As many societal and political problems have risen in the United States, environmental issues have lost the focus of our attention in recent years. There still are, of course, pesky protesters standing in the streets and shouting in restaurants. The idea behind these movements is good, but the execution often leaves much to be desired. Fortunately, organizations that—instead of protesting—make meaningful changes, actually help out communities and the environment as a whole.
For example, Make A Change is an organization founded by three Bali natives who host fundraisers, coordinate river clean-ups, and recycle tons of plastic waste yearly. They recycle the collected plastic and turn it into lounge chairs. In communities around the globe, Make A Change works with locals to depollute rivers and creeks from years of built-up waste. They also raise awareness by arranging massive events such as the Ocean2Ocean run (New York to Los Angeles) and kayaking through the Citarum River. The most polluted river in the world, located in Indonesia, has large quantities of both chemical and plastic pollution. This event led to a 7-year clean-up plan put in motion by the Indonesia Ministry of the Environment. Make A Change has left a lasting impact on the world through its 13-year-long journey of raising environmental awareness.
However, not all protesters are as outstanding as Make A Change. Too often, regular people take it upon themselves to spread awareness about global issues, yet do so in the most inconvenient, least helpful method possible. Blocking traffic (in a variety of ways), attempting to desecrate paintings, and trespassing businesses have all been radical forms of environmental protests. Just Stop Oil, an anti-oil organization, organized an extreme protest during which participants glued themselves to roads. The purpose of this demonstration was to raise awareness of the harmful effects of offshore drilling, yet it only inconvenienced normal, working-class citizens attempting to live their lives. Lamentably, this is not a standalone occurrence or even the worst. Just Stop Oil struck again during an art show in London when they launched a can of tomato soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. The painting did have a glass case, yet the action is still inexcusable. The reasoning behind this act was: life is more important than art. Although true, this statement does not justify the needless destruction of art. Radical protests do have a subtle purpose beneath the disturbances. The purpose is not to convince those nearby, but to make headlines with the outlandish acts. The protests frequently do make the news, yet are portrayed in a negative light due to the lack of substantial accomplishments against climate change.
Even though environmental awareness has become less of an urgent issue as of late, it remains as important as before. Groups like Make a Change have and will continue to provide incredible aid to polluted communities and inspire others to help the process. Less important are radical demonstrations to grab the attention of the public eye. And they do an incredible job of that, but nothing else. Almost no real efforts have been made as a result of Just Stop Oil, proving how unnecessary obnoxious activism is.