The Hypocrisy of Earth Day Celebrations in New Castle County

Nobody was "in it together" when it came to saving the

Orphanage Property on Rt.4 in Ogletown.

Environmental destruction in the form of disappearing green space, critical habitat loss, wetlands destruction, and a dearth of locally accessible parkland and commons is plainly visible throughout New Castle County. Because both State and County Legislatures (majority Democrat) are corrupt and put wealth and profits before people and planet, don't expect anything to change -- even in the worst clutches of climate change, disease and related disasters. Yet, we see articles like this appear every April:

Celebrate The 50th Anniversary Of Earth Day Today, Delaware!

Excerpts from the article, from DNREC:

• While people celebrating our planet won’t be able to gather together as we have in past years, it has never been more important to renew our commitment to protect the environment and redouble our resolve for sustainable change. 

• We must maintain our state’s natural spaces and vital natural resources for future generations.

• But, it’s not too late to pass clean air, water and land on to our children and grandchildren. That is our job at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, but everyone can and should do our part to make that happen. [Full Article . . .]

Instead of celebrating Earth Day as one day of action each year, we urge our readers to join the Delaware Nature Society and volunteer and/or get involved in their programs. According to their mission: Delaware Nature Society’s mission is to connect people with the natural world to improve our environment through education, advocacy and conservation. We envision a healthy and sustainable environment.

And, unlike these other sham organizations, they delivered on this promise with their immediate endorsement -- no questions asked -- of saving the Orphanage Property as a regional park for Ogletown-S Newark.

Just getting started. Clear cutting forest canopy and destroying wildlife habitat for huge housing developments is a common sight in NCC. And contrary to anything sustainable or eco-friendly, most are located far from local services, commerce, and are deliberately disconnected from adjacent communities thus requiring cars for every trip. The land goes from carbon sequestering and a flora-fauna refuge to usurping wildlife and emitting mass amounts of heat trapping emissions. Meanwhile, unless privileged, State and County legislators refuse to champion saving any of it in favor of developer profits, even when the last regional park opportunity is on the line.

BOYCOTT Sierra Club's Earth Day Live Events

As our readers are all too aware, the Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club would not support or endorse the effort to Save the Orphanage Property (STOP) as critical habitat area, as a wildlife refuge, as a regional park, and a trails & pathways opportunity for Ogletown-S. Newark that will never come again. We urge all of our readers to see through the facade and the fraudulence of Sierra Club, and to ignore all of their events including Earth Day. Alternatives can be found, including this one with Delaware Estuary.

The below article is from 2011, but nothing has changed since. Corporatist money has no place in non-profit environmental organizations -- whether that be at the national, state or local levels. This article explains why, after repeated asks for Sierra's endorsement of STOP, their reply was "this isn't something we generally do". Ditto from DE Audubon Society, given they too are a national org and thus accepting of corporate payoffs and kickbacks.

Sierra Club Chooses Corporate Sponsorship Over Grassroots Activists

Excerpts:

• According to the Associated Press, in 2002 Sierra Club head Carl Pope threatened to dissolve the southern Utah chapter for “speaking out against the Bush administration’s push toward war with Iraq.”  The Sierra Club’s Board of Directors had passed a resolution “supporting efforts to strip Iraq of weapons of mass destruction” (i.e., supporting the war) ...
• This is the first time in Sierra Club’s 116-year history that it has endorsed a product and even Club executive director Carl Pope, who’s been a driving force in the partnership, admitted that the decision by a well-known environmental group to endorse a company known for its bleach, plastics, and chemical products is “controversial.”
• Until progressive groups successfully address the challenge of funding themselves independent of the elite individuals and institutions that act as enforcers of a corporate agenda, they will not be able to successfully advocate for progressive causes. Any success they might have will mean that their funding dries up, and they will cease to exist.
• The Sierra Club is a marquee name that has indeed gone for the green:  cash.  Environmental activists should carefully examine the way in which the organization is operating, and whether its agenda is worthy of continued support.

STOP to Delaware's Environmental Organizations: Epic Fail

Do you support environmental conservation in Delaware? Support and donate to the Delaware Nature Society. DNC, along with a dozen other local and State orgs, didn't hesitate and immediately jumped on board to help save the Orphanage Property.