How green coverage is evolving

Kate Galbraith writes for the Monday New York Times about how coverage of so-called “green” stories have evolved from simply covering businesses going green and the trouble with verifying green claims.

Galbraith writes, “Another favorite story line these days examines companies whose environmental aspirations hopelessly contradict their core product. The classic case is BP, which once referred to itself in advertising as Beyond Petroleum, yet spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico last year.

“In a different example, a New York Times article last August reported how Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, a Vermont-based coffee company, had been struggling with the disconnect between its eco-friendly reputation and the fact that the majority of its sales came from nonrecyclable, single-use coffee pods and their brewing systems.

“Yet another angle that has gained traction in the past few years involves the challenges facing renewable energy. Five years ago, journalists were writing a lot about the proliferation of new technologies. Wind turbines were advancing across the North Sea and America’s Great Plains, and everybody seemed to be ramping up biodiesel production.”

Read more here.