The Panda Post is brought to you by veteran safety reporter Bamboo Buchwald, a proud member of the AP (Associated Panda). Through intrepid reporting (which is pretty easy even for a cartoon since it takes little more than checking the websites of actual, reputable news outlets) I bring you the exciting, the not so exciting, and offbeat news from the Safety Industry.

Good information about what’s going on in the industry is priceless. What I offer might provide some value as well—hardly priceless, but at least worth a look.

Stimulus, Green Jobs and Winter Blahs, Panda Post 18

Apologies to my loyal readership for the fact that we’re in February and this is the first Panda Post of the year. I was so happy to get 2009 over with that I put off my journalistic duties for a while. Well, now I’m back, and aren’t you lucky? I’m thinking 2010 will be a better year…my 401k certainly hopes so.

This issue’s video clip comes courtesy of the English, who clearly have an odd sense of humor. Don’t be like Ricky.

ASSE’s Resolutions for 2010

The American Society of Safety Engineers has some goals (resolutions, perhaps) for 2010. They don’t involve “working out more” or “eating less candy at work”. No, the list of 12 is geared toward legislative and regulatory issues. But, working out more certainly wouldn’t hurt.

The Stimulus Update

Sure, the government’s stats keeping on jobs created by stimulus money is a little fuzzy. But how many of us are really good at numbers? Kidding. The independent investigative website www.Propublica.org is doing some number crunching. Their Stimulus Spending Progress Chart clearly outlines what’s been spent, and more importantly, what’s left. If you want to see what both sides of the political aisle have to say, check out a recap article by CNN. Contractors are the proverbial canary in the construction safety coal mine. If they’re happy and singing, things should be good in the safety industry. When they’re lying lifeless on the bottom of their (figurative) cage, we’ve got problems. According to Contractors Supply Magazine , contractors are viewing the stimulus with optimism. Tweet, tweet.

Green Business is Good Business

To (severely) paraphrase Gordon Gekko from the classic film “Wall Street”...Green is good. Besides that whole business of saving the planet and ensuring that we can breathe regularly, green is a burgeoning sector. Wisconsin has seen a couple of green projects come to life. Ingeteam, a Spanish manufacturer of wind turbine generators (I find it humorous that a company based where Don Quixote was written is a leading builder of modern-day windmills), plans to build a plant in Milwaukee. And the northern reaches of the state have a green diesel plant in the works thanks in part to stimulus money.

35 Join the Cool Green Club

Recently, 35 Midwest towns we added to the exclusive list of those participating in the EPA’s Community Climate Change Initiative. We Midwesterners are sensible folks (even us cartoons). Bravo, Waukesha.

ANSI 107-2010: Fun with Standards

The language used in standards is dry as toast (really dry, week old, burnt toast). Hats off to Ergodyne for coming up with this easy-to-read Technical Bulletin outlining highlights of the revised ANSI 107 high-visibility standard. You don’t want to page through 40+ pages of slumber inducing verbiage do you? Pay someone else to do that, you get the highlights from Ergodyne.

Bradley Corp. has Exporting Down

Exports are a good thing, and apparently the folks at Bradley Corp. (based right here in Menomonee Falls, Wis.) are very good at it. Bradley was recognized as an Exporter of the Year by ThinkGlobal Inc. ThinkGlobal is legit (they’re no USA Today Coaches Poll, or, worse yet, the Grammy Awards) and they publish “Commercial News USA” for the U.S. Commerce Department.

A Winter Wonderland

I like to think that living through Wisconsin winters makes us a little tougher (or really stupid). Forbes.com validated Milwaukee’s miserable winter existence by including us in a list of the top five worst winter weather cities in America. If you’re selling winter safety apparel, these five places are good to know. Sure there are other lists we’d rather be on (Cities with the Coolest People, Cities with the Best Cartoon Newsletters, etc.) but we’ll take it.

eProduct Spotlight

The ice isn’t going anywhere (here in Wisconsin, winter generally lasts until the Fourth of July holiday). And DueNorth All-Purpose Traction Aids make sure you remain upright while walking on the slippery stuff. Jack Frost’s icy tricks are no match for tungsten carbide spikes (they’re kind of like Kryptonite for that chilly little prankster). A broken hip is no way to usher in Spring.

eProduct Release

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Expect more from this tireless cartoon reporter (sleep is difficult considering I wasn’t drawn with eyelids) in the weeks to come. We at The Panda Post are here to keep you (semi) informed.