Calgary / Winnipeg: The Frontier Centre for Public Policy today released a review of Elizabeth Nickson’s popular book Eco-Fascists: How Radical Conservationists are Destroying our Natural Heritage. This review is part of a new publication program of the Frontier Centre entitled “Reviews from the Frontier,” which will produce reviews of books, essays and other publications that are relevant to public policy debates in North America.
Nickson’s controversial book was published in 2012. It argued that in addition to causing significant economic damage, radical conservationists in North America are actually harming the natural environment rather than protecting it. Nickson, an investigative reporter, examines the impact of the “environmentalist” movement around the world, concluding that it has generally been destructive. Her book documents the damage that radical conservationists in governments around the world have done to the people and lands under their jurisdiction.
Professor Barry Cooper of the University of Calgary is the author of the book review the Frontier Centre publishes today. Cooper is an expert in classical and contemporary political philosophy, as well as Canadian politics and public policy.
Cooper writes that the global trends described in Nickson’s book are likely to be particularly important in shaping public policy debates in Canada in the years ahead. He notes that international environmental organizations including Pew Charitable Trusts, the Tides Foundation, the Sierra Club and many others have “practically boundless ambitions” and that these ambitions are directly opposed to Canada’s national interests. Cooper states that the “eco-fascists” described by Nickson represent a threat to effective and successful environmental conservation in Canada, and are likely to work to undermine economic activity in several sectors of the Canadian economy including logging and oil and natural gas exploration.
Although Cooper writes that Americans have suffered from the ideological movement Nickson calls “eco-fascism” more than Canadians have, he concludes that Canada and Canadians are “very much in the sights” of radical conservationists. For this reason, he suggests that Nickson’s book is a particularly important reading for Canadians interested in the development of effective, growth-friendly environmental policy.
Barry Cooper is available for media interviews to discuss his review, and the implications of Nickson’s book for Canadian policy development. For more information and to arrange an interview, media (only) should contact:
Barry Cooper, PhD
bcooper@ucalgary.ca
403 220 5764
