Diana McCaulay, Contributor
WRITING ON the environment and ethics in The Gleaner of June 1, 2000, my colleague Martin Henry questioned the effectiveness of individual action in the fight to preserve the environment.
He referred to the story of Julia Hill, a young woman who spent two years living in a California redwood tree to protest against the clear-cutting of old forests. While Ms. Hill endured the deprivations of her tree house, the clear-cutting continued around her. What, therefore, had she achieved by her high-profile stance?
Quoting Newsweek, Mr. Henry argued that the actions of individuals pale beside those of large corporations and the Government: "A single decision by the chairman of Royal Dutch/Shell has a greater impact on the health of the planet than all the coffee-ground-composting organic-cotton wearing ecofreaks gathering for Earth Day festivities."
Certainly, the actions of large corporations and the Government have enormous consequences for the environment. But corporations and Governments alike have been profoundly influenced by people. Nothing is more likely to make the chairman of a company change harmful practices than the suggestion that consumers will not buy his products until he does. Governments are similarly influenced by the votes of their citizens. When clear-cutting of old-growth forests becomes an issue on which elections are won or lost, clear-cutting will cease.
As a rule, companies do not wake up one morning and decide to treat their effluent before discharging it into a river simply because it's the right thing to do. They treat their effluent because they are compelled to by law and the penalties for non-compliance are severe. Nor do Governments suddenly decide that a country needs environmental laws; the need for such laws has been driven by the concerns of people.
Poor air quality
True, we have waited until rivers have caught fire, lakes have died, fisheries have collapsed and people have become ill because of poor air quality or exposure to toxic waste before we have taken a stand. But all over the world people have acted, courageous people, often youngsters, standing arms linked in front of sewage outfall pipes, driving inflatable boats between whaling ships and their prey, rescuing seabirds from oil slicks, taking legal action against corporations who have polluted the drinking water supplies of entire communities.
Activism
Indeed, the environmental movement is entirely about the activism of people. It was the work of one scientist, Rachel Carson, whose book, "Silent Spring", alerted the world to the dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use, particularly DDT. It is worth noting that although what she wrote is now considered mainstream science and DDT was subsequently banned in many industrialised countries, at the time she was pilloried by the chemical companies.
People have died bringing environmental issues to light. Nigerian Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed following his campaign on behalf of the Ogoni people against the damage done to their land by Shell. Chico Mendez tried to stop the burning of the Amazon rain forest and was murdered. Greenpeace ship's Rainbow Warrior was bombed while protesting against nuclear testing in the South Pacific and a man died in that attack.
On the subject of the "Save Kingston Harbour" vigil organised by the Student Environment Network, Mr. Henry asks what children with lighted candles can possibly do, considering Kingston Harbour has had "the attention of powerful institutions like the University of the West Indies, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) and the Ministry of the Environment."
Young people with candles and placards are necessary precisely because Kingston Harbour does NOT have the full attention of the Ministry and the NRCA, despite the best efforts of UWI. And following their vigil, those young people were invited to make a presentation to the Joint Committees of Parliament on Economy, Production and Infrastructure and Physical Development (phew!). Executive Director of the NRCA Franklin McDonald and President of the National Water Commission E.G. Hunter were there to hear their concerns.
What good has it all been, though? Today, there are many more highly toxic chemicals unleashed into the environment, and the testing of most of them is no more rigorous than it was in Rachel Carson's day. The Amazon still burns. Clear-cutting of old growth forests continues all over the world. The international ban on the hunting of whales is under threat from more than one nation. Although young Jamaicans were given the opportunity to put their concerns directly to our leaders, will anything actually be done to save Kingston Harbour? Given past experience, it's doubtful.
Yet ordinary people, including children with candles, remain the only impetus for change. To anyone who calls me asking what to do with uncollected and/or toxic waste, I say this: Dump it on the lawns of Jamaica House. Because at the end of the day, only direct, visible, vocal protest action by people will get the attention of those with influence and power.
