One of Britain’s largest power companies has taken it upon itself to free English schoolchildren from the boredom of summer vacation by enlisting them as spies. Unfortunately, we’re not talking about solving hypothetical Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys-type mysteries. We’re talking about snitching on parents who dare to fall asleep in front of the TV, or fail to keep their windows clean, or worse still, put food into the refrigerator too quickly.
A utility company called NPower has somehow determined that all of these infractions are environmental crimes that are killing our planet and must therefore be stopped. So, it recently launched a massive advertising campaign to direct kids to its cartoon-like website where, among images of floods, drought, hurricanes and the obligatory polar bear on the melting ice floe, children are encouraged to become Climate Cops and “save the world.”
Apparently, kids can accomplish that by simply downloading their Climate Cop IDs and Climate Crime cards, and then watching for such criminal infractions as dirty windows that don’t allow the sunlight to fully enter, using a tumble dryer on a sunny day or even leaving a cellphone charger plugged in (because, as the Climate Crime Card tells us, “we all know that’s a sin”).
Oddly enough, the Climate Cops aren’t instructed to take any action (such as turning off the TV or unplugging the charger) when they come upon a crime scene. Instead, they are encouraged to create a “Climate Crime Case File” for the infraction and “actively” keep “ongoing records” of this, and other, climate crimes committed at home. The kids are then to report their crime list to their families with a warning to not “commit those crimes again (or else!).”
Families risk having their personal habits outed since an accompanying lesson plan for teachers encourages them to discuss the family crimes in class. Worse still, the website actually encourages children to create even more “case files” by checking out “the homes of your uncles, aunts or friends from school.”
Do do do do. Do do do do. Cue theme music from The Twilight Zone.
No wonder reasoned adults are suddenly making farfetched sounding comparisons to the Hitler Youth, and George Orwell’s 1984. In both cases, the younger generation was indoctrinated to report on the activities of family members and friends.
The comparisons may be somewhat of a stretch, but the scenario is still disturbing on several fronts.
A fundamental issue is that some of the information may be wrong. One so-called crime is placing hot food in a fridge or freezer rather than waiting for it to cool. It might take a few well-publicized cases of food poisoning before the brain trust at N-Power takes the time to check this out with the experts.
Most food safety guidelines suggest the correct procedure is to promptly refrigerate or freeze food before it cools.
Using incandescent light bulbs is another “crime” worthy of being reported. Yet no mention is made of the fact that the more energy-efficient light bulbs are made of mercury that is toxic to both humans and the environment (and therefore require special disposal techniques). They are also more costly and take more energy to manufacture.
Perhaps more significant in the long run is that the Climate Cops program teaches children that everyday occurrences (like falling asleep in front of the TV) are a crime leading children to believe they are the moral equivalent of theft. Adults can easily discern the difference, but when young children become indoctrinated into thinking of lefton lights as a crime against the environment or a plugged in phone charger as a “sin” (as above), the moral thinking that is still in development can become awfully blurry.
Equally troubling is the emphasis on reporting climate crimes, rather than doing something about it.
Doesn’t it make more sense to teach kids to turn off a light rather than write it down and then report on it as a criminal infraction? N-Power officials claim the concept gives kids a feeling of “empowerment,” but I suspect they would feel more empowered by rectifying the problem than writing about it.
Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps environmental empowerment does take place as a child enters the climate cops website and undertakes the required “save-the-environment” mission that basically involves playing “whack-a-mole” with a light switch.
Finally, it is apparent that NPower is willing to use manipulation, exaggerations and misinformation to enhance its image as a green company — and to do so at the expense of traumatizing children.
It has deliberately created a scenario that can create panic and anxiety in young children who could easily believe any little environmental “crime” committed by their parents will destroy their planet.
Climate cops may have looked like a cute concept in the boardroom, but fear and indoctrination aren’t a responsible — or acceptable — means of educating children about energy conservation.
Perhaps the best response to N-Power’s strategy comes from a blogger who is encouraging children to investigate N-Power’s own climate crimes as an operator of 13 fossil fuel plants, as well as its massive waste of consumption and energy in developing the advertising, website, printing, posters, door-hangers and crime cards for the Climate Cops campaign.
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