Indeed, the Pantanal, which many scientists consider to be one of the most important ecosystems in the world, has become a proving ground for a new global movement toward moderate environmentalism. The philosophy behind it is that compromise is the best way to achieve at least part of the eco-agenda, and that without it, environmentalists struggling against the consequences of population growth and rapid development may simply lose their battle. We've got to be more sophisticated than that or we accomplish nothing. For some environmentalists, that means embracing small landowners, large multinationals and everything in between. The Smithsonian's biodiversity scientists, for instance, have just finished a project in the Peruvian Amazon as consultants for oil giants Shell and Mobil, which began drilling for natural gas there in 1996.
Corporations reap obvious public relations benefits from such cooperation.
For decades, his family has been burning forests to create new grazing lands for cattle. If the economics work, I think everybody wins. Instead of working with oil companies in environmentally sensitive areas, our position is that we should be stopping them from drilling there in the first place. It's not that I don't understand the argument. . . . I just think it's wrong.