Misanthropists 'R Us

"Nature Is Speaking" Brought to You by Conservation International

Background

Conservation International (CI)'s "ultimate goal is to protect the most fundamental things that nature provides to all of us: our food, our fresh water, our livelihoods and a stable climate." According to its website, CI is "900 people in 30+ countries helping to build a healthier, more prosperous and more productive planet, for you and for everyone." CI "empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity."  

Reason for Surveillance

A perusal of CI's impressive website may leave you wondering, What exactly does CI do? There are stunning graphics and soaring speech, but one is hard-pressed to find much of substance beyond that. The overarching message seems to go like this:

(1) We need nature;
(2) Nature does not need us;
(3) We are killing nature; and
(4) We must come together to save nature.

So pay no attention to the fact that (3) and (4) are in conflict with (2), and get on board. It's for your own good.

The goals are lofty and numinous: "Our work is moving entire societies toward a healthier, more sustainable development path . . . we don't focus on one sector or one issue. And we're not interested in short-term fixes. Instead, building upon a foundation of science, partnership and field work, we find global solutions to global problems." CI has "big ideas and even bigger solutions."

It may well be that CI programs beget some benefit somewhere, but after a thorough examination of the website, I concluded that CI's efforts seem to boil down to this: CI raises awareness of problems created by (bad) humans, collects funds from (good) humans, and channels them to yet more (presumably good) humans in order to alleviate the problems created by the bad humans. For a diagnosis of said problems, refer to CI's message two paragraphs up.

If this seems circular to you, that's because it is. Funding must not be a problem, though. As of press time, CI was accepting applications for 35 open positions. Benefits included medical coverage, life insurance, retirement contributions, paid vacations, and more. Apparently there are big bucks in chasing big solutions.

Most Recent Campaign

Early this year, CI launched a series of public service ads featuring top-name celebrities impersonating various aspects of nature. Kevin Spacey is the smug, sarcastic Rainforest: "I make air. Have they thought about that?" Lupita Nyong'o is the haughty Flower: "Life starts with me . . . and it could end without me." And the chef-d'oeuvre, Julia Roberts, is the imperious Mother Nature: "I don't really need people. . . . I have fed species greater than you, and I have starved species greater than you. My oceans, my soil, my flowing streams, my forests, they all can take you or leave you. . . . I will go on. I am prepared to evolve. [long pause for effect] Are you?"

Roberts sounds more like an angry goddess demanding appeasement than any mother we might be moved to "protect." In fact, the whole set of videos, eight in all, portrays a kind of eco-pagan world at war: Humans killing nature. Nature threatening back that they'd better stop it or prepare to die. Aside from the spectacular photos and cinematography, no reason is given as to why we should care to conserve any of the spoiled brat lot of them.

Caring for creation is a laudable goal. But this isn't nature speaking. These are highly paid actors and activists who've apparently forgotten that nature has a Creator. We're better off paying no attention to them.