The food world has been reeling in the wake of a recent Stanford survey concluding that “organic” food may not be as special as it’s cracked up to be. Many have rightly pointed out shortcomings in the methods and data involved in the study, but it has certainly sparked debate.

Among certain food world vets, however, the question at hand was answered some time ago: While organic is always preferable, buying locally produced food is more important than buying items that meet certain FDA regulations (the fact that neither model is sufficient to feed billions of people is another can of worms altogether). How do we know that this isn’t a new debate? “Locavore” was Oxford’s word of the year for 2007.

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Fracking, which is a shorthand term for hydraulic fracturing (not a polite replacement for a colorful expletive), is a process that utilizes large volumes of high-pressured water, sand, and chemicals to fracture shale rock deep underground in order to extract the natural gas locked beneath it. While natural gas itself is the cleanest of the fossil fuels, and is often presented as a “green” solution, the safety and environmental impact of the fracking process has inspired increasing controversy and conflict. A PR war now rages between the energy companies that want to expand their fracking activities and the people and organizations who oppose the practice.

Oil and energy companies have invested a substantial amount of resources into natural gas, touting its viability and abundance while also attempting to reassure skeptics (especially those living in areas atop large shale reserves) that they are taking every precaution to ensure that the gas is being harvested responsibly and safely. However, a lack of regulation and disclosure rules regarding the chemicals used in the process haven’t exactly endeared fracking to opponents; it seems like folks would prefer to know exactly what these energy companies will be pumping into their land (and may potentially end up in their immediate environment via air and groundwater). Gee, who would have thought?

Some specific and well-documented concerns include chemical contamination of potable groundwater, surface water pollution from the dumping of salty post-fracking wastewater into rivers, air pollution near fracking sites, and methane leakage. Yikes–we can see why the energy companies may have some trouble spinning this to their advantage.

Negative environmental impacts notwithstanding, fracking can have a positive economic effect on the communities in which it takes place–and that fact is the primary selling point behind the energy companies’ PR efforts.

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Food is very big business in America, and that means companies and brands with immense advertising and PR heft competing for consumer dollars. On the surface, this strikes most Americans as harmless; it’s capitalism, after all: It’s the way things work.

But on a deeper psychological level, most consumers perceive food not only according to their specific likes and dislikes, but within the context of an unnatural vacuum created by decades worth of marketing campaigns from food growers, distributors and sellers.

For example, we like our food to be flawless; why else would so many supermarket customers spend time examining melons, tomatoes and onions as if they’re precious stones? Our trained eyes also like big, colorful displays of food lining the aisles, and we don’t see overwhelming portions as sources of waste but ways to get more for our money. So a little excess occurs every now and then; no big deal, right?

Well, consider this quote from a recent article in The Washington Post:

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We know that going green is important for the environment and can help curb energy costs, but might it also be an imperative ingredient to building a positive brand image? According to a new Deloitte report, improving energy efficiency at America’s businesses is as important to brand building as it is to growing the bottom line.

According to the study, reSources 2012,  85 percent of companies say that electricity cost reductions are essential to staying financially competitive, which isn’t too much of a surprise. But the eye-catching part is that nearly an equal majority (81 percent) feel that reducing energy costs is critical to brand building. In fact, more than three-quarters of the organizations surveyed say that they are actively promoting their energy efficiency efforts to their customers.

“Corporate America is coming to a clear consensus: Energy efficiency is an important competitive advantage,” said Greg Aliff, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and the report’s co-author. “It is no longer just the purview of plant operations or building management. Senior leaders are beginning to view it as a strategic business driver.”

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It looks like green is the new color of parental guilt.

According to a new survey by iVillage and Today.com, a huge number of parents admit they could do more to help the environment, but don’t have enough money to go greener, inducing “green guilt.”

The survey found 94 percent of parents want to do more to help the environment, but almost half (43 percent) say lack of money keeps them from being their greener selves.  For the record, we would buy everything organic at Whole Foods if we could, right? It’s just that all those sweet peas and pesticide-free artichokes really add up.

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Did everyone have a great Earth Day? The Washington Post has gathered some images from Earth Day celebrations around the world. And while the world has been introduced to the $60 eco-friendly LED light bulb, Perkett PR has designed a way for employees to actually save money while doing good for the environment: Staffers work from home.

Perkett PR has full- and part-time staffers working in 10 states across the U.S. However, all staffers telecommute. According to the firm’s website, this “virtual agency” saves money on overhead and passes that savings along to the client. The infographic above shows how the agency is also saving money for staffers and doing good works for the environment.

Greenpeace recognized World Water Day (March 22) with its latest stunt, tied to the ongoing Detox program targeting fashion brands. In the clip above, people around the world wipe down posters on city streets to reveal a “secret” about the damage that the fashion industry is doing to the world’s rivers.

In some ways, we wonder if the video isn’t more effective because the organization was able to splice other images like the dirty water in the buckets and the crisp rushing river. It hits home in a way that a passerby, curiosity piqued by the secret, wouldn’t experience.

One of the movies opening this weekend is Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, the animated tale of a 12-year-old boy who tries to find a Truffula tree to win a girl’s heart. The movie is meant to have eco-overtones, showing the importance of conserving rather than squandering nature. The movie also has the overtones of the more than 70 product placements that have been blended into the cartoon action.

If that isn’t enough (and yes, it is) one of the products placed is the Mazda CX-5, an SUV. Great green eggs and ham! That’s a bad product tie-in.

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DoSomething.org has teamed with Nestlé Waters North America and Olivia Munn for a program to promote eco-friendliness among teens.

The “Green Your School” Challenge is in its fifth year and runs through April 22, a.k.a. Earth Day. Historically, the initiative has pushed for recycling programs, energy saving measures, and other environmental action. This year, in its collaboration with Munn and Nestlé for the “Don’t be Trashy” initiative, they’re telling teens to spread the word about recycling on Facebook and other online spaces.

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The Glover Park Group, working with “retired” advertising super star Alex Bogusky, is launching two short ads for the Climate Reality Project, former Vice President Al Gore’s crusade against climate change. The Project will kick off “24 Hours of Reality” on September 14, a round-the-clock online broadcast event that will show the impact of climate change across 24 time zones. It’ll air once every hour in 13 languages.

The ads are called “The Fat Lady Sings” and “The Denial Has Hit the Fan,” and they show an overweight opera singer, and something brown hitting a fan, respectively.

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