Remember, corporations are adept at deflection campaigns - The Mail & Guardian

This week has been heartening as corporations and people come together to try to pull us through the national disaster caused by Covid-19 and the resultant 21-day lockdown. Billions of rands have been donated. If you for a moment forget how people accumulate wealth, often at the cost of their workers and society, then this is a hopeful moment, illustrating how South Africans can help each other.

Public relations, in turn, owes its origins to a campaign to rehabilitate the image of John D Rockefeller, after his mining company murdered striking workers and their families. In one advert, the company said: “What on Earth is a carbon footprint? Everyone in the world has one. It’s the amount of carbon dioxide emitted each year due to the energy we use. Calculate the size of the household footprint, learn how you can reduce it and how we’re reducing yours …”It is genius. BP, like other major carbon polluters, has run orchestrated campaigns that want to pin the problem of emissions on people.

But what the oil giant was actually doing is known in the climate science community as a “deflection campaign”. If individual action is seen as the key to the climate crisis, corporations aren’t the focus of regulators, activists and people who worry about their future. And it’s not just oil and gas companies doing this sort of thing; big companies that take shortcuts and pollute are expert at deflecting the attention .

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

SABC sued over ‘bad’ clip of Ramaphosa - The Mail & GuardianThe SABC is facing a multi-million rand lawsuit over its public claims that some of its employees had sabotaged President CyrilRamaphosa when it aired an embarrassing video clip of a speech last year. CyrilRamaphosa Good. You cannot just willy nilly make unfounded allegations of sabotage against people when you do not even know the essential elements of sabotage CyrilRamaphosa Wonder if the SABC will report this as well
Source: mailandguardian - 🏆 2. / 92 Read more »

South Africa can reclaim its role as a diplomatic powerhouse in Africa - The Mail & GuardianPretoria can make a real difference in helping to solve conflicts and other issues in Burundi, the DRC, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. Mxm stop using drugs We have bigger problems rather start at home Let’s see it happen.
Source: mailandguardian - 🏆 2. / 92 Read more »

Drug-policy NGOs call for alcohol and cigarette sales ban to be lifted - The Mail & GuardianNGOs say the lockdown has detrimental effects on people living with substance dependence, as they try to get their fix amid heavy restriction of movement. What about my shopping addiction? ,, Who is funding these NGOs?Passive smoking in crowded houses would not enhance one chances with Covid 19, or health in general. Whilst alcohol use disorders may be an exception, available alcohol is linked to violence against women and children especially in a lockdown.
Source: mailandguardian - 🏆 2. / 92 Read more »

Old artistic forms find new mediums in uncertain times - The Mail & GuardianMusic, art and theatre practices, that exist to bring people together, are moving online as cultural workers in South Africa adjust to the 21-day lockdown.
Source: mailandguardian - 🏆 2. / 92 Read more »

UCT to loan (some) students laptops during Covid-19 lockdown - The Mail & GuardianThe university is also surveying its students to ascertain what kind of support they need to be able to participate in online learning. UCT has been ahead of the game from day 1👏🏾
Source: mailandguardian - 🏆 2. / 92 Read more »

WATCH: How unit trusts will fare in a post-pandemic worldFinancial Mail associate editor Stephen Cranston talks to Business Day TV about unit trusts
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »