Exxpose

Environmentalists are furious that strategically donated research money to institutions such as Stanford and Berkeley is giving "Big Oil", in the shape of ExxonMobil and BP, the opportunity to "greenwash" their images in the US.

At Stanford, environmentalists have been concerned about the university's relationship with ExxonMobil since it was announced in 2002 that the company would donate $100m over 10 years to fund research.

http://gcep.stanford.edu/index.html

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_climate_actions_gcep.aspx

The money from the deal goes to the university's Global Climate and Energy Project, which also includes General Electric, Schlumberger and Toyota as corporate sponsors.

One aspect of the deal that galled opponents is the fact that the oil company reserves five-year, exclusive rights to any discoveries resulting from the research it funds. Another was the fact that the oil company also receives - for what environmentalists regard as a pittance - the ability to trade off the independent reputation of Stanford to promote itself as environmentally responsible - ExxonMobil recently announced 2007 profits in excess of $40bn, the most ever recorded by a single company, and has reportedly funded the efforts of global warming sceptics in the media.

Exxon Mobil earned more than $1,287 of profit for every second of 2007.

The company's renewable research investment of a mere $100m over a spans of ten years pales in comparison to the billions spent by the company each year scouting out new oil drilling locations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/business/01cnd-exxon.html

In 2005, a environmental coalition was formed calling for a boycott of the company's products and stocks and a reform of Exxon's corporate behavior. The campaign is called ExxposeExxon and features campaigners from 12 of America's largest public interest/environmental groups. "For years, ExxonMobil has intentionally put its own profits above a clean environment and the health of America’s families. As a result, we are asking all Americans not to accept a new job at ExxonMobil, invest in the company, or to buy ExxonMobil’s gas and products," stated the ExxposeExxon coalition in a letter sent to ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond.

http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=44179&keybold=GCEP

I personally agree with the environmentalists on this concern. It appears that Exxon is more interested in the way the investment in the GCEP can improve their scarred image as opposed to improving the scarred environment.

We can...

We are bombarded daily by advertisements everywhere we go and learn to "tune-out" much of what we see and hear in response. I think that each person is different as to what draws his or her attention in a particular advertisement. For example I am typically drawn to images of sexuality and those that evoke emotion. Another person may be attracted to images of power and another may be drawn by humor.

In a previous Blog entry, I introduced the "We" campaign. Currently, there is an advertisement running on television for the campaign that features the voice of William H. Macy. I feel that the ad creates a strong emotional reaction and stirs up desire in me to learn more about their campaign. After seeing the advertisement, I went to their website and was impressed with the information supplied and the simple suggestions given by the campaign for each of us to make a difference in the current climate crisis. It presents a seemingly unsolvable problem and compares it to the drive of the American people in overcoming past obstacles.

Below is the ad and the link to the "We" campaign's website. I encourage all of you to view the information with an open mind.



http://www.wecansolveit.org

Please comment with your reaction to the ad as well as any information you viewed on the campaign's website.

I wonder if I would be as impressed with the information I found if I wasn't already researching this topic. Do you feel that I am biased as to the effectiveness of the advertising campaign? If you were to compare this ad to the one I previously posted from the Chevron Corporation, do you feel that either of the organizations produced a more stirring presentation?