April is Earth Month, and if you haven’t already, your social media feeds will be flooded with how you can help ‘save the earth.’ One of the most popularly advertised ways of curbing your impact on the environment is to calculate your individual carbon footprint and adjust your life accordingly. As the name suggests, your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon you are personally responsible for admitting through activities such as transportation, energy usage, and even your diet.
Carbon plays an essential role in regulating the temperature of our atmosphere; too little, and our planet would be a block of ice. But, too much, which is what our planet is currently suffering from, causes our planet to be too hot. I don’t know about you, but as someone who is almost always cold, I wouldn’t mind warmer weather, especially after experiencing my first Bostonian winter. Sadly, that is not what will happen as the earth heats up. Even the slightest increase of carbon in our atmosphere, and thus an increase in temperatures, has and will continue to result in disastrous environmental impacts. Carbon warms our oceans which causes ocean acidification which can lead to the degradation of coral reefs and aquatic animals’ shells that they require to survive. Furthermore, an increase in our earth’s overall temperature has led to more severe weather and an increase in wildlife extinction.
Reviewing the science behind an increase in carbon, it seems like taking every step possible to decrease your individual carbon footprint is life or death for the planet. Or is it?
What you will not see in an Earth Month-themed Instagram infographic is the hidden, true reason for the emergence of the phrase. You and I forgetting to turn the lights off when we exit a room or using a plastic straw in our delicious Dunkin Donuts iced coffee will not singlehandedly kill the polar bears. It is certainly a good idea to limit these choices in our lifestyles (as will be discussed later). Though, it is not the end-all-be-all as the companies who originated and continue to push the importance of an individual’s carbon footprint want you to believe.
The term ‘carbon footprint’ was coined by British Petroleum (BP) in the early 2000s. If you are like me and know a decent amount about world events and environmental science, I expect that your jaw hit the floor just as mine did. For those who do not know, BP is a large multinational oil and gas company that is most infamous for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. BP’s oil rigs were found to be mostly at fault for the 134 million gallons that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Deepwater Horizon is the largest marine oil spill in history and is commonly regarded as one of the worst environmental disasters period. The oil spill contaminated wildlife habitats so much so that in 2022 was still detectable, and the cleanup process is ongoing. As a result of the contamination, many marine animals and ecosystems suffered and died.
Kind of ironic, right? The company that was found mostly responsible for the largest marine oil spill in history wants to lecture consumers about their carbon footprint when they have significantly contributed to our planet’s degradation. Similarly, the “Keep America Beautiful” 1950s campaign was created by plastic manufacturers that advocated for less littering in America while not addressing that they were the ones manufacturing the harmful single-use plastic in the first place. These are just a few examples of corporations stealthily shifting the responsibility to consumers for a problem that stems largely from their practices.
To put the role of corporations in climate change simply, just 100 of all the hundreds of thousands of companies in the world have been responsible for 71% of the global GHG emissions.
Your individual choices do not have as big an impact on the planet as large oil, gas, and other fossil fuels companies would like you to believe. Practices such as creating a carbon footprint calculator for you, the consumer, to calculate your carbon emissions, corporations are shifting the responsibility of the undeniable horror of climate change onto consumers’ laps when that is not an accurate depiction of reality. While certainly taking a plane or using a plastic straw does hurt the planet, it is like a grain of salt compared to the unsustainable and often downright environmentally negligent practices big companies rely on to run their business. The deceitful propaganda by fossil fuel companies to lessen or even straight up deny their extremely significant role in carbon emissions (among other practices) and, thus, global warming is so they can continue to profit without taking responsibility or a second thought for how it directly contributes to the death of our planet. Individuals accepting the blame for the climate disaster the world faces is exactly what the fossil fuel companies want.
Framing our current environmental crisis as something that can be largely tackled through the actions of individuals, not corporations, is not attacking the urgent issue most effectively and earnestly. It is a brilliant tactic that works as consumers scrutinize every aspect of their lives to see how they can be more eco-friendly in every possible way, while corporate responsibility is merely a second thought.
When we discuss climate change, we must not forget the significant role of corporations on the matter. To fall into the mindset that personal responsibility foremost will cure our planet only serves the interest of the corporations most responsible for its sickness in the first place.
Our individual choices still do add up. So yes, this Earth month, there is nothing wrong with adopting ecologically friendly alternatives like eating a more plant-based diet if it is practical for your lifestyle. Though alongside it, it is important to be aware of and advocate against the agriculture industry’s sizeable climate impact. Collective action against corporations that are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions like carbon is the key to securing the future of our planet. Lobby your legislators to strengthen corporate environmental responsibility and adopt climate legislation. Ditch the plastic straw, but also urge the government to have companies commit to ditching single-use plastic. Carpool with friends, and also back the government in reforms and improvements to public transportation and the transportation system as a whole.
Do what you can within your means to help the planet, but do not spiral into existential dread over what you could be doing more for the planet. Corporations are a vital part of climate solutions and must be brought to the table like never before, alongside consumers and the government in the pursuit of saving our planet. A better future is possible as long as we do not lose sight of the true major players that must adapt to a more sustainable future: corporations.