Oh! The weather outside [can be] frightful, which is why Stephen Chu of the U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday that 7 states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire) will be the recipients of more than $288 million dollars, which will be put toward weatherization projects.

The funds will go toward weatherization projects benefiting more than 91,000 homes. And with the money and subsequent weatherization comes lower energy costs for low-income families that need it, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and creation of green jobs across the country - all part of the Obama administration’s green vision.

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>>UPDATE #1 2/4/2009 12:15 pm PST: CNN is now reporting that a bomb WAS found. It appears that police have changed their story. We’ll see how this plays out…

>>UPDATE #2 2/4/2009 2:30 pm PST: Local and federal officials are urging anyone with information to contact law enforcement agencies. The ATF tip line is 888-ATF-BOMB.

>>UPDATE #3 2/5/2009 8:00 am PST: Dr. Trent Pierce has lost his left eye in the blast and is undergoing multiple surgeries to save his right eye as well as remove shrapnel from his neck and abdomen. Investigators are still not sure if the bomb was placed on or near Dr. Pierce’s car. Apparently, the doctor was outside his car when the blast occurred.

Initially a local bomb squad was called in to investigate, but was sent away after no bomb was found. At the time, speculation revolved around a malfunction with the car itself. Since that time, the FBI and ATF have found evidence of explosives. There are no current leads in the case and no one can come up with a reason why a doctor in a smallish town may have been the target of an attack like this.

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[Creative Commons photo via rjime31]

It’s actually a collection of 160 bills and covers over two million acres in nine states. THe land ranges from the Sierra Nevadas in California to Mount Hood in Oregon and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. It also includes areas in Virginia, Idaho, Michigan, Arkansas, and Utah.

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The Animal Legal Defense Fund has released a new report showing that while animal welfare laws have made great progress in recent years, five states lag far behind.

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Yes, Wal-Mart does a fantastic job entertaining the troops, but my real interest was in further news on company sustainability initiatives. Over the next week or so, I’ll be reporting on those. Today, I just wanted to provide some initial thoughts, and perhaps get the conversation going.

In case you haven’t noticed, the economy’s in a bit of slump… and that means more people are turning to discount retailers for their basic needs and luxuries. Sales figures are up for the company, and all of the executives that spoke at various portions of the media conference noted the company’s founding value of saving people money. At some points, I began to wonder just a bit if the much-heralded sustainability initiatives of the past few years were taking a back seat to it’s ability to provide goods (and services) at low prices.

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