Oct. 15, 2007: Change the Message to Save the Planet

George Marshall offers his opinion on what strikes a chord with people, and it is not the phrase, "Save the Planet."

Guardian Unlimited
Change the Message to Save the Planet
By George Marshall
Oct. 15, 2007http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/2007/10/change_the_message_to_save_the.html

Please, I beg you, if you care about climate change forget about "saving the planet".

Don't get me wrong. I'm not arguing that you chuck your bike in a hedge and hurtle off to Heathrow in your 4x4. In fact the exact opposite.

The problem is that this wretched phrase and all the concepts it embodies are guaranteed to have the exact opposite effect. Let me unravel it and I hope you will agree.

First there is that word "planet". This word contains no sense of emotional connection. What is a planet? A lump of cold rock floating in space. Personally it does nothing for me. My attachment is to my family, friends, and community. The further I get away from that core the less I feel connected or prepared to act. The word planet, like climate, distances it even further from my immediate concerns.