How green is the "green revolution"? Is it genuine? Or has it been hijacked by commercial interests focused on a different kind of green? An attempt is being made to hijack it - especially by car and oil companies seeking to appear to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Which means it's up to us. For us, "going green" means resisting the lures of commercial packaging - and working hard to live personal lives that are greener and greener.
We are still in the honeymoon phase of going green. All that is green is good. Certainly trees are good, and local vegetables. From political rhetoric, to new emissions standards for cars, even to ethanol fuel as a use for our corn surplus (until it went underwater), the green agenda is here. But what about British Petroleum's green logo? A green Hummer, even?
Energy and car companies have met the green movement head-on. They have to. In the face of astronomical gas prices in a depressed economy, they are seeking to dodge a very big bullet. Indeed, they are trying to portray themselves as helping pull the trigger. TV ads for carmakers and energy companies have gone environmental. Energy companies flaunt their investment in renewable energies - no matter how small a part of their total business this may be. Cars are touted for their gas mileage - as if driving a more fuel-efficient car somehow absolves drivers of responsibility for polluting. A Chevron commercial includes an environmental endorsement. An ad trumpets "the most fuel-efficient SUV in its class" (whatever that means). The message: "We're green, too."
Oil companies are reporting record-breaking profits. The U.S. automobile industry has not fared so well. This week Ford reported a sales downturn of about 28 percent in the last year, and General Motors a loss of about 18 percent. That's not necessarily a result of consumers thinking green, however; we cannot afford the gas, so we do not buy the SUV. If the gas were only $2 a gallon and the economy were healthy, sales would be much better. We'd probably buy the idea that an SUV that gets 22 miles to the gallon instead of 18 is somehow environmentally responsible.
