Here's a perfect example of the tone I hope to hit with my rants this year, as well as an open invitation to Carbon Neutral Journal readers to chime in.

On November 29, 2006, the Jackson Hole News & Guide published the following letter to the editor from Neil Sloan of Fargo, North Dakota. (Anna Olson's December 6th JHMR response is the first response under "comments.")

"With the start of the ski season and all the talk of 'green ski areas,' I recently came across Jackson Hole Mountain Resort's 'Annual Sustainability Report.' I almost laughed. Quick quiz: What's the vehicle of choice at the resort. Yup, the Chevy Tahoe. And when I lived in Jackson, I don't think I ever saw more than one JHMR manager or guest driving in the offending gas guzzler at a time.

The first sentence of the resort's sustainability report reads, 'No business can honestly claim to be sustainable, because there are no clear objectives for business sustainability.'

Come again? While it is true that no business can claim to be sustainable, I could give you a laundry list of clear sustainability objectives, but for now, I'll just give you one that pertains to sustainable transportation. Objective: Businesses must reduce the carbon footprint of their vehicle fleet. (If you have to ask why, pick up any magazine or paper to read about global warming, national security or ANWR.) In case your environmental management neurons still aren't firing, I'll also give you a clear strategy for meeting that objective: Stop signing sponsorship deals for Chevy Tahoes.

If you insist on an SUV for safety reasons, why not get in bed with a company like Toyota, a leader in hybrid technologies, and purchase a fleet of hybrid Highlanders or luxury hybrid Lexis SUVs. While still horribly offending in terms of fuel efficiency, at least it would be an ideological step in the right direction.

JHMR's brand of 'corporate responsibility' and P.R. spin, ISO-certified or not, is a farcical green race to the bottom."

Take a look at Anna Olson's rebuttal and let me know what you think.

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