The first time I saw the James Bond Coca-Cola ad, I didn’t think much about it. But now it turns my spit to bile.

It’s disgustingly ironic that the owners of the James Bond series would advertise Coke with a film about (spoiler alert) a greenwashing corporation stealing water from the third world. Because that perfectly describes Coca-Cola Inc.

For the past decade, Coke has invested heavily in bottled water. An increasingly health-conscious public, aware of the sickening effects of cola, drove down carbonated soft drink sales. Coke responded by bottling purified tap water and selling it under the name “Dasani.” Thanks to healthy sales of “healthy” drinks (which according to the New York Times are “still just sugar water”), Coca-Cola has enjoyed rising international sales.

Of course there have been setbacks. Coca-Cola recalled Dasani in the United Kingdom after they accidentally poisoned the bottled water with bromate, a possible carcinogen. At least it was only the Dasani that was tainted. In India, one of Coca-Cola’s fastest growing markets, problems ran deeper.

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Source:  Ananova 

James Bond faces villain disguised as eco entrepreneur in the new Sony film, Quantum of Solace, due out in November

Some readers may be aware that the dam forming the backdrop to this daredevil scene, instead of being deep inside the former Soviet Union, is in fact located in the Val Verzasca in Southern Switzerland. Retaining over 100 million cubic meters of water, and generating 105 megawatts of electricity, the Verzasca dam is one of 527 hydro electric power plants which together provide more than 57% of the electricity consumed within Switzerland.

In the interest of bringing EcoWorldly readers first hand and up-close reporting on renewable energy I had originally planned to visit the dam this weekend in order to relate my experiences of bungee jumping off a 720 foot high hydro-electric energy installation. However, in the interests of meeting editorial deadlines I ultimately had to settle with a video from YouTube. It’s worth watching just to appreciate the sheer scale of this installation.

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I don’t know if this is truly a step forward in clean car technology, or just something for James Bond and Aquaman fans, but Swiss car maker Rinspeed will debut the sQuba, a fully submersible electric car, at next month’s Geneva Auto Show.

I once again present the JetPack Rating System™, my weekly effort to help humanity cope with its collective disappointment over the broken promise of personal jetpacks, the Sean Connery-era James Bond standard of cool.

To recap, the JetPack Rating System™ is used to not only begin the healing process, but also for rating automobiles and buildings by a duel criteria:

1. How environmentally-friendly are they?
2. What would James Bond think of them?

Today, we JetPack™ the Volkswagen Chameleon.

Yahoo Autos Sez:

On the outside, the Volkswagen Chameleon Microbus looks like it rolled right out of the set of a 1960s surfer movie. But times have changed in the world of energy and technology. Volkswagen retrofitted the 1964 Deluxe Microbus for a new generation by installing an all-electric drive powered by lithium polymer batteries. Ten 30-volt batteries under the van’s floor provide a range of about 100 miles. A recharge takes about 6 hours. Surfboards mounted on the roof are lined with flexible solar panels that provide an additional source of energy. The vehicle needs all the energy it can find to power an arsenal of interactive digital cabin features, including imbedded touch-pads and speech activated controls. Don’t expect to ever see this vehicle on the road. Volkswagen is using the Chameleon strictly as a marketing tool to showcase a movie-fantasy future of automotive electronics. - Yahoo Autos

The JetPack Rating System™ sez:

Another green concept car that will never actually see the light of day. Usually this would irk James. Under normal circumstances he would be inclined to fly his jetpack to the corporate offices of Volkswagen where he would deliver well-placed karate chops to the men, and refuse to wine and dine the ladies, teaching them all a valuable lesson.

Ah, but this is different.

The 1964 design is in line with the old-school appeal of the 007 Jet Pack, yet while the rest of the world sees surf, sand and sunshine, James sees a giant bong on wheels. Not a fan of hippies. Volkswagen is actually doing society a great service by making sure that the Chameleon never sees the light of day. This vehicle has the sad smell of broken laws and free love…

Wait a minute. Did someone say free love?

Perhaps James is having a change of heart. The multi-tasking options are worth considering. The VW micro bus provides enough privacy for Bond to chase the bad guys and discreetly be attentive to the ladies. Our secret agent has been faced with a dilemma:

The hippies?

The ladies?

The hippies?

The ladies?

….the ladies win out. James ♥’s the Volkswagen Chameleon

JetPack Rating? 4 JetPacks (out of a possible 5)