Playing Politics with Earth Day

Earth Day has passed for another year. I think few politicians passed on the photo ops and press coverage of being involved on Earth Day. Tree plantings and garbage picking photos we're probably part of it. However, politics is not only about photos and good press. Politicians feel they need to do something to have green credentials. Read this editorial from a newspaper in Toronto, Canada. Sounds like politicians in that city are not afraid to spend taxpayer's money to be green. The downside is that it sounds like those projects don't make economic sense and were previously rejected for that reason. Now that green is all the rage the cash is flowing. Just like we need to be wary of greenwashing on products I think we need to watch for the same from public policy. Until we start enacting policies to change everything we do day in and day out the piecemeal approach may just be greenwashing for political gain.