I don’t watch much TV; maybe a half hour in the evening. But I already feel bombarded by one advertisement lately. It is Chevron’s new ad that juxtaposes a blue collar guy complaining about how much money big oil makes and questioning where it goes, with a pleasant woman who supposedly works at Chevron talking about all the good the company is doing with its oodles of cash.

Hmmm. Ok. My internal “greenwash” detection alarm goes off every time I see this, but let’s take a closer look and try to see both sides. Here are a variety of views on the matter:

“Chevron’s super-expensive fake street art is a cynical attempt to gloss over the human rights abuses and environmental degradation that is the legacy of Chevron’s operations in Ecuador, Nigeria, Burma and throughout the world,” said Ginger Cassady, a campaigner at Rainforest Action Network. “They must think we’re stupid.”

“We hear what people say about oil companies – that they should develop renewables, support communities, create jobs and protect the environment – and the fact is, we agree,” said Rhonda Zygocki, vice president of Policy, Government and Public Affairs at Chevron. “This campaign demonstrates our values as a company and the greater value we provide in meeting the world’s demand for energy.  There is a lot of common ground on energy issues if we take the time to find it.”

The new ads don’t directly address Chevron’s environmental record, and multi-billion-dollar lawsuit that alleges that the company is responsible for oil pollution in Ecuador, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Nationally, according to an extensive analysis of OSHA data, BP had 518 safety violations over the last two decades, compared with 240 for Chevron.  – ProPublica, October 26, 2010

After years of denial or uncertainty, many of the world’s largest corporations have started taking global warming seriously and are looking for ways to fight it…That’s the conclusion of a report released Tuesday by Ceres, a coalition of institutional investors and environmentalists based in Boston. The report found that some businesses – including…Chevron…– have taken specific steps to rein in emissions of greenhouse gases and pursue cleaner forms of energy. – San Francisco Chronicle, March 22, 2006

…the Yes Men, supported by Rainforest Action Network and Amazon Watch, pre-empted Chevron’s enormous new “We Agree” ad campaign with a satirical version of their own. The activists’ version highlights Chevron’s environmental and social abuses – the same abuses they say Chevron is attempting to “greenwash.” “They say we’re ‘interrupting the dialogue,’” said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men, referring to Chevron’s terse condemnation. “What dialogue? Chevron’s ad campaign is an insulting, confusing monologue – with many tens of millions of dollars behind it.”

“Yesterday’s spoof was a comedy of errors, but what’s happening in Ecuador is no joke,” said Mitch Anderson, a campaigner at Amazon Watch. “While Chevron spends tens of millions every year to greenwash their image and fool the media, Ecuadorians continue to die from their toxic legacy.”

Well, the fact is, I agree. I agree that a glossy multi-million dollar ad campaign is a disgusting joke given Chevron’s history of flagrant human and environmental rights violations. But I also agree that there should be a dialogue with this company because the fact is, Chevron is not going anywhere, and it represents the ultimate “dirty tech” opportunity – see “Talk Dirty to Me” below.  Making fun of Chevron makes for some good laughs and snarks, but I’m not sure that it makes for much progress.

According to the statistics above, Chevron appears to be only half as bad as BP. Isn’t that terrific!? I can’t resist the sarcasm either, but to paraphrase a union leader, “They may be bastards, but they are our bastards.”