For Earth Day, NBC, the station that changed its logo green to show how much they care, had a rather interesting piece on their nightly news last evening. To highlight and celebrate Earth Day, they decided to feature President Bush’s family and talk about how “green” they are. I found this to be a fantastic example of greenwashing and very accurately timed to go along with the site Greenpeace just launched – www.StopGreenwash.org.

I mean, COME ON, President Bush being highlighted as green. That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. So what if he has an organic garden out in Texas with a few solar panels on the barn. Does Brian Williams think his audience forgot what a terrible job President Bush has been on environmental issues?

Instead of praising President Bush, they should have been reprimanding him and urging him to do better where he actually has the power to make change and set a precedence that counts on a global scale, as the president of the U.S. This is like putting a piece of tape on a crack in the sidewalk when you are the one in charge of making concrete.

We only have one planet, and thanks to Bush we’ve done a hell of a job polluting it these past 7 years. Let’s look at some facts,

• In 2005, Bush admits humans cause global warming but refuses to take any action to prevent it.

• Polar bears, instead of listing them as an endangered species, the Administration continues to allow the approval of oil drilling leases in prime polar bear habitat,

• The Administration continues to push for drilling in the Arctic,

• Bush is a former oil company owner, Exxon is making record, billion dollar profits while prices at the pump sky rocket and carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels continue to grow.

• The list could go on, but I’ll try to keep this post short…

I am outraged that NBC chose to feature the most un-environmental president on Earth Day. Why not highlight the hundreds of environmental organizations striving everyday to reverse the damage done by his administration. Or, the school children who are cleaning up their communities and learning why it’s important to take care of the environment.

What a disappointment. And, a damn fine example of greenwashing.

Now that I’ve found this news clip online, I was easily able to add it to the www.StopGreenwash.org website, just by using the link provided to it on the NBC page. I just added the video to the Greenpeace library and now people can vote on it. I hope you’ll give it 5 stars for being the most egregious example of greenwashing.

And, next time you see some BS being thrown at you, post the video or ad up on the Greenpeace site for all to see!

 

 

 --Michelle

 

It has come to our attention that talk show host Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report has suggested on multiple occasions that bears are a "threat" to America as part of his bit - "the Threatdown."  Well guess what, Mr. Colbert, we are going to BLOW YOUR MIND: Not only are bears not a threat, looks like polar bears may actually be listed as threatENED.

Fasten your seatbelts: it's going to be a truthful ride!

That's right.  We teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity and sued the pants off of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (figuratively speaking, they still have pants) to list the polar bear as a threatened species.  But the Fish and Wildlife Service was clearly afraid of our awesome power and is considering our claim before ever stepping foot in a courtroom.

Mr. Colbert can put Greenpeace in the "dead to me" column if he can't deal with our advocacy, but we intend to fight for all bears, everywhere.  Mr. Colbert's silly fear of bears is wimpy and un-American.  If he needs a REAL threat for his threatdown, he should try global warming.

Oh, and by the way, after our 10-year campaign, the Canadian government announced it is going to protect the Great Bear Rainforest from logging and other destruction.  The forest is so named because it is one of the last grizzly strongholds in the world.  We're making sure that Yogi and Pooh will be around long after the Colbert Nation crumbles.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The risk of getting breast cancer, like many other types of cancer, increases or decreases based on lifestyle choices and genetics.  But a new study reveals there is a third factor when it comes to determining likelihood: the environment.

According to two breast cancer groups, as many as half of all new breast cancers may be foisted upon woman by pollutants, such as the lining of tin cans or exposure to radiation from early mammograms.  Mammograms??  It is often said, "sometimes the cure is worse than the disease," but who knew that the cure could cause the disease?

Read the full report here.

The EPA recently announced that pesticide companies can test their products on humans.  But don't protest yet!  The EPA has set CRITERIA for the testing (phew!).  Namely, there is to be no testing on children or pregnant women.  However, men and other women are fair game!  Gross.

Read the full article here. 

Have you been keep up to date with our confrontation of the Japanese whaling fleet? It is amazing. Our activists are in the inflatables, dodging chunks of ice, and getting in between the whales and the harpoon guns. Nathan has got an update today about how he has rigged one of our boats, the Billy Greene, to hose the whalers.

Read on.