It isn't every day that a state's largest polluter is honored. It helps when the polluter -- and its buddies -- helped found and advise the group giving the award. The Maryland-based Wildlife Habitat Council gave biodiversity conservation awards to 21 companies, including the Lafarge cement plant in Ravena, New York. The award was for Lafarge's 150-acre Deer Mountain Nature Preserve. The honor was not publicized until the company came under fire for mercury contamination near a local high school. Federal reports show that the plant in question was New York state's largest mercury emitter for three years running. Environmentalists smell a case of greenwashing [3]. "At first I thought it was a joke. Then I was astonished and horrified," said an analyst with the New York Public Interest Research Group. Joining Lafarge on the Wildlife Habitat Council's board of directors are representatives from Monsanto [4], Exxon Mobil [5], DuPont [6], ConocoPhillips [7] and Waste Management [8]. The conservation group Ducks Unlimited [9], which is funded by Exxon Mobil and Anheuser-Busch [10], also holds a seat. The Council gave "Signatures of Sustainability" awards to DuPont and Anheuser-Busch [10], both of which had a role in founding the group.