Day: March 2, 2009

Cavuto rips Greenpeace rep on being ‘right’

Check out this clip of Fox News’ Neal Cavuto interviewing a Greenpeacer today:

[Cavuto]… With the global warming argument you’re pushing companies and a commitment of government monies to address a crisis that might not be the crisis you say it is. And if we’re wrong on this, we have spent mightily and committed a lot of resources that are precious and few to something that might be no more than passing climate change and not the crisis you say that it is — manmade global warming…

[Greenpeacer] Well, again, it’s not what I say. It’s what the climate science says. And I know your job is to stir up debate and pose the opposite point of view…

[Cavuto]… I just want to know what the hell is going on. When it’s warm you’re right. When it’s cold you’re right. When it’s raining you’re right. When it’s blizzarding you’re right. When it’s, like… I don’t know… it just seems you’re always right…

Kudos to Cavuto for pushing back…

RFK Jr: Eternity in jail for coal CEO

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said at today’s Capitol Climate Action rally that Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship “should be in jail… for all of eternity.”

Kennedy also said that coal companies Massey Energy, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal are “criminal enterprises.”

It’s hard to believe that Kennedy is a lawyer… but then again, it’s hard to believe that Roland Freisler was one, too.

Kennedy also invoked the memory of his father’s 1968 campaign tour through Appalachia — the same route followed by John F. Kennedy during his successful 1960 West Virginia campaign.

But if Kennedy wants to oppose coal while honoring his father, perhaps he ought to adopt RFK’s pro-nuclear stance. According to a March 21, 1967 New York Times article, RFK proposed that the New York State Power Authority be permitted to develop nuclear power pants and that private investment in nuclear power be encouraged.

Natural gas jeered at D.C. rally

When Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) called for upgrading/retrofitting the U.S. Capitol’s power plant from coal to gas today at the Capitol Climate Action rally, she was jeered by protesters yelling out “no gas” and “solar.”

Rep. Norton apparently missed the march to the power plant rally which featured anti-gas chants such as “No coal, no gas, hey-hey, ho-ho.”

Mass. Gov. proposes global warming parking tax

The Boston Globe reported this morning that,

In the same month that Logan International Airport hiked its parking rates by $1, Governor Deval Patrick is asking for another $2 parking “carbon fee” as part of his transportation overhaul filed this week.

The carbon fee, described on page 137 of Patrick’s 141-page bill, would that mean a 20- or 30-minute trip to pick up a relative at Logan could cost $6 in parking alone, not including tunnel tolls, which could rise to as much as $7 if legislators fail to pass Patrick’s other proposal to raise the gas tax. Three hours in a Logan garage would cost $18; all-day parking in a garage would run $26…

“It makes me never want to park here,” said Pam Nagy of Sutton, who was hauling luggage into Logan on Friday.

Patrick’s transportation secretary, James A. Aloisi Jr., said he will be glad if people stop parking at the airport and use public transportation to get there, a sentiment that has led several environmental groups to endorse the parking fee.

“It should not be inexpensive to park at convenient facilities in the middle of Logan Airport,” Aloisi said. “We need people to understand that there are better ways to get to Logan.”

He wants the parking fee – which requires approval from the Legislature – to be used for improvements to airport-related transit projects, including a proposal to build a new tunnel under South Boston to speed up the Logan-bound Silver Line bus service, and the initial phases of a long-term plan to build a transit loop around the city. Based on Logan’s most recent parking figures, the new fee would probably raise about $5.4 million per year.

But many who travel to the airport come with bulky luggage or young children, making public transit a harder sell, if not an impossibility.

Ben Kaplan pulling a cart piled high with luggage and accompanied by his wife and two young sons, said taking public transit would be tough for his family. “We’d be more likely to take a cab,” he said…

Will Gov. Patrick be taking public transit or will he continue to be driven in his $51,000 taxpayer-provided, CO2-spewing SUV?

Girl Scouts: Badges Out, Green In

The Washington Post reported this morning that the Girls Scouts are trying to revive flagging interest in the group by de-emphasizing merit badges and emphasizing green activities:

… What’s in: books and blogs written in girls’ voices on topics such as environmental awareness and engineering; troops led by college students; videoconferencing with scouts in other countries…

The biggest change is last year’s debut of Journeys, a pilot curriculum that will mostly replace the system of earning badges on specific topics. Girls still will be able to earn badges if they want, but Journeys rarely mentions them, focusing instead on broader themes, including teamwork and healthy living. Rather than scouts earning a badge for cooking a single nutritious meal, for example, the books emphasize fruits and vegetables whenever food is mentioned…

Many lessons focus on changing the world in measurable, modern ways. Recycling is still an important part of lessons on helping the environment, but some troops also install solar panels and test water quality in rivers.

This is not surprising given its source: the Girl Scouts hired the global PR firm Ogilvy & Mather, which went green last year according to this April 28, 2008 report in The Australian:

Last week, public relations firm Ogilvy launched its new brand OgilvyEarth to better position itself in the growing green communications and brand management markets. It released results of a survey of more than 50 companies about their attitudes to green branding and the risk of green wash. More than three-quarters think having a positive environmental brand will be essential to their business case within 10 years.

While 90 per cent said they had never been accused of green washing themselves, 98 per cent said it existed in corporate Australia, and 74 per cent said it was intentional.

It’s a shame that the Girl Scouts want to throw out their heritage and reputation in the greenwash.

Also, should we buy Girl Scout Cookies to support Ogilvy & Mather and its program to green our daughters?

Take Action:

Send your thoughts to Connie Lindsey (cl5@ntrs.com), the Chair of the Girls Scouts National Board of Directors. You may want to cc Davia Temin (dtemin@teminandco.com), the Board’s First Vice President.