Ecocem runs into some artful opposition in California

Irish "green" cement company Ecocem is finding out just how hippyish those sun-soaked Californian folk can be following the emergence of some rather artful posters opposing a proposed development by the Irish company in Vallejo near San Francisco.

Orcem, Ecocem's US unit, wants to build a supposedly environmentally friendly €45 million cement plant – if there is such a thing – at a Vallejo Marine Terminal (VMT) site.

The proposed project has run into some stiff opposition from locals and environmentalists, as well as some planning scrutiny, as chronicled by one of my colleagues in the Irish Times over recent months.

If it were Ireland you would probably expect a few skull and crossbones painted on to a white background and hammered on to a telegraph pole, perhaps with a few choice words underneath.

Rosie the Riveter

Not so in

California

, where they seem to be a bit more into their campaign posters. The gem of a poster (pictured above) appeared all over Vallejo in recent weeks. I’m not sure what Rosie the Riveter is planning to do with her fist, but Ecocem’s executives should probably stay out of her way.

Other anti-Orcem posters to have appeared recently include an apocalyptic Christmas scene involving a pair of factory smoke stacks, and another effort, possibly OTT, that looks like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.

Tough crowd.