There are a bunch of loud whiny voices out there all upset that plants come in plastic pots which may end up in a landfill.
These are the same people who cheer when any other consumer product is packaged in a way that cuts waste 10%, yet they conveniently ignore that the product IN the package (running shoes, laser printers, plastic toys) is itself likely to end up in a landfill within 2 years.
No other product helps the environment at all, and most actually do harm. Plants are the only thing that actually do good: they clean the air, reducing carbon and creating oxygen. They prevent erosion and runoff, create shade and reduce energy costs while providing beauty and wildlife habitat. And they get better at doing it every single year!
So why won’t the whiners cut us any slack?
So what if our plastic packaging isn’t ideal – we aren’t 100% perfect. Big deal. The bad we do is insignificant compared to the good, right?
Why can’t they see that?
Who do they think we are, Mother Teresa?
Creator’s Commentary: I first thought of this analogy at the same time as “superman,” when at a meeting with the EPA it was obvious that governemnt regulators did not care if the product IN the packaging helped the environment, the plastic pot was all they could see. How serious of an issue is the use of plastic nursery containers?
This particular poster was taken down mid-way through the ANLA Clinic becasue of its offensive imagery. Someone walking through the hotel (not a Clinic atendee) saw it and caused quite a scene, from what I heard later. I was not there. Bob Dolibois diffused the situation by removing the poster. I think he thought I would be upset at the unreasonable censorship and demand that it go back up, but my reply was, “Well, it offeneded me too!” and “Mission accomplished.” There was, perhaps, more discussion about the poster after it was banned than there was before.
I was asked if the photo of Mother Teresa was fake. The answer is, yes, of course. The cigarette and the smoke were added in Photoshop. I thought of putting a Zippo or a pack of Camels in her hands. I apologize for corrupting a religious icon. I am not Catholic, so I do not ascribe anything beyond piety and godliness to Teresa. However, as a Christian, I do not like when artists cheaply debase pictures of Christ to make a point. I would never have considered altering an image of, say, the Last Supper or Jesus on the cross. I see a difference, but maybe this poster should not have hung in the first place?
In any case, this is the only poster that I brought home and it is in my office now.
~Art
