From Microsoft’s carbon elimination efforts to Tesla’s reforestation plans, big tech has made plenty of public efforts to assure the world of its commitment to environmentalism. However, are these efforts merely for show, acting as avenues to quell the concerns of consumers and employees who believe they should be doing more? Whether or not the Bezos Earth Fund is merely a diversion tactic to avoid bad press remains to be seen, but either way, it’s a pretty expensive way to get out of hot water. Bezos has demonstrated a commitment to the environment, having butted heads with the current administration on ecological matters. But when you’re the head of one of the largest, most successful businesses in the world, doing more never hurts. That seems like a reasonable compromise, right? Unfortunately, the reality of reforestation is that, if done incorrectly, the area has a woefully low chance of surviving. A Turkish project from a few months ago is a good example. Despite replanting more than 11 million trees, nearly 90% of them have already died due to poor planning and bad timing. And that’s only one problem with Tesla’s lofty factory goals. While replanting sounds great in the long run, everyday people have to deal with consequences of Tesla’s plans in real time. After all, the “move fast and break things” mantra only works if you’re willing to fix the things you broke in the right way.
Microsoft to Cut Carbon Emissions
In addition to all that, the company pledged to donate $1 billion over the next four years to a “climate innovation fund to accelerate the global development of carbon reduction, capture, and removal technologies.” Many critics have pointed out that cancelling out carbon emissions does nothing to dissuade the dozens of companies responsible for the majority of the world’s pollution from stopping. In fact, carbon capture technology has been widely supported by oil and gas companies, because it allows them to continue to make money without having to change anything about how they do business. A big challenge is a bit of an understatement. While Apple is verbally committed to solving the pollution problems caused by its devices, the culture of the company says otherwise. In a time when unused and un-recycled smartphones are literally depleting the planet of necessary resources, Apple continues to push its “buy one every year” strategy to keep its profit margins high. One report found that “the average footprint of the richest 1% of people globally could be 175 times that of the poorest 10%.” Even worse, that same study found that the number of billionaires investing fossil fuels went from 54 in 2010 to 88 in 2015, and that their collective wealth increased by 50% in that time. And it’s not just how they’re doing business. Another study found that the average “super-rich household” has a carbon footprint 10 times the global average. So, wealthy tech billionaires wanting to make a serious impact may need to look closer to home, as well as investing in generous schemes. The seriousness of climate change is daunting. The changes we as a society will have to make to prevent it from becoming catastrophic are epochal. And the strategies for effectively addressing the problem are limited. All we know for sure is that those with the power and wealth to do something should be making a bigger impact than they are, or else it’s going to be too little, too late.
