clean coal ad makes coal look shady

peabody energy, the world’s largest coal company, just launched an ad campaign advocating ‘clean coal‘. although some people argue that the term ‘clean coal’ is an oxymoron and marketing scheme because there is no way that coal can be clean, others insist that the group of technologies that lie under the clean coal umbrella are a desirable way to reduce harmful byproducts associated with burning coal.

regardless of all that, LOOK AT THIS AD! what is going on here?!

while i certainly won’t purport to know whether or not clean coal is a complete sham as some environmentalists say it is, i can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this ad is ridiculous. i mean, was the goal to portray yourselves as the marketing scammers that everyone is saying that you are? personifying the lump of coal is, possibly, the most out of touch with humanity strategy i have ever seen. was the focus group that tested this ad stonehenge? while thisisreality.org, where i first saw this ad, compares peabody’s coal lump person/dude/lump to joe camel, noting the propaganda behind both characters, at least joe camel was actually cool! he had a motorcycle, leather jacket and look here, he’s even wearing a tux. was he also riding a horse one time. wait, i don’t think camels ride horses, so scratch that.

just putting sunglasses on something does NOT make it cool. it just makes you look more suspicious!

wow. that really got me heated. am i alone here? does anyone else think that this is ridonkulous?

last minute no effort green gifts

if you’re in a jam today with no stores open and relatives on the way, here are a couple suggestions for no waste, no (or very little) effort presents on the fly:

rebate completer: if you’ve ever had to fill out a rebate form, make copies of receipts, and mail them in, you know how appreciative someone would be if you present them with a homemade (a piece of paper folded in half) card offering your rebate completion services. this gift is great for your older relatives who you’ve spent hours trying to differentiate the “x, the square and the line” on your browser’s window to.
pre-mixed bottle of their favorite booze: you have booze and you have a bottle. i know you do. if you don’t, there are plenty of liquor stores open on x-mas day in my hood. check out your nabe’s regulations here. gin & tonic, vodka cranberry and bailey’s irish cream are always crowd-pleasers. please drive responsibly.
labeling services: this is a great one if you have a labelmaker. i relish the time that i spend with mine, so making labels for my friends who desperately need them, but either do not own a p-touch or just don’t like making labels is easy and rewarding. you can either make the labels for them in advance if you know what kind they need, or present them with a “card for 20 labels” which then can then redeem either on the spot (fun holiday activity), or in the future.
recycling or compost setup: a lot of people out there want to recycle or compost, but are just too lazy/busy to set things up. present them with the necessary objects if you have any around the house, or a card offering your services at their own home.
charity/event marketing or public relations: if you’re a marketing guru, public relations expert, or just someone that a lot of people listen to, give a friend the gift of free promotion for their next charity cause or event! don’t forget to remind them how much you usually charge for your services by giving them a giftcard for $1000 worth of marketing, and running out after a one-hour consultation (just kiddin’).
you know it wouldn’t be christmas if i didn’t give a shoutout to my own charity cause: http://www.charitywater.org/pages/yukayoneda/
please donate if you have a chance! 100% of your money goes to repairing a well in a village where people don’t even have clean water for christmas. thank you and have an awesome holiday!

why is this a site?

swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.