On February 10th we posted, Bed, Bath, and Beyond Reason . We suggested that environmental organizations and corporations that reject oil from the Canadian oil sands are missing the big picture. It is absurd to campaign against friendly oil from Canada knowing that this will increase our dependence on Chavez, Russia, and the Middle East. I don’t believe carbon emissions are a serious problem, but even for those who disagree, carbon emissions should not be a priority that trumps all other issues, in every situation.
After thinking about it overnight, Bed, Bath and Beyond was persuaded by our argument. Well, that wasn’t it. What caused Bed, Bath, and Beyond to change its mind was an immediate outpouring of anger from normally mild-mannered Canadians. The company could see that this pandering to ForestEthics and other extreme environmental groups was not going to be good for business – and that, after all, was the whole point.
This proves one of my working theories, by the way. For the global warming faithful, reducing carbon emissions is more important than any organization, or even life itself – as long as it is someone else’s life and someone else’s loss. For Bed, Bath, and Beyond, saving its business in Canada was more important than saving the world. (See Bed, Bath & Beyond Backs Away From Boycott, and also read some of the comments from Canada.)