WWF at Schiphol

WWF (The World Wide Fund for Nature or Woof Woof) have put up some advertisements at Schiphol airport asking people to [in English] "Look, Look, but don't buy". The ads are asking people not to buy souvenirs from the countries that they visit on holiday that are produced by killing endangered plants and animals.



It seems like quite a straight forward ask, but when we know about things like climate change, mining disasters (even though this is an oxymoron, I use it to indicate the ones that affect humans immediately as well - think Chile and Hungary). The issue I have with this is the thinking behind it. WWF no doubt spent thousands for the advert, and I am sure hours of strategic meetings and planning went into the text, photos and style of writing. I imagine that tactically WWF (who also works on climate change) thought this would be an obtainable ask - something they think the public would take notice of and actually act on instead of ignoring. The issue is that this is a cosmetic change. It is the same as putting a disney plaster on an amputation.



As long as big NGOs and others trying to do something about the various environmental challenges we face continue to work on what is obtainable and doesn't offend funders, they will only act as a salve to our conscience as we head toward environmental collapse. We need organisations to shout, loudly, the inconvenient truths we are facing. No, we cannot afford to take intercontinental holiday flights, we have to change our patterns of consumption. We have to start listening to nature, seeing ourselves as part of a very intricate system and begin playing by the earth's rules. Seeing a small group of animals and plants as endangered misses the point. We are amongst the endangered species, time to call a spade a spade.