Ministers target climate change doubters in prime-time TV advert
This may not end well. No matter how well intentioned.
Climate change sceptics are to be targeted in a hard-hitting government advertising campaign that will be the first to state unequivocally that Man is causing global warming and endangering life on Earth.
The £6 million campaign, which begins tonight in the prime ITV1 slot during Coronation Street, is a direct response to government research showing that more than half the population think that climate change will have no effect on them.
Ministers sanctioned the campaign because of concern that scepticism about climate change was making it harder to introduce carbon-reducing policies such as higher energy bills.
My emphasis points.
That's quite a set of words, especially if from the PR.
As to the commercial... well... I'll reserve creative commentary. But there's a certain irony that I saw it preceded by a consumer-driven message that is, at the end of the da... world... 'buy more stuff'.
Addendum 1:
Just watching it being 'promoted' on BBC Breakfast News: the commercial that aims to scare us into taking climate change seriously. Yup, this 'un will do it. And scaring has worked great so far. But maybe doing it with kids might be a better line of attack.
Addendum 2:
Energy Minister Joan Ruddock on now explaining it helps people 'understand climate change' and 'makes it clearer'. In which case: #Major Fail! The woman is a classic poor messenger for this message. She has no clue. On science... or communications. And this is who we have steering our efforts to a greener Britain
Addendum 3:
Telegraph - Government's £6 million 'Bedtime Story' climate change ad: most pernicious waste of taxpayers' money ever?
Last time I was subjected to one of these 'awareness' fests (board bonuses seem to be measured on whether the box marked 'Yes I saw it' gets ticked by another quango's research team, which makes blowing money on comms budgets to drive up said bonuses a tad unethical, conflict of interest wise...IMHO) by some other eco-quango diverting money from DOING something useful (like helping poor and/or old folk with things like insulation), it was also rather directed at the audience you suggest.
Never got a reply to my question back then as to why the white, middle class family of four were off to buy their pack of four eco-bulbs in a stonking great big, black Porsche Cayenne Turbo S 4x4, when it looked like they were greening up the des res from Wandsworth B&Q to leafy Fulham. Possibly with a 'my other car is a Prius to beat the Congestion Charge' sticker in the back window, as electric cars are 'green'.... apparently, because the juice comes from... er... um...
I rather suspect that, to save a bit of dosh on house and car rental for the TVC, the producer/directors donated their pads and favoured modes of urban transport to 'help'. Nice bit of reuse, perhaps, but a smidge light on the irony front.
Still, speaking of clowns blowing money on targets, or looking good to your mates in the green elite section of the VIP lounge come the next 'concert' it could be worse... it could have been $35M blown to sit atop a column of Russian greenhouse gasses... well, well, well, well, well... not.
ps: while I think they have at last decided to look beyond reprinting press releases from agenda-comfortable sources (a bit late to be taken seriously or regain any trust, mind), I do think one 'non-solely anthro concessionary' article by one (albeit better qualified than most so far) science reporting employee is getting stretched a bit to become a "U-turn' by Aunty.
But, yes, almost Brownian in timing.
And you would think that about the bunnies, wouldn't you? Maybe they were eaten by all the alligators splashing around Gothenburg in the school project diorama Milibands D. & E. took with them to scare those easily scared types in the EU foreign ministries recently. I wonder if they got Gerry Anderson in on it all... at taxpayer's expense, natch.
green thing - NEW - Mad World - Another view. I am unsure if two wrongs justify anything. And when an ad states something as fact which is not, yet, much as some might find it helpful to be, it's not mad, it's reality, however unpalatable. And, yet again, I find myself expected to accept an analogy that is flawed. Also interesting to note the party affiliation, too.
Looking at the forces ranged around this latest icon, has it helped or merely added fuel to a distracting fire?
BBC - NEW - 'Scary' UK climate ad faces probe - a balanced piece IMHO
Treehugger - NEW - Climate Change TV Ad Under Investigation for Scaring Kids - Also balanced, though I think the responding readers took what they wanted from it. Not worth entering the lion's den by pondering the impact on sensible debate of it possibly being pulled for being factually challenged (if successful). Mr. Gore's last schoolkid outing did sooo well on that count.
Telegraph - NEW - Government TV climate ad is propaganda
Of course it is propaganda... pretty much by definition any advertising to us (ironically funded by us), by government to suit agendas, influence opinion, alter behaviours surely has to, doesn't it? By no stretch do most I see 'impartially provide information'.
And in the spirit of 'one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter' I suspect most either agree, disagree, don't care or let it wash over.
I reckon having the odd 'Boo!' can be effective and tend to tolerate 'em. And suspect most others do to. Which is why it's kinda cute this is being made about being 'scary' after the watershed.
What does get interesting is the factual basis. In my day it was called 'legal, decent, honest and truthful'. Not quite so clear what the ASA works on nowadays, but it will be interesting to see how it stands up.
Because in the PR that went with its launch there was such as this...(above):
After a similar such outing, I think involving the courts, by such as Mr. Gore's school effort, and how that worked out, if the factual basis of this effort is found wanting, I dread to think the damage done, yet again, to sensible environmental advocacy.
If these are the calibre of folk who think they are best suited to make my kids' futures better, and how they see the mission best projected, god help the planet if they end up dealing with grown-ups in Copenhagen.
Teblog - NEW - Frighten the kids, or encourage the grown-ups? Insightful
Showing posts with label Joan Ruddock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joan Ruddock. Show all posts
Friday, October 09, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
A lesson in laying out policy at voting time...
Labour's real action on climate change
Or, possibly, not.
This being the Guardian, a once safe haven, the comments are telling.
I am getting a tad ticked off with the choice of only two sets of pols at the moment: those that are clearly deluded and will say anything, and those that are clearly scared of being nailed on anything substantive, and hence say nothing.
Doesn't make one's voting choice tomorrow (and, it looks, next month, if only to try and find a fully-stocked Cabinet to lead us) too easy, but I am at least working to a course if only by a process of elimination.
Addendum
Helped, at the post, by another pol set that doesn't float my boat: if you haven't got anything good to say, say something bad about someone else. Nice one (and I don't just mean the ex's claims). Makes things easier by the moment.
How green is the Labour government?
What a waste. Who was going to decide between Labour and Green on eco issues?
Or, possibly, not.
This being the Guardian, a once safe haven, the comments are telling.
I am getting a tad ticked off with the choice of only two sets of pols at the moment: those that are clearly deluded and will say anything, and those that are clearly scared of being nailed on anything substantive, and hence say nothing.
Doesn't make one's voting choice tomorrow (and, it looks, next month, if only to try and find a fully-stocked Cabinet to lead us) too easy, but I am at least working to a course if only by a process of elimination.
Addendum
Helped, at the post, by another pol set that doesn't float my boat: if you haven't got anything good to say, say something bad about someone else. Nice one (and I don't just mean the ex's claims). Makes things easier by the moment.
How green is the Labour government?
What a waste. Who was going to decide between Labour and Green on eco issues?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
NEWS/GO3 - Green goods to come to the front of Britain's shelves
From DEFRA, E& OE: Green goods to come to the front of Britain's shelves
Publishing progress reports on Sustainable Products and Materials and
the Waste Strategy, Climate Change Minister Ms Joan Ruddock has said that the
Government and industry were working together to green the whole life cycle of products and
services - from the raw materials right through to their use and
disposal:
"We know people are concerned about their effect on the environment,
but they don't get to see the full picture of what goes into
producing the goods they buy - and they don't see what happens after
they've thrown them away.
"It needs to be easier for people to buy products that will save them
money and reduce their impact on the environment - and that's exactly
what we're doing. There are real savings to be made - through this
action to green the products and materials we use, UK households
could save £5 billion a year on their bills.
"Many businesses are already taking positive steps to reduce the
environmental impact of their products, and are seeing the real
benefits this can have, both for them and their customers. But as
fuel prices rise, commodities become scarcer, and families are
feeling the pinch, it becomes ever more important for businesses to
use resources more efficiently throughout the supply chain, those
that don't will miss out on potential savings, as well as big
opportunities for growth."
The Sustainable Products and Materials report details, for the first
time, the action already underway on making products and materials
more sustainable throughout their production, use and disposal,
across a wide range of products groups including food, electrical
appliances and clothing.
Significant achievements to date include:
* The piloting of Product Roadmaps, which aim to improve the
environmental performance of ten priority products across their life
cycles;
* Progress towards saving enough energy to power 1.5 million homes by
improving the efficiency of some of the biggest energy using products
- set top boxes, external power supply units (such as for laptops,
mobile phones, and printers), fridges, washing machines, and
dishwashers;
* An initiative with retailers to take inefficient light bulbs off
the shelves by 2011;
* Half of all milk packaging to be made from recycled materials by
2020;
* Government is setting an example for business through our "Buy
Sustainable - Quick Wins workstream." This tightens minimum standards
for public sector procurement. For example most paper used in
Government offices must have 100% recycled content and, where
non-recycled content is allowed, any virgin fibre used must be
sourced from a sustainably managed forest;
* Developing the PAS2050, a recognised standard which enables
businesses to measure CO2 emissions across the life-cycle of
products;
* Leading in Europe to bring the energy used by all standby devices
sold in the EU down to 1 watt - and to halve that again in four years
after that standard is adopted.
The report also sets out a vision for future work on making products
more sustainable, and encourages further debate and discussion on how
this can be achieved.
* UK households could save £5 billion per year from cost-effective
energy efficiency improvements to products.
* Savings from not wasting so much food could be around £420 for the
average UK household. And for households with children it's even more
- £610 a year.
* Confident that with today's technology for metering, tariffs
and water efficiency, per capita consumption of water can be reduced
through cost effective measures, to an average of 130 litres per
person per day by 2030. Hope that developments in new technology
and future innovation will improve the cost-effectiveness of these
measures over time and this can drive consumption down further to an
average of 120 litres per person per day by 2030.
* Energy saving light bulbs can reduce lighting costs by up to £100
over the lifetime of the bulb.
* Initiatives such as moves by major retailers to reduce
environmental impacts demonstrate that resource efficiency is
beginning to be seen as a business opportunity.
The Government is also publishing the "Policy Analysis and
Projections 2008" report which sets out our vision and trajectories
for improvement of efficiency of a range of energy-using products
including light bulbs, refrigerators, boilers and consumer
electronics till 2020 as well as the evidence underpinning our
assessment and challenges to industry for the scale of those
improvements.
A summary of progress made since the publication in May 2007 of the
Waste Strategy is also published today.
It shows good progress in the main indicators, covering waste growth,
recycling and diversion from landfill:
* There is a fall in the amount of household waste produced per
person which is not re-used, recycled, or composted;
* Household recycling rates have continued to increase. Early
indications are that the national average has risen in the first part
of 2007/08 to 33%;
* The amount of commercial and industrial waste being sent to
landfill has continued to fall;
* More energy is being recovered from waste; and
* Less biodegradable waste is being sent to landfill.
Further work is needed to identify whether an increase in reports of
fly tipping incidents represents an increase in fly tipping activity,
or whether it reflects continued improvement in the levels of
information local authorities provide to the Fly Capture national
database. The forecast for 2007/08 anticipates a decrease in fly
tipping levels.
1. The Sustainable Products and Materials progress report is
available here
2. The Waste Strategy progress report is available here
3. Ten product roadmaps to demonstrate the
sustainable products approach are being piloted - milk, fish, clothing, passenger
cars, TVs, domestic lighting, electric motors, window systems, WCs,
plasterboard. Further information on each is available here
4. You can read more about Market Transformation Programme "Policy
Analysis and Projections" here
* By 2020 half of all milk packaging will be made from recycled
materials
*The dairy industry are undertaking
the following measures to achieve them:
* To send zero ex-factory waste to landfill.
* All tertiary packaging is to be re-usable or recyclable
Publishing progress reports on Sustainable Products and Materials and
the Waste Strategy, Climate Change Minister Ms Joan Ruddock has said that the
Government and industry were working together to green the whole life cycle of products and
services - from the raw materials right through to their use and
disposal:
"We know people are concerned about their effect on the environment,
but they don't get to see the full picture of what goes into
producing the goods they buy - and they don't see what happens after
they've thrown them away.
"It needs to be easier for people to buy products that will save them
money and reduce their impact on the environment - and that's exactly
what we're doing. There are real savings to be made - through this
action to green the products and materials we use, UK households
could save £5 billion a year on their bills.
"Many businesses are already taking positive steps to reduce the
environmental impact of their products, and are seeing the real
benefits this can have, both for them and their customers. But as
fuel prices rise, commodities become scarcer, and families are
feeling the pinch, it becomes ever more important for businesses to
use resources more efficiently throughout the supply chain, those
that don't will miss out on potential savings, as well as big
opportunities for growth."
The Sustainable Products and Materials report details, for the first
time, the action already underway on making products and materials
more sustainable throughout their production, use and disposal,
across a wide range of products groups including food, electrical
appliances and clothing.
Significant achievements to date include:
* The piloting of Product Roadmaps, which aim to improve the
environmental performance of ten priority products across their life
cycles;
* Progress towards saving enough energy to power 1.5 million homes by
improving the efficiency of some of the biggest energy using products
- set top boxes, external power supply units (such as for laptops,
mobile phones, and printers), fridges, washing machines, and
dishwashers;
* An initiative with retailers to take inefficient light bulbs off
the shelves by 2011;
* Half of all milk packaging to be made from recycled materials by
2020;
* Government is setting an example for business through our "Buy
Sustainable - Quick Wins workstream." This tightens minimum standards
for public sector procurement. For example most paper used in
Government offices must have 100% recycled content and, where
non-recycled content is allowed, any virgin fibre used must be
sourced from a sustainably managed forest;
* Developing the PAS2050, a recognised standard which enables
businesses to measure CO2 emissions across the life-cycle of
products;
* Leading in Europe to bring the energy used by all standby devices
sold in the EU down to 1 watt - and to halve that again in four years
after that standard is adopted.
The report also sets out a vision for future work on making products
more sustainable, and encourages further debate and discussion on how
this can be achieved.
* UK households could save £5 billion per year from cost-effective
energy efficiency improvements to products.
* Savings from not wasting so much food could be around £420 for the
average UK household. And for households with children it's even more
- £610 a year.
* Confident that with today's technology for metering, tariffs
and water efficiency, per capita consumption of water can be reduced
through cost effective measures, to an average of 130 litres per
person per day by 2030. Hope that developments in new technology
and future innovation will improve the cost-effectiveness of these
measures over time and this can drive consumption down further to an
average of 120 litres per person per day by 2030.
* Energy saving light bulbs can reduce lighting costs by up to £100
over the lifetime of the bulb.
* Initiatives such as moves by major retailers to reduce
environmental impacts demonstrate that resource efficiency is
beginning to be seen as a business opportunity.
The Government is also publishing the "Policy Analysis and
Projections 2008" report which sets out our vision and trajectories
for improvement of efficiency of a range of energy-using products
including light bulbs, refrigerators, boilers and consumer
electronics till 2020 as well as the evidence underpinning our
assessment and challenges to industry for the scale of those
improvements.
A summary of progress made since the publication in May 2007 of the
Waste Strategy is also published today.
It shows good progress in the main indicators, covering waste growth,
recycling and diversion from landfill:
* There is a fall in the amount of household waste produced per
person which is not re-used, recycled, or composted;
* Household recycling rates have continued to increase. Early
indications are that the national average has risen in the first part
of 2007/08 to 33%;
* The amount of commercial and industrial waste being sent to
landfill has continued to fall;
* More energy is being recovered from waste; and
* Less biodegradable waste is being sent to landfill.
Further work is needed to identify whether an increase in reports of
fly tipping incidents represents an increase in fly tipping activity,
or whether it reflects continued improvement in the levels of
information local authorities provide to the Fly Capture national
database. The forecast for 2007/08 anticipates a decrease in fly
tipping levels.
1. The Sustainable Products and Materials progress report is
available here
2. The Waste Strategy progress report is available here
3. Ten product roadmaps to demonstrate the
sustainable products approach are being piloted - milk, fish, clothing, passenger
cars, TVs, domestic lighting, electric motors, window systems, WCs,
plasterboard. Further information on each is available here
4. You can read more about Market Transformation Programme "Policy
Analysis and Projections" here
* By 2020 half of all milk packaging will be made from recycled
materials
*The dairy industry are undertaking
the following measures to achieve them:
* To send zero ex-factory waste to landfill.
* All tertiary packaging is to be re-usable or recyclable
Friday, April 25, 2008
Our house, is a very very fine house..?
House of Commons Debates 24 April 2008 - Topical Debate - Supermarkets
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Joan Ruddock): I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of supermarkets.
Lumme, I am going to have to give up the day job at this rate just to keep up with all this! Very interesting insights into the knowledge base and interest of our elected representatives.
I saw Ms. Ruddock in action when in was Sainsbury's turn to play on the BBC (I think it was Newsnight). Possibly some effective divide and rule being attempted by someone, as this was pitched as a counter to the M&S/Daily Mail PR effort of a few weeks previously, but we do seem to be getting a lot of lengthy commercials for brands dressed up as green concern these days on our national broadcaster.
The only constant is the waffle from the lead...er... followship, who seem pretty keen on any distraction from what seems a total lack of national, coordinated, complementary ground back to ground (dig it up, make it, ship it, store it, sell it, use it, ditch it, dispose of it) waste policy and logistics. Certainly putting systems in place to cope before fining for not using those that are currently so woeful, confusing and contradictory might get the public on side a wee bit better.
I notice today the big news is an OFT probe in price fixing. Hope it works out a wee bit better than the one that resulted in a stonking great compo payment to Morrisons. Donated to charity, it was billed as 'made by the government/department'. Now, where did that money come from I wonder? And were there any tangible consequences borne by those responsible?
Talk is proving very cheap these days. And even some actions pretty free of worthwhile accountability.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Joan Ruddock): I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of supermarkets.
Lumme, I am going to have to give up the day job at this rate just to keep up with all this! Very interesting insights into the knowledge base and interest of our elected representatives.
I saw Ms. Ruddock in action when in was Sainsbury's turn to play on the BBC (I think it was Newsnight). Possibly some effective divide and rule being attempted by someone, as this was pitched as a counter to the M&S/Daily Mail PR effort of a few weeks previously, but we do seem to be getting a lot of lengthy commercials for brands dressed up as green concern these days on our national broadcaster.
The only constant is the waffle from the lead...er... followship, who seem pretty keen on any distraction from what seems a total lack of national, coordinated, complementary ground back to ground (dig it up, make it, ship it, store it, sell it, use it, ditch it, dispose of it) waste policy and logistics. Certainly putting systems in place to cope before fining for not using those that are currently so woeful, confusing and contradictory might get the public on side a wee bit better.
I notice today the big news is an OFT probe in price fixing. Hope it works out a wee bit better than the one that resulted in a stonking great compo payment to Morrisons. Donated to charity, it was billed as 'made by the government/department'. Now, where did that money come from I wonder? And were there any tangible consequences borne by those responsible?
Talk is proving very cheap these days. And even some actions pretty free of worthwhile accountability.
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