George Monbiot

[[File:George Monbiot Scotland.jpg|thumb|right|165px|The message on his shirt captures a generation — "FIGI OVER NO WAI".]]{{pundits}}

'''George Monbiot''' {{lived|1963|}} is an [[environmental]] columnist for ''[[The Guardian]]'' with a fondness for most forms of green advocacy. Unlike [[valerian]], a regular dose of his columns stands a fair chance of actually putting you into a coma. He's usually factually on the ball, though.

==Views==
He particularly dislikes [[global warming denier]]s and takes a special delight in slapping down [[Christopher Monckton]] whenever the latter raises his voice.<ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/2010/06/09/madder-and-madder/ Madder and Madder]</ref><ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/2009/12/10/ukips-latest-acquisition/ UKIP's latest acquisition]</ref> Despite that, he's notorious in the climate change blogosphere for his reaction to "[[Climategate]]" — instead of waiting for the initial dust cloud to settle and verifying and investigating the allegations, he immediately tore into the [[scientist]]s,<ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/2009/11/23/the-knights-carbonic/ The knights carbonic]</ref> in a manner that suggests he thinks science works like [[politics]], which is unfortunately fuzzy-minded for a widely-read environmentalist.

Unlike a lot of journalists and commentators, he is actually capable of admitting when he's wrong when faced with [[evidence]], which is nice. In one case, he abandoned his view that [[veganism]] is "the only ethical response to what is arguably the world's most urgent social justice issue," refining it into a more rounded view of efficient and ethical food production.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/06/meat-production-veganism-deforestation I was wrong about veganism. Let them eat meat – but farm it properly]</ref> In another, he was astounded by [[Fear of radiation|false claims]] of the [[anti-nuclear movement]] (such as the completely unsubstantiated claim that [[Chernobyl]] killed nearly a million people directly) and, particularly, the responses of some campaigners when he asked them about it.<ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/2011/04/04/evidence-meltdown/ Evidence Meltdown]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/05/anti-nuclear-lobby-misled-world The unpalatable truth is that the anti-nuclear lobby has misled us]</ref>

In March 2013, he agreed to do £25,000 worth of unpaid work in recompense for saying something rude (and completely untrue) about someone falsely accused of a crime.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/mar/12/george-monbiot-libel-lord-mcalpine?INTCMP=SRCH Lord McAlpine row: George Monbiot reaches 'unprecedented' settlement]</ref>

In 2024, Monbiot with Peter Hutchison wrote a book that is highly critical of [[neoliberalism]], ''Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism''.<ref>''Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism'' by George Monbiot & Peter Hutchison (2024) Crown. ISBN 0593735153.</ref>

His polar opposite is [[James Delingpole]].

==Monbiot on 9/11 conspiracy theories==
After writing a harsh review of ''[[Loose Change]]'',<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/feb/06/comment.film A 9/11 conspiracy virus is sweeping the world, but it has no basis in fact]</ref> Monbiot revealed his true identity in a subsequent column:
{{cquote|Having spent years building up my left-wing credibility on behalf of my paymasters in MI5, I’ve blown it. I overplayed my hand, and have been exposed, like Bush and Cheney, by a bunch of kids with laptops. My handlers are furious.<ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/2007/02/20/bayoneting-a-scarecrow/ Bayoneting a Scarecrow]</ref>}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.monbiot.com/ The motherlode]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Environmentalism]]
[[Category:Left-wing activists]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Journalists, Environmentalism, Left-wing activists, Living people