Cloak of Green : The Links Between Key Environmental Groups, Government and Big Business

In this book award-winning reporter Elaine Dewar explores the links between key environmental groups, government and big business. Written like a mystery, Cloak of Green follows the author from a Toronto fundraiser for the Kayapo Indians of Brazil to the Amazon rainforest and the global hackrooms of Brasilia, Washington and Geneva. Along the way she meets some fascinating people — Anita Roddick of the Body Shop, businessman-politician Maurice Strong, and activists who run key Canadian and American environmental groups. She also examines some disturbing questions about these groups, about “green” corporations and about government: Why are some environmental groups using misleading information in their fund-raising efforts? Why are some key environmental groups in Canada and the U.S. compromising their independence by accepting funds from government and big business — and putting representatives of these interests on their boards? Why do ordinary Canadians who contribute to environmental groups like Pollution Probe, Energy Probe and the World Wildlife Fund have little or no say in running these groups? Why is the Canadian government channeling funds to foreign charities that play an active role in politics in their home countries? Why is the Canadian government trying to influence the agendas of foreign environmental groups? Most concerned citizens trust environmental groups to fight on behalf of the public for sensible solutions to the world’s environmental problems. That was what Elaine Dewar believed when she started work on this story. But she discovered that our trust can sometimes be misplaced, as you will see in this revealing and disturbing book. Annotation Most concerned citizens trust environmental groups to fight on behalf of the public for sensible solutions to the world's most pressing problems. But Elaine Dewar discovered that this trust is often misplaced. In this book the award-winning journalist explores links between key environmental groups, government and big business. Written like a mystery, Cloak of Green follows the author from a Toronto fundraiser for the Kayapo Indians of Brazil to the Amazon rainforest and the global backrooms of Brasilia, Washington and Geneva. Along the way she meets some fascinating people--Anita Roddick of the Body Shop, businessman-politican Maurice Strong, and activists who run key Canadian and American environmental groups. She discovers some disturbing revelations about these groups and their relations to "green" corporations and government. Cloak of Green is a penetrating investigative study that challenges many established pieties of the environmental movement Contents Acknowledgements List of Acronyms Part I Green Dreams (Red Flags) The Handmade Jungle Plane Dollars and Sense A Sierra Club Soiree Enter Brascan An Activist’s Progress Cultural Survival PWN Green Grease Part II Déja Vu The Agenda The Body Shop Flying Down to Rio A Trip to No Man’s Land Seeing Is Believing The Centre Canadian Jeitinho The Kayapo Are Coming—Again Part III The Honourable Poor Boy The New Leviathan Connections Inside/Outsiders Progressive Communications On with the Show O Brave New World Elaine Dewar. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.