Verizon Wireless Still Not Answering the Call on Climate Change -- Time to Turn Up the Heat
In response to my post yesterday about Verizon Wireless sponsoring Massey's anti-mountain, pro-coal Labor Day rally, a firestorm erupted on Verizon's Facebook page. (If you're in the mood to chuckle, just scroll through the angry catcalls from the climate-hater crowd in the comments section of my original Switchboard blog post.) As a follow-up, I'm sharing the email I received today from CREDO Action (mobilizing arm of Working Assets). The utter disdain Verizon Wireless is showing toward its concerned customers over this situation is appalling and, quite frankly, hard to believe from a corporation that strives for broad appeal. See for yourself -- as explained in CREDO's message below -- and then please take action and help spread the word.
__________________________________________________
Dear Rob,
Verizon Wireless responded to our campaign with utter contempt. It's time to turn up the heat!
Before we launched our campaign, CREDO Action reached out to Verizon Wireless to confirm its sponsorship of the pro-coal "Friends of America" rally. Becky Bond, our Political Director, then sent a cordial follow-up to give Verizon Wireless a heads-up that our campaign had launched. Verizon replied as follows:
"This is how our response is going over with the activists. Becky once lived in a tree for a while. At least now I know where the emails are coming from."
- James Gerace, VP of Corporate Communications at Verizon Wireless
You got that?
If you don't think that Verizon Wireless should support global warming deniers and practitioners of mountaintop removal mining, then Verizon Wireless thinks it's okay to dismiss your concerns because you must have "lived in a tree for a while."
If they're going to try to mock us for opposing right wing demagoguery, then we'll just have to make more noise.
Let's remember how this campaign started. Verizon Wireless apparently sees nothing wrong with co-sponsoring a rally put on by Massey Energy, the biggest violator of the Clean Water Act in history; sees nothing wrong with giving a platform to people who deny global warming; sees nothing wrong with giving the emcee microphone to Ted Nugent who famously said:
Obama, he's a piece of sh - . I told him to suck on my machine gun...Hey Hillary [Clinton] you might want to ride one of these [machine guns] into the sunset, you worthless b - ch.
Apparently these are the values and sentiments Verizon Wireless feels comfortable associating itself with. You can violate the law, pillage the Earth and publicly insult Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the most vulgar way. Verizon Wireless is fine with that. But when we express common sense concerns about environmental stewardship, Verizon Wireless thinks we're tree-hugging nuts.
The most galling part of this response from Verizon Wireless is how Verizon's response conflicts with its rhetoric about the environment. Its website, proudly declares:
Verizon Wireless works every day to protect our environment and give our customers opportunities to do the same.
....
Environmental stewardship is ingrained in Verizon's heritage, and the company prides itself on having a positive influence on the environment in which it operates.
Give me a break!
If they're going to talk the talk about environmental stewardship, then they ought to walk the walk.
Thank you for pressuring Verizon Wireless to sever ties with environmental extremists.
Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action
P.S. You can go directly to our petition to Verizon Wireless by clicking here.
__________________________________________________
Keep up the good work, CREDO. And let's keep the pressure on Verizon Wireless, people!