In a world where the planet dominoes are starting to fall for climate change deniers and it's game on for the expose of real agendas, the race for the ultimate survival is starting to get very very real. With so many big oil (et al*) billions working to keep the status quo and hide it's impact, it's the commitment of people like Hansjörg Wyss with the personal power, billions and networks to push aside the hairy paws of traditional capital grow for the paw of an endangered tiger, polar bear or koala.
And there is none more powerful than an 83 year old with a pile of billions to invest in climate solutions. (At least I bloody hope so.) Hopefully he is made of the same stuff as David Attenborough as he has pledged to give $1 billion over the next decade - which takes him to 93 - to help accelerate land and ocean conservation around the world. His goal is to achieve 30% protection of the world's lands and oceans by 2030 - from the current base of 15% of the earth’s lands and 7% of its oceans.
If you are watching Our Planet on Netflix (don't forget to offset Netflix carbon, because they use a lot of it!), you will be well aware of how inter-connected our world is and how important it is to protect and revitalise key parts of our planet. Through the Wyss Foundation, the $1 billion in funds will be distributed to a range of conservation, environment and community groups protecting wild lands, migratory birds and coral reefs. When Hansjörg Wyss made the pledge in late October 2018, 9 conservation projects across 13 countries had already been selected, including National Geographic Society and The Nature Conservancy to help protect 10 million acres of land and 17,000 square kilometres of ocean.
The quantum of this donation is a big shift even for Hansjörg Wyss, who has given $450 million over the past 20 years to conserve wild lands across Europe, the Americas and Africa. When he launched the fund in the New York Times in 2018, Wyss said: INDEED, THE FOOD, CLEAN WATER AND AIR WE NEED TO SURVIVE AND PROSPER DEPENDS ON OUR ABILITY TO PROTECT THE PLANET’S BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY. IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE TO PROTECT HALF TO SAVE THE WHOLE.EVERY ONE OF US — CITIZENS, PHILANTHROPISTS, BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT LEADERS — SHOULD BE TROUBLED BY THE ENORMOUS GAP BETWEEN HOW LITTLE OF OUR NATURAL WORLD IS CURRENTLY PROTECTED AND HOW MUCH SHOULD BE PROTECTED. IT IS A GAP THAT WE MUST URGENTLY NARROW, BEFORE OUR HUMAN FOOTPRINT CONSUMES THE EARTH’S REMAINING WILD PLACES.
Wyss' personal view is that of these wild lands and waters is that they are best conserved as public national parks, wildlife refuges and marine reserves, open for everyone to experience and explore. We have to hope that's how it works out as it certainly makes the futures portrayed by films like 2040, more likely and less utopian-istic.
Discreditors aren't just big oil companies, they are groups also funded by tobacco companies come in many shapes and strategies. Activist Facts is owned by Center for Organizational Research and Education (CORE) and their stated objective is "to unite the restaurant and hospitality industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc. activists..." When you google Hansjörg Wyss, one of the first results is for Influence Watch, an incredibly comprehensive site that details and discredits pretty much every USA based environmental person or group, along with a bunch of left wing groups. If you set aside the obvious intention and bias, it's actually a very useful reference site for environmental activists. My fav is 100Grannies, who are apparently threatening enough to require discrediting. Sometimes you got to wonder how we got here.
Love the way you do what you do. The most elegant way to wake people up that I’ve seen. Wednesday, 1 May 2019