Wednesday, April 05, 2006
What It's Really About
This post from the Commons Blog about a mining concern in Peru and its efforts to clean up its environmental impact is horrifying.
Related Tags: environmentalism, power, Peru, mining
These efforts epitomize "corporate social responsibility." And yet, the company and community are under constant attack by local Archbishop Pedro Baretto and US-based activists led by Oxfam. They have insinuated themselves as "stakeholders," say Doe Run hasn't done enough to address blood-lead levels, and strongly object to the SO2 deadline extension.Few stories are as revelatory about the genuine agenda of many in the environmental movement. It is little more than a lever to gain power. The next time you run into someone trying to work you into a lather over some environmental issue, remember that.
In fact, Doe Run made the decades-old lead contamination problem its top priority from the outset. The company tests workers and children regularly, reduced lead emissions at their source, built facilities that ensure workers don't take contaminants home, and initiated programs to clean streets and homes of accumulated contamination. Blood-lead levels now meet US (OSHA) guidelines for nearly all workers, and the children's blood-lead levels are improving.
Related Tags: environmentalism, power, Peru, mining
