RELATED: Talisman Terry, the “friendly Fracosaurus” star of a coloring book published by Talisman Energy, will no longer explain the natural gas drilling process to youngsters after the company announced plans today to stop distribution of the controversial children’s book. “Talisman Terry’s Energy Adventure” was a 24-page booklet that explained natural gas drilling in kid-friendly fashion and could be downloaded from the Calgary-based energy company’s website. It had been distributed at community fairs in northeastern Pennsylvania through the company’s Good Neighbor program. Talisman Terry’s message is overt and unapologetic: drilling for natural gas in formations like the Marcellus Shale is smart, safe and American. In the coloring book, the same plot of land doesn’t look much different in the “Before Drilling” and “After Drilling” illustrations. If anything, the “after” image seems more pastoral: new trees have been planted, a bald eagle soars over the hill, a rainbow has appeared. MORE:
POYNTER: On Tuesday, the largest private coal company in the world, Peabody Energy, launched a campaign to provide free My Little Pony and Justin Bieber-themed “Puff-Puff” inhalers to kids 18 and under. As part of this humanitarian campaign, Peabody pledged to donate $500 towards a lung-replacement procedure for every 1,000 inhalers ordered through the “Coal Cares” initiative. Peabody, which launched a “Coal Cares” website to advertise the campaign, hoped to tackle the stigma associated with asthma by giving away a variety of colorful and hip inhalers to dignify the use of asthma medication. “For kids who have no choice but to use an inhaler,” the website reads, “Coal Cares lets them inhale with pride.” Above all, the empathetic hearts behind the “Coal Cares” initiative are seeking to make what they have deemed “Asthma-Related Bullying (ARB)” a thing of the past. “Coal Cares,” of course, is a hoax. The prank, carried out by a newly formed group called “Coal Kills Kids,” was conceived and executed at the Yes Lab, an activist training center associated with the famous Yes Men. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: The Yes Men Strike Again
PREVIOUSLY: The Yes Men Punk The Chamber Of Commerce
PREVIOUSLY: The Yes Men Get Sued By The Chamber Of Commerce
EXPERTS AGREE: The Chamber Of Commerce Is Undeniably A Pimple On The Ass Of Progress
PREVIOUSLY: Q&A: Ask The Yes Men