[Take Action] Coke's Saving the Polar Bear's Home, But What About Mine?

While Coca-Cola can surely boast that it is an international brand, I doubt any country has yet to beat US daily consumption (data from 2002 and 2009). Coca-Cola is nearly as American as apple pie.

You would think, with such an enormous fan base in the States, that Coca-Cola would do its best to look out for its most profitable land. However, as evidenced by a recent story in the New York Times article, it seems as though profit might be the only thing Coca-Cola is out to protect!

The Grand Canyon is easily one of the most precious natural landmarks one can find in the United States. It, like many of our wonders, draws many visitors who happen to carry with them plastic bottles in their travels. After dealing with the build up of trash that comes from such traffic, the National Park officials at the Grand Canyon decided to impose a ban on all plastic bottles. They were even going to install water refilling stations throughout the park in order to encourage visitors to bring their own refillable bottles. Sounds great, right? I thought so.

Guess who didn't like the idea.

The Coca-Cola Company.

According to the New York Times, here's what happened:

Stephen P. Martin, the architect of the plan and the top parks official at the Grand Canyon, said his superiors told him two weeks before its Jan. 1 start date that Coca-Cola, which distributes water under the Dasani brand and has donated more than $13 million to the parks, had registered its concerns about the bottle ban through the foundation, and that the project was being tabled.

$13 million does weigh a lot in these matters, I suppose. However, I am writing to you today about something else that can be just as powerful: your voice.

Stiv Wilson (@agentstiv on twitter) started a petition on Change.org for you to sign and share. The petition is to the Director of National Park Service and it is asking to Ban the sale of plastic bottled water in Grand Canyon National Park. 

I implore you to sign this petition. I also request, that if you have the time, you reach out to Coca-Cola as well. Let them know that their winter campaign of "Protect the Polar Bear's Home" that they are now plastering on their bottles just in time for all their cute polar bear commercials is not enough to gloss over that which they are doing to contribute to the pollution of Our Home!
 
I understand Coca-Cola is a business that must protect a place where I am sure they yield a nice profit. (Lots of tourists heading out to the Grand Canyon must be thirsty, how many of them reach into their pockets to buy a Dasani, or some other Coke brand product?) It is our place as consumers to let Coca-Cola know that taking a stand with the National Parks Service is enough for us to say, "Wow... Coca-Cola is an awesome company! The next time I need a tasty beverage - I'm going to them first just because of what they did to protect my home land!"

Fellow consumers, let us do our part:

• sign the petition
• share it with others
• let Coca-Cola know what's important to you

Does Coca-Cola's contribution to America's (and the world's) pollution problem bother you?

How can companies like Coke help the environment while still selling their products?