The "G" in GM is for green?

The Greenwash Brigade

The AP reports that General Motors has emerged from bankrupcy ready to “go green.” Literally. GM is apparently contemplating changing their logo background from blue to green (image via autoobserver.com). The cynical “greenwash brigader” in me wants to scream, “Greenwash!” Come on, this is the company who brought us such behemoths as the Hummer, the Escalade, and the Suburban.

The problem is, I have a dog in this hunt. I grew up in Michigan and have seen how the state has been ravaged by the American automobile industry’s loss of dominance. They should have seen peak oil coming, and either didn’t or chose to ignore it. But I WANT them to lead again. I hope that this bankruptcy provides the opportunity for them to truly reinvent themselves.

Larry Burns, GM’s VP for R&D, says that he sees a unique opportunity to “reinvent the automobile” and sees the future as a highly-efficient, electrically-driven automobile. Hopefully greenwash is a gateway drug, and GM will go beyond a green logo to become a green company. I wish them luck, and will be watching closely… cynicism held for the moment.

July 13, 2009 by Jim Nicolow
6 comments

tags: auto market General Motors GM greenwash

Comments (6)

Mark Meisner | Respond
July 14, 2009 4:19 AM PT

Apparently GM is saying it is not going ahead with the logo color change.

Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor | Respond
July 14, 2009 4:46 AM PT

On July 10, General Motors Corp. CEO Fritz Henderson addressed this issue at a press conference.

The logo, he said, "is not on my desk to change, and I don't have any plans to change it."

We hope though that the company, with the same old logo and much of the same management (although many management change annnouncements are exected in coming weeks), still will be a "new" GM with a new emphasis on greening its cars and trucks.

Thanks for the report.
your friends at Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor

WT | Respond
July 14, 2009 8:39 AM PT

If GM does that bs then it will definately die, "green" histeria is nothing to be proud of.

Liberal junk isn't even the slightest bit true, global warming is an obvious lie, since there is no proof yet tons against it.

And you need to seriously research before doing your article, AM GENERAL started the Hummer line off of the humvee as requested by arnold sqwarsenegger or whatever.

Nothing wrong with escalades, as it is a consumer best buy.

And suburban is on it's 11th or 12th generation now, consequtively, making it the longest made vehicle ever.

GM won't survive if it "goes green" it will die and wither upo and become another legend in the wind. No one wants a small car that has no capabilities people want big and bold.

You sound almost like a Liberal which is very sad, seeing all liberals are trying to do is regulate every aspect of america and the lives of it's people, It's our own damn right to own these vehicles and you have no say.

There ain't no more then probably 20 people in the whole world who would waste a dime on "efficeint or hybrid" crap.

Maybe you should get checked out, you seem to be the odd dime.

Jim | Respond
July 14, 2009 10:02 AM PT

The Wall Street Journal reports last month's US vehicle sales were off nearly 30% from 2008. GM's light trucks were off 40%. While Toyota sold 10.5% MORE Prius than in June 2008. At 12,998 vehicles sold, the Prius was the nation's 14th most popular car.

Those '20 people' are spending more and more dimes on efficient hybrids, representing one of the few bright spots in car market. I hope GM chooses to take part in that growth, helping their bottom line AND the envrionment in the process.

http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html

Jim | Respond
August 11, 2009 11:52 AM PT

GM just used their bankruptch reorganization to back out of a partnership that has successfully removed thousands of pounds of mercury from scrapped GM cars, just as cash for clunkers kicks in:
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2009/08/gm_pulls_out_of_mercury_partne.html

Not exactly the green reorganization I had hoped for.

Jim Nicolow | Respond
August 11, 2009 12:23 PM PT

The 230 mpg Volt is surely a move in the right direction!
http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2009/08/report_chevy_volt_to_get_230_m.html

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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 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 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 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 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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