Over the past few weeks, BP has been under attack by politicians, the media and NGOs over increased permit levels for ammonia and total suspended solids. We have been watching this banter but have not commented. Now BP has decided to commit to holding to their current permit. Here are some thoughts:
I find it interesting that politicians in Illinois, the newspaper and NGOs are putting so much pressure on BP. They are one of the few companies that is investing to help the environment.
If you go to the Environment Illinois website under How You Can Help section they list all these things to tell BP about all the bad things they are doing etc.... but there is nothing that says how people can help by actually doing something in the way they live.
Our thought on this - "Be part of the solution - the real solution and not part of the short term I feel good about myself solution." Tell BP how bad they are...but don't look at yourself.
Are they going to start a campaign against the Great Lake cities for dumping raw sewage into the lake like happened recently? Are they going to complain about all the new highrises that are going up in major cities? How many toilets are there in a highrise and extra cars that will be added? Where do we think all the human ammonia and real waste goes? What about all the concrete that is replacing the grass and forcing even more water burden on the storm sewers?
If we want to make a difference think about the long term. Educate people. Tell them how they can really help. There is not much glamour in this, but it is a characteristic of real leadership. Oh sorry it won't sell papers, it won't get you elected or maybe it will, and it just might not help you get donations as much as finger pointing does.
Environmental leadership is more than just looking at one item in isolation. There are unintended consequences to actions like has occured with this finger pointing and of incorrect terms like sludge (misinformation) such as distracting people from the real systemic issues, misinforming people of what is being added to the lake by every person (lack of personal ownership), destroying the systemic regulatory processes we have put in place to manage these issues (if this process is broken then fix it, don't deal with idisyncratic events).
A lot of disservice has been done in the approach that has been taken by all this banter. People who think they are doing things by yelling at companies like BP may feel good for the moment, but become blind to the real issue which companies like BP are trying to address. We searched Google and found that BP is investing in BioFuels...something like $500 million.
Why not educate the public on the systemic issues of which everyone of the people you are asking to sign those anti-BP s petition are a part of. People mowing their lawns, putting fertilizers on the ground, driving their cars, using their iPods. But I need this stuff, I need to mow my lawn, I need to have perfect grass. Think again.
It often is easier to point fingers at someone else, but remember when you point your finger there are three fingers pointing back at you.
Short term solutions such as the approach many have taken vs addressin the underlying solutions do more harm than good in the long run. You can pat yourself on the back, but think how much people think they now understand vs the complex truth we need to understand.
We are trying to build responsible environmental leaders who set the example. The recent events and actions by the media, our so called leaders who I will now only refer to as politicians since leaders do not just join the crowd, and many NGOs have disappointed us. Makes us wonder who is using who? What agendas does everyone really have? Is it really about the Great Lakes or something else?
We can only hope that we can restore how our country operates through legal channels, regulations and addressing the system we live in and not by misinformation, short term, feel good banter. We can only hope people wake up that the environment issue is not won by hidden agendas. It is won by real leadership and balance.
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