Being a presidential election year, it’s no surprise that TV ads are getting political. But two new campaigns demonstrate it’s not just the election that’s getting attention, as climate and energy become important issues.
In California, a coalition of dairy groups is pushing back against climate regulations that would encourage cattle ranchers to reduce methane emissions by adjusting what they feed cattle and how they deal with the massive amounts of waste the animals produce. And of course, the group seized on the click-bait angle, reportedly sending out a press release with an irresistible subject line that starts with “FLATULENCE.”
For the record, although farts get the attention, in reality it’s belching that is the source of most of the methane emissions from cows and other livestock, but manure is also a major concern.
Speaking of bullcrap, the American Petroleum Institute is also launching a new ad blitz as part of their astroturf Vote4Energy campaign, this one opposed to the Renewable Fuel Standard that requires biofuels, like those made from discarded corn husks or switchgrass be mixed with gasoline to reduce emissions. They seek to convince consumers that the ethanol that has been blended into gas for decades now will destroy their engines if we go from a 10 to 15% mix. Apparently, the many debunkings of this (and other) biofuel myths have passed gas industry PR flacks unnoticed.
Because it’s not like an industry would create fatally flawed and obviously biased studies to try and stave off a regulation that would reduce demand for its product, right?
What’s that you say? That’s exactly what they did? Huh, what a surprise: an industry ad’s bo-gas argument isn’t ethanol it’s cracked up to be.
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