Patrick Moore (environmentalist)
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Dr. Patrick Moore has been a leader in the international environmental field for over 30 years. He is a founding member of Greenpeace and served for nine years as President of Greenpeace Canada and seven years as a Director of Greenpeace International. As the leader of many campaigns Dr. Moore was a driving forceTemplate:Fact shaping policy and direction while Greenpeace became the world's largest environmental activist organization.
In 1986 Dr. Moore left Greenpeace. He claims he left after becoming dissilusioned with Greenpeace's motives, criticizing what he called the rise of "environmental extremism." He believed Greenpeace became more concerned with anti-capitalism and anti-globalisation rather than environmental issues. Writer Drake Bennett claimed that Dr Moore "left Greenpeace amid complaints about an autocratic leadership style and abrasive personality. When it became obvious that he lacked enough votes to keep his seat on the board of directors, he went off to farm fish. When that didn't work out, he joined the loggers".<ref name=wired>Template:Cite web</ref>
In recent years, Dr. Moore has been focused on the promotion of sustainability and consensus building among competing concerns.Template:Fact He was a member of British Columbia government-appointed Round Table on the Environment and EconomyTemplate:Fact from 1990 - 1994. In 1990, Dr. Moore founded and chaired the BC Carbon ProjectTemplate:Fact, a group that worked to develop a common understanding of climate changeTemplate:Fact.
Dr. Moore served for four years as Vice President, Environment for Waterfurnace International, the largest manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps for residential heating and cooling with renewable earth energy.
As Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Committee of the Forest Alliance of BC, a group created by the timber industry,<ref name="wired"/> he leads the process of developing the "Principles of Sustainable Forestry" which have been adopted by a majority of the industry.
In 1991 Dr. Moore founded Greenspirit, a consultancy focusing on environmental policy and communications in natural resources, biodiversity, energy and climate change. Template:Fact
In 2000, Dr. Moore published Green Spirit - Trees are the Answer, a photo-book that provides a new insight into how forests workTemplate:Fact and how they can play a powerful role in solving many of our current environmental problemsTemplate:Fact.
Dr. Moore has been criticized by environmentalists for his support of nuclear power and genetically modified organisms.
In 2006 he addressed a Biotechnology Industry Organization conference in Waikiki saying, "There's no getting away from the fact that over 6 billion people wake up each day on this planet with real needs for food, energy and materials," in support of genetically engineered crops. He also told the gathering that global warming and the melting of glaciers is "positive" because it creates more arable land and the use of forest products drives up demand for wood and spurs the planting of more trees. He added that any realistic plan to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases should include increased use of nuclear energy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Dr. Moore is co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition with Christine Todd Whitman. The Coalition is funded by the nuclear power industry.
Education
- Ford Foundation Fellowship, 1969-1972
- Ph.D. in Ecology, Institute of Resource Ecology, University of British Columbia, 1972
- Honours B.Sc. in Forest Biology, University of British Columbia
External links
- Greenspirit
- Environmental Movement Has Lost Its Way - an essay by Patrick Moore on why he left Greenpeace and what criticisms he has of the current environmentalist movement.
- Audio Interview from MassiveChange.com