The New Republic has a new environment and energy blog which is ... wait for it... "powered by BP." They promise that the actual content of the blog won't be affected by BP's sponsorship. But this doesn't change the fact that putting BP's name and logo all over an environmental blog makes it appear that BP cares about the environment -- which it pretty much doesn't.
They can write all the posts denouncing BP that they want, but those posts will eventually move down the page while that BP star will shine on at the top for as long as the sponsorship lasts. "We're not in the tank for BP" isn't sufficient. BP will have an easier time lobbying against climate change legislation if it is perceived as supporting environmental causes -- a perception that will only be increased by sponsorships like this. Making a company with such a checkered history look good is in and of itself a bad thing. What's more, it makes me think twice about TNR's judgment in general.
--Sam Boyd
