So, Jeff, this $10 billion you have donated to fight climate change... sigh.
I will admit, part of me does feel more than a little wrong to think badly of such a gesture. To begin with, the headlines alone, that have sprung up all over the world, accompanying this story, have achieved so much to bring more attention to this issue. And, on face value, they have further normalised, to everyone reading them, the value of sacrificing for this cause.
But at the same time most of me is also inclined to think that this 'sacrifice' will very likely turn out to be just a very self-serving investment. And that this global applause the man has received, may, in fact, help to make the problem worse.
And why do I think this? Well here, basically, is what I suspect could be Mr Bezos' strategic rational behind his actions:
"Hmmm, I am a bit worried, here. Consumerism is being talked about more and more as a key cause of this existential crisis. And possibly, soon, a lot of people are going to start blaming me, and what my wonderful company does, for this very rapidly growing climate problem - so I've got a great idea. Let's distract people away from realising that rampant consumerism is causing all this, and instead focus everyone's attention on the idea that we can just solve this by doing even more climate research and by trying to come up with some amazing new technology that will magically allow us to carry on business as usual."
Now, as a lot of my friends would probably attest, at different times in my day when I come across an example of bad behaviour my first reaction is not to think of the culprit as an intrinsically evil person, but more that they have just managed to convinced themselves that their convenient course of action is justified. And, so in the same way, I actually think that the above internal monologue is not what has actually happened in Jeff’s head, but instead that he has just conveniently sidelined any idea that consumerism is one of the biggest roots of this issue, and that he has instead convinced himself that the only thing that will get results will be just investing more money into the situation.
However, I'm not feeling very confident you can buy yourself out of the problem this time, Jeff.
(To quote Einstein - 'We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.')
In fact, conversely, spending nothing at all may well be the best answer, because spending less is exactly what drastically reducing consumerism will involve.
Therefore, Jeff, if you really want to do something constructive around this issue, a good place to start would be de-listing all the utter junk you sell in that gargantuan online shop of yours (yes, there is some important, essential stuff you have there but it is definitely in the minority) - to start alleviating the amount of carbon being produced by the world's mining / consumer product industries, and to send a message to everyone about how important reducing consumerism is to finding a climate solution.
And Ill be honest, even if the creation of Amazons goods had absolutely no direct bad environmental impact, I would still take exception to Jeff's 'rampant wealth accumulation' business model. For a start why would any one wanting to buy a product think they would get value for money from a company that has dished out $130 billion of profits straight into the pocket of it's founder?
(and while I am ranting......The audacity to name it after one of earths greatest environmental icons....I mean, you started a company, named Amazon, by selling books, which necessitates the chopping down of forests. ?!?!)
In saying all this, though, I will say that there is one way in which an investment in technology could end up being some sort of redemption for Mr Bezos. And that is if the project he creates involves some sort of motivation technology to make people escape from the trappings and habits of ego, status, impulsiveness, and, ultimately, consumerism. Hey, maybe this is the path you will go down, Jeff. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised.
