World Environment Day should be about trade-offs, not celebrations

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Editor's note: Last Sunday was World Environment Day, and the 50th one at that. Increasingly, it has taken on the feel of Valentine’s Day. A day on which we declare our commitment to something that we should ideally have for all 365 days of the year. And a day when several interest groups find the opportunity to plug their activities or their faux credentials. For environmental journalists, the day makes its presence felt far in advance when public relations professionals begin hawking “quotes” and “interactions” with their clients on the subject of the environment or climate. I deliberately plan some of these interactions for after 5 June, only to be greeted with shocked silence on the other end of the line. I explain that these are interactions important enough to be had on any day of the year. It is my attempt at discouraging greeting-card journalism on the environment. Nonetheless, I do not wish to be a spoilsport, because the Hallmark-ification has nothing to do with the actual importance of the day. It marks the anniversary of the Stockholm Conference on the …