I want to share my appreciation for one of my friends and partners that have been a driving force and transformative leader in the Environmental movement since the 60s.
The book, Future Environments of North America by John P Milton 1966, was the first in opening the use of the word ”Environment” to describe our culture’s paradigm shift into a responsibly ecological view of our oneness with Earth. With David Brower, John was also a founder of Friends of the Earth (both the United States-based organization, as well as many of the Friends of the Earth Organizations in other countries).
Between 1963 and 1972 he directed the International Programs Division of the Conservation Foundation, now a part of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in both New York and Washington, D.C. Between 1966 and 1973, he led two major programs to transform cultural awareness of the ecological impacts of development. His first program was a project to commission fifty scientists to prepare several hundred comprehensive case studies on the then relatively little-recognized ecological impacts of economic development projects worldwide. This culminated in a major conference United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm 1972 and his 1070-page book The Careless Technology: Ecology and International Development. His other program was to distill the central ecological principles from all the case studies. This work was published in his 1973 book, Ecological Principles for Economic Development. Taken together, these two programs and books played a major international role in shifting global awareness towards ecological and environmental sustainability. >> Read more
Attached, you find a video interview with John P Milton that gives an understanding och his deep knowledge, sharp mind, and passion for being a ”Guardian for Life.”
Watch this Interview with John P Milton:
As described above, John was participating at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. This year, the event Stockholm +50 aims to act as a springboard accelerate the implementation of the UN Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, including the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement on climate change, the post-2020 global Biodiversity Framework, and encourage the adoption of green post-COVID-19 recovery plans.