“When you hear about an oil spill that’s killing thousands of birds…think of deer laying in a field — in slow motion. Look, dolphins!”

Download it and pass it on at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLIbIdgrIaE.

I have a pretty good radar for greenwash, which is how it’s so easy to find subjects for The Unsuitablog; but the adverts, the policies, the promotions and the speeches full of bright green spit keep on coming. Someone is lapping this all up and it’s the consuming public: if not then why would companies and organisations keep on doing it?

My aim with The Unsuitablog is twofold, and you can all help me with it:

1) To make everyone adept at spotting greenwash as and when it is trotted out.

2) To make greenwashing as socially unacceptable as consuming hard drugs in front of your grandmother.

Without the first aim, the second aim cannot come true, which means that greenwashing will thrive, and those responsible will carry on doing their Earth killing behind closed doors.

If you are a regular reader of The Unsuitablog then you will already be quite adept at seeing how it is done, but here are some tips for everyone who wants a little help:

• Be suspicious of all environmental claims. Don’t trust any claims unless you have verified them yourself.
• If a company, in particular, takes out a large advertisement in a newspaper, or runs a TV advertisement saying how great their green credentials are — then they are hiding something, guaranteed. If someone is trying sell their “green” credentials then ask yourself, “why?”
• If a company has a bad history it is highly unlikely to have changed overnight. Use web sites like SourceWatch and Corporate Watch, as well as this site, to find out the truth behind the mask.
• Look out for poor use of scientific facts, especially when listening to politicians: “Reducing carbon emissions will protect the ozone layer”, “this technology is sustainable”, “emissions can be offset”, “the greenhouse effect is not certain” etc. All examples of rubbish that has no basis in fact, even the last one (think about it).
• Look out for buzzwords that put a gloss on reality: “carbon intensity”, “sustainable development”, “carbon offsets”, “clean technology” etc. Another clear sign that something is being covered up.
• Use your common sense and your instincts. If it doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t.

And can I just ask a little favour? Please tell everyone you know about The Unsuitablog, and link here if you have a web site: the more people get to see the truth, the fewer lies will be told.

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Now you have found the greenwash, it’s time to start really investigating it and getting the things you need to expose the greenwasher. If you fancy it, then read How To Investigate Greenwash…

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I might be able to take some kind of credit for this, but whether The Unsuitablog was the catalyst or not, there is now a new web site called The Alliance for Burning Every Chunk of Coal (ABECC) which looks suspiciously like the ABEC web site (which I won’t link to).

As you know, The Unsuitablog loves subvertising, especially when it’s done well. Here’s the sales pitch:

“The Alliance for Burning Every Chunk of Coal (ABECC) was formed on April 1, 2008, to provide a much-needed voice to coal industry leaders, interested shareholders and others who fervently believe the only way to meet 21st century energy needs is through 19th century technology. Since its inception, ABECC has attracted literally dozens of supporters, from coal CEOs all the way down to coal plant junior VPs. Our members are united by a clear and compelling belief that, through coal-based energy, we can continue to improve the lives of all Americans with a large financial stake in the coal industry.

“In a word . . . we believe in power. Power that comes from coal.

“As America debates its energy future in Congress and our state legislatures, you can rely on ABECC and other altruists — like our allies at Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) — to ensure that our shouts will be loud and well-funded enough to drown out all dissenting voices.”

Big credit to the Natural Resources Defense Council for some sterling work. And a huge two-fingered salute to the coal industry for being a bunch of Earth ripping filth-heads.

So, you are really pissed off with a company and want to tell them what you think of them, what they should do and what you are going to do if they don’t. You go to their web site, click on the “Contact Us” link and find a form that they have so kindly provided – you don’t even have to open your mail client.

WAIT! Do not fill in that form!

The message will end up with all of the other complaints and comments, in some dump-bin ready for an administrator or more likely a computer to send a standard reply. The message you sent will never be seen by anyone with any influence. Consequently, the chances of anything happening as a result of your message are just about zero. This is intentional; companies genuinely don’t want the public to know individuals’ e-mail addresses, because those individuals are human beings.

I’m not saying that e-mails in themselves make any significant difference: after all, a business exists to make money and, in most cases, environmental protection, socal welfare and human rights are off their radar. But – and it’s a big but – if enough messages are sent to a number of individuals then maybe, just maybe, those individual, rather than the monolithic corporate machine, will get the right idea. The key is getting your message to the right individuals.

Obviously there is no point filling in the form. Here’s what you do:

1) Find out the name of the person you want to receive the message. Choose the Chief Executive / President, head of the relevant section or department, and a few other random people. You can find these names on the company’s web site.

2) Go to the web site http://www.emailnamefinder.com/ and search for the company. If you find that company then use suggested format.

3) If you can’t find the company on EMail Name Finder, then do a Google search for <company web name> contact email, (e.g. “barclays.co.uk” contact email) and look for a human name, followed by “@<company web name>. It doesn’t matter who is on the e-mail, that will probably be the standard format. Below is the Barclays example – it has found a person called Kathy Brown, so the standard format is <firstname.lastname>@barclays.co.uk. It has also found the barclays.com format too!

4) Compose your e-mail using the format you have found. Make sure the e-mail addresses are in the To: box, not the Bcc: box as you might think.

5) If you have found a format that is not on Email Name Finder then send your discovery to them at emailnamefinder@gmail.com

It’s always better to send messages to multiple people in the same company for two reasons:

1) Your e-mail has a far better chance of being read.

2) It is impossible for one recipient to pretend that they didn’t receive the e-mail. The more embarrassing and hard-hitting your message, the more chance that one or more of the recipients will feel uneasy, especially in the presence of the other recipients. Fear is what drives companies to change.

Plus, having a go at the CEO or President in the sight of his or her underlings is great fun!