The last two years have been good to us Germans: We became Pope, we (almost) became world champions in soccer, we became the first female chancellor and now, oh yeah, we won the Oscar!!!! Thanks to Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and his movie “The Lives of Others”, we are officially back in Hollywood (for the third time). But that’s only one reason to celebrate. Even if we wouldn’t have made it to the Movie-Olympus, our hearts would have had two more reasons to celebrate.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck after receiving his Oscar.
First with Al Gore and the Oscar for the best documentary “An inconvenient truth”. This Oscar might be way more than just a technical trophy for a filmmaker. It could be a sign that America is finally waking up to a truth which can not be ignored any longer.

Al Gore on the red carpet.
Since we Germans like to see ourselves as extremely environmental sound (just think of our waste separation system!), we feel that we knew it all along and therefore the Oscar technically belongs to us as much as to Al. Second, which once again underlines the first reason, it was a fleet of Hydrogen 7 cars giving the celebrities a ride in style to the red carpet – making this years Oscars the greenest ever and everyone involved a winner in the climate battle. Needless to say how much Germans (and the rest of the world) identify themselves with the BMW, especially such a progressive and environmental friendly one. So, however you want to look at the Oscars 2007: Somehow we (all) won!www.oscars.comFotos: Website

Tanking up in L.A.:

So when is a gas station not a gas station? When it is a Green Information Center in Beverly Hills. A new BP (British Petroleum) service station has opened just in time for the green conscious Oscars.Its looking for Staff on Craigslist. BP is in the position of being on some people's list as one of the world's top 10 polluters so is this green window dressing or greenwashing:

This is not a public relations stunt says BP’s public relations staff

Fair enough, it opened in time for this years green conscious oscars which are provided with green(er) transportation for the stars by Mikhail Gorbachev's Global Green Foundation. Beyond Petroleum is both a brilliant slogan and a worthwhile goal. I hope it is less about selling more gas and more about getting rid of petroleum based transport. The strategy does call to mind the classic Corporate Oxymoron:

Corporate Oxymoron™ (aka when a company sells a product while at the exact same time telling the world how bad that product is)

To be fair BP is the world's largest producer of solar panels and sponsor of Solar Neighbors. Anything that puts more solar cells on roofs is a good thing in my opinion AND we are not getting rid of gasoline fueled cars any time soon without some serious legislative action by a government with more of an energy backbone than the current administration. So in my opinion an effort by an Oil company is still a legitimate effort but one that should be watched carefully so allegations like those which plague Chevron concerning the electric car do not occur. Lets hope BP's next steps will be to pump hydrogen, charge electric vehicles and sell competitively priced Solar Cells over the counter. That would be a service to everyone. Because selling gasoline behind a 'Green Facade' isn't going to get us beyond anything, certainly not petroleum, it just encourages more of the same old habits of bad behavior. Perhaps someday soon there will be a BP carbon offset credit available at the pump to cover your gas. I would heartily endorse the sale of legally adjudicated CO2 credits to cover every gallon of gas sold the question is who would be willing to pay for them. That petroleum isn't going to last forever so it makes sense for BP to diversify and cover its assets with other alternatives to gasoline. Thank you for not smoking at the Pump!