BP/Haliburton/Transocean Blowout Recapped – What About The PR Blowout?
The explosion on 20 April killed eleven workers
BP’s third effort to cap the destroyed Deepwater Horizon well seems to have been successful, as pressure tests have not done further damage to the emergency mechanisms. As of posting (the afternoon of 16 July), the BP Global website stresses the cleanup of the Gulf without immediate mention of the successful capping done yesterday. Discussion of the cap is found via the link “Gulf of Mexico Response Homepage.” Such an improvement in the situation might deserve mention on each and every page of BP Global’s site, but this post is not going to question BP’s website design. Nevertheless, the successful capping of the well (touch wood), serves as a telling moment to skim some of the thoughts that have been shared about BP’s myriad PR blowouts since the disaster happened. Perhaps the best known of those is @BPGlobalPR as led by @BPTerry and Leroy Stick. We have often encouraged our readers to follow them through this disaster, at least to enjoy some black humor (and offer donations) through the crisis. But many in the communications and media arena have responded to the ways BP has tried to marshal the PR gaffes and crises it keeps finding itself in – the most recent of which are allegations that BP influenced the British Government to allow the only Lockerbie Bomber held in Britain to return to Libya in an effort to secure an off-shore drilling contract with Quadafi. What ‘lessons’ can be learned from these fiascoes?
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Marketing, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Tweets, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Charitable Giving In US Shrinks But Does Not Collapse In Face Of Recession & Oil Spill
Americans give over 1.5% of GDP to charitable organizations, according to International Comparisons of Charitable Giving by the ‘Charities Aid Foundation’ in England. Such generosity is almost double the next nation’s rate of giving: England with .73%. Such willingness to give to those less fortunate is a wonderful quality about America, and surely stems in part from the fact that ours is a nation that was built by peoples moving into new territories with unproven technologies and with religious motives to help neighbors in the grand experiment. Moreover, the incredible wealth generated by the US (the present economic crises notwithstanding) has given opportunity for many to give back – the incredible sums given by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet in recent months being only the most talked about. England’s coalition government, on the other hand, is trying to spur charitable donations from among the country’s richest to help offset the drastic cuts required in the government’s budget over the next few years.
Though Americans’ willingness to give, even during hard times, is one of the ways we have been able to keep working toward a ‘more perfect union,’ experts are warning that charitable donations will get knocked down severely as the Great Recession continues, and as the full economic and environmental costs of the BP/Haliburton/TransOcean disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are realized.
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Community, News and Current Affairs | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Possible New Role For Pollution Credits: Lowering Runoff Into The Chesapeake Bay
The idea for a carbon tax to create a carbon credit market seems politically a dead letter in the current economic crisis, but the idea that credits could be traded for those who are able to achieve stated limits on pollution still might have some influence. A micro-economy has been suggested for the Chesapeake Bay region, with pollutant run-off being the currency that might be traded. The Foundation Center gives us access to a report on how such an exchange might be developed, how it might improve conditions in the bay, and perhaps how it could be used successfully to deal with other pollutants.
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Greening, Local/Maryland, Politics, Revitalization | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Greening Your Business Requires A Recipe For Success
Earth Days and Ecofests help keep us motivated and connected in our efforts to go green. When it comes to baking in long-term and structural improvements, though, we need tried-and-true ingredients and good guidance. Julie Gabrielli, founder of GoForChange has provided just such a recipe to move us all toward a greener work environment and a greener economy all around. The company’s general mission (and one that was founded in the early days of interest in any greening movement) is to work with small- and mission-based companies to improve their eco-standards and their bottom lines:
Julie Gabrielli, from her site GoForChange.com
GOforChange has a big vision for a community that is life-affirming in all senses. We work with small business owners who want to find simple, practical ways to increase their profitability, satisfaction and success by going green. We’ve been at this for 20 years, so green isn’t a fad or trend to us. We know how to go right to the heart of the matter, cut through the clutter and get to the gold. Using timeless, grounded frameworks, we work with you to customize a plan that fits your unique values and interests
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
A Conversation with Dave Michaels of Ecoprint
Image via Wikipedia
This month marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and once again green is back in fashion. For some companies, like Ecoprint, green has always been in season. Based just north of Washington D.C., this printing company was founded by an environmental activist who participated in the first Earth Day and proudly proclaims its “environmental leadership since 1977.” Today Ecoprint is forging ahead on a number of fronts, demonstrating many ways for graphic arts businesses to become more sustainable environmental stewards.
MKCREATIVE has worked with many printers over the years and has always required they use soy-based inks and paper from sustainable sources on clients’ print jobs. We’ve also required that they take other longer-term measures to demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Ecoprint ‘s commitment is on another order of magnitude. We see them as kindred spirits: both Ecoprint and MKCREATIVE are run as businesses that are trying to create positive social change through sustainable practices. Both organizations are providing services to clients who make a difference in their own communities, while also offering education and guidance.
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Community, Nonprofit, Sustainability, interview, printing | | View Comments
Written by: Marco K.
Some Green Goodness To Sum Up Green Week
We have posted a number of tidbits about Green Week, from Baltimore Green Works’ EcoFest through various local and national events this week. We must keep the enthusiasm up, of course. Green Week draws to a close, but not the need to be creative and disciplined with our use of resources and our development of sustainable technologies. But in the spirit of a well-earned Friday afternoon, we wanted to end this week’s series with a few local and a (surprising?) international marks of success.
We have already praised Baltimore City for (finally) getting hybrid-technology buses on the road, and we note the development again. But Baltimore is full of projects and efforts that are greening urban neighborhoods, giving options to driving cars, and producing green products for us to enjoy.
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Community, Greening, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Oil Companies Attempt to Evade California’s CO2 Emission Laws
Image via Wikipedia
Ex-Vice President Al Gore has recently posted from his blog a series of legal moves by a number of Texas-based oil refinement companies to finagle or simply by-pass California’ CO2 emissions laws. Mr. Gore was responding (at least) to an article by John M. Broder and Clifford Krauss in the New York Times, which explores the digging done by Valero Energy Corporation to circumvent California’s cap-and-trade laws (California’s laws are seen by many throughout the US as the best ‘laboratory’ on how such a market might function).
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Upcoming Greening Events in Baltimore To Highlight Sustainability Successes
On our entry for 25 March we touted some notable greening projects in New York City, including Annie Novak’s rooftop farm. We also noted opportunities for Baltimore’s citizens to get involved in similar projects. Today we follow on with that call-to-action to draw your attention to a couple of festivals and conferences meant to inspire and educate the Baltimore community to strive for environmental and economic sustainability. We also want to offer kudos to Towson University’s students, staff, and faculty who recycled 140 tons of materials in the fourth annual “RecycleMania” competition held among Maryland’s institutions of higher learning. They far exceeded their goal of 120 tons, itself an expansion over the 114 tons recycled last year. And they did so despite those crippling blizzards in February smack dab in the middle of the competition. (Cue sappy music) Of course, Maryland’s citizenry and environment are the big winners, as schools across the state competed in the 10-week competition.
Popularity: unranked | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Nonprofit, Politics, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
New York Seems To Be The New Green – Is Baltimore Next?
Image via Wikipedia
We spotted a tweet that nicely builds on our own report and interview with Steve Frillmann at Green Guerillas. Annie Novak, noted vegetarian and urban-eco farmer, posted a blog at “The Atlantic Monthly” this week, discussing her work with ‘Growing Chefs’ and with reclaiming rooftops for agriculture (a reclamation that lowers the energy demands of the building as soil insulates it from the sun’s heat and the winter’s snows). The entry is part autobiography – part call-to-action. Her work is certainly inspirational, if only for her ability to grow good food on top of a storage warehouse!
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Saving Money, Reducing CO2, and Getting Profitable IS That Easy
Shut down your machine!
The Ford Motor Company did not require the same sorts of bailouts that the General Motors conglomerate did last year. Its family-run structure likely kept its owners, managers, and designers on their toes because they had their own ‘skins-in-the-game.’ Now TreeHugger.com posts a story about how the company went ahead and saved another cool $1.2 million by, uh, turning off the computers at its headquarters at night and on weekends. The decision is rewarded thusly, according to TreeHugger: “By centrally controlling the power settings on the company’s computers, they are saving an estimated $1.2 million annually and keeping between 16,000 and 25,000 metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.”
Popularity: unranked | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening, News and Current Affairs, Site Administration, Sustainability, Technology, Urban Farming | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
A Report From the Weather Front
Baltimore kids enjoy a day off from school
The nor’easters that have pummeled the eastern seaboard over the last month or so have provided many a fun day for kids unencumbered by the duties of school. Businesses and city budgets have been less enthusiastic as they have seen a notable falloff in customers or a striking pothole in their treasuries. The winter season still has 2-3 more weeks left, according to Puxatony Phil, so the snow shovels should not be put away just yet. Still another effect of the storms is to revivify the the media brouhaha about Global Warming.
Popularity: 1% | Category Climate Change, Community, National/International, Politics, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Alex Steffen’s ‘Seattle Model’ for Wealthy, Green, Cities
Late last November Alex Steffen gave a two-night presentation at Seattle’s city hall concerning the climatic crises the planet faces, and how single towns and cities can change the direction we are heading. The videos have recently been posted at his group’s website, worldchanging.com, and we think they are well worth a watch.
The talks are about 90 minutes each, and your time is rewarded with an entertaining survey of existent green technologies and a shocking review of the environmental and economic problems we face. But what distinguishes Mr. Steffen’s ideas within the environmental movement is his enthusiasm for growth and prosperity.
Popularity: 1% | Category Climate Change, Community, Greening, Sustainability, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Recovery Funds for Green Buildings: Nos.10 & 9 in Our Top Ten List
A week or so ago we posted the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) report on the “Top 10 Ways to Use Recovery Funds for Green Building.” The report outlined ways local and state governments, as well as community organizations and socially-conscious businesses could draw upon the Obama Administration’s recovery package. With the federal government ‘closed’ and snuggling under a thick blanket of snow, we thought this the perfect time to study the 10 Ways in greater detail for our clients and readers. [Paul Schafer, cue the music!] (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Climate Change, Community, Grants and Funding, Greening, Local/Maryland, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Fossil-Fuel Producers as Fossil-Fuel Deniers
This report might fit under the rubric of John Cleese’s famous rejoinder, “Well, aren’t you Master of the Bleeding Obvious?!” But we must remind ourselves that all is not as it may seem. A report by Jonathan Owen and Paul Bignell in the British newspaper The Independent outlines many of the links between multi-national oil & fossil-fuel producers and think tanks who argue against global-warming or argue against the notion that human activity is causing it. As an example that Owen and Bignell cite, “ExxonMobil is a key player behind the scenes, having donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past few years to climate change sceptics. The Atlas Foundation, created by the late Sir Anthony Fisher (founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs), received more than $100,000 in 2008 from ExxonMobil, according to the oil company’s reports.” (more…)
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Community, National/International, Politics, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Audi’s ‘Green Police’ Ad: Not Just Another Pot Shot at the Green Movement
Repost of original article by Leo Hickman, Feb 8, 2010, guardian.co.uk
Mmm, I wonder if Will Ferrell and his comedy compatriots at Funnyordie.com saw Audi’s Super Bowl ad (Sunday)? If they did, then they might have recognised the ad’s satirical vision of a world patrolled by the “green police”.
The reason being that they made virtually the same joke – scoring far more laughs in the process – in their Green Team video a couple of years ago. (more…)
Popularity: unranked | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Greening, Marketing, Media Review, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Marco K.
Well-designed primer on the effects of greenhouse gasses
Concerns over the environment sometimes radiate more heat than light, but the website ClimateCentral serves as a great resource for answers and questions. The site is chock-full of stories, images, statistics, and (a personal favorite) ‘microanimations’ that demonstrate processes and technologies in a concise manner for the interested layperson. (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Climate Change, Community, Greening | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D