Dear Oprah,
As one of the most powerful and influential people in the world and the only living woman to make a list of people who have changed the world, you must possess a strong personal interest and social responsibility when it comes to social justice issues.
The purpose of this letter is to request an official statement from you clarifying that the Ethical Oil ads that premiered exclusively on your television network was not in any way, shape or form an endorsement for the tar sands.
The presence of these ads on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) left hundreds of people in a state of utter betrayal and disappointment. I’m sure you’ve read Emma Pullman of DeSmogBlog’s open letter to you providing the back-story on the issue. Her article also highlighted the critical role you have played in raising the profile of women’s issues over the last decades and her shared disappointment.
As an irreplaceable humanitarian and philanthropist, your inspirational work includes bringing attention to children affected by poverty and AIDS in South Africa, speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves to uncover cases of animal cruelty and raising millions of dollars for humanitarian relief following Hurricane Katrina. The power of the “Oprah Effect” is undeniable and also monumental in forming and influencing public opinion.
Your decisions and actions impact people around the world. We are writing to simply remind you that in addition to all of your pioneering achievements, you were also one of the first individuals to make the issue of global warming and climate change a mainstream topic. You delivered the idea of environmentalism into the lives and homes of millions. You made people care because you cared. The day you had Leonardo DiCaprio and Dr. Michael Oppenheimer on your show to discuss the consequences of the dependence on fossil fuels and to call for a strong policy response to this global problem was truly a landmark event. This episode gave us all a sense of hope and was a significant step toward a green energy future.
Today, you are taking that hope away.
By allowing these repulsive Ethical Oil ads to even associate with your network, you have undone decades of hard work by some of the most passionate and dedicated scientists and earth defenders, people like you who try to speak for those without a voice. Although the ads were only on air for a short duration, the damage has been done – millions were presented with a false dichotomy. The “choice we have to make” is not between “ethical” or “unethical” oil. The choice is actually quite clear. You presented it six years ago on your show: do we deepen our dependence on fossil fuels or do we move beyond oil and call for a stronger policy response?
When you endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election and