Earth Day For Sale - Where Would You Like Your Logos?

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"This event even came with its own cuddly cadre of Earth-friendly sponsors, from Tucson Electric Power and Apache Nitrogen Products to multinational aluminum producer Alcoa, perhaps best known for its toxic Texas smelter near Austin. True, protesters have marred these otherwise innocuous assemblages in the past. But Earth Day 2005 was quieted a bit by the departure of long-time sponsor Raytheon Missile Systems. Protests against the arms maker had only become angrier as Operation Iraq Freedom got underway, says Earth Day co-chair Christina Bickelmann. "So we just kind of agreed it was becoming negative for us and for Raytheon."

Still, the remaining underwriters reveal how far Earth Day has come--or how far it has traveled from its roots. Begun in San Francisco in 1969, the gathering was meant to raise awareness of nature and ecological issues. It was a huge hit and went national a year later when an estimated 20 million people attended workshops, street demonstrations and teach-ins. Not surprisingly, corporations soon grew intrigued with this huge audience; today, their logos adorn Earth Day events from coast to coast. Not surprisingly, Tucson's festival jumped aboard the business bandwagon. "We originally worked to include local environmental groups," says Bickelmann. "But they didn't have any money. It costs a lot to put this event on."

Others call the selling of Earth Day a national travesty. Among them is Geoffrey Johnson, program coordinator for The Green Life environmental watchdog group, based in Boston. Not long ago, Johnson vented in a fierce New York Times editorial. "Welcome to Earth Day ..." he wrote, "brought to you by petroleum powers, big-box developers, old-growth loggers and chemically dependent coffee companies trying to paint their public image green." Contacted by phone, Johnson says many companies with rotten environmental records spruce up their public images by supporting innocuous environmental events. "They use Earth Day as a PR tool. Locally, they might be playing host to the same citizens they are poisoning year-round. It can take a couple of forms, from just a general public relations effort to attempts to cultivate a reputation of environmental responsibility."

Lord knows some Tucson Earth Day sponsors could use a little help in that regard. Take Tucson Electric Power: While TEP has been praised for pushing solar power through its Green Watts and SunShare programs, the company also battles environmental groups on a regular basis. They've tangled over the utility's plans to build a new coal-burning plant in Northern Arizona, with critics charging that TEP will foul Arizona's air just to generate power for out-of-state customers. Closer to home, residents and environmentalists have fought Tucson Electric's proposal to run massive power lines through sensitive areas of the Coronado National Forest down into Mexico. Company spokesman Joe Salkowski refused to comment on TEP's environmental skirmishes or its participation in the Earth Day event. However, one company source says that while the utility has been involved in Earth Day for about three years, "this year, we're not participating in the Earth Day parade because of the protesters."

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http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=oid:67992