Burning Up at the Mall

Tackling global warming and our overheating atmosphere is more than a morning's work, but trying to get a mall to turn down the thermostat, maybe you can fit that in with your daily rounds. For Frank Zaski, a retired Chrysler manager from Franklin, Michigan, that's become somewhat of a crusade. Zaski, a Sierra Club member, takes thermometers to malls in the Detroit area, records temperatures, and tries to get mall and store managers to lower the heat a few degrees. After all, most people are walking around in winter coats.

No success stories yet, though he's says there's a facilities manager at a mall in Troy who's considering adjusting the thermostat. In many stores and malls, however, the temperature is controlled from corporate headquarters. But with fuel prices rising, it can't be too long before someone sees the light.

Zaski attended his first Sierra Club meeting in November, and has quickly become one of the most active volunteers in Oakland County. "He realizes that things don't change unless people get involved and become the change," says local Club organizer Leigh Fifelski.