greenwash

Gordon Brown has revealed his latest wheeze to try and convince us that underneath that gruff capitalist exterior there beats a heart of purest green. Together with the Met Office, the government has released a Google Earth layer showing the effects of climate change (download Google Earth, then get the layer).

BP greener than Greenpeace? Our survey said 'uh-uh'

During my semi-regular trawl through news stories featuring the word 'Greenpeace' last week, one in particular leapt out: 'BP tops Greenpeace in green brands survey'. But despite the apparent awfulness of that headline, I don't think it's as bad as it looks.

The survey - conducted by Marketing Week and YouGov - delved into the minds of professional marketing gurus to find out which brands they thought were the most eco-friendly. Asked which brand they thought was greenest, M&S came out tops, with names like Innocent, Ecover and the Body Shop also in the top ten. Greenpeace came tenth, one place behind BP but what that headline didn't mention was that BP also garnered fourth place in the list of brands doing the least for the environment, alongside many of our other friends of Shell, ExxonMobil, E.on, British Airways and BAA. So it seems opinions are split as to the oil giant's green credentials.

Welcome to the second of an almost-monthly column on Greenpeace past and present by Rex Weyler - author, journalist, ecologist and long-time Greenpeace trouble-maker. You can sign up to receive your own copy by email.

Elle magazine announces that eco-friendly fashions are hip and features Stella McCartney vegan, silk dress sandals at $495, which would work well on a date in the $100,000 Tesla electric sports car. "In this epoch of global warming," declares Green Guide online fashion consultant Anne Wallace, "fall fashion rules are undergoing climate change: it's OK to wear knee-high faux fur boots with a light cotton skirt and wool sweater." Vogue magazine advises, "prepare for erratic weather by putting warmer wraps over something skimpy." Like your awareness of the issues?

With all the excitement happening today at Terminal One, it's worth remembering that yesterday was another eventful one in Heathrow's calendar as a Virgin Atlantic plane steered away from its usual transatlantic route to fly between Heathrow and Amsterdam. No, the guidance systems weren't malfunctioning: it was a test flight to demonstrate that biofuels can be used in aircraft. But what's that dripping from the undercarriage? Could it be a tonne of greenwash?

Virgin announced its plans to test biofuels some time ago but has been reluctant to say exactly what kind of biofuel they would be using. To quell concerns about the impact on the cost of food, a press release assured us that it wouldn't "compete with food and fresh water resources". The rumour was that it would be made from algae, but in the end it turned out to be a mixture of coconut and babassu oil. These aren't food crops as such, but if the aviation industry leaps on them as an apparently easy way to reduce emissions, that's going to have a huge environmental impact.

Blimey. First Al Gore, then Nasa's top scientist and now Prince Charles. Yep, Charlie has joined the clamour against new coal and, while he didn't go as far as Gore and call for "rings of young people blocking bulldozers," he did stand up in front of the European parliament and ask:

"Can we really understand the dynamics of a world in which energy and food security will become real issues for everyone? ... Can we possibly allow twenty years of business as usual before coal powered generation becomes clean? Are we truly investing enough in renewable energy?"

Watching TV used to be a relaxing pleasure but now it makes my blood boil. It's not the programmes so much (although a lot of it is rubbish) but the advert breaks overflowing with greenwash, filled with images of doe-eyed creatures and tranquil woodlands by companies trying to convince me that they're really very green and, actually, always have been.