Society - January 2007 | The Global Intelligencer

The greening of corporate America

by Cate Montana

Savvy PR or Earth’s salvation?

Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environmental and social degradation.

Paul Hawken, environmentalist and author

Back in 1989, Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense, was having lunch with his three young sons at McDonalds. At the end of the meal he looked at the mound of waste on the table – Styrofoam burger packages, cups, paper, plastic straws – all about to get dumped in the waste bin, and he thought, “There has to be a better way.”

Environmental Defense, one of the nation’s leading environmental nonprofit organizations, approached McDonalds about working together to reduce its packaging and therefore the amount of waste generated by its restaurants. Eliminating the Styrofoam box was one of over 40 different things McDonalds eventually agreed to do.

Climate Change Tipping Point?

by Stephen Leahy (courtesy IPS)

BROOKLIN, Canada - This was the year that most people in the U.S. and Canada began to take climate change seriously and express hope that their governments would take action to reduce emissions -- but it is unclear if they will take action themselves.

Last month, thousands of people stood outside electronics stores for three, four and more days and nights to be the first to spend 600 dollars for the latest electronic video game console, but how many would spend two hours protesting the inaction of their governments on climate change?

"There is increasing public support for action but I'm not sure there's a willingness to do anything," said Eileen Claussen of the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change, a U.S. environmental think-tank working with business leaders and policymakers.