Archive for the ‘Green’ Category

Nearly 76% of Facebook Users Find BP Irresponsible or Criminal

Posted on: August 23rd, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 4 Comments

These survey results are being released in conjunction with the CitizenGulf events held on Wednesday, August 25 this week. The benefit meet-ups seek to help fishing families affected by the oil spill with education programs. Register today.

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As part of its efforts to sway American opinion about its responsible approach towards the Deep Horizon oil spill clean-up, BP engaged in a significant advertising campaign, with major online components including social media properties and search engine buys. Ogilvy 360 was brought on to help with the effort. So nearly three months later and four months after the spill how are those efforts working out for BP?

Not so well as a MyType survey reveals. Seventy five percent of all Facebook respondents thought BP was either very irresponsible or criminal in its actions.

The survey was conducted during the past week of 3,000 US Facebook respondents, normalized to the general US population.  Survey respondents were offered one open ended statement, “BP’s oil spill was…,” and offered four answers:

  • A technical malfunction that the company cannot be blamed for
  • An honest mistake
  • Very irresponsible
  • Criminal

When you look under the covers, the survey shows at best some mixed results that are very polarized by children, age, income and environmental. All of the results are statistically significant. Here’s an analysis:

Families

Families were more likely to see BP as criminally responsible for the disaster than single adults. Fifty three percent of two children families thought BP was very irresponsible, while a whopping 29 percent thought the oil company was criminally at fault. Single adults were 56% leaning towards very irresponsible but only 17% thought the company was criminal.

One and thee children families had similar results as two kid families, but large families skewed the other way with 25% thinking BP was not to blame, and another 25% believing the company made an honest mistake.

The Older Are Less Forgiving

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Older Facebook users were much less forgiving of BP than teenagers. No where was this more pronounced that those aged 40-49 years old, who did not believe BP was innocent. Fifty six percent of this demographic found BP very irresponsible and 23% said the company was criminal. Teens on the other hand felt differently, with 51% believing the company was very irresponsible, and only 8% criminal. Twenty three percent of teens thought BP made an honest mistake.

Income

Generally speaking, wealthy people were more likely to let BP off the hook. Twenty one percent of those making greater than $200,000 felt BP had no blame, while only 9 percent thought the company was criminal in its actions. Those making less than $200,000 had an almost opposite point of view: Eleven percent thought the company had no blame while 20% thought the company was criminal in its actions. Both demographics had groups of greater than 55% who thought BP was very irresponsible.

Environmentalists

Forty one percent of true environmentalists though BP was criminal in its actions, but more telling was the group who identify with green issues as very important — or green consumers. Twenty two percent thought BP was criminal in its actions, while another 60% thought the company was very irresponsible. Those who feel the environment is not very important had a 42% very irresponsible ratio, and only 5% criminal.

Variances in Race

There were great variances in race, particularly when in came to designating BP as criminal in its actions. Twenty four percent of hispanic respondents thought BP was criminal, compared to 19% of caucasian, 18% of African Americans, 12% of East Asians, and an astoundingly low 7% of Middle Easterners. This may be attributed to the heavy reliance of the Middle Eastern economies on oil production.

Psychology of Respondents

One of the cool things about MyType is its psychological profiles. While I just analyzed traditional demographic break-outs, MyType can show those inclined towards Power or Imagination. The respondents’ psychological profiles reveal intriguing insights into how personality shapes our perspective towards BP. 

“Those who highly value power, for instance, are nearly 5 times more likely than others to choose the “technical malfunction” answer, assigning absolutely no blame to BP,” said Tim Koelkebeck, founder and CEO of MyType.  “Intellectuals, too, are 36% more likely to choose either that answer or the “honest mistake” response.  But others are much less forgiving. 

“Aesthetes – those who like poetry, believe in the importance of art and “see beauty in things that others might not notice”, among other things – are roughly 40% more likely to hold BP criminally responsible.  And for whatever reason, procrastinators are a full 70% more likely to hold BP criminally responsible.”

You can contact MyType for the full survey results via email info [at] mytype.com.

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Katrina + BP = Need: You Can Make a Difference

Posted on: August 9th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 3 Comments

Vietnamese Fisher Family Gets Aid

Vietnamese fishing family gets aid in St. Bernard’s Parish from Catholic Charities of New Orleans

Reading Kari Saratovsky’s blog about social media and empathy, I knew that in reality social media enhances empathy, particular given the amount of volunteering we see. We’ve seen it time in and time out, too, from Obama’s election to Iran to Haiti and then most recently, with the public outrage towards the oil spill.

I know people are empathetic first hand. Ever since we started on the citizengulf journey together just seven weeks ago, and before that when we commiserated over the oil spill, literally hundreds of people have reach out to me to discuss this issue privately.

A vast majority don’t believe a word of BP’s promises to right the Gulf ship, nor the Obama administration’s commitments to hold BP accountable. They know the region has been hurt badly, and that given the first opportunity, BP will assume business as usual (see USA Today story).

A Brad Pitt Make It Right project house

The above photo shows one of Brad Pitt’s homes in New Orleans’ devastated 9th ward. For every one of his homes, there are still hundreds abandoned standing in a ghost town. We forge this region just five years ago on August 28th was completely ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Now you add BP’s oilspill to the mix and the Gulf is reeling on its heels again. No community has been hit harder than the fishing families of the affected Gulf region. They will be left to fend for their own once BP moves on (at the first opportunity), creating what will likely be our modern Dust Bowl.

Make A Difference

Empathy may be a result of feeling like your actions won’t mean anything. But with #citizengulf, the smallest action, attending a meet-up, a small donation or even voting in a Pepsi Refresh contest impacts the families affected by the oil spill. The whole purpose of opening up citizengulf is to provide anyone who cares easy actions to take small steps towards actionable change. If people feel so inclined, they can even build their own grassroots effort.

On August 25th, I really hope you’ll take the two hours to have fun with friends and help these fishing families. No one is THAT busy. If you are in New York City, I fully expect you to attend the East Village event with me and Richard Laermer. In addition to a free Lemonade DVD, the next 25 registrants will get autographed copies of Now Is Gone and Punk Marketing.

The primary Citizen Effect beneficiary is Catholic Charities of New Orleans. They have created a means for you to help the children of fishing families with better education resources via the After School Assembly program. This is so they can find a new way of life if they choose to do so. All money sans credit card transactions goes directly to this program.

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#citizengulf Events Open Amidst Another Oil Spill Controversy

Posted on: August 2nd, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 1 Comment

Today we opened the first #citizengulf city events for registration on the Citizen Gulf site. Citizen Effect‘s national day of citizen action seeks to help fishing families in need by providing an education for their children, in the hopes that they may be able to pursue new careers in the wake of the oil spill’s long term impact.

And as we launch, a raging controversy brews about the latest spin from BP and Obama – claims that the oil spill’s impact is disappearing. Fishing families and other members of the Gulf economy still struggle to survive. As the above video from a Grand Isle City Hall meeting last week, shows even with BP’s financial aid, the oil spill survivors are suffering and cannot pay their bills.

Meanwhile, though fishing waters may be opening again, oil and dispersant traces have been found in blue shell crab larvae, entering the food chain. Further, as satellite imagery of the Gulf waters show there’s a malignant brown stain to the oil spill water still. Many believe this is from a combined tarry mixture of over-deployed dispersants and oil, sunk below the surface.

The fishing families of Louisiana and the Gulf beyond still need our help. It’s clear that BP and Obama will shirk this responsibility at the first opportunity. Meanwhile fishing families are left to pursue their profession of generations in diminished, or worse, permanently tainted waters.

Andy Gibson’s story is the classic example (on Friends of the Fishermen’s charity site). A fourth generation fisherman who found his waters closed to shrimping and the market for his goods bottomed out, Gibson simply went further out to the fertile fishing grounds of western Louisiana and Texas, untouched by the oil spill. Gibson is “determined he will figure out a way to make it through.”

Many fishing families will continue to choose this life style in the face of adversity. But their children can have an option. Working with Catholic Charities of New Orleans — an organization working directly with fishing families everyday in eight parishes — we can provide an opportunity for kids to have a better education and the choice for a different career path.

Join the #citizengulf effort today to make a difference. Host or attend an event on august 25, donate or vote in the Pepsi Refresh contest.

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Opening #CitizenGulf to You

Posted on: July 9th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 4 Comments

Kerry, Sixth Generation Fisherman

On Monday, July 19 at 6 p.m., the CitizenGulf project team will host a meet-up at Affinity Lab here in Washington, DC (U Street location). The Citizen Effect Gulf Mission project will be opened up to the social web at that time (register here). Interested parties who cannot intend in person can participate via U-Stream.

We will begin the session with a conversation and questions and answers about the CitizenGulf fact finding mission. It has always been the project’s intent to provide meaningful action to anyone who wants to help the Gulf. So we will announce a national day of action in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans (August 27). Anyone can participate in this CitizenGulf day of action.

Based on our fact finding mission (fully aggregated content here), we believe the clearest path to create concrete meaningful action for concerned citizens is to build a program that will directly benefit the fishing families in Louisiana who have lost their livelihoods thanks to the BPO oil spill. Our program will include a local 501c3(s) that is working directly with the fishing families. Further, we are adding partnering organizations as we build the program out.

Anyone can participate in #CitizenGulf with as little as a Facebook Like or a small donation to hosting your own event or agreeing to take on #CitizenzGulf action. Organizations that want to be a part of the project, whether as contributors or as promotional partners are welcome, too. An organizing committee of CitizenGulf members are actively being created as we speak.

Finally, there will likely be a second fact finding mission to the Gulf in early August, this one to focus specifically on the fishing communities and how they are being affected. Please let us know if you are interested in participating.

Zoetica Joins the CitizenGulf Project

Until this point, I have been volunteering my time to CitizenGulf as it was a critical project, in my opinion. The oil spill is a national tragedy and disaster that will not go away, and in fact, will worsen as more and more oil is released into the Gulf warriors. In addition to the incredible damage sustained by the marine environment, the local Gulf communities that are inherently tied to those waters will forever be altered for the worse.

I believe this is a time for individual to act. We cannot to expect BP or the Obama Administration to resolve the matter in full. Fortunately, my business partners Beth Kanter and Kami Huyse agree. Zoetica has officially joined the CitizenGulf project as a promotional partner. We will provide my time to the project as a charitable donation to the national community affected.

The original fact finding team included Citizen Effect’s Dan Morrison and May Yu, Jill Foster, and myself. Citizen Effect will maintain the overall administration of the national program and creation of individual action projects in conjunction with the local 501c3(s).

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The Disaster Known As Obama Response

Posted on: July 7th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 1 Comment

Military on the Beach

With his boot firmly placed on BP’s $20 billion neck, we’ve not heard much from President Obama or the federal government about the oil spill. Perhaps contented with their villain, the White House lets Thad Allen run the show while U.S. media interest in the oil spill statistically wanes. Yet, the situation continues to worsen for the economically stricken Gulf states.

One of the most interesting changes in my opinion resulting from last week’s citizengulf trip was my view of the Obama response. I left contented, I returned utterly dismayed.

The Obama Administration has made life difficult for locals, while not engaging enough to make difference. The list of continuing woes is staggering: First Amendment violations, not forcing clean-ups from BP, a failure to streamline claims processes, continued ethical violations, a local government’s decision to allow children to swim in tar infested waters, lack of transparency about water toxin levels, etc.

What the Obama administration has successfully done is position culpability. It has failed to help suffering American citizens, from fishermen to yes, gas station owners throughout the Gulf. The Obama Administration clearly does not have its hands around the oil spill disaster.

Whether it’s declaring a federal disaster to assume the powers necessary or changing internal “rules,” the Obama Administration needs to step up its response. We don’t want a PR response, we want results. Stop blaming BP, start helping people.

Geoff Livingston is a regular contributor to the Live Earth blog.

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The Plight of the Louisiana Fishing Family

Posted on: June 29th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 1 Comment

Dream Is Gone

The Citizen Effect Gulf Mission team sat down yesterday with Natalie A. Jayroe, president and CEO of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans (serving 23 south Louisiana parishes). Our ongoing goal remains finding an actionable way for Americans to take positive mindful ways to act in the wake of the Deep Horizon disaster.

Jayroe told us her view of how the fishing families of Louisiana have been affected by the oil spill. The following post is based from that conversation.

An area the size of Great Britain was devastated with Katrina. The entire region had to rebuild, and nonprofits and community realigned themselves to rethink New Orleans. Five years after Katrina they are seeing another devastating disaster, and, it’s been very tough on many fishing families. in once case, a fisher committed suicide.

There is nothing finite right now on how to handle the post oil spill economy. One step forward has yet to be determined. There are 49,000 Louisianans that have fishing licenses, and in all 150,000 people are affected immediately. The oil drilling moratorium has put another 40,000 people out of work.

The secondary and tertiary circles of job loss have yet to be felt in the Gulf. The ripple effect could be huge. The local economy is tourism and oil, so both of the big economic drivers of the state have been challenged.

Fishing is an up and down business. The fishing families of Louisiana are traditional and self sufficient, and do not gladly take government benefits. Fishing families take advantage of federal benefits at a rate 10-20% lower than the rest of the state. They don’t accept help readily. They don’t like case work. They just want to go back to work.

How The Hell Are We Supposed Feed Our Kids Now

Five or six generations of fishing families live by the tides. When this is taken away from them, there is little chance to take on a new career.

Their next job opportunity is often oil rigs. So they are less likely to take swipes at BP, it’s a huge part of their economy.

The fishing families think about how they are going to get through this today and tomorrow. Most of them are still trying to keep the oil off the shores. They liken it to fighting a war, and hope they will be able to shrimp next year. If there’s a way to survive they will do it. They are about subsistence and survival, and they will what they have to live with the land.

To create that next generation of sustenance income would require the community to take on a lot of education work. You would need to do a lot of front line activity with the community to evolve. They would need to band together. Given the fiercely independent culture of the fishing families here, it’s a dubious outcome…

The environmental impact from the oil spill will likely be felt for decades, stifling the marine life and fishing industry. The BP Deep Horizon oil spill may have permanently devastated this fishing culture.

Long Term Impact for Second Harvest

Second Harvest knows this issue will continue a long time after the oil spill is capped. It could take years. The organization estimates that more than 47,500 fishing homes may eventually require food assistance as a result of the Gulf oil spill.

Because it’s not a national disaster declared by the President, federal food commodities (via disaster SNAP) can’t be given out.Fact Check: Louisiana Department of Social Services. If Obama declares the oil spill a National Disaster, BP would no longer be liable. The bailout fund is not necessarily going to benefit the Gulf directly. That means disaster resources are not making it to the Louisiana parishes today.

The organization has already provided 200,000 meals through disaster relief sites in the impacted areas since May 1. The demand is making a direct impact on Second Harvest’s stores before hurricane season, stretching their resources. BP has paid the organization $350,000 to replace these recources.

Second Harvest Food bank became the largest foodbank in history following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The foodbank distributed 8 million pounds of food in September 2005 alone.

Geoff Livingston is a regular contributor to the Live Earth blog.

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What to Expect on Our Gulf Mission

Posted on: June 25th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 5 Comments

What have they done to the earth? What have they done to our fair sister? – Jim Morrison, When the Music Is Over

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Images by Kris Krug from his TedX OilSpill Expedition set.

The time is almost upon us for our well-discussed Gulf Mission. Thank you all for your support. Together, I will work with Citizen Effect’s Dan Morrison and May Yu to find an actionable, tangible way for people across the country to help those suffering as a result of the ongoing Deep Horizon oil spill.

We have a clear goal: Work with local charities and people to find a way to help Gulf fishermen who have likely lost their careers, their tradition. How will be determined on the trip. We already have meetings set with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board; the Greater New Orleans Foundation; Catholic Charities, including site visits to constituents of America’s Second Harvest, the Archdiocese, fishermen; and with Sloane Berrent, who is organizing a nationwide Gulf Coast Benefit concert event on July 1.

Along the way we have committed to a full citizen journalist effort. What does that mean? We will be blogging, tweeting, photographing, sending mini live podcast reports, etc. throughout our days from the Gulf. We already have several commitments to distribute that content beyond our blogs and social media properties.

You can tell which boats are returning from the Gulf

But it’s more than just on the scene reporting, it’s an attitude: We will ask hard questions. When it comes to our government and BP, we will not assume they are doing the right thing. In fact, evidence shows that they continue to stumble, with atrocities like burning endangered turtles to death rather than rescuing them.

We will tell real people’s stories. We will show their faces, and we will listen to them and show their viewpoint. And we will highlight those special angels on the frontlines fighting to protect the Gulf and the people most afflicted by this tragedy.

It’s with an attitude of service that we fly to New Orleans on Sunday. I hope you’ll join us for this journey.

You Killed Our Gulf... Our Way of Life

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The Ultimate Free Agent: @BPGlobalPR

Posted on: June 23rd, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 2 Comments


Cleaning up oil spills is expensive. Buying judges so we can keep drilling? Relatively cheap. http://ow.ly/21W3bless than a minute ago via webBP Public Relations
BPGlobalPR

BP’s onslaught of ads claiming responsibility continue to drown our media pipes. Their online use of social media — adamant broadcasted messaging on conversational media forms — infuriates online citizens. But one person – Leroy “@BPGlobaPR” Stick – continues to lampoon BP’s efforts, turning the despicable into the ridiculous.

In Beth Kanter and Allison Fine‘s new book The Networked Nonprofit, they talk about the concept of Free Agents, individuals who crash into the walls of traditional nonprofits using social media tools. These agents force change by breaking control paradigms and having conversations with people, building their own movements.

As Leroy Stick demonstrates, the Free Agent concept goes beyond the nonprofit world and extends to the larger social media ethos. His @BPGlobalPR effort represents the ultimate free agent. An argument can be made that Stick has done and continues to do more to hold BP (and frankly the Obama administration) to accountability online than any other organization or entity.

In his one major public discussion of his actions (Leroy Stick is an anonymous handle), Stick explains his motives: “I started @BPGlobalPR, because the oil spill had been going on for almost a month and all BP had to offer were bullshit PR statements. No solutions, no urgency, no sincerity, no nothing. That’s why I decided to relate to the public for them.”

Communications pundits have chased their own tails in circles analyzing the impact of Stick’s efforts. One thing remains certain. BP can’t tweet its way into good graces.

As I mentioned in my interview with NPR on the topic, when you have a two-way channel like Facebook or Twitter, you’re expected to have a conversation. You have to embrace everyone, positive AND negative. When people feel ignored, their anger just grows. And that’s exactly what BP continues to do — broadcast and not talk. Most of us stopped listening a long time ago.

Geoff Livingston is a regular contributor to the Live Earth blog.

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Three $20 Billion Escrow Fund PR Takeaways

Posted on: June 18th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 1 Comment

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Yesterday’s news about the $20 million escrow fund sparked a debate about Obama’s consistent use of power on behalf of the public interest against large corporations (AP Photo). It’s an interesting conversation, and it’s ironic to watch the GOP, the party of Teddy Roosevelt — a.k.a. the Trust Buster — object to this action. But for me, while this may be a GOP mud flinging point, there are really three big $20 million takeaways from a PR perspective.

1) Obama is the big winner. For once, we are debating about whether or not our vulcan-like leader went too far in protecting the Gulf’s interests. Isn’t that refreshing?

2) BP gets points, too. By acquiescing, BP demonstrated in a very real way that when held to the flame, the company is willing to go to any length to set things right. Because it’s escrow if the full $20 billion isn’t used, BP gets the remaining money back. Further, it’s a commitment to pay money over time (as opposed to a lump sum), and it demonstrates to investors a finite penalty. Pay your dividends, BP!

3) The GOP loses. The GOP does have a point to make in its stance against reactionary policy during this crisis. This battle is best fought in the restructuring of energy policy and MMS. Defending BP’s “poor interests” was a mistake. Even the rest of the oil industry has thrown BP under the bus, and the GOP would have been wise to let BP serve as a sacrificial lamb.

Why? This is not your average big company abuse. This is the worst environmental crisis of our time. It’s an extraordinary situation. By criticizing something that BP voluntarily agreed to, the GOP makes itself — in particular Joe Barton — look insensitive. Choose your battles, folks.

What do you think about the $20 billion escrow?

P.S. Citizen Effect’s Dan Morrison and My Yu will join me on a mission to the Gulf on June 27 – July 1 to help affected fishermen. Details are here.

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How BP Swept Dispersants Under the Rug

Posted on: June 16th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 3 Comments

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The PR battle continues between Obama and BP (image by boxhai). With the climax occurring today between BP top brass and Obama at the White House, another major danger continues to spread in the Gulf, BP’s widespread use of Corexit toxic dispersants. More than 1,000,000 gallons has been deployed by BP in an effort to break up surface and underwater oil.

Corexit is deadly. It is toxic and it has even been banned from use in BP’s home country, the United Kingdom. Both state and local officials have asked BP to stop using it (versions Corexit EC9500A and Corexit EC9527A), and for a small period environmentalists complained.

BP evaded responding, issuing brief statements and ducking the issue. Since then the drama about compensation and culpability has drowned out the pressure on BP’s Corexit usage. BP is content to let is stay under the rug, and the company continues refusing to listen to its U.S. regulators.

Whether the reasons are simply same old incompetent irresponsibility or a cover up by BP doesn’t matter. The toxic impact on the marine environment cannot be underestimated. The Gulf is getting destroyed by two types of toxins, the crude oil from Deep Horizon and BP’s Corexit dispersants.

Until pressure is brought to bear on BP, we can count on the company letting the toxic chemical versions of Corexit stay under the rug. Don’t let the government BP media war distract you from the true dangers the oil spill presents: Reckless destruction of our marine environment and livelihood.

Special thanks to Leigh Durst and Jimmy Gardner for suggesting this topic.

P.S. Citizen Effect’s Dan Morrison and My Yu will join me on a mission to the Gulf on June 27 – July 1 to help affected fishermen. Details are here.

Geoff Livingston is a regular contributor to the Live Earth blog.

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