Sustainability sells. Consumers are attracted to products claiming to feature lower environmental impacts. Sometimes the advertising is misleading; the term for deceptive environmental advertising is “greenwashing.” Perhaps the classic case of greenwashing was Volkswagen, which at one point advertised their diesel autos as “green” while setting an elaborate software ruse that deceived environmental testing devices. As Clifford Atiyeh reported in Car and Driver magazine back in 2019:
“Volkswagen installed emissions software on more than a half-million diesel cars in the U.S.—and roughly 10.5 million more worldwide—that allows them to sense the unique parameters of an emissions drive cycle set by the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the EPA and the California Air Resources Board, which were tipped off by researchers in 2014, these so-called “defeat devices” detect steering, throttle, and other inputs used in the test to switch between two distinct operating modes. In the test mode, the cars are fully compliant with all federal emissions levels. But when driving normally, the computer switches to a separate mode—significantly changing the fuel pressure, injection timing, exhaust-gas recirculation…While this mode likely delivers higher mileage and power, it also permits heavier nitrogen-oxide emissions (NOx)—a smog-forming pollutant linked to lung cancer—up to 40 times higher than the federal limit.”
Most examples of greenwashing are far less elaborate and not...
Dish Wireless LLC agreed to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, common law, and the Communications Act of 1934 relating to claims submitted to Fed...