The Problem With Earth Hour This evening (Saturday) millions of people around the globe will shut off their lights at 8:30 p.m. local time for an hour to show concern over a wide range of environmental issues. The event was launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Sydney, Australia, and has grown into a highly popular event that involves mainstream folks in at least 7,000 cities. Earth Hour has become a motherhood event but, as with many perceived progressive activities, this one is a little more complex than it might seem at first. First of all, the event was launched to awaken people way back in 2007 to the threat of environmental disaster. I feel by now -- seven years later -- that goal has been achieved. Surely everyone in mainstream society is now aware of the threats we face. (Of course there are those who choose not to believe in the threat of climate disaster, but you could hit them over the head with a baseball bat and theyd still not be concerned.) So, awareness goal accomplished. At the same time folks will feel good by taking part and theyll feel they have accomplished something. Certainly the action itself accomplishes nothing more than a few pennies saved on the electricity bill. At this point in the history of the event, its possible that a few people will change their personal habits concerning environmental protection. Which brings me to the next point: As my partner said this morning: Were not the problem! Shes right the impact we have as a couple on the environment is minimal. The same with other families across Occupy Canada Canada. So, what is causing so much damage? A 2010 UN report said that the worlds 3,000 largest companies were causing, back at that time, US$2.2 trillion worth of environmental damage every year. The report calculated about half the cost was associated with the release of greenhouse gases, while the remainder of the costs arise from local air pollution, and damage caused by the over-use and pollution of freshwater and fisheries. Other research shows that multi-national corporations have such strong control over elected governments that governments are unable to make any real progress on serious environmental issues. Well you would think with this kind of evidence, the NGOs that support Earth Hour would target corporations instead of folks like you and I. Sadly, many of the largest NGOs in the world that claim to be working to end global environmental destruction are in bed with the same corporations that are causing the problems and are not good global citizens. Here are the names of some of the corporations that support both Earth Hour and Canadas World Wildlife Fund: * Kruger, the forestry and energy company that obviously damages the environment. * Resolute Forestry Products, which reputable environment groups refuse to work with because of its forestry record. * Wells Fargo Bank, which supports the development of giant projects has admitted guilt to dozens of serious bank violations. * Toronto Dominion Bank, Royal Bank, and CIBC, all of which provide funding for giant projects that damage the environment. * Coca-Cola, guilty of destroying water resources in various countries in the past, particularly India. * UPS which waged an aggressive and nasty campaign against its workers. This is just a short list pulled together quickly. There are many more, including oil and gas companies. Until our top NGOs get serious and tackle the real enemies of the environment, we may not see change. Despite this damning evidence, we will shut off our lights this evening -- and take our dog out for a walk to see how many of our neighbours are joining in.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 19:33:15 +0000
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