Chevrolet Greenwashing Advertisement

In class the past few weeks we have talked a lot about greenwashing. Greenwashing is when companies pose as environmentally friendly when in reality their actions do not match their claims. According to TerraChoice, there are seven essential sins of greenwashing, including the sin of hidden trade off, the sin of no proof, the sin of vagueness, the sin of worshiping false labels, the sin of irrelevance, the sin of lesser of two evils, and the sin of fibbing. TerraChoice reports that more than 95% of companies who present products claiming to be “green” have been found to commit at least one of these seven sins of greenwashing. I found a commercial presented by Chevrolet claiming their new line of cars reduces carbon emissions by up to 8 million metric tons. Also, they claim that they will plant new trees when someone buys a car from them. Research shows that Chevy was basing their information on EPA standards, so the cars are moderately more energy efficient. Chevrolet has a history of disregard for the environment, and they are using advertisements to appear “green” to gain business from consumers. This advertisement fits into the sin of vagueness because it does not explain to consumers what their information is based on. It also commits the sin of fibbing by comparing their reduction of carbon emissions to planting a forest the size of Yellowstone National Park.

A lot of companies use greenwashing in their advertisements in hopes that consumers will buy their product and spend more money on their product to help the environment. According to TerraChoice, greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company. I believe that no company should knowingly mislead consumers into believing something they know not to be true. It is important for us as consumers to be aware of the use of greenwashing and be able to spot it and do research into products before actually purchasing them.

Abbey Klever

The reality of companies that are “going green”

In class we talked about advertisements and we began to talk a bit about the term “greenwashing”. Greenwashing is misinformation from a company or organization in order to present an environmentally responsible public image. It seems that all companies these days want to look like they are going green and being environmentally responsible, even if that is not always the case. Greenwashing is dangerous for the environment because uninformed consumers might think they are using products that are good for the environment, when in reality they are truthfully harming the environment by using them. Companies are putting out misinformation to lead consumers to believe they are using products that are good for the environment, but customers deserve to know the whole truth about the product they are using. Customers in reality need to look up products and look more deeply into them than their advertisements, in order to know the whole truth about the products they are using.

An example of greenwashing would be FIJI water, which advertised that purchasing FIJI water helps reduce carbon emissions and protect rainforests. Yet, it has been found that FIJI bottled water causes as much harm, if not more in comparison to other bottled water companies. FIJI water is packaged in plastic bottles, which causes obvious harm to the environment, and the company uses “46 million gallons of fossil fuel producing approximately 216,000,000 billion pounds of greenhouse gases per year,” according to Forbes article “Greenwashing”: Deceptive Business Claims of “Eco-Friendliness.” In this case, FIJI is advertising to their customers that they are environmentally friendly and green company, when that is not in fact the entire truth. It is important for consumers to research the products they are using and buying in order to be sure that these products are as environmentally friendly as advertised.

Below is a short news clip on greenwashing in Colorado Springs, CO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmobJwe2FE 

Abbey Klever

Mixing work and leisure

Corbett talks about the idea of work versus leisure, she talks about how “work is the realm of necessity, while leisure is the realm of freedom” (p. 86). I definitely agree with her statement, and I had never quite put much thought into the distinction between work and leisure. We obviously all need to work and make money in order to survive, but isn’t leisure a necessity too? I would like to think that it is possible to find a job in the future that I love and enjoy so much that I do not consider it work or a job, but more of leisure. I know that statement may not make too much sense to most people, but let me explain. The book says that work is something that requires strain, effort, and exertion. I do not believe that is true for all jobs, I believe it is important to find a job that you enjoy doing so that going to work everyday is not just some straining task. Leisure can be defined as opportunity afforded by free time to do something enjoyable. If I truly enjoy what I do for a living, it is not work- but rather it is spending my own time doing something that I enjoy. I think the line between work and leisure is not always as distinct as most people probably think. These lines can be blurred, and in my opinion blurred lines are not necessarily a bad thing in this situation. So yes, we all need the money that work provides, and we all need the enjoyment that leisure provides. It is a matter of figuring out how to manage both throughout your life, and I hope in the future I can manage this and actually enjoy my job and what I do everyday.

-Abbey Klever

Places and their meanings

In class we talked about how places have a way of claiming people for various reasons. One of the reasons we discussed was restorative and rejuvenating reasons. When we were asked to think about our favorite place in nature during class, I thought of my trip to Colorado and how peaceful and calming the mountains were. For me, this place in nature is restorative, although I do not live in Colorado and cannot visit this place every time I am stressed. My family takes a trip to Colorado every year before school starts and I always come back feeling refreshed and prepared for the upcoming year. Getting to visit this place even just for a week out of the year definitely makes me feel rejuvenated. I understand the idea that places have a way of claiming people because of the exercise we did when we thought of our favorite places in nature. I believe that everyone has a place in nature that they cling to for many different reasons, although many of us do not think about these places on a daily basis. I think it is interesting to think about what makes us cling to these specific places. There are obviously many different answers to why we cling to certain places, and it varies by person. I personally think that childhood memories of certain spots in nature can create this attachment to places. These childhood memories can create an “at home feeling” at specific places in nature. This idea of “sense of place” is created through the emotional meanings we give a place which make them powerful or powerless in our lives. I also believe that places have a way of defining individuals and help form their self-identities. I never would have thought something as simple as a place in nature could have such strong meanings in our lives until talking about it in class, which really made me think about the different reasons as to why people cling to these different places.

[Above: Pikes Peak in Colorado]

Abbey Klever

Science and the news

In class we talked about the lack of science information in the news. From 1989 to 2005, science related news shown shrank by about 2/3. In 2008 CNN shut down their science, space, technology and environment unit, and in 2009 the Boston Globe eliminated their science section as well. The fact that science very rarely hits the news plays a big role of science illiteracy in America, in my opinion. If we heard more about what was happening around us scientifically on the news, people would be more likely to pay closer attention to science related news, possibly reducing illiteracy to some extent. There are obviously news websites out there that you can look up and find information on current science news and issues, but in order to find this information you must want to look for it. Science is not popping up in our everyday morning and evening news stations. The media picks and chooses what is important, which ultimately determines what we, as Americans see and think about. People need to realize that in order to know what is truly going on scientifically around us, it is important for us to seek out this information and not expect the news to just hand it to us on a silver platter, because that just is not going to happen typically. Until I took this class, I was like most people where I would rely on news to tell me everything that is going on around me. After learning about scientific illiteracy in this class, I have realized how important it is to take it upon myself to keep up with science news in order to be as fully aware of my surrounding as possible and in attempt to illuminate illiteracy for me personally. Seeking out this science information, rather than relying on media is just one step we can each individually take to try to become better informed about science.

Abbey Klever

Science Illiteracy

In class we talked about how illiterate Americans are when it comes to science. We talked about how 80% of people do not know how to read the science section of the New York Times, and how only 18% of Americans claim to personally know a scientist. When I heard these numbers it was originally very shocking to me, I could not comprehend how so many people could be so clueless about such an important topic such as science, considering almost everything we do in our daily lives involves some sort of science. I thought there was no way that I was illiterate when it came to science, until we went to take the quiz in class. I got very few of the answers correct on the quiz, and that was a serious wake up call to me. This made me realize that I more than likely fall into the 80% of people who cannot read the science section of the New York Times, and I definitely fall into the 18% of people who do not personally know a scientist. It is sad to think that I am a part of these statistics that at first sight, I found to be so shocking and appalling. My question to this is why are so many people illiterate when it comes to science? I believe the answer for me is because the first time I started taking challenging science classes, I did not get it right away, and for me this was frustrating. I was not used to having to actually work to understand things in high school, and as soon as I did not understand science, I decided that I was not good at it, and once I was through with the classes I needed to take, that I never wanted to think about the subject again. This same situation may be true for others, and it may not. But I believe if people here these shocking statistics and come to the realization that they are a part of them, maybe it will push people to pay more attention to what is going on around them scientifically, because I know I will after learning how illiterate I am in the subject.

Abbey Klever

The Importance of Answering the Tough Questions

We talked earlier on in the semester about heath care and storytelling. We discussed how important it is to be upfront and completely honest with doctors in order to get the best care. This made me think a lot about my own health care experiences in relation to storytelling. When we first discussed the topic, I didn’t understand why someone would lie to his or her doctor or not tell them the whole truth. Originally, it just did not make logical sense to me. This past week I went to the doctor, and my mom joined me. I was asked a lot of questions such like whether or not I drink, how much I drink, whether I was sexually active, etc. These are general, yet important questions that doctors ask everyone in order to get a background on their health. For me, none of these questions were uncomfortable for me to answer in with my mother present, considering we are a very tight knit family, I knew whatever my response was there would be no judgment from her when we left. At that moment it made sense to me why people would lie to their doctor, or keep important health facts from them. Even if it was just someone and their doctor alone in a room, some people might not feel comfortable answering those questions honestly because they fear the doctor might judge them, or ever the possibility that the doctor could come back with something they don’t want to hear if they had been engaging in risky behavior. I know we talked a lot in class about the different reasons that someone would not want to disclose personal information about themselves in the health care setting, but sitting in that doctors office and hearing those questions being asked really made it click for me and better understand why this happens. Sometimes these are just uncomfortable and difficult questions for people to answer, and it’s possible people lie to their doctors at times just to save face and avoid being judged.

Abbey Klever

The Importance of Understanding Culture

In class we talked about cultural differences in health and environments across the world. We were showed video clips of different cultural “norms” in different parts of the world. I find it interesting to think about how different things have very different meanings from place to place. I enjoyed watching these videos; I think they brought an entertaining light to the idea of cross-cultural travel. It can be hard for some people to comprehend that there are cultures out there that think of things very differently than you. One real life example of this that I found was in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush put up a peace sign outside of his limo in front of a very large crowd rallying on the streets. To him, this was a gesture of peace, but in many other parts of the world this has a very different meaning. In a lot of different cultures the peace sign has the same meaning as the middle finger gesture. Although that is obviously not what the president meant, it was misconstrued that way to many people around the world. It would have been important for him to look such a gesture up before using it abroad, which a lesson he unfortunately learned the hard way.

I had never thought of the importance of studying other cultures “norms” before going abroad until we discussed this in class. We talked about how all meanings are cultural, yet you do not realize you are a part of these cultures when you are immersed in them. Going into an unknown culture, and doing something that is considered “unacceptable” could happen to anyone, I am personally very happy that I learned the importance of learning about a culture before visiting, as I have plans to study abroad in Guatemala this summer. I think this topic will be very helpful throughout the duration of my trip there.

Abbey Klever

Procrastinating Health

In class we discussed health risk, and one of the concepts that stuck with me was the idea of health care procrastination. Health procrastination means putting off getting treatment for a health related issue. I think there are many reasons as to why people would procrastinate when it comes to health. Some people might be afraid of the outcome, so they would rather not hear it. Some people maybe do not have the resources to get the health care they need.

Regardless of the reason, I think health care procrastination is a very dangerous concept; it can be a serious neglect of your bodies needs. I think that something many people procrastinate when it comes to health is eating healthy and exercising regularly. I have heard many of my friends say “I know I need to start working out”, or “I know I need to start eating healthier”, yet they don’t ever seem to take action. I think a big problem of this is mind over matter; they think it is going to be harder than it really is. The thought of having to get over the hump of getting into shape and eating better is enough to deter them from doing it, although they know it is something their body needs. I understand this challenge; it took me a while to finally push myself to start eating healthy and becoming more active. It is a part of life that is necessary to live a healthy lifestyle, yet so many people put it off. It is a hard lifestyle change to make, but once people do it they will live a much healthier and happier life, which I obviously know is easier said than done. I believe that it is a dangerous thing to procrastinate health, and the care that your body needs. It is important that people realize that procrastination can indeed apply to health; it is not just something you do in school or work.

-Abbey Klever

Public Good

In class we discussed public health as a “public good”. I think this is an interesting topic, to see who decides what is considered the “common good” for the most people health wise when it comes to health policy. An example I have seen recently is the laws about smoking in public places, such as restaurants. Most places, it is illegal to smoke in public places, because second hand smoke has such a negative effect on others around. I think this policy is also put into place in hopes that if people cannot smoke in public, people will end up smoking less frequently.

My grandparents are big smokers, from the time I was very young they would smoke in the car, house, and anywhere they possibly could. This always really bothered me growing up, because I couldn’t stand breathing in the smoke when trapped in a place such as a car or house. At this time, there was still “smoking” and “non-smoking” sections of restaurants. Of course, whenever we went out with our grandparents, we always were stuck sitting in the smoking section, which really would take the enjoyment out of a family meal. I think the change to making smoking in public illegal has been a very positive step towards creating a healthier society. Times are changing, and people are learning more and more about the dangers of smoking, and it is important that the smoking laws are changing with the times. I understand that my grandparents smoke so much; nearly everyone did when they were growing up. If they had doctors promoting cigarettes in advertisements, why would anyone think twice about smoking? It is interesting to compare the differences in how cigarettes were viewed, and how times have changed.

I personally take comfort knowing that public health is looking out for the common good, these laws and regulations are in place to protect us, and it is a very important factor to keeping our country as healthy and safe as possible.

Abbey Klever