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“Green Noise”? Blame Corporations, Not Activists

By Jamie Henn - Jun 16th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

An article in yesterday’s New York Times gets one thing right: We are certainly living in the era of “green noise.” Here in San Francisco, you can’t ride the bus or walk around the city without seeing ads and billboards touting the latest green trend. What the piece gets wrong, though, is who’s responsible. It’s not activists who are clogging the airwaves–it’s corporations. The article, “The Era of Green Noise,” laments the plight of the average consumer, who is “bombarded” with green information wherever he or she goes. Environmentalists, not green-washing corporations, are told to pipe down (for their own good, of course):

And some environmentalists fear that the public might begin to ignore their message before any meaningful change can be accomplished. For them, it’s a time to reassess strategies and streamline their campaigns before it’s too late.

If The New York Times , or the mainstream media in general, took the time to listen to the new generation of environmental advocates, what they’d hear isn’t consumer advice, but strong political messages. The new green movement ranges from inner-city of Oakland, where organizations are pioneering green-jobs training programs for disadvantaged youth, to college campuses, where student investment clubs are pushing for endowment transparency and college investment in clean technology. In each case, the message is about radical structural change–not what type of lettuce you should be buying at the store. (Answer: Start a group like People’s Grocery that will give you your lettuce with a little “redefining-capitalism” in the process). It’s not citizen groups that are pushing green products and eco-shopping advice, it’s the green-washing departments of major corporations. Pick up any magazine today and check out the ads. Chevron , Ford , GE , Clorox , Dow –the list goes on and on. I could fill a whole blog post with links to the so-called “green” sections of corporate websites. All that said, the Times article has a point. Environmental advocates, whether they be old-school groups like the Sierra Club or the new front, like the Energy Action Coalition , need to make their message clearer: Solving global warming and other environmental challenges is political , not just personal . I care more about who you voted for in the last election than where you bought your lettuce. If you still want to save the planet, you shouldn’t stress yourself out by changing your light bulbs–you should get busy changing your politicians.

Tags: advertising, climate change, economy, environment