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Publix, Mosaic, Others Launch Ecofriendly Ad Campaign
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Published: May 15, 2008
Updated:
TAMPA - Coming soon to a TV near you: Environmentalists and big Florida businesses teamed up in an ad campaign aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Strange bedfellows, you say? Perhaps. But environmentalists say having household names such as Publix and the St. Joe Co. tell viewers they've saved money by helping save the planet could persuade the public to push for tougher renewable energy laws.
"We're all in this plan together," said Jerry Karnas, Florida climate project director for Environmental Defense, which launched the 30-day ad campaign Wednesday with a news conference in downtown Tampa. "Climate change is something nobody can ignore."
The campaign, which cost the environmental group in the "mid-six figures," will air for the next month in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tallahassee. It features 30-second clips of companies that have made changes to their business practices to stem greenhouse gas emissions.
Some of the ads feature companies that environmentalists have often criticized.
In one ad, for example, an engineer from Mosaic Co., the giant phosphate company, says the company captures heat from making fertilizer and uses it to make enough energy to power 100 Florida homes.
The ads also feature lesser-known businesses such as a company that creates fuel out of algae and the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum, which uses solar energy for power.
Although the television clips do not mention politics, the timing of the ad campaign is tied to an upcoming vote in the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers next month are expected to take up America's Climate Security Act, a bill introduced by Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
The bill calls for a system in which businesses with emissions over a set limit can buy credits from plants that have installed emissions-reducing equipment. Backers say that provides economic incentives for businesses to limit emissions.
Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.
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