Wilderness Battlefield Coalition: Wal-Mart’s Green Double Standard — Sell ‘Environmentally Conscious’ Products From Stores That Destroy Ecologically and Culturally Significant Sites
Wal-Mart to sell “green“ products from store built atop of major Civil War battlefield
WASHINGTON, July 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — National retailer Wal-Mart today announced its intention to implement a system that rates the environmental and social sustainability of the products it sells — the green equivalent of nutrition labels — while, ironically, continuing to pursue plans to pave over more than 50 acres of historic woodlands at the Civil War-era Wilderness Battlefield, in Orange County, Virginia.
“Perhaps we should call this the Wal-Mart Paradox,” noted Jim Campi of the Civil War Preservation Trust. “On one hand, they are launching a big, splashy, public relations campaign touting how ‘green’ they want to be. Yet, on the other hand, they continue to move behind the scenes to destroy irreplaceable, historic land, which still retains its scenic beauty.”
Rob Nieweg of the National Trust for Historic Preservation noted, “the irony of Wal-Mart’s ‘green’ announcement is particularly acute when viewed against their plans to build on top of the Wilderness Civil War Battlefield, especially since Wal-Mart is ignoring viable alternatives that would allow them to build the store, create jobs and not harm the battlefield.”
“It’s a shame that Wal-Mart does not consider the devastating impact their 138,000-square foot store and associated development on the site will have on sustaining the Battlefield as an historic, economic and environmental resource for the region,” said Dan Holmes of the Piedmont Environmental Council.
The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition has proposed Wal-Mart build elsewhere in Orange County, at a location further from the May 1864 battle where more than 29,000 American soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. The coalition has offered to fund a planning study to identify an alternative site away from Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
On July 13, 2009, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) and House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell (R) sent a letter to Orange County’s Board of Supervisors, urging them to protect the battlefield by investigating other potential Wal-Mart locations within the county. They further offered the assistance of a full compliment of state agencies to help identify a location and craft a sensitive and mutually agreeable plan.
Walmart’s proposal has also been denounced by many of the nation’s top historians, including Pulitzer Prize winners James McPherson and David McCullough, as well as renowned documentarian Ken Burns. Others who have spoken out include Academy Award-winning actors Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Duvall, as well U.S. Congressmen Ted Poe (R-TX) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
For more information, visit: www.wildernesswalmart.com.
SOURCE Wilderness Battlefield Coalition