|
By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.
They are all children when they sleep.
There is no war in them.
They open their hands and breathe
in the slow rhythm given to humans by heaven.
Whether soldiers, statesmen, servants, or masters
they purse their lips like small children
and they all half-open their hands.
stars stand watch then and the arch of the sky is hazed over
for a few hours when no one will harm another.
If only we could talk with each other then,
when hearts are like half-open flowers.
Words would push their way in
like golden bees
God, teach me sleep's language.
-- Rolf Jacobsen, translated by Glenn Storhaug
Each day, activists and concerned citizens around the nation are fighting to stem the tide of environmental destruction, fueled by an economy based on endless consumption of resources and supported by a conservative presidential administration.
Yet for most of corporate America, every day is business as usual. Penalties are paid for violating environmental regulations and poisoning our earth, air and water. Yet the penalties are not really of great concern to business and industry, since they are kept to a minimum by a supportive Congress and are even tax deductible.
Victories and gains are visible everywhere, and even the most conservative industry must eventually bend to public outcry. But the occasional investigative report by the print and broadcast media and infrequent victories by consumer groups are offset by the massive public relations and marketing machines of the corporate world. Every hour of every day, subtly and not-so-subtly, insidious messages are fed to us as the media, government, and even the professionals we trust try to sell us on a way of life that is killing
us.
Every day, in the United States alone, over $200 million is spent on advertising. The environmental connections are dramatic. Marketing firms are paid millions of dollars to come up with intentionally deceptive campaigns that will lure us to the promised land of consumerism - at all costs.
Here are some examples of this assault on our intellects and our emotions.
Science Teachers Conventions
Every year, nearly 15,000 teachers gather at conventions put on by the National Science Teachers Association. I have been to a few of them, and they are tragic examples of the effects of the lure of corporate dollars. Industries and their PR groups attend these conferences in great numbers, trying to justify everything from deforestation to extinction of species. They know that this is the perfect venue for targeting America's teachers and, ultimately, our children. Teachers are so starved for materials and handouts that they flock to these booths.
John Borowski inspects materials on display at the National Science Teachers Convention(Photo courtesy PR Watch)
Educator John Borowski said in an article for PR Watch, a group dedicated to exposing public relations scams, said education about the environment is being assaulted. Corporations are creating professionally produced, easy to use, and usually free curricula and lesson plans that are incredibly biased in favor of industry. Borowski says, "They were selling lies, and the teachers were buying - quickly filling their bags with curricula as corrosive as the pesticides that the Farm Bureau promotes."
A particularly insidious program is Project Learning Tree (PLT), a provider of environmental education materials that are universally embraced by environmental educators. But PLT is a program of The American Forest Foundation (AFF), a lumber company PR group that has as its members most of the clearcutters and destroyers of our forests. PLT works to promote paper products, logging and industrial management of our nation's forests. They offer this version of environmental education to students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade and claim to have reached more than 500,000 educators and 25 million students.
Borowski reminds us, "Parents must assume the role of front-line warriors in this winnable war. They must demand that any curricula provided by corporate sources be reviewed, just like the process by which textbooks are reviewed prior to adoption." He says, "Corporate predators in education are no different than those who peddle tobacco to our children."
http://ens-news.com/ens/may2001/
2001L-05-04g.html
|
