Two somewhat dubious signs of hope
Aug. 13th, 2006 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
openspace4lifeFirst the less-exciting news: at a recent ESRI training course, I met a woman named Lucy Fish who is the unofficial manager of the World Database on Protected Areas project of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. As a result, I did some research on the WCMC and found the following statement in their strategic plan: "The Strategic Plan lays the foundation for the Centre‛s operations and growth in the coming years as we all seek to meet – and exceed – the targets set by the international community to reduce the rate of loss of the world‛s biodiversity by 2010 and to reverse the loss of environmental resources by 2015."
Does this outrageously ambitious goal mean anything, particularly considering that the WCMC's main financial support comes from the oil-extraction industry? Well, almost no one has ever accused the UN of not being idealistic enough, but still, the fact that any major conservation group is attempting to implement such an ambitious plan provides a dim suggestion that the human race as a whole may actually be changing course.
A much clearer sign of this can be found in the fact that Wal-Mart appears to be actually committing to a strategy of environmental friendliness (although, just as with the WCMC plan, we'll have to see how well this holds up in practice). What bothers progressives about this, of course, is that Wal-Mart will nevertheless continue to sell tons of cheap plastic crap produced by sweatshop labor. But what can you do--rock-bottom prices require rock-bottom labor costs, and this is not merely Wal-Mart's business plan but actually its survival strategy: the company would die instantly if it changed its practices.
Still, one can hope that if Wal-Mart lives up to its green promises, other major chains with better labor practices will also follow Wal-Mart's example on the environmental front. And that will be good.
Does this outrageously ambitious goal mean anything, particularly considering that the WCMC's main financial support comes from the oil-extraction industry? Well, almost no one has ever accused the UN of not being idealistic enough, but still, the fact that any major conservation group is attempting to implement such an ambitious plan provides a dim suggestion that the human race as a whole may actually be changing course.
A much clearer sign of this can be found in the fact that Wal-Mart appears to be actually committing to a strategy of environmental friendliness (although, just as with the WCMC plan, we'll have to see how well this holds up in practice). What bothers progressives about this, of course, is that Wal-Mart will nevertheless continue to sell tons of cheap plastic crap produced by sweatshop labor. But what can you do--rock-bottom prices require rock-bottom labor costs, and this is not merely Wal-Mart's business plan but actually its survival strategy: the company would die instantly if it changed its practices.
Still, one can hope that if Wal-Mart lives up to its green promises, other major chains with better labor practices will also follow Wal-Mart's example on the environmental front. And that will be good.
