the late environmentalist, author, & philosopher
Works by Edward Goldsmith that were previously unpublished
In this previously unpublished piece from 2004, Edward Goldsmith explains the stark choice between further economic development on the one hand, and saving the last vestiges of the natural world for future generations on the other. Why should we have to devote so much time and energy to conserving the natural world with its forests, [...]
The Guardian has recently published two very valuable articles on climate change. The first was Sir John Houghton’s statement in the Guardian of 28th July 2003, and the second was by George Monbiot in his weekly column of July 2003. I certainly hope that they do not fall on deaf ears. Sir John regards the [...]
Edward Goldsmith came under attack from all sides of the political spectrum for his uncompromising and firmly-held views. In this article of December 1999 (first published in January 2003), he robustly defends himself against his various detractors. I have been under heavy, often vitriolic, attack in the last year. For some of my critics I [...]
A previously unpublished book review of Ecology: A Bridge Between Science and Society, by Eugene Odum (third edition, published by Sennar Associates, Sunderland, Mass., USA, 1997). Eugene Odum, who was Professor of Ecology at the University of Georgia, was probably the most distinguished ecologist of his day. His principal textbooks Basic Ecology (1983) and its [...]
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) was held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002, the tenth anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. This critique, written in advance of the Summit, shows that even in the unlikely event of ‘success’, the exploitation and destruction of peoples and ecosystems would continue unimpeded. Goldsmith [...]
Across the world small and traditional food producers and retailers are being closed down by burdensome Government regulations requiring massive expenditures on ‘hygiene’. Is the real motive to close down such small-scale food producers, leaving the big industrial combines to clean up their markets? See also a longer version published in The Ecologist Special Report [...]
This important article was completed around 21 March 2002. We have no record of its publication so it is presumed unpublished. For the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO)—i.e. the Bretton Woods Institutions—the maximization of world trade and the economic development that this promotes is the key to [...]
Edward Goldsmith argues that the fight against climate change should take precedence over all other priorities. Published in The Ecologist Special Report on climate change, a supplement issued with Vol. 31 no. 9, November 2001. The problem of climate change is probably very much worse than the latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate [...]
