Charlie Hamilton James and the Peruvian rainforest
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No doubt some of you have been watching tonight’s programme about photographer Charlie Hamilton James buying 100 acres of rainforest in Peru, in an attempt to do his bit for the environment by ‘saving’ it.
Needless to say he came up against opposition from the locals who relied on logging for their livelihoods. He said that at school, he was taught that the rainforests needed preserving and now, 40 years later, nothing has been done. Why, he wondered tearfully, did the UK need to buy things made out of mahogany from Peru? A familiar tale, and at times it made me want to scream at the telly.
He’s the kind of person who could and should be seeing the desperate need for commonly owned resources, but he was totally bemused and could see no further than trying to stop a few locals from chopping down what were now his trees.
He seems to need a bit of a nudge. I don't think he was just out to make good telly. Is it worth the Party getting in touch with him?
What environmental dispute doesn't affect (or is counterposed to) provision of wage labour by capitalists (usually industrial/agricultural capitalists rather than financial)? Sort of the reverse of most banker-hating leftists who complain we don't produce/make anything anymore. Environmentalists can be very reluctant to see it in those terms, preferring to appeal to romantic notions of mother earth/mother nature versus evil industry etc.
The Ecuador government offered to block oil drilling in its Amazon forest if the international community coughed up compensation. Needless to say, a pittance was offered and now pristine environment will have roads and pipelines and settlements built in it…see herehttp://www.socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2014/06/what-price-nature.html
Send him the "Poles Apart" DVD of a debate between us and an environmental activist (who has since joined the party) which explores this sort of issue, in this case in respect to the Arctic:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/catalog/dvd/poles-apart-capitalism-or-socialism-planet-heats
And throw in a complimentary copy of Inconvenient Question pamphlet.Or just send a friendly email and provide the links to them bothinfo@charliehamiltonjames.co.ukhttp://www.charliehamiltonjames.co.uk/contact.html
ALB wrote:Send him the "Poles Apart" DVD of a debate between us and an environmental activist (who has since joined the party) which explores this sort of issue, in this case in respect to the Arctic:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/catalog/dvd/poles-apart-capitalism-or-socialism-planet-heatsShouldn't this and all other party videos be uploaded to the party's Youtube channel?
I've sent him the email below with a link to the online pamphlet, but not to the DVD because the link posted above is just to a description of it with price details.Dear Mr. Hamilton James Watching the first part of your series ‘I Bought A Rainforest’, I was struck by your obviously genuine concern for the future of both the rainforest itself and the local population who necessarily have to continue doing damage to it in order to maintain their livelihoods. I was also interested in your comment that you were taught at school that we needed to look after the environment, and that now, decades later, nothing has happened. Can I suggest that the answer to the problem is to be found in common ownership, not just of sections of rainforest, but of all the world’s resources. Only by removing the forests, farms, factories and other major resources from the ownership of a small, profit-minded, private minority and making them democratically owned and controlled by all can we hope to serve the interests of both local populations and the world as a whole. You may be interested in this online pamphlet: http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/pamphlets/inconvenient-question-socialism-and-environment which sets out the problem and the suggested worldwide solution in more detail. Kind regards Rod Shaw
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