A new and useful word is "greenwash," which is what happens when a can of ozone-destroying chemicals comes to be decorated with cute bunnies. Corporations have perfected this kind of propaganda: it's cheaper to portray the company as green than to cap that smokestack.
The Bushies have brought greenwashing to politics and given us Clear Skies (which clears the skies of birds) and Healthy Forests (which would more accurately be called Healthy Seedlings, because that's all that remains after the forest has been clearcut).
Anti-environmental candidates frequently cover themselves in greenwash. Here's a particularly flagrant example. Former U. S. representative Republican Bob Shaffer, who scored just 5% on the League of Conservation Voters' scale and has been targeted as one of 2008's "dirty dozen," is running for an open Senate seat in Colorado. In addition to being in Jack Abramoff's pocket, Shaffer supported the Cheney-led initiative that gave $33 billion in tax breaks to big oil. He opposed incentives for developing alternative fuels and dug in his heels against fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.
Schaffer was Vice President of an oil company, Aspect Energy. Here's his brief biography on Aspect's website.
"Bob Shaffer is Vice President for business development at CHx Capital, LLC, where he is involved with a variety of energy, mining and education projects. Additionally, Bob is actively involved in international business development activities for Aspect Energy, including sourcing and development of international oil and gas exploration opportunities for the Company."
Hold on. That WAS his biography until a couple of days ago. Now that he's been nominated for the Senate, his history has been greened up. Here's the substitute paragraph:
"Bob was involved in a variety of wind power investments, international energy opportunities, and education projects. Bob worked to improve the US Wind Industry. Specifically, he worked to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for small business owners by ensuring that wind-specific tax credits could be utilized indirectly by wind developers classified as small business owners. Bob helped educate Congress about the benefits of wind power including its positive impact on the environment, job creation, and its importance in making the United States less dependent on foreign sources of oil."
Truly amazing. One day he's prospecting for foreign oil; the next day he's a fanatical supporter of windpower.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, what a little greenwash can do.
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