Stream proof of change at Wal-Mart

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, October 23, 2005

Highway 99 south of Everett is all about the pavement.

Always has been.

The highway itself is at least five lanes. Rimming the roadway is a never-ending stream of businesses with paved driveways and paved parking lots. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a strip of grass here and there with some shrubs and the occasional tree.

That’s why the new Wal-Mart going up on 99 south of 112th Street SW looks so odd. Sure, it has a sea of what will become paved parking lots when construction is over. But there’s also a creek, Swamp Creek, snaking its way on the new store’s east edge.

People who drive this stretch regularly know that the creek wasn’t there before. Actually it was, but it ran through a culvert, serving as simply piped drainage. Now there’s some 500 feet of open creek on the site.

The creek, about six to eight feet wide, has nice clean cobblestones on the bottom, a lot of what environmental engineers call large woody debris (logs and root balls) to provide cover for fish and some notched logs across the entire waterway to create some pools under some short little waterfalls.

It looks a little artificial right now, but the area should be quite beautiful in the years to come.

I mention all this because Wal-Mart, the king of the giant parking lot, is doing a good thing here. Sure the city required the work as a permit condition, but it’s still a good thing.

The old tenants were a yard for junked cars used for parts, a run-down mobile home park, a gas station and one of the many RV businesses in that area. This is the first example I’ve ever seen where a Wal-Mart could be considered both a case of urban renewal and environmental restoration.

I mention this because Wal-Mart, the company many people love to hate, is on a roll these days.

It did significant relief work following the hurricanes.

Using its legendary supply system, the company donated 100 trucks full of merchandise, $20 million in cash, food for 100,000 meals and jobs for every one of its displaced workers.

Often, relief supplies showed up before any other help, earning it praise on all fronts.

Last week, Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. announced that he will start holding suppliers more accountable for environmental and social standards at foreign factories.

The company, which does a tremendous amount of business with China, has long been under fire for the low environmental and labor standards maintained by many of its low-cost manufacturers overseas.

In an Associated Press story, Scott had this to say: “Are you running your factories in a way that promotes environmental sustainability? Are you sourcing from people that causes there to be inclusion and opportunity for women and minority-owned businesses? You’ll see Wal-Mart taking a stronger stand over the next several months in these areas.”

Wal-Mart remains under harsh criticism for its stand against unions, for the extensive dealings it has with China and for a host of other issues. Aiding victims of the hurricane down south and opening up a channelized stream in Everett won’t change that.

But it doesn’t hurt.

Last year, Wal-Mart appeared to be just a giant company that did what it wanted despite what some people thought. This year, it appears to be listening to some of its critics and making some important changes.

So let’s give Wal-Mart a pat on the back for what it has done this year. It’s a very good start.

Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459 or benbow@heraldnet.com.