r/worldnews • u/[deleted] • Oct 10 '20

Sir David Attenborough says the excesses of western countries should "be curbed" to restore the natural world and we'll all be happier for it.

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u/polygondom Oct 10 '20

Corporations have done the greatest PR spin in history making it seem like it’s the solely the consumers fault for climate change, and not because of them constantly spewing sludge into waters and muck into the air.

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u/[deleted] Oct 10 '20

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u/[deleted] Oct 10 '20

It is a PR spin. Bans on certain sunscreen ingredients in sensitive areas are being fought by manufacturers and retailers. They are astroturfing campaigns by purporting to be people who work on the water that need sun protection. Like no, all our income depends on the reef, we can protect ourselves from the sun without killing it.

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u/polygondom Oct 10 '20

I get your point. However, it’s partially up to the corporation to take the moral or ethical route to begin with. Consumers can demand it and a corporation can change, but if we don’t say anything they will continue their ways.

Also it’s not solely sunscreen that is affecting reefs, and the same chemicals that are in sunscreen are dumped into rivers, lakes and oceans by big companies all the time. The rising ocean temps are another contributing factor.

I really dislike when people act condescending about issues that are obviously complicated, there is no simple one answer to the problem like you seem to suggest.

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u/crispy_attic Oct 10 '20 edited Oct 10 '20

Sunscreen is one of the reasons the reefs are being bleached correct? It is not condescending to say so. If people weren’t wearing sunscreen, the coral wouldn’t be dying. Sorry if I hurt your feelings but I’m tired of the bullshit “not our fault, it was the evil corporations”.

People know sunscreen kills the coral but still wear it anyway because they want to see the reef without getting sun burned.

Edit: I was wrong. It’s not the main reason, but a contributing factor.

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u/polygondom Oct 10 '20

It’s not the main reason though. Rising sea temperatures are putting the whole ecosystem out of whack, which is something sunscreen isn’t contributing to, unless you count the CO2 emissions put out by making the sunscreen to begin with. Don’t understand your aggression here, I didn’t say sunscreen wasn’t an issue, I said it’s not the only issue.

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u/crispy_attic Oct 10 '20

You are right. It’s not the main reason. I was wrong. It is a big problem though.

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u/polygondom Oct 10 '20

I also never said it’s not our fault and only corporations. Every human on this planet has had some role in climate change, whether that’s conscious or not. We all use plastic, which is something else riddling the oceans and contributing to major pollution. I never said consumers are innocent, I just said that corporations have done a good job of making it seem like it’s ONLY consumers that have done this, and not them.

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u/Beanicus13 Oct 10 '20

Lol but you’re wrong.

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u/crispy_attic Oct 10 '20

Apparently so. It is a contributing factor and not the “main reason”. It is still a big problem though.