How To Greewash

A helpful cartoon from Lunchbreath...


via

Linkage: Cloth bags are bad and corporations are local?

Go figure, the plastic industry says that cloth bags are bad! via

Speculative architecture fiction.(image shown) via

Making newpaper boxes into planters. (image shown) Thanks Carlos!

Free e-book on sustainable printing. via

The growth of the greener lunchroom.

Documenting product placement (and displacement). (image shown) Thanks Mica!

The new greenwashing: corporations go "local". Thanks Mica!

Frosty The Coalman

You missed your chance to see this catchy holiday ditty on the oxymoronic American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCE) website, but thankfully YouTube has kept it alive in all its greenwashing glory...






For an alternative view on "clean" coal take a visit to Reality...

The Sins of Greenwashing

If you're not familiar with the term Greenwashing, the environmental marketing firm TerraChoice has a great primer on this dastardly practice just for you: The Six Sins of Greenwashing.


Thanks Kara!

What's wrong with Ethanol.

Co-op America's new exposˆ© on corn ethanol gives a detailed explanation of why it will not be the environmental panacea that the U.S. government touts it to be and how it could actually make the situation much worse. Get the facts here.

Corporate Organics

If you like to eat packaged natural foods that aren't produced by mega-industrial food corporations your choices are getting slimmer. Download the latest PDF of the Organic Industry Structure chart via the Organic Consumers Association to see which of the top 25 North America food processors now own Boca, Horizon, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, Walnut Acres, Celestial Seasonings, and most other well known "organic" brands.

Conversely you can see which are the few brands that still remain independent here (PDF).

News Roundup

A few more great stories from the Christian Science Monitor:

• The Donkey Health and Welfare Project helps the often under appreciated pack animal in Ethiopia.
• Chocolate, yet another product that fuels war in Africa.
• "Can 'Green Chic' save the planet?"

About the Monitor

"Hugo Me": Supersize is Back

McDonald's, which dropped their "Supersize" range of jumbo products, shortly after the documentary "Super Size Me" came out, in an effort to address concerns about rising obesity rates, has now introduced the "Hugo" a 42oz 410 calorie soda. A recent New York Times article on the McDonalds about-face quotes a representative defending the summertime only product saying: ’ÄúPeople, I believe, tend to drink more during the summer. People are out and about.’Äù

Read the full article here.

via StayFree!

Hop on the Green Train

It seems Amtrak has jumped on the Green bandwagon with the most recent issue of their Arrive magazine (which is in seat back pockets on their Northeast lines). Titled "Special Green Issue" the cover announces that it was printed on recycled paper (only 10% post-consumer waste and paid for by an advertiser) and contains articles on subjects like "Recyclable Shopping" (flea markets!), "Sustainable Dining" (seafood specifically), "Environmental Investing" (land conservation) and an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The rest of the issue is their standard fare and I assume they'll go back to non-recycled paper next issue. Definitely not the most progressive take on environmentalism, but it's a start. I look forward to the day that "Green Issue"s are the norm and not "special".

If you're interested you can read the entire Arrive Green Issue online here.

File Under Greenwashing: Shell's CO2 Flowers

Shell's new "green" campaign features an image of a flower spewing factory and claims that they're doing their part for the environment by recycling waste products (like diverting CO2 to grow flowers) under the tagline "Don't throw anything away. There is no away." But Friends of The Earth Europe, beg to differ and have filed complaints in several countries claiming the ads are misleading, noting among other things that Shell "uses less than 0.5% of it's waste CO2 to grow flowers". You can read the full complaint here (PDF).


Thanks Mim!
Details via Environmental Leader

Gap's "For Kids By Kids" on Onion News Network

Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line

Ethanol Is Not Green

A recent report from Stanford University concludes that the much hyped corn based Ethanol is not only NOT a "clean-burning" eco-fuel, but that in the long run it may cause more deaths than traditional gasoline. According to Mark Z. Jacobson, the scientist that conducted the research:

"In our study, E85 increased ozone-related mortalities in the United States by about 200 deaths per year compared to gasoline, with about 120 of those deaths occurring in Los Angeles," Jacobson said. "These mortality rates represent an increase of about 4 percent in the U.S. and 9 percent in Los Angeles above the projected ozone-related death rates for gasoline-fueled vehicles in 2020."

Read more about the report's conclusions here.

Steven Colbert on rBGH

Steven Colbert's take on the recent flap over labeling of products using Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is, as usual, right on target...



via Treehugger, thanks Melinda!

Irradiated = Pasteurized says FDA.

According to a recent AP article the FDA is once again considering relaxing the labeling of foods which have been irradiated. Under their new proposal some irradiated foods could just be labeled as pasteurized or even alternate terms, which could be petitioned for by manufacturers. Jeff Barach, vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers/Food Products Association, was quoted as saying ’ÄúWe have long argued that the use of the term irradiation or radiation has such a negative impact on the consumer that it basically acts as a warning label.’Äù However:

The FDA acknowledges in the proposed rule that allowing alternative ways of describing irradiation could confuse consumers: ’ÄúResearch indicates that many consumers regard substitute terms for irradiation to be misleading,’Äù the proposal reads in part.

Read the entire article here.

File Under Irony: Environmentally Friendly Bullets

Don't know how I missed this story until now...

Arms manufacturer BAE Systems has developed a range of "environmentally friendly" weapons, including a lead-free bullet. An article in The Sunday Times quotes a BAE representative as saying:

"Weapons are going to be used and when they are, we try to make them as safe for the user as possible, to limit the collateral damage and to impact as little as possible on the environment."

Read the entire article here.

You know you're a successful blogger when...

You know you're a successful blogger when...Microsoft writes asking for your help! I received an email (reprinted below) asking me to promote their new socially conscious initiative. Basically if you use their version of Instant Messenger with a special code, a donation will be made to a charity each time you use it. This kind of instant, feel good activism, associated with using a commercial product is really the lowest rung on the ladder of social consciousness (if it's on the ladder at all). At best it's money the company has already allocated to charity that they are using for marketing purposes; at worst it allows consumers to feel like they're off the hook, since they've already "done their part." Believe me, we can't chat ourselves into a better world courtesy of a corporation. If Microsoft wants my opinion (which clearly they do since I'm SO influential) they should just give the money to the charities and then engage customers in real social action that doesn't involve marketing their products. But of course that's not why they're in business, and that's the point: Don't use social action as a marketing tool! And while I appreciate the sentiment of the letter (and the flattery certainly helps), why don't I feel like I can trust them? So Microsft, here's the question for you, is any publicity still good publicity?

Dear Noah,

People like you are among the most influential voices in our culture, reaching millions of people who share your commitment to important social causes. Because of your unique ability to reach this socially conscious audience, we’Äôd like to tell you about a new initiative just introduced by Microsoft and some of the world’Äôs most effective organizations dedicated to social causes.

It’Äôs called the i’Äôm Initiative, and it’Äôs a collaboration between Windows Live’Ñ¢ Messenger and nine organizations dedicated to some of the worlds most urgent social issues. Every time users start a conversation using Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft shares a portion of the program’Äôs advertising revenue with one of these cause organizations.

Each organization is guaranteed a minimum of $100,000, but there’Äôs no limit to the size of the total donation they can get. The more i’Äôm conversations you start, the more money goes to the causes. The sky’Äôs the limit.

Visit http://im.live.com and check out the ’ÄúGet Involved’Äù section, you’Äôll find all kinds of ways you can be a part of this exciting movement ’Äì messaging points, website modules/buttons and more.

Please help us spread the word and encourage others to join the program. Together, we can show the world that small talk can make a big difference.

Thanks for your interest and support.

For more information and specific questions please contact Karin Muskopf at makeadifference@live.com