Extinction Rebellion NYC launches "Big Tech Loves Big Oil" campaign site. First target: Google
Alphabet workers news
The Tech Action affinity group of climate protection organization Extinction Rebellion NYC has just launched a new website and 3-week campaign, "Big Tech Loves Big Oil", that takes aim at the three major cloud service providers: Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Google is first on the target list, and the site includes an interactive meme generator with an invitation to make and post memes that call out Google's hypocrisy in performatively marketing itself as green while at the same time selling its technology to the oil and gas industry.
Meme by @kernelsamders, shared at bigtechlovesbigoil.com
The site also links to a companion essay, "Big Tech Loves Big Oil: A Bid For White Supremacy", which provides more context on the effort:
Beginning on July 6th, Extinction Rebellion is continuing the fight at BigTechLovesBigOil.com. Over three weekly challenges of Internet arts making, we, as users of technology and stakeholders of our future, will be standing with workers to make Big Tech tell the truth about their Big Oil profits and act with the urgency this crisis demands. In addition, we are going to condemn the internal retaliations against Amazon and Google activists who are fighting against racism and labor exploitation, struggle for racial and labor justice is integral to the climate fight.
Some extracts from the web site appear below.
- Bruce
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www.bigtechlovesbigoil.com
Big Tech, Big Oil. They promised us a brighter future. They lied.
Big Tech wants you to think they take climate change seriously. Google says they are carbon neutral! Microsoft says they are going carbon negative! Amazon is even naming a stadium the “Climate Pledge” arena!
But they also want to help Big Oil’s business, which is DESTROYING our planet. Amazon Web Services has an Oil and Gas division. Google uses AI and machine learning to discover oil reserves. Microsoft hosts conferences called “Empowering Oil and Gas with A.I,” proudly pursuing “the future health of oil and gas companies”
These companies are vulnerable to public pressure. In the midst of a global reckoning on race, Big Tech is calling for new regulations on the facial recognition technologies that subjugate Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Color. These are the same people whose lives Big Tech destroys by accelerating climate change.
If you take action, they’ll take action. For the next three weeks, we’re going to use humor to embarrass Big Tech into action...
Why Google?
- Working with Chevron, Total, BP and other fossil fuel companies
- Keeping them profitable with A.I. products, consulting, and cloud computing
- Allowing climate misinformation to spread on Google search, ads, and Youtube
- Funding think tanks that stall action on climate change.