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http://www.publicradio.org/columns/sustainability/greenwash/The Greenwash Brigade

February 2009 Archives

Teaching climate change or a Sharp sales technique?

NJ_class.jpg (Photo credit: Jared Flesher, New York Times’ Green Inc. blog)

As a former teacher, this Green Inc. article caught my interest and raised a red flag. Sharp Electronics Corporation employees are volunteering to teach 5th graders lessons on climate change and renewable power.

Without a copy of the presentation, I won’t give a thumbs up or down. Instead, I’ll share my concerns. Flesher commented that “The renewable energy portion of the presentation mentions several technologies — including hydro, wind, and ocean power — but solar quickly becomes the focus.”

That’s not necessarily bad, depending on the larger context. A lesson focused on solar power is appropriate IF the class had already learned about conservation, AND there are classes dedicated to other renewable energy sources. As a stand-alone, it’s simply self-interested marketing.

Continue reading "Teaching climate change or a Sharp sales technique?" »

A Wordle for your thoughts?

Hi everyone — I’m Jo, and I hide behind the scenes most of the time here. I’ve been thinking about the topics we cover on the Greenwash Brigade, and I wonder if we’re getting to the things you want us to be getting to — especially because what is “green” and what is “greenwash” is constantly evolving.

Here’s a Wordle to illustrate the topics that come up most often on the blog, to prompt your thinking:

GreenwashBrigade_wordle.jpg

Got ideas for what you want us to write about? Use that handy little “suggest a topic” button in the upper right-hand corner of the blog, or just leave a comment here.

The newest Boy Scout merit badge: Clearcutting and development

Image via Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Gilbert W. Arias

(Photo credit: Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Gilbert W. Arias)

The Company Line(s):

“The Boy Scouts were green before it was cool be to be green.” … “Our mission is kids, not trees.” … “We’re being good stewards of the land. You can take our word for it.” … “The outdoors is the laboratory in which Boy Scouts learn ecology and practice conservation of nature’s resources.” … “As a general principle, all public charities are bound to their fiduciary obligation to manage their assets for the benefits of their constituents.”

Boy Scout Reality Camp (just the facts sir):

  • 1/3 of all Scouting Councils have conducted timber harvests
  • 400 timber harvests over 20 years=millions of dollars in revenue
  • Intensive timber harvests and development= 34,000 acres of potential conservation learning… poof!… gone
  • Not welcome: gays, atheists, agnostics, United Way funding
  • Myopic and hateful exclusion leads to loss of revenue, leads to clearcutting forests, yet insistence that they are a good land steward.

Continue reading "The newest Boy Scout merit badge: Clearcutting and development" »

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Meet the Greenwash Brigade

Our hand-picked environmental professionals, each part of the Public Insight Network, are on the hunt for "greenwash" as they examine eco-friendly claims by companies, governments and other groups. They ask tough questions about the mainstreaming of green, from the perspectives of people in the trenches who are focused on these issues 24/7.

Jim Nicolow

Jim Nicolow is a nationally recognized expert on sustainable design and leads the sustainability initiative for Lord, Aeck & Sargent, overseeing the incorporation of sustainable design strategies and features into the firm’s design projects. He is a LEED® Accredited Professional with extensive knowledge of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED rating system.

Janne K. Flisrand

Janne K. Flisrand has worked as an affordable housing and urban planning research consultant for five years, primarily supporting local non-profits. Her focus is on transit, transit-oriented design, affordable housing, and sustainability. Currently, she’s the program coordinator for Minnesota Green Communities, a program promoting affordable, healthy, sustainably built housing throughout Minnesota.

Dennis Markatos-Soriano

Dennis Markatos-Soriano recently completed a Master's in Public Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. He is now launching Sustainable Energy Transition (SET) to help individuals and institutions move from dependence on oil and gas to an efficient use of renewables. Previously, he co-founded SURGE (Students United for a Responsible Global Environment), which aims to bring young progressives together across issues of environmental and social justice throughout North Carolina and beyond. In the summer of 2006, he helped to start a small green company, Greenway Pedicabs, to provide a greenhouse gas-free transportation option for people in the Triangle of North Carolina.

Heidi Siegelbaum

Heidi Siegelbaum is a principal with Calyx Sustainable Tourism and works primarily on advancing sustainable tourism practices. She also specializes in science translation, cross-border indicators with Canada, cross-disciplinary planning and environmental technical assistance to businesses. Previously, she was in-house legal counsel for EPA for industrial chemicals and biotechnology and the senior performance measure analyst with the Washington State Department of Ecology. She is on the technical advisory committee of the Seattle Culinary Academy and a long standing member of the Chefs Collaborative.

NOTE: The opinions expressed by the Greenwash Brigade bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of American Public Media or its employees. American Public Media is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the Greenwash Brigade bloggers.

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