There's been a lot of chatter about the American Petroleum Institute's astroturf campaign to oppose climate legislation ever since the story first broke. Of course, plenty of conservatives, global warming deniers, and representatives for Big Oil have tried to defend the astroturf campaign, claiming that they are just helping facilitate legitimate grassroots activity by scheduling a series of rallies in cities where Big Oil has a strong presence.

But according to Public Citizen folks who managed to get into the campaign's kickoff event in Houston earlier this week, the word "rally" doesn't even come close to describing what's going on here. It's more like a "company picnic," according to citizensarah of Public Citizen.

Check it out:

Though the Netroots has gotten the message loud and clear: these are really just company picnics, not uprisings of real grassroots support, there has still been some hedging on the part of the traditional media — who is still reporting that “many of the people attending the demonstration were employees of oil companies who work in Houston and were bused from their workplaces.“

But the truth is that the Houston rally was attended ONLY by energy company employees and retirees (at least that’s the way they wanted it). It’s no big surprise that a few rabble-rousing enviros were kicked out, but when even those that oppose cap and trade were turned away — that should raise major red flags about the true nature of these events. This isn’t even Astroturf anymore, this is asphalt.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to the anti-cap and trade folks from Freedom Works that were [excluded] from yesterday’s rally:

When you've got funding from giant multinational corporations like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP, and you aren't even allowing the general public to attend your events — even when they agree with you, for crying out loud! — then there really is nothing legitimately grassroots about your campaign. Sorry.

If you too are fed up with the deceitful and manipulative tactics employed by Big Oil and want to see a real, intelligent debate about climate policy take place in this country, write to Big Oil now and tell them to stop the lies.

Today in Kogelo, Kenya, local activists worked with Greenpeace's Solar Generation to install solar panels on the Senator Barack Obama School as well as the house of Mama Sara, President Obama's grandmother.

"I am very pleased that my home has been improved thanks to solar energy and I'll make sure my grandson hears about it," Mama Sara said. Let's hope President Obama not only hears about it, but is so moved by the benefits that solar energy has in store for his grandmother’s community that he takes the action necessary to kickstart a global energy revolution!


Created with flickr slideshow.

The solar installations are part of a renewable energy workshop hosted by Solar Generation. The Kibera Community Youth Programme and members of Nyang’oma Kogelo participated.

Like many other countries in Africa, Kenya is on the front lines of climate change impacts. A drastic reduction in rainfall in recent years has brought on a drought that has worsened the country’s preexisting agricultural problems caused by poor land use and desertification. The drought has also made Kenya’s large-scale hydro power generators unreliable.

All of which makes solar energy an especially good investment for Kenyans. Solar installations strengthen the economy and protect the environment while ensuring a reliable and clean supply of energy for a part of the world where paraffin oil – which, when burned, releases toxins and carcinogens – is still in widespread use.

The solar industry is ready and able to deliver the needed capacity. There is no technical impediment to powering Kenya with clean, green solar power, just political barriers.

Industrialized countries are largely responsible for the climate crisis, and it’s time we took responsibility for that. The developed world should be helping developing countries like Kenya leapfrog the dirty fossil fuels of the past while giving them access to the clean energies of the future with which to continue their economic development. Greenpeace is calling for rich countries to contribute $140 billion annually to support climate adaptation, mitigation, and forest protection in the developing world.

With just 15 weeks left to go until the decisive UN climate talks in Copenhagen, we are urging world leaders to emulate the innovative young people of Kibera and Kogelo and translate their climate rhetoric into action in Copenhagen.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock (Aug. 15 to 18), Treehugger.com has been running a series of articles about the spirit of protest born in the 60s and how it has shaped activism today. I wrote a brief history for them about the role rock musicians have played in Greenpeace activism over the years, starting with the benefit concert by Joni Mitchell and James Taylor that started it all, up to today when Anti-Flag is helping us organize young punk rockers at the Warped Tour.

One thing I didn't touch on in the piece that came up in my research, which I think is really awesome, is that Allen Ginsberg was an "early advisor and mentor" to Greenpeace. I'm a big fan of Ginsberg's poetry, so it made me pretty proud to find this out, and I thought I'd share this picture of Ginsberg reading "Plutonian Ode" at a disarmament rally back in the 70s.

I'd also like to give a little plug to the fantastic book in which I found much of the info for the Treehugger piece as well as both pics you see here on this post. It's by Rex Weyler, a journalist and one of the first Greenpeace activists, and it's called Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists, and Visionaries Changed the World.

Here's a little taste of the many photos awaiting you on the Treehugger post. This is my personal favorite: Jerry Garcia playing to a sold-out crowd at a Greenpeace benefit concert right here in San Francisco, on Pier 31, in front of the Greenpeace ship James Bay:



The story of how this benefit concert featuring the Jerry Garcia Band came about and was pulled off in just five days is pretty fascinating. You can get a bit of it from my Treehugger post, but you'll have to pick up Rex Weyler's book to read the whole thing!

Photos © Rex Weyler

This morning, several Greenpeace activists laid down some astroturf (the real kind) in front of the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the American Petroleum Institute (API), and erected a sign that read "CLIMATE FRAUD, FUNDED BY BIG OIL." The sign and astroturf were also accompanied by the logos of oil giants ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron, all of which are members of API.



The action was meant to protest the US oil industry’s plans to have oil company employees attend anti-US climate action rallies while masquerading as concerned “Energy Citizens.” This Energy Citizens campaign is an attempt to use a tactic known as “astroturfing,” in which they give the appearance of a genuine grassroots movement while hiding the fact that it is actually a well-funded effort coordinated by large multinational corporations with a vested interest in preventing any new regulations of their dirty energy business.

The astroturf got laid pretty thick today in my hometown, Houston, where the first Energy Citizens rally occurred (showing just how non-grassroots this campaign is, Chevron apparently bussed many of its employees to the event).

The API memo (available here, along with Greenpeace's response to API), leaked to colleagues of mine here at Greenpeace last week, called on the CEOs of some of the world’s biggest oil companies to “indicate to your company leadership your strong support for employee participation in the rallies.” The API’s President, Jack Gerard, further warns the world’s oil barons to treat the memo as “sensitive,” arguing that “we don’t want our critics to know our game plan.”

Had it not been for the leaked memo, these Energy Citizens events might have been just another of Big Oil’s dirty tricks intended to thwart real public debate on global warming policy. But by recognizing what we’re up against and mobilizing a response, we can ensure that the debate about how best to kickstart a clean energy revolution is not sullied by purveyors of dirty energy.

The concern here absolutely needs to be what’s best for the environment, not what’s best for the oil industry’s bottom line. Global warming is the most pressing environmental crisis of our time. But that doesn’t phase Big Oil, or many other dirty energy providers, for that matter. So far this year, over  $82 million has been spent on corporate lobbyists to argue against climate change legislation, not only by Big Oil, but also by King Coal and gas companies across the US.

Whether you support the Waxman-Markey legislation or not, it is imperative that you get involved, get vocal, and be part of the real grassroots movement calling for science-based policies to deal with the severity of the climate crisis. Let’s make sure Big Oil’s employees are offered new employment opportunities as part of a green energy revolution so that they no longer have to fear for their job if they refuse to attend some bogus “Energy Citizen” rally.

The WSJ recently reported that Big Oil, eager to avoid new regulations of its dirty energy supply, is going to take a cue from the health care reform protesters who have resorted to intimidation tactics like shouting down members of Congress at their in-district town hall meetings.

Click this button to get involved and make your voice heard!

Early confirmation of Big Oil’s plans came in the form of a memo from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that was leaked to colleagues of mine here at Greenpeace. According to Kevin Grandia, writing on Huffington Post, the memo details how, “Taking a page from the playbook of Astroturf campaigners currently crashing health care town hall events across the country, API hopes to similarly sully productive communications between Congressmembers and their actual constituents at public events scheduled for the coming weeks.”

Greenpeace does not support the Waxman-Markey bill that API is attempting to "organize" against, but that’s no reason to let bullies hired by API dominate the debate and drown out rational voices calling for science-based climate policy. So it’s more important than ever that we keep the pressure up and make as loud a call as possible for an aggressive response to global warming.

Greenpeace has organizers around the country who’d be happy to help you get involved with actions and protests in your community. Check out greenpeace.org/volunteer to find an organizer near you, or to sign up to get more information from one of our national organizers if you’re not near one of our field organizers.

The important thing is just that we all get out there and make sure that corporate-backed astroturfers don’t hijack this debate. The time for real global warming policy is now, let’s make it happen.

This video from Green For All spells it out pretty nicely, I think:



Read more about "why the Senate must pass bold climate legislation this fall, and why we need a vibrant movement based in low-income communities and communities of color" on the Green for All blog.

We're all still riding high on the big victory for ancient forests today thanks to Kimberly-Clark's new policy that sets the goal of getting 100% of the fiber for Kleenex and the company's other products from sustainable sources. Just wanted to share a couple cool videos with all of you so you could share in the good times.

The first is a funny little video we made about making up with the company:


This one, courtesy of my colleagues in Canada, has some beautiful shots:


I love the smell of recycled tissue in the morning. Smells like... victory.