Realistic Optimism and the Future of Our Planet with Rex Weyler: An Exclusive Interview

"War is one of the biggest ecological disasters on the planet," Intent Voice Rex Weyler tells me. In our conversation, he describes to me how before "ecology" and "environment" were household terms that ordinary people cared about, radioactive material was appearing in the bone marrow of children and mother's milk. As the civil rights movement and the women's right movement were in full swing in the 1960's, a movement dedicated to the earth itself had still yet to form. With the rise of nuclear weaponry and worldwide pollution increasing at an alarming rate, it became more urgent to activists like Rex to create a green movement that would protect the only planet that we have. Rex, for those of you who don't know, is one of the original co-founders of Greenpeace, which started off as a small band of activists in the 1970's and, thirty years later, is now an internationally-known organization with offices in 30 countries. Though its operations are far more global than ever before, the core mission and spirit of Greenpeace International remains the same as it was then: saving our planet from human destruction. I cannot think of a better way to conclude Intent's "30 Days to a Greener You" series than to give all of you an opportunity to listen to Rex, who is quite possibly one of the greatest living ecologists we have right now. Rex gives us his brutally honest assessment of the progress we have been making in reducing our carbon footprint, and the difficult challenges we have in the years ahead in creating a sustainable, healthy future for our children. He speaks about how we can lead a richer life with less stuff, and how speaking to today's high school and university students give him hope about the future. Most importantly, Rex gives all of us a healthy dosage of realistic, pragmatic optimism. As we find new ways in our own lives to live a greener life, I urge all of you to also pay homage to the great ecological activist among us who gave us the idea of living a greener life in the first place. Visit Rex Weyler's websiteRead Rex Weyler's Intent article "How You Can Save the Planet"Buy Rex's book: Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists, and Visionaries Changed the World