Today’s Roanoke Times has an interesting little editorial titled “What ‘green’ should mean.”

Seems the FTC is planning to watch product labeling a little closer and challenge folks who mislead the public in an attempt to sell their product.

The editorial stated that the Federal Trade Commission would be changing labeling rules for products claiming to be “green.”  In an attempt to rein in manufacturers who boast their products are “eco-friendly,” the FTC thinks manufacturers should back up their claims.

We couldn’t agree more!

In fact, we think the Roanoke Times missed a great opportunity to demonstrate their implied support of the “back up their claims” concept right in their own back yard.  After all, if the Roanoke Times is sincere about manufacturers and suppliers proving their “eco-friendly” claims, you would think the massive industrial wind turbines planned for Poor Mountain might be on the paper’s hit list.  I mean, they can’t exactly say they’re unaware.

The wind developer’s claims to replace fossil fuel power plants, reduce carbon emissions and provide a reliable stream of clean, green and cheap electricity while consuming hundreds of acres of woodlands would certainly seem to deserve a little scrutiny.

Serious scientists and engineers dispute the claims of the wind developers.  Their works are not that hard to find, if you look beyond the fawning press printing only the wind lobby’s boilerplate.  Heck, we’re a small potatoes blog and we’ve got a couple of hundred posts dedicated to the writings of these experts.

One of the best resources available for serious discussion of industrial wind’s claims is in the Editor’s back yard – VA Wind.  We’ve linked a bunch of others over there on the left of the page.

So, Mr./Ms. Editor … how about if your paper takes its own editorial advice seriously?  Maybe you could question the claims of the self-proclaimed “eco-friendly” wind farm that will impact your readers far longer and more dramatically than a bottle of cleaning liquid.

Don’t leave it up to your neighbors to, as you say, “act as the “green” police.”

How about using your “power of the pen” to help them out.

Oh, by the way … the FTC is holding a comment period on the “Green Guides” revisions open to public comment until Dec. 10.  Maybe we should all write to the FTC to ask they include wind turbines and have the manufacturers, developers and lobby groups prove they can “back up their claims.”  It sure doesn’t seem the Department of Energy cares.