I've brought up the subject of General Electric (GE) and it's efforts promoting the concept of man-caused global warming and why they think we must do something about it. "Something" like buy fluorescent light bulbs, (which GE makes and sells), to "clean coal" technology, to solar panels, to wind turbines, to nuclear energy......all things GE makes and sells.
To add to the suspicion of their motives, they own MSNBC, NBC and Newsweek Magazine. These are all major news outlets through which they promote their corporate agenda.....by going "green", they hope to profit. They don't care whether man is causing global warming or not.....as long as they can make a profit. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working. Their stock price, which underperformed the S&P 500 for the past 5 years, reflects that. People are not buying into the global warming myth. The article below illustrates the point.
Peter
source:
Little fund says GE's 'junk science' hurts business
By Jack Markowitz FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, April 10, 2008
General Electric Co.'s stock is a "dog," says Steven J. Milloy, and his opinion goes down from there. He accuses what is possibly America's most admired company of promoting "junk science" -- in this case, the view that human beings cause global warming -- mainly to get environmentalists off its back and to further its own business interests.
But not even all its business interests, says Milloy. Just the fraction that serves its feel-good Earth-saving markets, which it dubs "Ecomagination."
Much larger businesses will be hurt in the long run, Milloy asserts. He sees the entire U.S. and world economies damaged by the waste of billions on a false consensus -- that carbon dioxide emissions from cars, planes, power plants, essentially the entire modern standard of living, are catastrophic for the planet.
"Scientific consensus? There is no consensus," Milloy said by phone from the Potomac, Md., office of a most unusual mutual fund. The Free Enterprise Action Fund has assets of only $11.5 million -- small but hopefully with a big voice.
story continues below
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The fund wants GE, and other "establishment" corporations it owns smallish pieces of, to quit appeasing anti-business leftists by catering to the carbon dioxide phobia. Free enterprise is actively promoting the enemy, it says, pleading for more government regulations, including a GE favorite, the trading of "carbon credits." General prosperity, freedom and even a better environment are at risk, especially with a left-leaning administration apt to be voted in, according to lawyer Milloy, 49, and fellow fund leader, Thomas J. Borelli, 52, a Ph.D. scientist.
They're bringing a proposal to GE's annual meeting -- to either show the company's own evidence of a man-warmed world or quit imperiling the economy.
Chance of passage is zilch, Milloy admits. Similar resolutions have been shot down by wide margins before. Institutional investors have no interest in fighting a prestigious titan like GE. Or else they also see "green" as a growth market.
And within sensible limits it is, say the dissidents. Supplying products that are fuel-efficient and benefit consumers is "good business." But GE "goes beyond the bounds." It actively lobbies Congress and rallies other companies for tougher regulations, which are bound to "raise energy costs and reduce energy availability." It's the destructive 1990s Kyoto Protocol all over again.
This argument and GE's denial are laid out in the proxy statement for the annual meeting April 23 at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, the lakeside city of GE's locomotive works. The company earned $22.2 billion last year, or $2.17 a share, on $173 billion in sales. Chairman Jeffrey R. Immelt's letter to 607,000 shareholders conceded that GE stock hasn't even outperformed the S&P 500 index the past five years.
But it's no dog to him. "I continue to buy GE stock in the open market," wrote the $19 million-a-year CEO, "just like you do."
Retired business editor Jack Markowitz writes Sundays and Thursdays. He can be reached at jmarkowitz@tribweb.com.
Showing posts with label going green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label going green. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
"Going Green"...Going Out Of Fashion?
"Going green", a catch phrase for doing anything and everything that can conceivably be "good" for the environment, may be losing steam. This is unfortunate, because the concept, in theory, is a good one. In practice, it seems to be faltering. The powers-that-be in the environmental "movement" have apparently overplayed their hand, and that ultimate judge of reality, consumer response, is shows the public is just not all that interested.
Read the following story and see what you think. Is "going green" just another fad? Is it just another marketing scam, another way for companies to put the squeeze on your wallet? Maybe consumers are a little bit smarter than they are given credit for.
Peter
From: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200708/CUL20070815a.html
'Going Green' Consumer Bandwagon Stalling, Poll Finds
By Randy HallCNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor August 15, 2007 (CNSNews.com) -
Despite unwavering attention from the media, government and business, global warming is only of moderate concern to most consumers, according to a new survey of consumers and their environmental attitudes. "Consumers are not drinking the Kool-Aid when it comes to green," said J. Walker Smith, president of the Yankelovich, Inc., marketing firm, which released the survey results on Monday. "While they're highly aware of environmental issues due to the glut of media attention," said Smith, "the simple fact is that 'going green' in their everyday life is simply not a big concern or a high priority."
This is "the first study of its kind to examine how much consumers truly care about green issues," stated the research firm, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., in a news release, which further noted that only 34 percent of consumers feel much more concerned about environmental issues today than a year ago. Also, only 22 percent of the 2,763 consumers surveyed think they can make a difference when it comes to the environment.
"Take former Vice President Al Gore's book, 'An Inconvenient Truth.' Even though it received widespread acclaim from media and scientists alike, 82 percent of consumers neither saw the film nor read the book," Smith said. Nevertheless, consumers are far more knowledgeable about environmental issues than they're generally given credit for, he added. "For example, Al Gore's '10 Myths' in 'An Inconvenient Truth' are not considered myths by consumers at all," said Smith. According to the survey, for instance, "only 7 percent of consumers believe Gore's 'myth' that it's already too late to do something about climate change.
"In addition, "only 4 percent believe global warming is a good thing, and only 8 percent agree that the warming that scientists are recording is just the effect of cities trapping heat rather than anything to do with greenhouse gases," he indicated. Chris Horner, senior fellow with the free market environmental group Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Cybercast News Service on Tuesday that the results of the survey indicate that global warming alarmists have "overplayed their hand." These groups largely use "spoke-alarmists whose own wretched excesses expose the movement's hypocrisy and/or lack of seriousness," Horner said.
As a result, "the consuming public sees this for what it is: a fashion accessory or statement of fashionability, but not a crisis." Telephone calls and e-mails seeking comments from such "green" groups as the Sierra Club, Greenpeace International, the Environmental Defense Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council were not returned by press time.
But Smith had some good news for environmental activists. Despite the fact that nearly half of all consumers have lukewarm attitudes about "going green," Smith said that companies can -- and should -- exploit the "greenness" of their products. "While the environment is not a mainstream consumer concern, it does represent a niche opportunity in the marketplace, with just over 30 million Americans (13 percent of the 234 million people 16years of age and older) 'strongly concerned' about it," he stated.
Second and equally important, "if organizations are required to meet strict federal and state environmental regulations -- often at huge expense -- it makes sense to try to leverage the 'new and improved' green product to consumers," said Smith. "The good news for companies is that while the majority of consumers' attitudes towards the environment may be only of moderate concern, it is possible to change consumers' behavior so that the green attributes of a product become a key feature in the buying decision," he said.
"Where companies are currently falling short with their green marketing strategy is that they're failing to establish a personal connection with the consumer," Smith stated. "In other words, consumers currently have no knowledge of what green means or has to offer to them. "To make a green marketing strategy successful, organizations must employ behavioral tactics that move consumers up the continuum to greater levels of 'greenness,'" he said. "Marketers who focus on these segments in isolation will not change consumers' green behavior."
Read the following story and see what you think. Is "going green" just another fad? Is it just another marketing scam, another way for companies to put the squeeze on your wallet? Maybe consumers are a little bit smarter than they are given credit for.
Peter
From: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200708/CUL20070815a.html
'Going Green' Consumer Bandwagon Stalling, Poll Finds
By Randy HallCNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor August 15, 2007 (CNSNews.com) -
Despite unwavering attention from the media, government and business, global warming is only of moderate concern to most consumers, according to a new survey of consumers and their environmental attitudes. "Consumers are not drinking the Kool-Aid when it comes to green," said J. Walker Smith, president of the Yankelovich, Inc., marketing firm, which released the survey results on Monday. "While they're highly aware of environmental issues due to the glut of media attention," said Smith, "the simple fact is that 'going green' in their everyday life is simply not a big concern or a high priority."
This is "the first study of its kind to examine how much consumers truly care about green issues," stated the research firm, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., in a news release, which further noted that only 34 percent of consumers feel much more concerned about environmental issues today than a year ago. Also, only 22 percent of the 2,763 consumers surveyed think they can make a difference when it comes to the environment.
"Take former Vice President Al Gore's book, 'An Inconvenient Truth.' Even though it received widespread acclaim from media and scientists alike, 82 percent of consumers neither saw the film nor read the book," Smith said. Nevertheless, consumers are far more knowledgeable about environmental issues than they're generally given credit for, he added. "For example, Al Gore's '10 Myths' in 'An Inconvenient Truth' are not considered myths by consumers at all," said Smith. According to the survey, for instance, "only 7 percent of consumers believe Gore's 'myth' that it's already too late to do something about climate change.
"In addition, "only 4 percent believe global warming is a good thing, and only 8 percent agree that the warming that scientists are recording is just the effect of cities trapping heat rather than anything to do with greenhouse gases," he indicated. Chris Horner, senior fellow with the free market environmental group Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Cybercast News Service on Tuesday that the results of the survey indicate that global warming alarmists have "overplayed their hand." These groups largely use "spoke-alarmists whose own wretched excesses expose the movement's hypocrisy and/or lack of seriousness," Horner said.
As a result, "the consuming public sees this for what it is: a fashion accessory or statement of fashionability, but not a crisis." Telephone calls and e-mails seeking comments from such "green" groups as the Sierra Club, Greenpeace International, the Environmental Defense Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council were not returned by press time.
But Smith had some good news for environmental activists. Despite the fact that nearly half of all consumers have lukewarm attitudes about "going green," Smith said that companies can -- and should -- exploit the "greenness" of their products. "While the environment is not a mainstream consumer concern, it does represent a niche opportunity in the marketplace, with just over 30 million Americans (13 percent of the 234 million people 16years of age and older) 'strongly concerned' about it," he stated.
Second and equally important, "if organizations are required to meet strict federal and state environmental regulations -- often at huge expense -- it makes sense to try to leverage the 'new and improved' green product to consumers," said Smith. "The good news for companies is that while the majority of consumers' attitudes towards the environment may be only of moderate concern, it is possible to change consumers' behavior so that the green attributes of a product become a key feature in the buying decision," he said.
"Where companies are currently falling short with their green marketing strategy is that they're failing to establish a personal connection with the consumer," Smith stated. "In other words, consumers currently have no knowledge of what green means or has to offer to them. "To make a green marketing strategy successful, organizations must employ behavioral tactics that move consumers up the continuum to greater levels of 'greenness,'" he said. "Marketers who focus on these segments in isolation will not change consumers' green behavior."
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