 Energy is a hotly debated topic. Companies around the world are racing to discover new kinds of eco-friendly energy. As energy consumption is the primary cause of global warming and the United States is responsible for approximately 25% of all of the world's carbon emissions, there is certainly cause to work as quickly as possible.
In the modern green revolution, many companies and industries are guilty of “green washing”. “Green washing” describes the practice companies sometimes use of putting a green marketing spin on products and policies, making them appear to be environmentally friendly to increase demand. It's a deceptive move use to appeal to the current demand for green products. “Green washing” is all about improving a company's public image in an effort to take advantage of growing green awareness.
How does this happen? For example, one company might label their plastic bags as ‘biodegradable' and ‘eco-friendly'. However, in order for the plastic bag to biodegrade during testing, it had to be left out in a sun-like setting where high-watt light bulbs shined it for hundreds of hours. If this so-called biodegradable plastic bag was thrown into a landfill, where it would presumably go after consumer use, the bag would not receive enough sunlight to succeed in the biodegrading process.Therefore, how accurate are those labels?
Another example involves a very popular cereal brand, which promotes their products as containing “natural ingredients”. The corn used in the cereal is genetically engineered in a lab, not by nature. So, even though the ingredient itself, corn, can be found in nature the corn in the cereal was not natural.
The problem with the energy industry is that words like renewable, sustainable, green and eco-friendly oftentimes do not have clear definitions. Many energy forms like ethanol (a fuel made from corn), claim to be renewable and sustainable. Indeed, Americans can continue to grow corn indefinitely, making it a sustainable source. However, the production and use of ethanol emits carbon and pollution into the atmosphere, which doesn't really make it green or eco-friendly. Many supporters of ethanol point out the fact that it reduces the American dependence on foreign oil. Many can agree with this, but ethanol still cannot be considered green.
On the flip side, other energy sources like solar and wind really are renewable, sustainable, green and eco-friendly. Solar and wind energy do not emit any pollution and there are few adverse environmental effects. Other energy sources, like hydrogen and geothermal, hold great potential for the future once the technologies are better developed.
EnviroCitizen.org hopes that this information will help you to weed through the "green washing" to figure out what energy sources really are what they claim to be. Something might be renewable, in that it can be done indefinitely, but that doesn't mean that it's green or eco-friendly. Look for alternatives that are both eco-friendly and renewable.
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