The cover of Vanity Fair's "Special Green Issue" displays an "eco-power pin-up," with Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Al Gore calling for "a new American revolution." The magazine took great care to get the photo just right, especially with poster child Ms. Roberts, who looks angelic in her leafy tiara.

She wears a dress by Bill Blass; hair products by John Frieda; makeup products by Chanel and Laura Mercier; hair by Serge Normant; and makeup by Genevieve. Set design is by Mary Howard and Rick Floyd. She is “styled” by Joe Zee. In the “credits“ section at the back, the Vanity Fair equivalent of footnotes, we find more helpful detail.

Julia Roberts’ hair was styled with John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Full Shine, and Starlit Waves. On her face is Chanel Double Perfection Fluide Matte Reflecting Makeup SPF 15 in Nude Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder in Translucent 1. On her eyes are Laura Mercier Eye Color Duo in Moss, and Mascara in Black. On her cheeks is Chanel Powder Blush in Cedar Rose. On her lips is Lip Colour in Sienna Genevieve for Sally Harlor. But the star of Erin Brockovich and Pretty Woman, was not singled out for special treatment.

George Clooney, like the rest, is decked out greener than a St. Patrick's Day parade in his Brooks Brothers suit. The credits tell us that Mr. Clooney's face is tricked out with Origins for Men Fire Fighter Plus, his face moisturized with Origins Balanced Diet, and on his lips, Origins Lip Remedy.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., has his sleeves rolled up, as though about to enter a bar fight. Readers are told he is a licensed master falconer. In the credits we learn that Mr. Kennedy's hair has been styled with Kiehl's Silk Groom Serum, and his face moisturized with Ultra Facial Cream. The issue includes an interview, with photo, of Senator Edward Kennedy, explaining: "Senator Kennedy's grooming by Susan Heydt for T.H.E. Artist Agency."

Readers are not told about Al Gore's makeup, but he's obviously had the full treatment. He wears a Rainforest coat from Rochester Big and Tall in New York City, perhaps on the advice of Naomi Wolf. There are also stylish, posed photos, with fashion footnotes, of Yvon Chouinard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Pataki, Etienne Bourgois, Zac Goldsmith, Edward Norton, the Rev. Richard Cizik, Nell Newman, Bette Midler, and others.

What we have in this special green issue, big enough to have caused some deforestation, is the perfect merger of advertising and editorial content. The implication is that fashions in clothing and cosmetics merge seamlessly with fashions in ideas. Readers will want to look like Julia Roberts, buy the products to make that happen, and even think like her too.

We are told that Julia Roberts drives a Prius, takes a metal cup to coffee shops, and is building a solar-powered house in California. Julia Roberts, however, does not write “The Moment of Truth“ essay. That task falls to Al Gore.

Mr. Gore cites “a true planetary emergency. . . . we are in grave danger of crossing a point of no return within the next 10 years!” He compares the cause to the fight against fascism and invokes the Marshall plan. And so on. One can hear the echoes of Gore's Earth in the Balance, published in 1992. In the ensuing 14 years, PRI published Environmental Gore, voters rejected Al Gore at the polls, and Bjorn Lomborg wrote The Skeptical Environmentalist (2001), hailed as one of the most important books on the environment ever written.

The mostly female readers of the Vanity Fair special green issue (magazines for men don't have “beauty editors“) will remain unaware of that book's existence. They are told, however, that global warming is a threat greater than terrorism. It's a climate crisis, explains Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. Readers are asked how much of New York, Washington, and other cities will be underwater, and shown photos of the inundated cities. They are treated to an essay by Mark Hertsgaard, environmental correspondent for The Nation.

The impression for women is that to hold environmentally alarmist ideas is to be fashionable, as sure as it is to have hair styled with Kératase Paris Nutri-Sculpt Mousse. Unfortunately, bad ideas can't be improved with makeup and celebrity endorsements.

Readers interested in the actual state of the environment might check out the eleventh edition, and all previous editions, of PRI's Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. True, they don't have glossy photos of Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and include no shopping guide, but they do feature something Vanity Fair does not — facts.

Sally Pipes is President and CEO at the California-based Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. She can be reached via email at spipes@pacificresearch.org.