Celebrations for Earth Day have been in full swing this week and will come to a conclusion on Friday, April 22. It’s a great time to participate in festivities and focus on issues that otherwise go ignored for the rest of the year.
Beginning in 1970, Earth Day was championed by a Wisconsin senator who wished to designate a day for awareness of environmental issues. The overwhelming support he received sparked a day of national significance that is celebrated by diverse communities across the country.
However, Earth Day may have unfortunately become yet another product of “greenwashing,” a tactic of deceptively portraying products or issues as environmentally friendly to win public support.
Or, in a less sinister way, greenwashing could simply refer to the tendency of businesses and organizations to jump on the bandwagon of aiming to be more eco-friendly without actually making substantial changes.
It’s important to recognize how greenwashing and celebrations like Earth Day have marginalized environmentalism, since they do little more than cater to the very people who would otherwise already be sympathetic to the movement anyway.
ASU, for example, is hosting a series of events throughout the week for the eco-holiday, including screenings of environmental documentaries and an effort to restore walking trails on “A” Mountain.
There is also a “recycled art competition”, where students will be judged on their replicas of Sparky using recyclable materials.
In the big picture, these are largely symbolic acts that do little, if anything, to actually create a more sustainable and environmentally conscious society.
Earth Day encourages people to make simple lifestyle changes, such as buying reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones that litter landfills — or opting out of plastic bags at the grocery store in place of paper ones.
Without doubt, these are all choices that do reflect a concern for the environment, but Earth Day perpetuates the idealistic notion that making little lifestyle changes tackles the core issues facing natural systems. And despite what inspirational posters tell us, it simply isn’t true.
To truly promote sustainability, Earth Day should create initiatives that seek to ban plastic bags in grocery stores or that discourage the sale of plastic water bottles. Efforts such as these, however, are seen as radical when trying to implement changes on a widespread level.
In no way do I wish to discourage people from participating in Earth Day events. I still think they are taking steps in the right direction that are born of good intentions. But it can be counter-productive to give the impression that sustainability is tackled with minor changes, when really they are only goodwill gestures.
Reach the columnist at damills3@asu.edu
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