Some of us have made the mistake of thinking that radical environmental organizations are supported mainly by private citizens, whose good intentions are fueled by the marketing campaigns that have touched their hearts. While millions of good people have supported campaigns to "save the earth" and to "save" various charismatic species such as elephants, whales, koalas, primates, seals, even sharks, much of the support for these professional fund raising organizations has actually been donated by large corporations, and endowments of the very wealthy. Sometimes, this has perhaps been done for the dual purposes of tax deductions and attractive public relations. The unpleasant truth is that very often, "earth friendly" campaigns that have been organized to "save" environments in Africa and India have been responsible for vast human misery, sickness, and death.

IWMC recommends that everyone read a new book by Paul Driessen, who has analyzed this problem in Eco-Imperialism: Green Power . Black Death. His message is that anti-use and protectionist campaigns of organizations such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, The Pesticide Action Network, Sierra Club, WHO, the US Agency for International Development, and large foundations such as Ford, Pew, MacArthur and Schumann, all regularly contribute to policies and projects that deny indigenous people electricity networks, power plants, genetically engineered crops that would resist insect and fungal pests, water treatment and distribution projects, and sewage treatment. Millions of people, according to Driessen, die needlessly every year because they suffer from the lack of modern power and communication infrastructure that we in the developed nations now take for granted. Millions suffer from malaria because they are denied insecticides, even to spray inside their homes.

The radical left promotes an elitist philosophy that there are too many people on this earth, and that modern infrastructure and health care development would help more of them live longer, to mature and to breed. Therefore, such "environmentalists" do all they can to keep global powers from the humanitarian tasks of ensuring decent living conditions for millions.

Dr. Patrick Moore, a founder of Greenpeace, left that organization because of his overwhelming disgust over the way that and other such organizations have promoted anti-human "pro-earth" policies that deny poor people electricity, refrigeration, hospitals, and job opportunities. When people are so desperately poor that most of their children die in unsanitary surroundings, they are not concerned with their wildlife habitats and with laws protecting the animals that provide tourists with visual pleasure. They do all they can in order to live, day to day.

We agree with Dr. Patrick Moore, who has said "The environmental movement has lost its objectivity, morality, and humanity." This is the meaning of Eco-Imperialism, a reality that has descended on much of the third world and shows no signs of relenting. We sincerely hope that Paul Driessen's book shall raise the consciousness of the world to this reality, and that it shall have the best possible impact for those millions of people who suffer because of the inhumane policies of the powerful among us.