Brown Out Green Power

So I'm looking at a picture in the New York Times story titled "Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit." The big picture (cropped portion shown here) shows a bunch of anti-globalization protesters in London, with the most visible sign slogans being “Socialist Appeal,” “Casino Workers Local,” “GMB Remploy,” and “Indian Workers Association.”

And I notice a smallish sign on the left of the picture. It says "BROWN OUT GREEN POWER." Between the total absence of punctuation and the horrible all-caps type, a certain ambiguity leapt to attention. “Brown out Green power” would make a great slogan for a militant coal-miners union, I thought, and England certainly has had such. (Which Margaret Thatcher smashed with the help of global warming fears – on that she was ahead of her time.) They could be telling us that the notion of “green” power must be stamped out, using a verb which also calls to mind electricity brownouts.

At the same time, I remembered that the U.K.’s current Prime Minister is named Brown. The sign – to be read as “Brown out, Green power” – was actually made by Green Party members who want him out, and who aren’t very good at designing signs. Still, I think “Brown Out Green Power” would make a great slogan for radical opponents of “green” power projects, if there are any.