Co-opting Consciousness

In his June 2009 article Greenwashing Eden, Michael Barker examined the connections and motivations of BINGOs like Conservation International. Exploring the vast conflicts of interest inherent in wasteful corporations funding conservation and indigenous rights policy worldwide, Barker notes that the primary purpose behind such well-endowed philanthropic conservation work is to limit the range of alternatives discussed in media and institutions to neoliberal free-market solutions like REDD, the carbon market trading scheme devised by Wall Street. As noted by Chris Lang at Climate Connections last week, there are some serious questions environmental and indigenous activists need to ask themselves before getting into bed with these corporate think tanks.