Why Is It Always Jobs vs. Environment?
Why does the argument that businesses should do more to reduce pollution and protect the environment often boil down to the issue of jobs vs. nature? Advocates of green living around the world are increasingly making the argument that green business is good business, and that clean energy and other green sectors actually generate jobs. Too often, though, many businesses still aren’t buying it.
Environmental-minded residents of the Perdido Bay area at the Florida-Alabama border have been fighting that battle for years. The conflict in this case: the economic interests of International Paper, which operates a paper mill in the Florida town of Cantonment, vs. the lifestyle- and nature-oriented interests of the area’s residents.
As reported in an article in the Pensacola News Journal, resident Jim Lane remembers when the waters of Perdido Bay were so clear he could see through several feet of water to watch fish. Today, the 72-year-old says, he can’t see his toes when standing in the water.
Lane and like-minded residents of the group Friends of Perdido Bay place the responsibility for that change in water quality on the International Paper plant, which since the 1940s has been releasing its wastewater into Perdido Bay via Eleven Mile Creek. They’re now battling International Paper’s plans to divert that wastewater — 24 million gallons a day — into 1,400 adjacent acres of wetlands owned by the company.
International Paper says the plan, which would require the construction of a 10-mile pipeline to the wetlands area, would benefit Perdido Bay by allowing the wetlands to naturally filter the wastewater before the effluent enters the bay. The company adds the project would help the mill remain competitive, protecting 500 jobs and the region’s economy.
But residents say the wetlands can’t handle that volume of wastewater effectively and worry the pipeline will simply contribute to more problems in the area’s ecosystems. They’d prefer to see International Paper build treatment wetlands that could adequately handle the amount of wastewater produced by the plant. The company says that alternative is too costly.
Which side will ultimately prevail? A similar proposal by International Paper was turned down by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection last year. This time, the company says it has more evidence that its plan won’t hurt the environment, but the Friends of Perdido Bay aren’t buying it. If the draft proposal to be reviewed at a public hearing in Pensacola this week is approved, they say, they’ll keep fighting to the bitter end.
Why is it always jobs v environment?
Easy - because making an effort to go green often results in erosion of profits and money is more important than jobs or the environment, right?
If someone at the paper mill diverted funds from simply lining their pockets and invested in a system to clean/filter the water it might be something they could sell to other companies… and the PR would be good news for them too.
Too many business leaders are just so short-sighted and only continued efforts by the green movements will eventually prevail… they have to.