Fellow Profile
RUBEN ARONIN
 Ruben Aronin, ELP Fellow 2002-2004, is executive director of the Earth Communications Office (ECO), an international nonprofit organization that uses the power of Hollywood and the communications industry to improve the global environment..
What are ECO's goals for using communications to influence environmental issues?
ECO (pronounced "echo") was founded in 1989 to use the power of communication to improve the global environment. Since we are based in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, we work with entertainers and communication professionals who care about the environment and have expertise in reaching people. We try to inspire people to help create a safer, healthier world.
ECO's first projects aimed at encouraging the entertainment industry to "walk to the talk." We set up recycling programs in studios and developed a successful campaign to reduce packaging in the CD long box. In the early 1990s, ECO started producing theatrical trailers, on topics such as coral reef protection, global warming, energy, over-consumption and overpopulation.
A few years ago, we began translating ECO public service announcements into United Nations languages, and with the help of our broadcast partners, they are now being aired in 200 countries. Although many of our campaigns have a global element to them, we recently started focusing more on raising American consciousness about environmental issues. ECO wants to help to craft public opinion domestically - on issues ranging from the Kyoto treaty to corporate accountability - to inspire the American people to do the right thing.
In all our campaigns, ECO tries to identify solutions and remind people of the beauty of the natural world, in addition to warning that this world is fragile and its resources need to be used wisely.
Tell us about some of the projects you are working on currently.
At the forefront of ECO's current work are our global warming initiative and the new "Climate Star" program, featuring Kevin Bacon, Jacqueline Obradors, and a host of other celebrities. Since June 2003, the Climate Star campaign has appeared in over thirty magazines, from Rolling Stone to Entertainment Weekly. The Climate Star website (www.climatestar.org) provides a carbon footprint calculator and ideas for reducing impact and taking action. In conjunction, we produced a public service announcement called "Jobs," that focuses on the potential of wind power to help meet U.S. energy needs.
We are also pursuing a new initiative on environmental health, which came about through a partnership with ELP Fellow Alejandra Tres. ECO has worked on health issues for the last six or seven years, typically through the lens of other issues, such as global warming. Increasingly, we believe it's important to talk about environmental issues in terms that people can relate to, and we know that health is a high priority for Americans. By approaching environmental concerns from the angle of how they relate to our health, we hope to reach a broader range of people - not just preach to the choir of environmentalists.
The third area of focus for ECO is water and fisheries. We are currently developing a campaign with Jacques Cousteau that will focus on fresh water issues. In the past, we've done a lot of work on oceans, the decline of coral reefs, and the plight of fisheries. We have a new fisheries public service announcement that will be launched on television this fall.
Finally, for 2004 we are crafting a whole cadre of public service announcements and theatrical trailers focusing on voter registration. ECO has teamed up with the Earth Day Network, Southwest Voter Registration Project, Project Vote, and NAACP Voter Fund to utilize a diverse group of celebrities who can talk about environmental issues as well as the importance of voting.
What are some of your experiences working with celebrities on environmental issues?
Finding ways to use celebrities' stature for the greatest good is a real opportunity. One excellent example is Patrick Stewart, who is a member of the ECO board. By involving Stewart in ECO productions, we are able to maximize his celebrity status for things he really cares about, in ways that will reach a broad audience. Stewart is admired by the public and by the entertainment industry, so he sets an example for other actors. For all the actors we work with, we make sure their messages not only resonate with their own beliefs, but also are backed by the facts.
Another opportunity is the ability to tap into political leaders that often move in the same circles as entertainment celebrities.
The challenge of working with celebrities is that it is incredibly difficult to schedule around their shootings, or even to get their attention. Fortunately, ECO has a good track record of developing effective, visible, and influential campaigns, so celebrities often are interested in working with us.
How can the environmental field reach broad audiences more successfully and craft more effective messages?
The environmental movement's Achilles heel is that we communicate mainly to ourselves. We need to do more to reach the average person. Also, environmental groups too often speak with fractured voices, with each organization or issue focus group battling for funding or air time to get its message across. Although those of us in the field know the wide range of issues we work on - oceans, biodiversity, wilderness protection, global warning, to name just a few - the general public does not perceive the "environment" as being such a splintered issue. The public sees it as a cohesive movement, and we don't take enough advantage of that. While individual issues should be communicated, I think we also need to have some simple terminology for the basic pro-environment message, and it should be framed within topics that are tangible and relevant to people's lives.
Also, I believe that we need more vibrant spokespeople to make our issues visible. And we need a positive, practical, pro-active vision for environmental progress that will resonate with more than just the environmental crowd. We too often get caught up in intangibles and arguments that address the intellectual aspect of environmental concerns. To win, we need to tackle the heart side of the issues.
At the end of the day, the environmental movement is about better lives for ourselves and our kids, and it's about respecting all life and making sure it can survive and thrive, not be destroyed.
By reaching more people, we will have a greater chance of ensuring a healthy world for future generations to enjoy.
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