Frankly Green

Taking Care of Business

By Joel Makower
GreenBiz.com

A repost from my friends at GreenBiz.

Link to Article

Green marketing isn't going so well. At least, that's my take, based on watching the trials and tribulations of both large and small companies as they try to make inroads into the green marketplace.

It's not for lack of trying. While there are no definitive metrics for green marketing, it's hard to miss the uptick in activity, with everyone from Clorox to Chevy waving the green flag. Green ads are everywhere these days -- but so, too, are claims of "greenwashing," a vague term levied by just about anyone, it seems, on just about any company making any green claim.

Another Inconvenient Truth

FastCompany.com
By David Roberts

Thanks to Jim A. for this article

Link to Article

You can't swing a dead hippie in a big-box store these days without hitting some sort of green boast on a label. Partially recycled. Energy efficient. Eco-friendly. Natural!

Off the top of your head, how many of these claims do you suppose are bogus or misleading in some way? A quarter? One-half? Try 99.9%.

That's the startling conclusion of research from TerraChoice Environmental Marketing. Of the 1,018 green-advertised products it reviewed last fall, all but one committed one of the "six sins of greenwashing." Yikes.

That sounds like a call for tighter standards and more legal enforcement--perhaps some hefty fines, even a boycott or two. Force companies to be honest, right?

Sure. But there are deeper, less comfortable issues in the background of the greenwashing debate. While there's certainly a role for better oversight of green marketing, there are built-in limits to green honesty in a wealthy materialist culture.

Feeling Thrifty? The Thirsty Reach for Tap, Not Bottle

By Tali Arbel, AP Business Writer
Tap water is making a comeback.

Link to Article

With a day's worth of bottled water — the recommended 64 ounces — costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to drink water that comes straight from the sink.

The lousy economy may be accomplishing what environmentalists have been trying to do for years: wean people off the disposable plastic bottles of water that were sold as stylish, portable, healthier and safer than water from the tap.

Heather Kennedy, 33, an office administrator from Austin, Texas, said she used to drink a lot of bottled water but now tries to drink exclusively tap water.

"I feel that (bottled water) is a rip-off," she said in an e-mail. "It is not a better or healthier product than the water that comes out of my tap. It is absurd to pay so much extra for it."

Chevrolet Volt - A Plug-in Polluter

Thanks to Tyler B. for the link to this blog post and his comments:

Thought you guys would find this interesting.  I’ve been looking for this analysis for a while and stumbled across this.  GM announced yesterday that it will definitely introduce the Chevy Volt in 2011.  This will likely be subsidized by the federal government to bring the cost down to $30-35k.  Both Toyota and Honda have ridiculed the Volt.  And the fact that GM will pitch this as a clean car is as silly as the city of San Francisco having “emission free vehicle” stamped on the back of all its electric buses.  The average American produces 20 tons of CO2 per yr, so driving a volt would only increase your footprint by less than 3%, but it doesn’t help.

Link to Blog Post from Energy and Environment

In January, 2007, General Motors announced an electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt. At that point, GM had no working product, just a concept with a set of performance estimates. The vehicle was to be powered by a 121 kW peak (162 HP peak) electric motor drawing from a 16 kWh battery that could be discharged up to 70 percent. GM estimated that the vehicle would travel 40 miles at highway speeds on one such battery charge. Batteries can be charged from the electrical power grid. The vehicle was also to include a 53 kW (71 HP) gasoline engine driving a generator, estimated to yield 50 miles per gallon when it supplies the electricity to power the vehicle.

Wee Generatioin Eco Diaper Bag

A repost from my friend Zem at ecofabulous:

Wee Likey This Bag
Posted: 12 Jun 2008 09:48 AM CDT

Seriously, if this bag existed back when I was having kids, I might have had a third - that's how spacious and organized it is (mmm, sounds like I would keep this bonus round baby in the bag...probably better that I stopped at 2).

The Wee Generation Eco Diaper Bag is the brain child of many great design minds: After consumers were asked to describe the ideal diaper bag, Rickshaw Bagworks, IDEO and William McDonough went to work to realize the collective vision of the respondents. The result is a super cool PVC-free shoulder bag made from Cradle to Cradle certified fabric woven from recycled water bottles.

The insanely organized and compartmentalized interior includes an insulated feeding tote, changing tote and changing pad. Outside there are bottle holders, which like the interior holders, are removable. The bag comes in a variety of hip patterns that are gender-neutral so mom and dad will feel equally comfortable  - just in time for Father's Day! Best of all, 100% of the profits go to Healthy Child Healthy World!. Plus the first 500 bags bought come with goodies from Seventh Generation and HCHW. We can't wait to hear if you are as excited as wee are. Buy the bag here!

Oklahoma's Painful Car Culture

Thanks to my friend Warren Karlenzig at Common Current for sending this to me (he is quoted several times in the article)! Warren just returned from the EU and had this to say - "amazing to see all the bikes in Paris bike share program and in Amsterdam (50% of people there ride a bike for transportaiton at least once a day.)"

Residents used to 70-mile commutes turn to carpooling, public transport as gas hovers at $4 a gallon. Survey ranks 2 Oklahoma cities as vulnerable.
By Lara Moscrip, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

Link to Article

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- For many people in Oklahoma, life is built around the car.

With several refineries in the region, years of cheap fuel have made it possible for many people to live far from their jobs.

Now the situation is unraveling.

Why Does Berkeley Have So Many Priuses?

Thanks to Simon B. for sending this along!

Link to Article

The geography of green consumerism

Buying green is all the rage: barely a day passes without the rollout
of a new "environmentally responsible" product. This week it's the
waterless car-wash, an energy saving computer monitor and a
biodegradable dish-rack. Ignore, for a moment, whether green
consumerism is a contradiction in terms. Pass over the question of
whether these products actually deliver the benefits they promise. Who
buys them--the rich, the idealistic, the penny pinching or the guilty?

Perhaps energy saving cars, light-bulbs, computer monitors and building
materials appeal to those who value their future environmental
benefits. But evidence suggests that, despite tangible financial
rewards, most people do not make even small environmentally sound
changes at home, such as installing energy-efficient light bulbs or not
leaving the television on standby.

State, Federal Officials Halt Spraying for Apple Moth

I just made the post on this issue yesterday, and this news comes across today!! Wow, the state and federal authorities must be reading Frankly Green :)

A big thank you to Alexis, Eleanor, Garbielle, Sandie and the many others who championed the efforts to stop the spray! The future health of the Bay Area will be much better thanks to you! And it is a great example for others how individuals can make a difference!!

(This photo looks much better without the airplane spraying chemicals - see previous post)

Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Thursday, June 19, 2008

Link to Article

(06-19) 15:33 PDT Sacramento -- The San Francisco Bay Area and other urban areas in the state will no longer be sprayed aerially with a pesticide to eradicate the light brown apple moth, state and federal agriculture officials announced Thursday.

Instead the agricultural departments intend to fight the leaf-munching moth by releasing sterile moths and using other ground methods, said California Agricultural Secretary A.G. Kawamura and U.S. Department of Agricultural official Cindy Smith at a press conference.

The government had planned to spray counties where the moth had been found later this summer and fall. Thursday's announcement comes after government leaders and thousands of residents questioned the safety and effectiveness of the program.

Guest Post: I Prefer to Breathe, Thank You.

A guest post by Alexis Fryer.

I realize that this post and the previous post appeal only to the readers in the Bay Area, but this is an important issue. And since I have a lot of readers in the Bay Area, I wanted to make these two posts. Thank you, Alexis, for this post.......

I am concerned about the aerial pesticide spray planned in San Francisco and I think you should be, too.

The spray is designed to disrupt the mating cycle of the male light brown apple moth (LBAM), and contains pheromones in addition to “inert” ingredients, the formulation of which is known only to the manufacturer. The pheromone is housed in microscopic plastic capsules, small enough to penetrate deep into lung tissue.  Spraying will occur over San Francisco, southern Marin County and the East Bay monthly for a period of 3-10 years, that’s 36 to 120 exposures.

The spray has already occurred in Santa Cruz and Monterey, and caused hundreds of people health problems including respiratory distress, dizziness, and skin problems. Many pets were affected, and some pet deaths have been attributed to the spray of the pesticide.

There are many points explored in the media on this topic. I see the most salient are the following:

Five Simple Steps You Can Take to Fight the Spray Today

 Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the aerial pesticide spray proposed for San Francisco and several surrounding populations.  We urge you to dedicate your efforts to this issue and to help us further spread awareness of the potential dangers associated with this program.

The obvious key question is what can each of us do to stop the spray from happening?  

Because the program originates from federal powers, only our Governor can effectively halt the spray from occurring.  Alternatively, our Congressional and Senatorial legislators can apply pressure to have the moth re-classified and removed from a zero tolerance list, which is directly tied to California’s agricultural trade potential.  Finally, we can buy time to build pressure and demand more comprehensive health and environmental impact reports from impartial parties if our City files litigation to demand that these studies are completed before citizens are placed in harm’s way.

Therefore, if you want to help stop the spray, you can make the appropriate requests to the contacts below.  In addition, take some time to consider whether your schools, businesses, book clubs, philanthropic enterprises, corner stores etc. may be leveraged to increase awareness, and apply visible pressure on behalf of our greater community.  Our collective connectivity and influence must be put into full play immediately.

So we urge you to respectfully and knowledgeably contact the following key players to ask for their protection and assistance: