tbelford’s Recent Comments

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  Well said!

  What a terrifically lucid and balanced point of view.

  There are corporations that deserve to be villified ... like TXU in Texas. There are corporations whose behavior should be applauded ... like the ten majors that just coalesced with WRI and Environmental Defense in USCAP on global warming. And there are corporations we should be busting our chops to steer in more socially responsible directions ... like Wal-Mart.

  Corporate power is real; it ain't going away. Some of us can choose lifestyles that minimize contact with it. But others need to engage and harness it. Room for many strategies!On With big biz jumping on the green bandwagon, should activists cheer or jeer? posted 2 years, 8 months ago 13 Responses

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  Cognitive Dissonance

  DR's description of Wal-Mart as "every green's favorite source of cognitive dissonance" really nails it. What a great characterization of both the company and the enviro faithful.

  I've urged our readers, including nonprofit leaders from non-enviro causes, to follow the dialogue Grist is hosting on Wal-Mart's conversion. What Wal-Mart is doing, and what is being argued about here, has huge ramifications ... reaching beyond the immediate environmental impacts.

  Could it be that corporate behavior will inexorably change for the better with respect to the environment? I'm an avowed optimist on the matter.
  

  Tom Belford TheAgitator.net

  On Yet another story on Wal-Mart posted 3 years, 1 month ago 2 Responses

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  More "evidence" from Time mag

  What do you make of this passage in 9/4 Time magazine?

  Previewing the final quarter of Bush's presidency, officials disclosed to Time that the Administration is formulating a huge energy initiative designed to "change the whole nature of the discussion" and challenge the Republican Party, Democrats, the oil and electricity industries, and environmentalists. An  adviser said Bush's views about global warming had evolved. "Only Nixon could go to China, and only Bush and Cheney -- two oilmen -- can bring all these parties kicking and screaming to the table," the adviser said.

  Tom Belford TheAgitator.net

  On Rumblings have started. posted 3 years, 1 month ago 8 Responses

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  Fear

  What a thoughtful series ... well done. Inspired us to this post, with a mild dissent:

  http://www.theagitator.net/index.php?/archives/266-What-I...

  We think fear is a given of the human condition. We've got to acknowledge & deal with it. The challenge for communicators and advocates is to channel it constructively (while not promoting it ... an important distinction).

  Tom Belford TheAgitator.net

  On Reason. Compassion. Forbearance. Selflessness. These are not the hallmarks or our time. posted 3 years, 2 months ago 6 Responses

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  The Spectrum

  We need us all. Backyard organic gardeners, skeptics on the streets, and Wal-Marts.

  On the corporate motives issue, the fact is, companies are absorbing the reality that "green" can be good biz in three ways:
  

  1. they can actually make PROFITABLE products that service environmental needs;
     
  2. they can make their employees proud, avoiding costly employee churn and ill-morale, both of which sap productivity;
     
  3. they can build goodwill with customers, in the face of tons of proprietary research carried out by consumer-facing companies showing that "purchase decisions" more and more include a weighing of corporate reputation on the environment (and other social responsibility factors).

  These biz trends are NOT going to change, and smart businesspeople "get it."

  So sure, insist on seeing the proof in the pudding. But recognize that "the times are a-changin." On Why won't America's environmentalists accept positive developments? posted 3 years, 3 months ago 22 Responses