No agency, company, or startup will save the planet. No single hero will save the planet. No multinational firm will save the planet, doesn’t matter what they say.
We could go on but you get the idea. It’s not going to happen, this saving, whoever the saviour is and however much they mean it.
It’s not only about lacking the requisite power. It’s just not accurate to say the planet needs to be saved. If people vanish then Earth will continue to survive, adapt and probably regenerate. When people think about the future, this is the tenaciousness they overlook. No people must mean no fragile planet. There is no Planet B.
A flawed image. Our planet is a badass and doesn’t need any backup: it’s not like it perished with the dinosaurs. If it had, we wouldn’t be attempting to save it. Over billions of years, there have been five mass extinction events and Planet Earth would survive number 6. Some of us wouldn’t see it coming.
In case you’re wondering what time it is, the Doomsday clock has moved to 85 seconds to midnight – the closest it has come to obliteration. The ticking of the arms has sped up because of AI, alongside world conflicts and brinkmanship that is backed by nuclear weapons. But that doom is mostly about us, not the earth we’re being stupid on.
You might think that such hyperbole has fallen out of fashion. But it has not.
In April every year, there is Earth Day, which is one of the most impactful eco-days but it’s also when ‘save the planet’ social media images rush to a maudlin crescendo. The next day is April 22nd. Pay attention and if you don’t want to save the planet meanwhile then don’t go into a hotel. There might be things to do with laundry.
The point stands true when the message is reworded or paraphrased. Pollutive multinational companies are especially loquacious in this department. Lululemon’s ‘Be Planet’ marketing faced a greenwashing lawsuit and has been toned down since. Be Planet.
This irreverent discourse may sound provocative but our purpose is to draw attention to a communication style that doesn’t land.
Not only does it not make sense conceptually, when you think about it. The message falls flat instead of inspiring.
🌵 It puts people off who are more concerned about the struggles in front of them.
It has no effect on people who are passionate but want details.
🦄 It fails to highlight anything distinctive.
It is a euphemism for something smaller: us.
💤 It is, weirdly enough, boring.
🐸 It could be greenwashing.
So, for those who care about what happens on the planet, remember that while one single idea won’t save our future, collective action can make a difference to the state of the planet that coming generations will inherit.
But those actions need to be communicated in a way that hits home.
When words become too big they lose their weight.
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