Greenpeace has been an advocate for the environment for a very long time. They fight for environmental causes using a 360-degree approach, involving state and non-state actors, civil society, NGOs and international organizations. For this blog post, I have chosen a cause which I personally feel very deeply concerned – environment pollution caused by the excessive use of plastic. This particular story is published on the Greenpeace website by author Tamara Adame. She is a scuba diver in Mexico and an advocate for anti-plastic usage in coastal areas. She mainly fights against disposal of single-use plastic on the beach and in the seas and is determined to protect the coastline. That’s why she calls herself a mermaid against plastic!
Author Tamara Adame surrounded by trash in her community
Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/
This website post follows a very personalized and intimate approach. It begins with the reasons why the author feels responsible for this cause, the ways this problem has affected her personally (“The sand I walk on is mixed with an indescribable mix of strings, pieces, and particles of plastic that are impossible to pick, gather or clean.”) and the reason that made her decision to advocate for the cause in the first place (“realizing that I am actively contributing to polluting my workplace started bothering me.”). She urges the diving community to become more aware and go for disposable plastic options. Alongside she also urges the general people and government to support the diving community in this endeavor and help reduce the plastic waste in the seas.
Author & Diver Tamara Adame removing fishing lines and debris from the reef. © OK More Photography
Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/
It is clearly identified that the author speaks in the first person, shares her own experiences, and the cause she is fighting for. This is not just her personal cause, her story addresses a much bigger and serious issue of water pollution caused by single-use plastic items. She urges a large diving community, tourists visiting Mexico and the Government to support this cause and take action. Adame speaks in the first person to add a personal touch so that readers can relate to it. Water and beaches are the center of the story and are shown as victims in the hand of pollution. Based on the types of story explained by Ganz (2008), this story has elements of both being a “story of us” (it is built on an individual story of Tamara Adame but is aimed to create a strong community of divers, tourists, policymakers to fight water pollution) and “story of now” (this is an extremely alarming issue and needs action to be taken right now). The story is built on an active tone. This goes well with the timeliness and urgency of the issue.
The moral foundational values evident in this storytelling piece are:
Ø Care – Tamara deeply cares about the cause. She loves the sea, sea animals and beaches. She has been personally affected by the growing use of plastic on the beaches. As a diver, she has realized that some of the actions of the diving community (like the use of disposable water bottles) have been the key cause of water pollution. She wants to change this. She wants the diving community to use reusable water bottles. She is also requesting the tourist to understand that using reusable bottles is completely hygienic.
Ø Cheating – Tamara points at the multinational businesses like Coca-Cola and Nestle who pushes for single-use packaged drinking water bottles. These businesses do not promote enough about the need of using reusable water bottles and push for single-use bottles.
Ø Loyalty – Tamara’s loyalty towards nature and especially towards the seas have inspired her to work on this issue. Her passion and enthusiasm are evident in the story and how she is inspiring others in her diving community to take action.
Ø Authority – To some extent this story also talks about the importance of the role of authority i.e. the government in this endeavor. She clearly states that the government needs to put pressure on the diving industry to establish plastic-free zones and use non-disposable bottles. It is also important to influence public policy and enforce the law.
A perfect beach covered with plastic trash. ©Karen Fuentes.
Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/
One drawback of this story is that Tamara does not clearly say what concrete actions she has taken herself so far. It is visibly evident that she is deeply concerned about the issue and is very well aware of the situation. She has also done her research on different aspects of the issue but it is not mentioned what actions she herself has taken. Also, there is no clear call-to-action like a request to sign a petition or donate to the cause. Tamara’s story clearly supports the larger environmental advocacy of Greenpeace and clearly explains the concern but it is not clear what the readers should do on their part.
Plastic is choking the oceans. ©Armando Gasse
Pic Courtesy: Greenpeace Website/ https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/
Link to the Greenpeace website: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
Link to this story: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/stories/diving-sea-plastic-something/
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