By Joel Thurtell
The Sierra Club is crying foul.
The Canada-based branch of the environmental group says the government-sponsored bridge, known as the Detroit River International Crossing, is ill-planned and unneeded.
Ordinarily, a squeaky-green organization like Sierra would deserve great credibility on such a volatile issue, even though its opinion coincides with the financial interests of a billionaire named Matty Moroun who owns the only bridge between the U.S. and Canada at Detroit and whose interests are totally opposed to building a second span.
But how credible is Sierra?
Is there a squeak in their clean-green public image?
Indeed yes, according to The Nation.
Like a number of other environmental organizations, the Sierra Club takes has money from companies that pollute directly, or manufacture products that cause pollution.
Like bleach.
In The Nation article, “The Wrong Kind of Green,” by Johann Jari, the Sierra Club’s nonprofit persona comes off with a bit of an oily tinge. Sierra is listed as one large environmental group that has struck deals with industry.
For example, wrote Hari:
The Sierra Club was approached in 2008 by the makers of Clorox bleach, who said that if the Club endorsed their new range of “green” household cleaners, they would give it a percentage of the sales. The Club’s Corporate Accountability Committee said the deal created a blatant conflict of interest–but took it anyway. Executive director Carl Pope defended the move in an e-mail to members, in which he claimed that the organization had carried out a serious analysis of the cleaners to see if they were “truly superior.” But it hadn’t. The Club’s Toxics Committee co-chair, Jessica Frohman, said, “We never approved the product line.” Beyond asking a few questions, the committee had done nothing to confirm that the product line was greener than its competitors’ or good for the environment in any way.
Now, do we know that the Sierra Club and Matty are in bed together? No.
Yet the history of taking money from industry in the Clorox case makes the group’s position regarding the international bridge a bit suspicious.
If they hadn’t done the Clorox deal, they might be above reproach.
Sorry to say, Sierra looks like just one more nonprofit money grubber.
Now, what does that have to do with Matty and the Ambassador Bridge?
Maybe nothing.
Just can’t help wonderin’.
Drop me a line at joelthurtell@gmail.com
