The Ecology Book

262

WE NEEDED

A MANDATE

FOR CHANGE

DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

I

n This Changes Everything

(2014), Naomi Klein railed

against the way that

governments and corporations

deplete natural resources. “Ethical

oil,” she maintains, is not just a

contradiction in terms, “it’s an

outrage.” A Canadian citizen,

Klein has campaigned against the

exploitation of the Athabasca tar

sands, the largest of three major

oil sand deposits in western

Canada. The oil sand deposits lie

under thousands of square miles

of coniferous forests. The open-pit

extraction of oil from tar sands

is particularly harmful to the

environment. Vast acres of forest

are cleared, and ponds of pollutants

IN CONTEXT

KEY FIGURE

Naomi Klein (1970 –)

BEFORE

1972 The UN’s Conference on

the Human Environment calls

for an international approach

to environmental protection.

1980 The World Conservation

Strategy, launched in 35

countries, introduces the

concept of sustainability.

1992 At the UN Earth Summit

in Rio de Janeiro, member

states produce “Agenda 21,”

which outlines plans for

managing resources in the

21s t cent u r y.

AFTER

2015 The UN Sustainable

Development Summit sets out

17 sustainable development

goals and launches a bold

global agenda, adopted by

193 member states.

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