It's not easy pretending to be green

onJan 10, 2007 @ 21:07 PST

Once in a while a great public information campaign comes along, and this one by the Rain Forest Action Network fits the bill.

At the Detroit Auto Show, they had a full-size Kermit the Frog complaining about it’s involvement in Ford Motor Company advertisements. As DeSmog readers well know , Ford Motor Company promotes a very green image, while continuing to fund organizations, like the Competitive Enterprise Institute, that sow doubt about the realities of global warming.

Correction: it was brought to DeSmog’s attention by an astute reader that the Rain Forest Action Network is only one of three partners in the Kermit campaign. The other two groups are the Global Exchange and the Ruckus Society, which, along with RAN, formed a coalition called “Freedom from Oil. ”

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.