American Idols?

Patagonia... Stonyfield Farms... these companies and many others who supposedly do so many great things for the environment cause such a bemusing reaction in me. They make me want to punch people. Ideally it seems that i would like to hit their respective founders but i get so worked up hitting almost anyone or anything would at least reduce some of the pressure, some of the rage.

Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard, has not only made more environmentally friendly outdoor gear but has bought a country's worth of rain forest for preservation. Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms has made organic mainstream and started a green company rating system which has caused large companies, such as McDonalds and Apple, to take more environmentally minded actions in order to raise their incredibly low initial ratings.

So why do such friends of the environment make me want to punch people? Because it is bullshit. It is transparent.

These are not people who put the environment first. It is money first, greed first, and maybe environment second or somewhere trailing closely behind. The only way to make the ludicrous amounts of money that these bolt of men make is to put profit dead center in your sights. Money is the goal and the environment is brought along for the ride.

Are they doing good for the environment? Yes, very much so. Is the good they do proportional to or on an equal level to the greed they propagate? Not even close. Now in no way am i trying to bring them down to the strata of an Al Capone type who gives massive amounts of money to the church as some attempt to buy their way out of sin. Nor am i crying "greenwash" as i do believe that they are not just doing so to improve their public perception. i feel these types do indeed care about the environment.

The problem is intent. Look at the the laundry list of environmental problems we have. Break them down to the common denominators and you get two things as the root cause of all environmental problems: population and greed. There are too many people requiring too many resources. These businesses need this cycle to propagate in order to maintain their profit levels.

i love punk music and what it stands for. Although it may not be the highest skilled form of music, nor does it necessarily require the most intricate level of instrumental knowledge, but what punk may lack in technique it more than makes up for in integrity and unrelenting ideals. Those who put their ideals first and figure they will manage somehow to scrape enough money together to survive are the ones who inspire me. Not these business moguls who happen to have interests in the planet on which we live.

i am not saying these men need to be hung out to dry, just publicly punched. They are not role models or exemplars and should not be celebrated as such. The world needs to stop looking to the United States for leadership in fighting climate change. Money is the motivation here. That is the true transparency, the look behind the curtain, that so many choose to ignore. Choose your idols wisely. Hint: Simon will not help you in this search.