The Green Glance | Only infrastructure overhaul will bring reform

Nathan Zucker Columnist

In an attempt to appear as if they are fighting a serious battle against global warming, many corporations have adopted environmentally friendly policies. Wal-Mart made headlines two years ago when C.E.O. H. Lee Scott announced in his “Twenty-First Century Leadership” speech a comprehensive overhaul of business practices thatwould revolutionize the company’s approach to climate change. Similarly, Toyota has built itself a reputation for sustainability since releasing the Prius, a hybrid car with approximately double the gas mileage of a regular sedan.

Wal-Mart’s approach to sustainability is indicative of the problem with current environmental policy. Scott was lauded for his promise to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent over seven years. However, a progress report recently released by Wal-Mart shows that carbon emissions actually increased nine percent in 2006. Nothing could be more hypocritical and deplorable than declaring a commitment to sustainability and then continuing with business as usual.

Nevertheless, it is not only the hypocrisy of Wal-Mart that is troubling. What is truly frightening is society’s belief that a transnational corporation such as Wal-Mart could be sustainable at all. Big-box stores inevitably lead to miles of suburban sprawl that are navigable only by cars. Shoppers, who once could once walk to a consolidated downtown area, are forced to drive much farther to stores such as Wal-Mart, which are generally located on the outskirts of communities. The average American citizen now consumes approximately 460 gallons of gas per year, more than triple the energy use of the average western European. Americans’ excessive gas consumption is partially due to the decentralized sprawl that characterizes our communities, and Wal-Mart only contributes to this unfortunate phenomenon. According to Friends of the Earth, an environmental advocacy group, Wal-Mart’s global production system and its heavy reliance on international shipping cause the corporation alone to produce half the greenhouse gases of the entire French nation.

Although hybrid cars have been hailed as the latest tool in society’s environmental arsenal, such advances in technology have yet to significantly mitigate global warming. The Prius, for example, is rated at 48 miles-per-gallon on the highway. While this figure may sound impressive, it means little when you consider the massive number of new drivers and vehicles on the road. Between 1950 and 2000, the number of licensed drivers in the United States increased by 128 million. Overall, efficiency improvements have been miniscule compared to the expanding prominence of the automobile.

Without a doubt, the evidence suggests that relying on small changes in corporate business practices will not solve our environmental woes. The cleaner trucks and organic farms of Wal-Mart, along with the hybrid cars of Toyota, are failing to bring about the dramatic decrease in emissions and petroleum consumption that is desperately needed. By encouraging a car-centered infrastructure and the long-distance shipping of merchandise, we doom ourselves to a legacy of global warming and resource depletion. Only a comprehensive reorganization of our lives can bring about meaningful reform.

Fortunately, many visionaries have dreamed of designing a world in which we pollute less and conserve more. New Urbanism, an architectural movement started in the 1980s by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, attempts to establish communities that exist in harmony with the environment. This means pedestrian-friendly areas to encourage walking and mixed-use neighborhoods that limit driving.

Similarly, the local foods movement is an attempt to reconnect us with our surroundings, eliminating the long-distance shipping of produce through farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture, and urban gardens. In recent years, an emphasis on local foods has gripped the nation; both supermarkets and college dining halls proudly display such products.

America will have to make a big commitment to environmentalism in order to reverse the mistakes of the past. Cars and international shipping are engrained in our everyday lives, and people will not want to sacrifice these luxuries. Nevetheless, the necessity of the moment has the power to motivate us, and it is this motivation that will carry our society toward a greener, healthier future.

Nathan Zucker ’10, a Latin American Studies major, is writing a column this semester about environmental issues that affect both the Vassar community and the world at large.