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Greenwashing, literally

Letter to the Editor - From the October 13, 2008 issue of High Country News by Noah Rockslide

In last issue's "Two Weeks in the West" article concerning "clean" coal promotion at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, you misattributed the purveyors of "green coal" (coal painted green) to coal company "henchmen" at the DNC (HCN, 9/15 & 29/08). In reality, what was witnessed was an act of political theater by environmentally minded anarchists wanting to draw attention to the "greenwashing" of coal. We spray-painted coal green and handed out "free samples" to highlight the only way we have found to make coal green, by painting it. Posing as the "Green Coal Advocacy Board," we visited a festival promoting green products to let people know about our "breakthrough technology" (spray paint). To go along with our samples, we handed out fact sheets with the dirty truth about coal and why it will never be green. We thought this would let people in on the joke, but I guess HCN's sources never saw our fact sheet.

Noah Rockslide
Denver, Colorado

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