How do you spot greenwashing? We had a few suggestions over at Planet Green, but Keith at Unsuitablog makes a few more:
-Be suspicious of all environmental claims. Don't trust anything unless you have verified them yourself.
-Look out for poor use of scientific facts, especially when listening to politicians: "Reducing carbon emissions will protect the ozone layer", "this technology is sustainable", "emissions can be offset", "the greenhouse effect is not certain" etc.
TerraPass, an profit carbon offset (money from hot air), is no stranger to media attention. TerraPass co-founder Tom Arnold here. Today, is defending its position as a for-profit carbon offset provider. GREEN WASHERS - Beware (new FTC laws coming soon) The Federal Trade Commission held a public hearing on Jan. 8th on how to regulate "green" advertising with details on how to file a comment electronically, by paper or even confidentially can be found at the FTC website here. As the New York Times reports, the FTC has not updated their green advertising guidelines or "green guides" since 1998. More than $54m was spent last year on carbon offsets, the Times writes, and there are growing concerns about about the level of "green washing" in paid media (i.e advertising that claims to be green or environmental but really isn't).
How do you spot greenwashing? We had a few suggestions over at Planet Green, but Keith at Unsuitablog makes a few more: 