Opinion: The disturbing truth about plastic recycling (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) Milos Bicanski/Getty Images More than 200 million tourists visit the Mediterranean each year causing the 40% increase in marine litter during summer using single use plastics including straws and stirrers, plastic cups, water bottles, inflatable pool toys etc which leads to the general pollution of water and beaches along Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is one of the seas with the highest levels of plastic pollution in the world. Those leaders came from packaging and beverage corporations such as the American Can Company, the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and later Coca-Cola and the Dixie Cup Company, Dunaway wrote in his book.ĪTHENS, GREECE - JUNE 26: Plastic cups used by tourists on the Aegean sea beach near Athens on J, Greece. The organization formed in 1953 when “a group of corporate and civic leaders met in New York City to bring the public and private sectors together to develop and promote a national cleanliness ethic,” according to its website. “NCAI looks forward to putting this advertisement to bed for good.”Ĭritics have also accused Keep America Beautiful of greenwashing through its iconic “Crying Indian” ad and other campaigns. “NCAI is proud to assume the role of monitoring the use of this advertisement and ensure it is only used for historical context this advertisement was inappropriate then and remains inappropriate today,” Wright said. said the ad would be used only for educational purposes. In a statement, NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. “In promoting this symbol, Keep America Beautiful was trying to piggyback on the counterculture’s embrace of Native American culture as a more authentic identity than commercial culture,” Dunaway wrote in a 2017 opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune.ĬNN has reached out to Keep America Beautiful and NCAI for comment. The group seized upon a phenomenon in the counterculture, which at the time was co-opting elements of Native identity as a rejection of mainstream American values. Keep America Beautiful’s decision to center a Native American character in its anti-pollution campaign was also strategic, according to Dunaway. But at the time of its release, real Native activists were occupying Alcatraz Island and drawing attention to issues of sovereignty and land rights, as historian Finis Dunaway noted in his book “ Seeing Green: The Use and Abuse of American Environmental Images.” Keep America Beautiful’s commercial depicts the “Crying Indian” as a relic of the past – a silent and stoic figure dressed in stereotypical garb. The ownership of the ad's rights will be transferred to the National Congress of American Indians. Iron Eyes Cody, the "Crying Indian," from Keep America Beautiful's ad campaigns is pictured in 1986. Born Espera Oscar de Corti, Iron Eyes Cody built a career off portraying Native characters in Hollywood Westerns and also presented himself as Native in his real life. The man at its center, however, was not a Native American, but rather an Italian American who went by the name of Iron Eyes Cody. The “Crying Indian” ad effectively exploited American guilt over the historical treatment of Indigenous people in order to spur individuals into action. Here’s a look at the ad’s complicated legacy. “The advertisement, which became synonymous with furthering environmental protection and awareness in popular culture at the time of its creation, was later known for featuring imagery that stereotyped American Indian and Alaska Native people and misappropriated Native culture,” said a news release about the move. Last week, Keep America Beautiful, the organization behind the commercial, announced that it would be retiring the “Crying Indian” ad and transferring the rights to the National Congress of American Indians Fund. Over the years, it’s been parodied on TV shows such as “The Simpsons” and “King of The Hill.” But for all its impact, the ad has a fraught history. The “Crying Indian” (who incidentally was portrayed by an Italian American) became a symbol in an environmental movement that urged everyday people to do their part in addressing pollution. The commercial first aired on television on Earth Day in 1971, and left a lasting impression on viewers. “Some people have a deep abiding respect for the natural beauty that was once this country,” a voiceover proclaims. As the camera closes in on his face, a tear rolls down his cheek. Trash hurled from the window of a passing car lands at the man’s feet. It’s one of the most well-known public service announcements in American history.Ī Native American man in buckskin and braids canoes through a polluted river, past smoke-emitting factories and onto a littered shore.
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