New Institute Charts Murky Waters
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The multinational law firm Hunton & Williams -- whose clients include Altria, DTE Energy, General Dynamics and Pfizer -- has launched The
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Environment
Shipshape Spin for Japan
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Concerns about safety and the impact on the local fishing industry have led residents to protest the U.S. Navy's stationing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Japan.
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Pinkwashing: Can Shopping Cure Breast Cancer?
You've heard the term "greenwashing." It refers to corporations that try to appear "green" without reducing their negative impact on the environment.
Since 2002, the group Breast Cancer Action has promoted its "Think Before You Pink" campaign. It's fighting "pinkwashing," which is when corporations try to boost sales by associating their products with the fight against breast cancer. Pinkwashing is a form of slacktivism -- a campaign that makes people feel like they're helping solve a problem, while they're actually doing more to boost corporate profits. Pinkwashing has been around for a while, but is now reaching almost unbelievable levels.
What's Green on the Outside and Has a Hummer on the Inside?
Submitted by Anne Landman on
Discovery Communications is spending $100 million to re-make its home television network into "Planet Green," the first television channel devoted entirely to environmentally-themed programming.
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More Than You Bargained for in Your Chicken
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found that Tyson Foods routinely gave antibiotics to chicken it raised to sell as meat, and labeled it as antibiotic free.
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Two Unions Are Finding Deals at Wal-Mart
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"After waging an aggressive public relations campaign against Wal-Mart for three years, the company’s full-time, union-backed critics, who once vowed never to let up, are putting down their cudgels," writes Michael Barbaro.
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More Hot Air from Exxon?
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
The Center for Science in the Public Interest points out that ExxonMobil has just announced "for the second consecutive year" that it is cutting funding to groups which promote skepticism about global warming.
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Corporate-Sponsored "Slacktivism": Bigger and More Dangerous than the Urban Dictionary Realizes
Recently while browsing the Web I came across UrbanDictionary.com, which is sort of a wiki of contemporary slang. I found some of the newer words listed there amusing, like "hobosexual" (the opposite of metrosexual; someone who cares little about their looks), "consumerican," ("a particularly American brand of consumerism"), and "wikidemia" ("an academic work passed off as scholarly yet researched entirely on Wikipedia").
GMA Is Fueling the Ethanol Backlash
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) "has been leading an 'aggressive' public relations campaign ... in an effort to roll back ethanol mandates that passed in last year's energy bill," reports Anna Palmer.
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Roll Call, May 14, 2008
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Coal Front Group Feels the Heat
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) -- a coal and power industry front group -- is busy organizing opposition to America's Climate Security Act of 2007 proposed by Senators Joe Lieberman and John Warner.
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