I first heard about Obama’s Green Inauguration in a passing discussion by two news journalists today who mentioned that he was using a green carpet for his celebration.

“Yeah, but you know everyone will be flying in and taking limos,” the journalist noted. And honestly, he did have a point.

However, after researching the green inauguration ball further (which as it turns out is totally separate from the actual inauguration), it does seem as though there’s definitely a larger green effort involved in what might otherwise be passed off as green washing.

Along with the simple eating and drinkig of local, organic fare and beverages, the Green details include (but aren’t necessarily limited to) the following:

• Green powered hall
• Composted event waste
• Locally grown flowers
• Offset energy and transport by purchasing energy and carbon credits
• Recycled glass, paper, cardboard, and plastic

Attendees are being encouraged to rent or purchase vintage gowns and suits, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a green charity. And the speaker list, which includes well-known activists, like Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger.com, is pretty impressive.

So while this might be a total marketing ploy – sure, choosing a venue that usings “100% natural cleaning products” might be a stretch to call something “green” – it actually seems like a step in the right direction, and a smart minded approach to celebrating.

And if you’ve got a cool $500 just laying around, you could be there to celebrate with them.

So what do you think? Cool or Bull?

[This post was written by Kristen Chase.]