Social Media and Environmental Activism

Last week I blogged about telecommuting and how it has the possibility of making our work lives not only greener but more productive. This week, I want to focus on an entirely different issue and turn to how activists are increasingly turning to social media and other digital media outlets to push for a greener and more environmentally aware world.

Research about the use of social media for businesses has been equivocal on whether they help improve sales and brand awareness.  It seems like most businesses, big and small, are jumping on the Facebook and Twitter bandwagon because everyone else is doing it. The fact that it can be done freely and near effortlessly probably helps too. Environment issues, on the other hand, seem to gain much more traction from social media. Take a look at this article, for example: “How Climate Activists are Warming to Social Media.” According to the article, environmental groups like 350.org have achieved some resounding successes using social media and other digital devices:

• In 2007, using the power of the internet, 350.org rallied tens of thousands of people across the US in 1,400 locations and managed to pressure Presidential hopeful Barack Obama to revive the US Climate Bill that had recently been killed in the Senate;

• Using Skype, chat, text messaging, and activist social networks (such as Change.org), 350.org managed to organize 5,200 events in 181 countries for an “International Day of Action” on Oct 24, 2009. See this impressive video.

• Just last week on Oct 10, the same team did another massive mobilization with 7,000 registered events worldwide across 188 countries to press governments from their countries to pass strong climate policies to promote clean energy and reduce emissions. See this video.

Social media have also offered Greenpeace a more peaceful channel of promoting their agendas. Formerly on the US terror watch list, Greenpeace has now turned to social media for “non-violent direct-action campaigns,” according to the same article.  One of their biggest success stories was their campaign against Nestle’s contribution to deforestation – “After Nestle made YouTube remove the grisly campaign ad, the environmentalists protested at its headquarters, jammed its phone lines with complaints, and plastered its Facebook wall with negative comments until the company announced a ‘zero deforestation policy’” (Article: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/10/how-climate-activists-are-warming-to-social-media281.html ).

So how is it that environmental issues have such enormous successes with social media? Perhaps it has to do with the subject itself. Global warming, pollution, and the depletion of resources have a very real and direct impact on our lives, and environmentalists have done a great job with provocative videos and other digital campaigns to prove just that. They appeal to our senses and emotions of needing to be “part of the solution and not the problem.” We are called to simple action—at the very least, pass on the message— to post the videos to our Facebook walls, to “like” them in Facebook, or to forward their message for fund-raising or online petition efforts. These actions are easily achievable with a few clicks of the button;  we feel like we are doing our part, and as a result, awareness is raised.

Another good case in point can be viewed from this other article—“Jordanian Youth Learn to Use Social Media to Preserve the Environment.” A creative initiative by 7iber.com shows the country’s youths how to use their cell phone cameras and other digital tools to make a difference. In such media workshops, participants are taught “how to mix still photos with audio to produce an audio slideshow that focuses on environmental violations at construction sites,” or produce “short videos with messages about the environmental impact of the soda cans thrown in the streets of Karak province.” 

Here is a good example of the impact of this initiative—see the pictures and be sure scroll down to view some of the comments.  The couple of pictures taken of the garbage left behind after a political campaign has clearly struck a nerve in some Jordanians. One of the comments reads: “Name and Shame! You should publicly announce who is this candidate! If this is the way he treats his street then he has no respect and should be shamed!!”