MARC CHOQUETTE
Online Content Manager
Is it just me, or is everyone and everything (including the Graphic, see A1) trying to go “green?”
It seems that many corporations in the United States have realized that throwing around the “green” label means that the other kind of green will be lining their pockets soon thereafter, whether or not they are actually environmentally friendly.
Automakers in Detroit are perhaps the most heinous offenders of using “green” to sell cars. While there is ample evidence that U.S. automakers are woefully behind in creating technology that will make a real impact in cutting carbon emissions, companies like GM are pitching their new hybrid SUVs with ads featuring pristine green lawns, blue skies and children listening to ridiculous “green” statements by a friendly “green” representative from corporate.
Even the historically “green” Toyota is pushing the limit with a recent ad:
“Can a car company grow in harmony with the environment? Why not? At Toyota, we’re not only working toward cars with zero emissions. We’re also striving for zero waste in everything else we do,” says a voiceover in one of the company’s ads.
With all of the other wasteful side effects of producing and maintaining a car, Toyota made themselves look as foolish as others simply by suggesting that car companies and the environment can be yin and yang, buddies who will peacefully coexist till the end of time.
The media have also been obsessing over the “green” moniker. CNN turned their logo green on Oct. 23 to promote their “Planet in Peril” series, which explores examples of environmental degradation around the globe. Ironically, oil company Conoco-Phillips, one of the world’s major contributors to carbon emissions, sponsored the series, apparently to fool viewers into thinking they are actually a proponent of climate change initiatives.
And just this week, NBC Universal also turned its peacock logo green to promote “Green Week,” which shows us the Ford Hybrid, teaches us how to practice green living (Like, “Instead of using a paper or plastic cup, invest in a mug and use that throughout the day”), but shows nothing about what NBC Universal is actually doing to lower their own carbon footprint.
This is the ultimate hypocrisy that exists in corporate America’s “green” movement. Companies will go head over heels to push the “green” idea through advertising and programming, yet none of us ever hear about what contributions the same companies are making.
Just like the knock against the Live Earth concerts, which brought awareness but also tons more pollution with it, simple awareness can only do so much. Telling people to do this or that has never been as effective as setting the example yourself, and this is what people should remember when they see their television turning “green.”
Get past the “awareness” phase and into the “we need to take action now” phase. While we can all do our part, until corporate America holds up their end of the bargain, consider NBC’s “green week” and Ford’s not-quite-a-Prius hybrid collection to be of little help to our environment. It seems to be more of a marketing ploy than a true effort at making concrete changes.
11-08-2007
