Verizon Apologizes for Sponsoring Big Coal Rally and Concert

You may recall a resent (blunder?) made by Verizon Wireless, when they sponsored the so-called Friends of America rally in West Virginia on Labor Day.  This event, put on by Massey coal baron Don Blankenship, was a free concert featuring global warming deniers, right-wing pundits, and reckless-rhetoric-spewing rockers who gathered on the site of a mountantop mining site to promote an extreme anti-environmental political agenda.

Verizon Wireless, which markets itself as environmentally friendly, clearly made a mistake affiliating its brand with this anti-”green” rally.  But instead of heeding customer complaints by withdrawing its sponsorship, company officials first tried to play clueless about the overt political aspect of the event, and then stubbornly stayed the course for fear of angering the coal crowd.

But in an effort to “set the record straight,” McAdams explains that Verizon Wireless’ sponsorship was not meant as an expression of support for the coal industry’s political agenda.  He insists that the company does not support mountaintop removal coal mining, nor does it oppose federal climate legislation.  He goes on to clarify that Verizon Wireless “supports the goals of policy makers who are committed to reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment.”  McAdams then takes the opportunity to tout Verizon’s corporate commitment to sustainability.

This belated apology comes just in time, as we were going to have Verizon service canceled this weekend.

Verizon isn’t out of the woods though. We’ll be keeping an eye on them. If they continue their “profits over the environment” business model, they will be added to the Exxon, WalMart, ConAgra, Nestle boycott list at Twilight Earth.

Source: NRDC Switchboard