Faux Green and Rental Greens

There’s green and then there’s green. via The Washington Post

In separate challenges this month from the far corners of the United States, environmental groups in Washington state and in Maine are accusing Weyerhaeuser Co. and Plum Creek Timber Co. of using the forest industry’s green-labeling program as a cover while they log in ways that harm endangered spotted owls in Washington and violate forestry laws in Maine.

Meanwhile, car rental agencies in the US at least are making some moves towards greening up their fleets. via US News and World Report:

One of the oldest and largest green car rental companies is EV Rental Cars. Its fleet includes 425 electric, natural gas and hybrid electric cars at eight airport locations: Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Oakland, California; Orange County, California; Phoenix; San Diego; San Francisco and San Jose, California. The company plans to expand its fleet to 1,000 vehicles by the end of 2006.

We rent fairly often, and I’d certainly pick a hybrid if it was an option. One of my local car rental agencies has a couple of Smart cars available, but at a premium price that doesn’t really correlate to either the cost of the car or space is provides.