Position Paper #2

 BBC Future Planet

    As topics like climate change are becoming more and more relevant among people and as science is constantly being questioned throughout every big event that occurs around the world, many people are looking to media experts to provide resources and answers to the tough questions. For that reason, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) came up with BBC Future. BBC Future is a section of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s website that focuses on being “a home for slowing down, delving deep and shifting perspectives.” This sanction of the British news organization has stories on a wide range of topics from psychology, food, climate change, health, social trends, and technology. 

One part of BBC Future that was launched in February 2020 and is making a splash in the world of economic media is BBC Future Planet. Future Planet is a place that is meant to offer a “solutions journalism take on a whole planet’s worth of environmental issues”. This sanction of the BBC focuses on bringing a wide variety of stories on how to make the world a more sustainable place and how to bring awareness to environmental challenges. The site’s editor, Martha Henriques, said that this is not just about bringing success or feel good stories. The goal of Future Planet is to look critically at problems in the environment and provide evidence-based solutions to those problems. 

In addition to creating a space that provides raw stories and solutions for environmental issues, the British Broadcasting Corporation is also working on reducing their carbon footprint by cutting back on things like flights for their writers. Henriques talked about how, as a company with international journalists, it can be extremely difficult to get reporters to the location of a story without using a plane and flying there. Martha said, “I think a lot of publications fall back on that crutch and that historic way of doing things, without thinking of the alternatives and of the benefits of thinking in a more sustainable way.” The BBC committed to trying not to fly people out of London for a 10-month period and they saw a huge reduction in the company’s carbon usage from 26.5 tons to less than half a ton during that time. 

BBC Future Planet has many interesting articles from simply informational stories like “How Whales Help Cool the Earth”, speaking about how whale excretion is actually fairly relevant to the temperature of the planet, to awareness stories like “How to Stop Another ‘Day Zero’”, which talks about the Chennai drought and how to prevent another one. In addition to these stories, there are countless others that bring information, education, tips, solutions, and awareness on topics that either seem too big to conquer or that people just simply are not talking about enough in mainstream media. I think it is one thing to mention climate change or environmental issues on a news site or in an article, multiple publications do it. However, the British Broadcasting Corporation is taking it a step further by not only creating a separate sanction for news like this, but also putting these things into practice in order to set an example for other companies and countries.

It can be hard to say if something as innovative and refreshing as Future Planet will become the norm in the United States. It is very obvious from reading articles in Future Planet that the British Broadcasting Company, located in London, is making an effort to put out factual and concise stories that talk about broad or specific subjects in every aspect of environmentalism. However, in the United States, things like climate change or sustainable living are often used as political motives instead of knowledge that could change people’s way of living. Now, following recent events like the insurrection on the United States capitol, Canada has also been seen using these issues in efforts to back their political views. 

In an article published on February 24, 2021 by the publication “Inside Climate News”, it talks about a series of articles published after the capitol insurrection in which there were a “series of reports laced with climate change denial and conspiracy theories and targeting environmental advocates.” Not only were these articles used to try and intimidate activists who are opposing the expansion of Canada’s oil sands, but some were even written by American oil industry groups. The writers of these articles and conspiracies are among the many people who believe that people are using climate change as a way to overthrow the capitalist system. It is extremely interesting to watch American political views and issues somehow flow over into Canadian efforts and influence the way people make decisions. 

I think that stories and situations like this are why it will be hard for something like Future Planet to launch in the United States and, if it does launch, it will be difficult for people to truly take it seriously. Generally, environmental issues like climate change are looked at as “leftist ideas”. I have seen multiple posts on social media from people who identify as Republicans saying that climate change is fake and the left is using it for their own gain. While I am in no way, shape, or form an expert in environmental problems such as this, it is interesting to see how things that affect everyone have been turned into conspiracies that are being used for political gain. I believe that people could certainly be fabricating information in order to move themselves forward, but I think judging an entire topic, such as climate change, that people talk about all over the world and saying it is being used only in American politics is extremely simple minded. 

Nowadays, it is becoming more and more common in the United States to see blogs, YouTube channels, and social media profiles being made in order to promote sustainable living and environmental change and other things that BBC Future Planet talks about. However, because of the constant political tension surrounding these topics throughout the country, I believe it is difficult for people to be taken seriously while trying to advocate for environmental change among other people. If something comes along that, like Future Planet, promotes fact and evidence-based ideas and solutions and keeps political bias out of the conversation, I think this new innovation could quickly be seen taking over the United States media.