Customer Reviews

Eco-Imperialism: Green Power Black Death

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There is no greater way to underline the point of Paul Driessen's brilliant and meticulously foot-noted book than to read the review here that blindly criticizes it (from a brave anonymous reader). Just for a start the book and its message is endorsed by the man who FOUNDED Greenpeace - and that message is that the Radical Environmental movement has become so entrenched in dogma and a vision of a world without people that they summarily ignore the suffering, famine, disease, and death of millions.

These radical groups are incredibly well-funded, untaxed, and totally unaccountable. What's worse is that they flatly refuse to engage in any debate whatsoever. They expect their followers to toe the line or be immediately dismissed as corporate ghouls.

Driessen's review of their history and tactics is accurate, verifiable and horrifying. Anyone in politics, the media, or even the environmental movement itself ought to read this book and consider what it says. Driessen gives a voice, and a platform, to the people who are actually affected by decisions made by world bodies, NGO's, and pressure groups. What they speak is the truth as they live it - not conjecture from 2000 miles away.

Eco-Imperialism is a shocking, profound, and desperately needed account of what happens when the privileged Western world decides the fate of millions of people whom they never have to see or hear. Driessen sees, and hears, and shares it all.

The premise of Paul Driessen's sobering 'Eco-Imperialism' is as straightforward as it is chilling: the increasingly radical agenda of the so-called green movement is stifling economic development in the third world and, worst, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of millions. Is argument is presented with clarity and fact - as well fed affluent bureaucrats of the EU, the UN, the US, and any number of environmental protection groups force their unfounded radical views on developing nations, the basic steps in economic evolution to these nations are being denied, virtually eliminating any hope for improvement. Issues ranging from alternative energy source, genetically modified food, sweatshop labor, global warming and others are reviewed in enough detail to make the points, sparing the reader of the often endless graphs, charts, and minutia that often accompany books of this type. In an interesting twist, Driessen does not limit this criticism to the political bureaucrats and radical activists, but also points a finger at global corporations. On one hand, rather than standing up to the junk science and extreme positions of the radical green movement, most large corporations are simply rolling over, acquiescing to these economically dangerous demands. On the other hand, a number of corporations - most notably BP, to which Driessen delivers some well-deserved body blows - are allowing the Greens to play into their hands, duping the public into believing their pro-environmental purity, while in fact simply spinning clever PR smoke. BP, for example, would profit greatly from acceptance of the Kyoto accord through their natural gas business, while continuing to grow oil revenues and profit.

Drinker of the Green Kool Aid will undoubtedly dismiss 'Eco-Imperialism' out-of-hand, falling back on their tired and tiresome accusations of Driessen as simply another 'corporate pawn.' However, as Driessen so forcefully articulates, it is in fact the fat cat bureaucrat environmentalists and politicians who are profiting at the expense of struggling third world nations. This is a proactive and chilling expose - should be required reading in all US Public Schools, if for no other reason as balance to the steady diet green pabulum our students are fed today.

Before reading this exceptional primer on the negative effects of modern environmentalism, I was clueless of the far-reaching costs that group's policies have had on the Third World. Driesen documents at length the effect radical environmentalism has had on Africa's struggling poor, who want nothing more than to benefit from the same energy sources and standard of living the First World takes for granted. He shows how DDT saved thousands of lives in Africa by protecting families from malaria, while radical Greens fought to eliminate the benign chemical because of a theoretical risk it posed to birds. When families were restricted from using the chemical on their huts in Africa, malaria deaths shot through the roof. Driesen lays the blame for those thousands of deaths at the doorstep of the Sierra Club and other like-minded groups who would rather maintain a politically correct notion of what good environmentalism is rather than save actual lives.

Driesen goes on to show how environmentalists keep the Third World populations in poverty by fighting against the use of traditional, affordable sources of energy like coal and fossil fuels. Instead, Greens think other sources like wind and solar should be the only option for these people, disregarding the fact that the technology is no where near advanced enough to provide the energy needs these populations need to pull themselves out of poverty. Ironically, it would take over 10,000 acres of windmills to generate the same amount of electricity a 2-3 acre fossil fuel plant produces. So much for "saving the land."

Driesen does not endorse using fossil fuels forever and ever amen. In fact, he wants nothing more than for the world to develop and invest in alternative energy because he knows as well as everyone else the day will come when we have no other choice. He simply believes (and rightly so) that, in the mean time, the problems of the Third World are real and not theoretical like so many Green "concerns", and that First World governments should not be intimidated by radical Greens and NGOs in their efforts to employ free-trade and responsible investment in these areas. One of the books biggest themes is how unfair it is that NGOs are not held to the same standards of accountability and transparency they constantly demand from for-profit coroporations.

The only problem with the book is that it is poorly edited, which takes away from its overall intellectual package and gives it a slightly amateur vibe. I came across way too many punctuation errors and word omissions for this to be a serious book for serious readers.

But the arguments are strong and the evidence is solid. Anyone interested in understanding why the Third World continues to fail at modernization should read this book.

My Lord! This is one of those books that has such an immediate and gut wrenching impact that it is hard not to lose your balance after each chapter. The modern, mostly American, environmental movement has gotten it all wrong. Hearing the logic of Doctor Norman Borlaug who has concluded that organic farming will never be able to feed more than 4 Billion people (6.6 is our current population folks) or that good old fashioned malaria is killing a million people in Africa each year left me cold. I've enjoyed the huge comeback of migratory wildfowl and raptors in the U.S. since WE eliminated DDT, but I forgot to appreciate the benefit of not dying of malaria. We eliminated this disease, but won't let others use the same method.

Farming, Dams, Water sources, pesticides...each issue is fraught with cumulative bad, past decisions...

Wow, Wow, Wow....Who is going to fix this one?

DB

Paul Driessen convincingly argues that eco-imperialism is responsible for the widespread hunger and deaths of millions. The world's poor truly pay the ultimate price tag for their nonsense. Malaria should be a minor problem. The disgraceful banning of DDT alone results in countless deaths. Eco-imperialists normally live extravagantly and it is very fair to describe them as hypocrites. One has every moral right to demand that they wear hair shirts and eat uncooked grass. There is one thing, however, that Driessen should have stressed. He overlooked the sad fact that most people are self centered and really don't care about Third World poverty. Driessen needs to remind them that the extremist also hurt them. We all pay a steep financial price tag. Our own lifestyles are negatively impacted.

The author even takes to task a number of large corporations who have jumped onto this bandwagon. They do so, if for no other reason, then to earn billions of dollars from their investments in so-called green technologies. This is why they often seem so willing to partner with those dedicated to destroying capitalism. Driessen points out that the environmental crazies have no problem with funding. The big bucks only go to causes such as global warming hysteria. Government bureaucracies and the larger non-profits have often been captured by left-wing ideologues. They dictate policy and punish those daring to oppose them. I strongly encourage you to read Eco-Imperialism. You might even want to purchase copies for your friends and relatives.

This book will make you rethink the way forward for environmentalism. It never denies the importance of protecting the environment, but makes the argument that we must find ways to do so that don't cause human suffering, starvation, and death.

I shifted from four to five stars despite the gaps in this book's coverage because on second reading, it does what it set out to do very very well. I will review the other book I bought with this one, The Real Environmental Crisis: Why Poverty, Not Affluence, Is the Environment's Number One Enemy tonight or tomorrow.

What I find especially compelling about this book is that it blows the lid off "non-profits" that are in fact a form of unregulated racketeering, extortion and propaganda (lies). It is completely different from The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World which has its own data quality and analytic integrity issues.

I admire the author's early observation that corporations and non-profits have taken on too many similar characteristics, "to strethc the truth....reinvent relality...substitute hype, spin and clever advertising for honest....and play fast and loose with ethics, the law and the numbers."

WOW.

The author does a good job of calling into question the applicability and reasonableness of how and when the four pillars of environmentalism are applied:

01) Stakeholder participation (when those representing the poor are not themselves poor and have never talked to a poor person)

02) Sustainable development (as opposed to sustained develop)

03) Preacautionary principle (see my review of Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing The Precautionary Principle

04) Socially Responsible Investing

I am totally impressed by his skewering of specific non-profits (names are named, numbers are provided) that are nothing more than extortion schemes, lacking all academic and scientific credence and relying instead on hit and run lies, orchestrated publicity, etc.

The author impresses with the number of examples and well-cited sources, and two stand out: Greenpeace's lies regarding the Shell oil platform, lies they ultimately apologies for; and Zimbabwe's refusing 26 tons of corn from the USA for the starving poor of Zambia because their dictator was persuaded that the corn was in some manner toxic, genetically modified, and in violation of European trade policies.

I learn the concept of "dead capital" (what our Native Americans would have called a "commonwealth" that could not be deeded), and I see very good discussion of fair trade versus free trade and why wage equivalency may not be the best thing for all concerned.

The author has a fine chapter on the myths of renewable resources but ignored geothermal--the book also ignores nuclear, which may be a non-negotiable intermediate solution for Africa and Central Asia.

The entire discussion of DDT being banned and its consequences in terms of 20 million dead per year from malaria is very worthwhile--I may not buy in to the entire argument, but I certainly respect the author and would want him in the room as a counter-weight to others.

I absolutely love the concluding chapter on investor fraud and the cozy relationships among the non-profit racketeers and the corporations and their CEOs that end up buying into lies for profit and a "bye."

The bibliography and notes and index are all worth perusing.

I am loading an image of the standard information patholigies that I address (up under the cover of the book being reviewed) and will end with an appreciative note for the importance of truth and morality that the author represents, demanding it from ALL sides. In that he is endorsed by Patrick Moore, a Greenpeace co-founder, who appears mortified at some of the lies and malpractices that Greenpeace today has promulgated or adopted.

Other books I recommend that the author is not really focused on:
The Next Catastrophe: Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorist Disasters
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility--Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change
Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

IO disagree with the author on one point: helping the poor as the expense of the environment is not a given. We spend 2.2 trillion a year on war and violence, when one third of that amount could give every one of the five billion a free cell phone (education one call at a time as advocated by Earth Intelligence Network), shelter, clean water, and a basic diet. (see calculations by Medard Gabel, EO Wilson, and Lester Brown).

This is a fine book, it may be a subsidized book (Heritage Foundation is in the mix) but it passes my smell test. Absolutely a voice to be heard.

"Paul Dreissen forcefully makes the case that the environmental movement has been needlessly anti-human. The real moral and technical challenge is to save both planet and people, and we've been given the intelligence and societal skills to do it. Hopefully, with the human population surge now ending, we'll feel free to be humane again."

The book Eco-Imperialism starts with a good premise, however it doesn't connect the dots. I heard that the book has numerous typos which makes me question the author's credibility. It would be good if the book included "environmental justice", a branch of environmentalism that deals with racism and imperialism. Unfortunately this book is really about protecting corporate and business interests, the multiculturalism is simply icing on a free-market cow pie.

Driessen is a geologist and attorney who has had a long career in environmental issues. His exploits both within and without the Beltway have made him the bane of the Envirocult. In 2004 he published the book "Eco-Imperialism: Green Power, Black Death," a meticulously documented exposé on the worldwide green movement.

The central theme of "Eco-Imperialism" is that wealthy, comfortable activists from the Western countries have been fighting to strangle industrial development across the planet. In the West, it has been a terrible irritant, but in the Third World, and particularly Africa, it has been nothing less than a catastrophe. Driessen estimates that the annual death toll resulting from radical environmental advocacy is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 million people.

One major cause of the carnage has been the crusade to prevent the use of DDT, the most effective and affordable agent known for combatting malaria. Deaths from this disease, which infects hundreds of millions of people, have been

"due in large part to near-global restrictions on the production, export and use of DDT. Originally imposed in the United States by EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus in 1972, the DDT prohibitions have been expanded and enforced by NGO pressure, coercive treaties, and threats of economic sanctions by foundations, nations and international aid agencies."

Another source of green mayhem has been the campaign to stop the use of genetically modified crops. The Envirocult has been tireless in its efforts to sabotage these promising new sources of food, thereby frustrating the hopes of the developing countries. Driessen reminds us of the famine in southern Africa in 2002, when the U.S. shipped 26,000 tons of corn to Zambia. Caving in to Envirocult pressure, especially from Europe, the country's government refused to accept the corn--because some of it was genetically modified.

Dreissen quotes an editorial in the Wall Street Journal of that time (9/17/2002):

"The eco-lobby has targeted the Third World with a five-year, $175 million campaign against GM [genetically modified] foods. The Sierra Club is calling 'for a moratorium on the planting of all genetically engineered crops.' Greenpeace says it 'opposes all releases of genetically engineered organisms into the environment,' an act it calls 'genetic pollution'."

Quips Driessen:

"$175 million would feed millions of starving people for months. So would the $500 million the protest industry spent between 1996 and 2001 to attack biotechnology. But of course, amply nourished Greenpeace zealots are not spending a dime on food aid. They merely want to scare Africans half to death, if they don't starve to death first."

"Eco-Imperialism" also thoroughly debunks the other shameful chimeras of the $8 billion/year green propaganda mill: sustainability, climate change, renewable energy, socially responsible investing, and other campaigns that stifle the improvement of the human condition. It is a shocking story; one needs a strong stomach to read this book.