BP’s loudly trumpeted new “green” gas station in Los Angeles has low-energy green-colored LED lights that give it a Gehry-crossed-with-Disneyland look at night, according to the NotCot design blog. But there’s nothing green about the fuel that “Helios House” sells: just plain gasoline, three grades. No E85 high-ethanol, no biodiesel, much less anything exotic like hydrogen or electric plug-in stations. It’s a $6 million publicity stunt, using the latest in energy-efficient technology to power the station itself, while failing to offer drivers even a symbolic alternative to fossil fuels.
BP’s publicity drive, according to in-the-know bloggers at Curbed LA, included handing out $100 gasoline coupons to guests at a pre-Oscar party for Al Gore. That might buy half a fillup for the Hummer limos.
BP no doubt hoped the Hollywood buzz over its gas-and-only-gas station would crowd out bad news from the U.S. Chemical Safety board, whose report this week on the fatal 2005 blast at a BP refinery in Texas slammed the company for an “unsafe culture.” There are some things that even a glamorous greenwash can’t cover.