Green Detectives Help Consumers
Understand Climate Change Talks

EnviroMedia Cofounders to Participate in United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change

More than half of Americans say they’ve never heard of cap and trade. But a new Web site, GreenDetectives.net, launched today to raise awareness of cap and trade and other complex climate change issues in advance of Copenhagen's historic United Nations climate change conference.

In a few days, negotiators from 192 countries will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to work toward a treaty to replace the current global pollution reduction agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The conference will address global economic and humanitarian challenges, and may set in motion huge changes that affect an uninformed public.

“Between new Pew Center research illustrating low awareness and concern about climate change, and the millions of dollars invested in ‘debunking’ beliefs that it even exists, America has a real problem as we head into Copenhagen,” says Valerie Davis, CEO of EnviroMedia, a firm that focuses on authentic green marketing.

EnviroMedia President Kevin Tuerff added, “Valerie and I have spent our careers researching and explaining air, water and waste pollution challenges to consumers. Global climate change is by far the most complex issue we’ve taken on, but we have faith Americans will contribute to the solution if they take time to understand the connection between our everyday lives as consumers, and important issues like cap and trade being discussed in Copenhagen at the United Nations climate change conference.”

Climate Change Decoder
The goal of the new Green Detectives Web site is to demystify the climate change debate before the United Nations climate change conference. At GreenDetectives.net, Kevin and Valerie simplify terms like climate finance, REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), climate adaptation, technology transfer and cap and trade through the use of a “decoder,” which provides a video explanation of the term selected by the user.

“Everyone needs to understand the terminology, words like cap and trade and climate finance, and keep up with these important debates,” said Kevin. “Greenhouse gas regulation is coming to the United States, and it will affect us all, so taking 15 minutes to watch the videos is a good start.”

In Copenhagen, Valerie and Kevin will provide daily updates via GreenDetectives.net, and serve as delegates representing the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development.

They are the only American advertising industry executives who have provided perspective from these annual U.N. climate talks for three consecutive years. This year they also participated in business briefings with the U.S. State Department’s climate negotiators.

Valerie and Kevin were originally dubbed the “Green Detectives” in a 2008 Washington Times news article after they started GreenwashingIndex.com—an online tool featured in Time and Newsweek to call out misleading green advertising.

Follow Kevin and Valerie at GreenDetectives.net and on Twitter at twitter.com/enviromedia