Inundated with reports on how best to save the environment, many consumers are left confused and suffering from an information overload the New York Times dubs “green noise.” Many eco-facts are contradictory and options are puzzling (is it better, for example, to get a used car, or a hybrid?). Environmental groups worry that too much green noise could stop people from paying attention at all.
“What we’ve been seeing in focus groups is a real green backlash,” said one analyst, who reports that when study groups screen eco-friendly advertisements, “half the room roll their eyes." (More environment stories.)