I take great pride in the fact that I have lived carbon-neutral since 2005 and am at the cusp of a carbon-negative lifestyle. However, it was relatively easy for me to make the change from average consumer to become one of the few who live carbon-neutral, certainly much easier than for a large multinational organization such as News Corp.
The harsh realities of the difficulties for News Corp. were exacerbated because the top man, Rupert Murdoch, was a global warming skeptic who made financial contributions to politicians and political organizations which deliberately stoked fears and falsehoods surrounding climate change. Then, at about the same time that I went carbon-neutral, Mr. Murdoch announced his commitment to reducing carbon emissions.
As a captain of the broadcast and news industry, Mr. Murdoch very easily could have surrounded himself with yes men and ignored the climate crisis. Instead, he announced publicly for his employees, shareholders, supporters, friends and the rest of the world that carbon emissions are the enemy of a healthy planet which must be vanquished.
Up until that point, Mr. Murdoch had been so intransigent in ignoring the environmental community that I fretted that his new commitment to reducing carbon emissions was a ploy to keep the environmental community confused. Moreover, since many months passed before News Corp. announced milestones and other achievements, I essentially ignored the organization’s progress.
Then, at the beginning of March of this year, everything changed. [italic]24[/italic], one of my favorite television programs and one of the most successful scripted dramas of the new millennium, became America’s first-ever carbon-neutral television production, a huge accomplishment.
However, as tremendous an achievement as the carbon-neutrality of [italic]24[/italics] is, arguably the most laudable aspect is the decision by Fox network to air public service announcements by two of the show’s stars inviting all viewers to visit the network’s website to learn more about what Fox and its parent, News Corp., are doing to reduce carbon emissions and spread the word.
Since the inception of this blog, I have told my readers that the most important thing we can do to fight global warming, after become carbon-neutral in our lives, is to make the green message cultural. News Corp. is doing precisely that, including with its dedication of valuable air time to run public service announcements which send a very clear message about the urgency of the climate crisis and the commitment of the entire News Corp. organization to do its part to go green.
You’ll find ample details regarding the global energy initiative of News Corp. at
http://gei.newscorp.com
Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line
Corbett Kroehler
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