Having spent much of my life as an environmental advocate and an antiwar activist, I appreciate the value of coalition building. That’s why I cofounded Environmentalists Against War—to forge an alliance between pacifists and ecologists. So it was a deep personal pleasure to assemble this collection of essays on war and the environment. But this book wasn’t my idea.
It was Douglas Rainsford Tompkins—indefatigable adventurer, mountain climber, river rafter, pilot, pioneering entrepreneur (the founder of North Face and Esprit Clothing)—who first saw the need for this book. As the visionary force behind the Foundation for Deep Ecology (FDE), Doug envisioned a large-format, full-color collection of essays and photos that would stir the mind and stun the eye. He had done this before, in a series of powerful advocacy books that include Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry and Energy: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth.
By December 2015, the book was well under way, thanks to the FDE project crew that included Doug, Tom Butler, George Wuerthner, and Daniel Dancer. Tragically, that was the month Doug succumbed to hypothermia following a kayaking accident on Chile’s General Carrera Lake. With Doug’s death, it became necessary to focus on the immediate needs of Doug’s philanthropic work, and the book project had to be suspended.
Thanks to Helena Cobban and the team at Just World Books—Brian Baughan, Steve Fake, Marissa Wold Uhrina, and Kristin Goble—this legacy project has found a new home and will, hopefully, reach many readers. My deepest thanks to the many authors and publishers who provided original essays and updated previously published articles for inclusion in The Reader.
During a memorial service for Doug in San Francisco, Wes Jackson observed: “If your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough.” Doug dreamed big. Working alongside his wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, and joined by various partners—including several presidents of Chile and Argentina—Doug helped create five new national parks (including Monte León National Park and Yendegaia National Park) and expand another, protecting more than three million acres in vast wilderness reserves. Since his death, the Tompkins Conservation team has collaborated with Argentine president Mauricio Macri to establish the new Iberá National Park, and is working to create at least five more national parks in the coming years. More info at www.tompkinsconservation.org.
Doug Tompkins had a simple explanation for his campaigns to protect the wild places of the Earth: “It’s the rent I pay for living on the planet.”
When it comes to putting an end to wars that now threaten to put an end to life on Earth, that’s a fine mission statement for us all.