George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and political

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

. He writes a regular column for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and is the author of a number of books. Monbiot grew up in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and studied

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He then began a career in

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

, publishing his first book '' Poisoned Arrows'' in 1989 about human rights issues in West Papua. In later years, he has been involved in activism and advocacy related to various issues, such as

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, British politics and

loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...

. In ''Feral'' (2013), he discussed and endorsed expansion of

rewilding Rewilding may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe Rewilding Europe is a non-profit organisation based in Nijmegen, Netherlands, working to create rewilded landscapes through ...

. He is the founder of

The Land is Ours The Land is Ours is a British land rights campaign advocating access to the land, its resources, and the planning processes set up in 1995 by George Monbiot and others. History Their first campaign was the occupation of the disused Wisley Airfi ...

, a campaign for the right of access to the countryside and its resources in the United Kingdom. Monbiot was awarded the Global 500 in 1995 and the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...

in 2022.

Early life

Born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, Monbiot grew up in

Rotherfield Peppard Rotherfield Peppard (often referred to simply as Peppard by locals) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is centred west of Henley-on-Thames, north of Reading, Berkshire and ...

. His father, Raymond Monbiot, is a businessman who headed the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

's trade and industry forum. His mother, Rosalie (daughter of Gresham Cooke MP) was a Conservative councillor and former leader of

South Oxfordshire District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. His uncle, Canon Hereward Cooke, was the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

deputy leader of

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Alan Waters. It form ...

. After preparatory boarding school, he was educated at Stowe School, in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. He won an open scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford. Monbiot has stated that his "political awakening" was prompted by reading

Bettina Ehrlich Bettina Ehrlich, ''née'' Bauer, (10 March 1903 – 10 October 1985) was an Austrian painter and illustrator of children's books, many of which she also wrote. She lived briefly in Berlin and Paris, and from 1938 in England. Family and educ ...

's book, ''Paolo and Panetto'' while at his prep school and that he regretted attending Oxford.

Career

After graduating with a degree in

, Monbiot joined the

BBC Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' ...

as a radio producer, making natural history and environmental programmes. He transferred to the BBC's

World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

, where he worked briefly as a current affairs producer and presenter, before leaving to research and write his first book. Working as an

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

, he travelled in Indonesia, Brazil, and East Africa. His activities led to his being made '' persona non grata'' in seven countries and being sentenced to life imprisonment ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'' in Indonesia. In these places, he was also shot at,George Monbiot, 1991. ''Amazon Watershed''. Michael Joseph, London beaten up by military police, shipwrecked and stung into a poisoned coma by hornets.George Monbiot, 1989. ''Poisoned Arrows: an investigative journey through Indonesia''. Michael Joseph, London He came back to work in Britain after being pronounced clinically dead in

Lodwar Lodwar is the largest town in north-western Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana County. The town has a popula ...

General Hospital in north-western Kenya, having contracted

cerebral malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue (medical), tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In se ...

. He joined the British roads protest movement and was often called to give press interviews; as a result he was denounced as a " media tart" by groups such as

Green Anarchist Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism"green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism)" in ''An Anarchist FAQ'' by various authors.) is an anarchist school of thought that puts a particular emphasis on ecology and environmental issues. A green anarchist ...

and

Class War Class War is an anarchist group and newspaper established by Ian Bone and others in 1983 in the United Kingdom. An incarnation of Class War was briefly registered as a political party for the purposes of fighting the 2015 United Kingdom gener ...

. He was attacked by security guards, who allegedly drove a metal spike through his foot, smashing the middle metatarsal bone. His injuries left him in hospital. Sir

Crispin Tickell Sir Crispin Charles Cervantes Tickell (25 August 1930 – 25 January 2022) was a British diplomat, environmentalist, and academic. Background Tickell was the son of writer Jerrard Tickell and Renée ( Haynes), a great-granddaughter of Thomas ...

, a former United Nations diplomat, who was then

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

Green College, Oxford Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and ...

, made the young protester a

Visiting Fellow In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

. In November 2012, he apologised to

Lord McAlpine Robert Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green (14 May 1942 – 17 January 2014) was a British businessman, politician and author who was an advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. McAlpine was descended from the McAlpine baronets ...

for his "stupidity and thoughtlessness" in implying, in a tweet, that the Conservative peer was a paedophile. In 2014, Monbiot wrote an article on the theme of

. This led to a collaboration with musician

Ewan McLennan Ewan McLennan is a Scottish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Although born in London, McLennan grew up in Edinburgh, and studied classical music on the piano. Later, he took up the guitar and as he had developed a strong interest in folk m ...

. Together they released an album ''Breaking the Spell of Loneliness'' in October 2016 followed by a tour of the UK. Folk Radio described it as "an enthralling album" where "Each song is a short, eloquent and thought provoking essay on the destruction of our humanity and how it can be regained". Monbiot narrated the video ''How Wolves Change Rivers'' which was based on his

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

talk of 2013 on the restoration of ecosystems and landscape (

) when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone Park. In 2019, Monbiot co-presented ''Nature Now'', a video about natural climate solutions, with

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

. He appeared in the 2021 Netflix documentary ''

Seaspiracy ''Seaspiracy'' () is a 2021 documentary film about the environmental impact of fishing directed by and starring Ali Tabrizi, a British filmmaker. The film examines human impacts on marine life and advocates for ending fish consumption. The fi ...

'', which focuses on the

human impact on marine life Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, and defended it from critics. In 2021, Monbiot created the live documentary ''Rivercide'', highlighting the lamentable state of the UK's rivers, and in particular the River Wye. While describing the film ''

Don't Look Up ''Don't Look Up'' is a 2021 American apocalyptic political satire black comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Adam McKay from a story he co-wrote with David Sirota. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, ...

'' in early2022, Monbiot explained how difficult it is to campaign for the preservation of Earth in the face of what he sees as overwhelming inaction.

Views and activism

Climate change

Monbiot believes that drastic action coupled with strong political will is needed to combat

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. To reduce his personal impact on the environment, he has transitioned to a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

lifestyle and encourages others to do the same.

Media

Monbiot has criticised

media coverage of climate change Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

and environmental issues, in particular that of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Career

Views and activism

Climate change

Media

Attempted arrest of John Bolton

Politics

Nuclear energy

Published works

Personal life

Awards

Selected works

See also

References

External links