Environment

DuPont's Public Filibuster

by Sheldon Rampton — May 10, 2004 - 10:00pm

As area residents and activists prepared to participate in a public hearing on DuPont Titanium Technologies' request to increase polluting activities at its plant outside Pass Christian, Mississippi, they had no idea they'd have a long wait before getting a turn to speak. "When they realized a handful of prominent supporters - including economic development directors, chamber boosters, bankers and several plant employees - had reserved the first hour and a half of floor time, the hundreds of concerned residents grew livid," reports Greg Harman.

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Biloxi Sun Herald, May 11, 2004

Drink Up

by Sheldon Rampton — May 4, 2004 - 10:00pm

A grand jury report on groundwater contamination in Escambia County, Florida, has been released charging that local, state and federal agencies responsible for protecting the environment and public health all failed to inform the public about industrial contamination of the county's water supply, with the Conoco oil company among the area's leading polluters.

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Pensacola New Journal, May 5, 2004

Greenwashing Koch Industries

by Sheldon Rampton — April 22, 2004 - 10:00pm

"Flanked by 'Survivor' champions Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca and two Washington Redskins cheerleaders, a leading D.C. environmentalist took time on Earth Day to thank Wichita-based Koch Industries," reports Alan Bjerga. Doug Siglin, head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Anacostia River Initiative, praised Koch for helping pick trash out of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. But while Koch colleagues heaped praise on the company, critics wondered whether the event wasn't designed to clean up Koch's image as much as the river.

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Wichita Eagle, April 23, 2004

And Now, a Word from Our Earth Day Sponsor

by Diane Farsetta — April 21, 2004 - 10:00pm

"Through concerted marketing and public relations campaigns... 'greenwashers' attract eco-conscious consumers and push the notion that they don't need environmental regulations because they are already environmentally responsible.

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New York Times, April 22, 2004

A Cost-Cost Analysis

by Diane Farsetta — April 16, 2004 - 10:00pm

"In a report analyzing the economics of protecting a threatened fish in the Pacific Northwest, the Bush administration this month deleted all references to possible monetary benefits" from conservation. The U.S.

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Washington Post, April 17, 2004

Beyond Posturing

by Sheldon Rampton — April 15, 2004 - 10:00pm

Four years ago BP - the company formerly known as British Petroleum - launched a $200 million ad campaign to rebrand itself as "Beyond Petroleum" and to strut the company's avowed commitment to corporate social responsibility. At its April 16 annual general meeting in London, however, its real face was more visible.

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Guardian (UK), April 16, 2004

It's Not Easy, Being Green(washers)

by Diane Farsetta — April 11, 2004 - 10:00pm

The Forest Service's controversial "Forests With a Future" campaign, handled by PR firm OneWorld Communications, includes a brochure explaining why increased logging will benefit Sierra Nevada forests. "The pamphlet... explains that fire risks have risen as the Sierra's forests have grown more dense in the past century.

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Associated Press, April 12, 2004

Seeing Green Through Rose-Colored Glasses

by Laura Miller — April 3, 2004 - 11:00pm

"From the heated debate on global warming to the hot air on forests; from the muddled talk on our nation's waters to the convolution on air pollution, we are fighting a battle of fact against fiction on the environment -- Republicans can't stress enough that extremists are screaming 'Doomsday!' when the environment is actually seeing a new and better day," proclaimed an email memo sent to the press secretaries of all Republican congressmen.

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Observer (UK), April 4, 2004

Don't Be Fooled

by Sheldon Rampton — March 31, 2004 - 11:00pm

The Green Life, a Boston-based environmental organization, chose April 1 to release its "Don't Be Fooled" report on the "10 worst greenwashers of 2003." Winners included: Project Learning Tree, a front group for the American Forest Foundation; Royal Caribbean International, for giving itself an environmental award and shielding customers from information about raw sewage dumping and other forms of cruise ship pollution; the Environmental Protection Agency, for calling its plan to weaken the Clean Air Act the "Clea

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TheGreenlife.org, April 1, 2004

'Anti-Chemical' = Pro-Public Health

by Laura Miller — March 23, 2004 - 11:00pm

"Industry officials are expressing grave concern that a growing alliance between environmentalists and patient advocacy groups to link exposure to harmful pollution with chronic diseases and life-long disabilities could add credibility to activists' calls for stricter environmental requirements," Inside EPA reports.

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Inside EPA, March 24, 2004
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