particularly computers, are quickly rendered them obsolete. The average lifespan of a computer is about 2-3 years. (Here I must announced proudly that I still use a desktop that runs Windows '95. Honesty also requires that my son calls it "Old Bessie" and it is little more than a glorified typewriter at this point.)

Further, we all know that when it stops working right, the price of replacement parts or service often makes it more practical to simply buy a new one; which is all well and good, provided you can find a green way to get rid of the old one.

Well guess what, your friends here at The Thin Green Line are here to help.

Having finally regained consciousness after being bludgeoned insensate by an overdose of holiday consumerism, we sent our massive team of expert researchers into the field to answer these crucial questions.

(In other words, Evan spent a few minutes surfing Web. This really isn't that hard people!)

One answer is to be found from the very same DEP that warns us about the potential pollution from the old Victrola.

Their first suggestion, contained in a Dec. 30 release that landed in The Mercury in-box, is a pretty good one. If it works, find someone else you can give it to.

Free-cycle (more about this in a later blog) is one way to do it, although you might also call The Mercury's Sound-Off line (610-323-3009) and leave a message. Someone will surely want it.

The good news is there are a number of locations around the state where electronics can be dropped off for recycling. The bad news is there are none in the immediate area, with the exception of Jim Crater's Recycling Services Inc. in North Coventry which will take some electronics for re-sale.

You can go to the DEP Web site, -- http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/-- and search under "Electronics Collection Program," or call one of their hotlines, 800-346-4242, or 717-787-7382 to find out where, but why do that, when we've already done it for you?

• Philadelphia County - Philadelphia now has two permanent drop off collections sites for electronics recycling. Hours are Monday - Saturday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. The sites are located at:
  Domino Lane and Umbria Street- Roxborough
  State Road and Ashburner Street
  Questions can be directed to Scott McGrath at 215-686-5504
• Lehigh County residents can recycle unwanted electronic equipment at AERC Recycling Solutions at 1801 Union Blvd in Allentown on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fee to recycle most items is $1 and televisions are $5. For a full list of prices or for more information please call 610-797-7608 or visit http://www.aercrecycling.com/
• Lancaster County (computers only) - Residents of Lancaster County can recycle their computers for NO CHARGE. This includes associated items such as monitors, printer and keyboards.
  Small businesses can recycle up to 25 computers. The first five will be recycled for NO CHARGE; after that there is a $5 fee for each monitor and a $5 fee for each CPU.
  Computers will be accepted at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, located at 1299 Harrisburg Pike. Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. 2nd & 4th Saturday of each month 8 a.m. until noon. 717-397-9968 http://www.lcswma.org/

If the item you're tossing is smaller, guess who else can help? Would you believe the Post Office?

In April, the Post Office launched a pilot program that "allows customers to recycle small electronics and inkjet cartridges by mailing them free of charge."

Called the "Mail Back Program," you just go to the post office and use free envelopes located there to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players – without having to pay for postage. Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics.

If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled, according to the Post Office. Clover Technologies Group has a “zero waste to landfill” policy: it does everything it can to avoid contributing any materials to the nation’s landfills.

The free, postage-paid Mail Back envelopes can be found on displays in Post Office lobbies. There is no limit to the number of envelopes customers may take.

According to an April release, "The pilot is set for 10 areas across the country, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego, but could become a national program this fall if the pilot program proves successful. "

Our crack research team was unable to find any information about whether the program is available everywhere or not. Maybe someone will let us know.