Michael Tobias

Michael Charles Tobias (born June 27, 1951) is an American author, environmentalist, mountaineer, and filmmaker. In 1991, Tobias produced a ten-hour dramatic television series, ''Voice of the Planet'', for Turner Broadcasting; the series starred William Shatner. Tobias has written numerous books, most notably ''World War III: Population and the Biosphere at the End of the Millennium''.

Early life and career

In 1977, Tobias received a PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the History of Consciousness, a humanities department.

He directed a mountaineering film in 1984. Called ''Cloudwalker'', it was recorded for the UK's Channel 4. The film chronicled a failed attempt at an ascent on the Moose's Tooth in the Ruth Gorge Amphitheatre of Alaska's McKinley range (now Denali).

Conservation

Michael Tobias's PBS film ''Ahimsa –Nonviolence'' premiered in the United States on December 25, 1987. Taking three years to make, it was the first major film to portray the life of Jains (a religious group) in India. Southeast Asian religions professor Christopher Chapple said that the film "elegantly portrays several Jain leaders and extols the religion as the great champion of animal rights and nonviolent living".

In a cover story for the New York Academy of Sciences publication ''The Sciences'', Tobias called for an Antarctic World Park, citing threats to the potential area for large-scale habitat preservation. He released a 1987 PBS film entitled ''Antarctica: The Last Continent'' with a similar topic, proposing the creation of an "international park" in Antarctica similar to national parks in the US. According to ''The Christian Science Monitor'', the film explores "the discovery of Antarctica and the multinational claims to ownership".

In a Discovery Channel documentary about the Exxon Valdez disaster, named ''Black Tide'', he considered the dilemma of safely using oil resources.

Tobias has been involved in wildlife preservation efforts. In New Zealand, he has overseen ecological restoration of a peninsula in the far south of the country, adjoining Rakiura National Park.

Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, first wife of the fourth king of Bhutan, described Tobias's efforts as being "invaluable for policymakers and scientists ... ndinspiration for the next generation of young ecologists wanting to make a difference in the world".

Population and environment

Tobias wrote a book about the growing world population, the environment, and the potential for a third world war called ''World War III: Population and the Biosphere at the End of the Millennium''.

The magazine ''Psychology Today'' wrote that it "reads like a volcano erupting ... Tobias throws sparks like an evangelist and has the old-fashioned, wide-ranging erudition of a Renaissance scholar". Scientist Marc Lappé described ''World War III'' as "a lengthy and complex treatise that is a distillation of a lifetime of thought and action concerning the human condition. ... It provides a thread of hope, offering a new vision about how humankind may ultimately come to peace with nature." Anthropologist Jane Goodall, writing of the book in 1998, said, "Tobias describes for us a path that we could take – a path mapped out by a combination of scientific, logical, intuitive, and spiritual reasoning – towards a future where all is not, after all, lost." In her foreword to ''World War III'', she also said that Tobias has provided "ample scientific proof of the large-scale habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity that has and continues to take place". In 1994, during the UN International Conference on Population and Development, the ''Montreal Gazette'' quoted Tobias: "For purposes of absolute clarity I call it World War III," as The Gazette extrapolated from Tobias's perspective, "the most terrifying problem humanity has ever faced".

Tobias directed a feature-film documentary called ''No Vacancy'', which is based on his book and also focuses on the growing world population. Journalist Ellen Snortland, writing in the ''Pasadena Weekly'', stated that "''No Vacancy'', written and directed by Michael Tobias, is to the world's population explosion what Al Gore's ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is to global warming".

Other works

Tobias received the international Courage of Conscience Award in 1996.

In 2004, Tobias received the '' Parabola Magazine'' Focus Award.

He delivered the annual address at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies in March 2012 as the opening for a symposium on conservation biology, animal rights, and comparative religions. Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, described Tobias as "one of the world's great souls". In 2013, Tobias gave an address to the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, the Research Centre for Sustainable Development, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences at their annual conference in Tianjin and Binhai. He has also given addresses in Monterrey, Mexico, for the Fifth Conference on Worldwide Values, and at the 21st International Meeting of the Club of Budapest in Hungary.

Tobias is an honorary member of the Club of Budapest.

Tobias is a contributing writer for Forbes online.

Teaching

From 2001 to 2002, Tobias was Regents Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in Environmental Studies. In 2016, he was a Martha Daniel Newell Visiting Scholar at Georgia College & State University.

Selected works

* 1973 ''Dhaulagirideon'', IMAJ Publishers, Limited Edition Book, Antioch, Ohio. Fiction.
* 1974 ''TSA'', IMAJ Publishers, Limited Edition Book, San Francisco, CA. Fiction.
* 1977 ''A Biography of Self-Consciousness'', Ann Arbor Dissertation Archives. Non-fiction.
* 1979 ''The Mountain Spirit'', Co-Edited With Co-Editor Harold Drasdo. Overlook/Viking/Penguin, editions, and Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, edition. Non-fiction.
* 1982 ''Deva'', Avant Books. Fiction.
* 1983 and 1984 ''Deep Ecology''. Ed., Avant Books, San Diego, CA. Non-fiction.
* 1984 ''After Eden– History, Ecology & Conscience'', Slawson Communications, San Diego, CA. Non-fiction.
* 1986 ''Mountain People'', Ed., University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK. Non-fiction.
* 1990 ''Voice of the Planet'', Bantam Books, New York. Fiction.
* 1991 ''Voice of the Planet'', Special Edition Large Format Illustrated Book. Privately Published in Alaska to accompany the film series, Adrian Malone Productions, Los Angeles, CA. Non-fiction.
* 1991 ''Fatal Exposure'', Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, Fiction.
* 1991 ''Vengzetas Sugarak'', Plantan, Budapest. Fiction.
* 1991 and 2000 ''Life Force – The World of Jainism'', Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley, CA. Non-fiction.
* 1992 ''Believe'', Co-Author, with William Shatner. Berkley/Putnam. Fiction.
* 1993 and 1997 ''Rage & Reason'', Rupa & Co., New Delhi, India; and AK Press, Edinburgh, Scotland, and San Francisco.
* 1993 ''Environmental Meditation'', Crossing Press. Non-fiction.
* 1994 ''A Naked Man'', Asian Humanities Press. Fiction.
* 1995 ''A Parliament of Souls-In Search of Global Spirituality'', Co-Edited With Co-editors Jane Gray Morrison and Bettina Gray, KQED/Bay Books. Non-fiction.
* 1995 ''A Vision of Nature – Traces of the Original World'', Kent State University Press, Kent, OH. Non-fiction.
* 1995 and 1996 ''The Soul of Nature – Visions of a Living Earth'', Co-Edited With Co-editor, Georgianne Cowan, Continuum/Penguin-Dutton/Plume editions. Non-fiction.
* 1996 ''India 24 Hours'', Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, India. Non-fiction.
* 1996 ''World War III – Population and the Biosphere at the End of the Millennium'', Bear & Co.; Canadian audio book - L’Institut National Canadien Pour les Aveugles (Canadian National Institute for the Blind). Spanish edition ''El Hombre La Contra De Tierra: población y biosfera al final del milenio'', Colección de los Cuatro Vientos, Barcelona. Non-fiction.
* 1997 ''A Day in the Life of India'', Harper Collins, San Francisco, CA. Non-fiction.
* 1997 ''Nature's Keepers: On the Frontlines of the Fight To Save Wildlife in America'', John Wiley & Sons Publishing, New York. Non-fiction.
* 1997 ''The Search of Reality-The Art of Documentary Filmmaking'', (Ed.), M. Wiese Publishing. Non-fiction.
* 1997 ''Jan & Catharina'', Smart Art Press, illustrated novel, with photographs by Rocky Schenk. Fiction.
* 1997 ''Ich spürte die Seele der Tiere (I Feel The Soul of Animals)'', (Ed.) with Co-editor Kate Solisti, Frankh-Kosmos Publishing. 2nd edition-2003. Non-fiction.
* 1998 ''Kinship with Animals'', Ed., with co-editor Kate Solisti, Beyond Words Publishing. Non-fiction.
* 1998 ''World War III –Population and the Biosphere at the End of the Millennium'', Revised and Updated Second Edition, Preface By Jane Goodall, Continuum Books, New York. Non-fiction.
* 1999 ''A Parliament of Minds - Philosophy for a New Millennium'', Co-Editor with Co-Editors Dr. Patrick Fitzgerald and Dr. David Rothenberg, State University of New York Press. Non-fiction.
* 1999 ''Voices From the Underground- For the Love of Animals'', New Paradigm Books, Hope Publishing. Non-fiction.
* 2002 ''TWIMC (To Whom It May Concern)'', With Co-Author Chris Traub, Verbum Inc., San Francisco, Fiction.
* 2002 ''La Leggi di Felham'', Nuova Etica Publishers, Turin, Italy.
* 2003 ''A Parliament of Science - Science for the 21st Century'', Co-Edited with Co-Editors Teun Timmers and Gill Wright, State University of New York Press. Non-fiction.
* 2003 ''Dubai 24 Hours'', Foreword by Sheikh Hamdan, Motivate Publishing, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Non-fiction.
* 2005 ''The Adventures of Mr. Marigold'', 1,836 page illustrated ecological epic, Craig Potton Publishing, Photographic illustrations by Craig Potton. Nelson, New Zealand.
* 2006 Turkish edition of ''Rage & Reason, Öfke'', Versus Kitap, Istanbul.
* 2006 ''No Vacancy - Global Responses to the Human Population Explosion'', Co-editor with Co-Editors Bob Gillespie, Jane Gray Morrison and Elizabeth Hughes, Hope Publishing. Non-fiction.
* 2006 ''Donkey - The Mystique of Equus Asinus'', With Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Council Oak Books. A Dancing Star Foundation Book. Non-fiction.
* 2007 Belgesel film yapim sanati, Turkish edition of ''The Search for Reality: The Art of Documentary Filmmaking'', Kolaj Kitapigi, Istanbul.
* 2008 ''Chateau Beyond Time'', Council Oak Books. Fiction.
* 2008 ''2008 Smithsonian FolkLife Festival – Bhutan'', Photo Portfolio by Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, for Ta Dzong/National Museum of Bhutan Exhibition/Permanent Collection: 196 Photographs, Dancing Star Foundation.
* 2008 ''Endangered Species: Flora and Fauna in Peril'', With Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Wilding Art Museum, Los Olivos, California. Non-fiction.
* 2008 ''Sanctuary - Global Oases of Innocence'', With Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, foreword by The Queen of Bhutan, Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Council Oak Books. Non-fiction.
* 2010 ''God's Country: The New Zealand Factor'', With Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Introduction by Ingrid Newkirk/PETA, A Dancing Star Foundation Book. Non-fiction.
* 2010 ''Bestiarium'', German edition of Chateau Beyond Time, Bastei Lübbe. Bastei Entertainment.
* 2011 ''Professor Parrot and the Secret of the Blue Cupboard'', Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2012 ''The Strange Life & Disappearance of English Milligrams'', Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2013 ''21st Century Solitude'', Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2013 ''The Misadventure of Pinocchio'', Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2013 ''Biotopia'', Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2014 ''Hope On Earth: A Conversation'', With Co-Author Paul R. Ehrlich, University of Chicago Press. Non-fiction.
* 2014 ''Central Park: A Conversation in Three Acts'', Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2014 ''Why Life Matters: Fifty Ecosystems of the Heart and Mind'', with Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Springer Publishers, New York. Non-fiction.
* 2014 ''The Metaphysics of Protection'', with Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison. Foreword by Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Preface by Dr. Marc Bekoff. Waterside Productions, Cardiff, CA.
* 2014 and 2015 ''Environmental Impact, Society of Animal Artists'', David Wagner, Curator, Catalogue Essay with Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison. Non-fiction.
* 2015 ''Edward W. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks'', by Christopher Cardozo, With Contributions by A.D. Coleman, Eric Jolly, Michael Tobias and Louise Erdrich, Prestel Publishers, Random House, New York. Non-Fiction.
* 2016 ''Nikos Kazantzakis'', Screenplay, Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York, Non-fiction.
* 2016 ''The Adventures of Mr. Marigold,'' Kindle and Paperback Editions from Zorba Press, Ithaca, New York. Fiction.
* 2016 ''Undaunted - A Utopian Opera''
* 2016 Russian Translation of ''The Metaphysics of Protection'' – Metaphysika zaschiti prerodi (МЕТАФИЗИКА ЗАЩИТЫ ПРИРОДЫ).
* 2016 ''Codex Orféo'', Springer Publishers, New York. Fiction.
* 2017 ''Anthrozoology: Embracing Co-Existence in the Anthropocene'', with Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Springer Publishers, New York. Non-Fiction.
* 2017 ''Ideal Algebra'', Zorba Press. Fiction.
* 2018 ''The Theoretical Individual: Imagination, Ethics and the Future of Humanity'', with Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Springer Publishers, New York. Non-Fiction.
* 2018 ''The Tuscany Dialogues: Human Consciousness, Ecology and the Universe'', with co-author Dr. Ervin Laszlo, SelectBooks, New York. Non-Fiction.
* 2018 ''The Earth Quartet'', Zorba Press. Fiction.
* 2018 ''The Eradication of Diphtheria Tetanus'', A Play in Two Acts, Waterside Productions, Cardiff, CA. Fiction.
* 2019 ''Bionomics In The Dragon Kingdom: Ecology, Economics and Ethics in Bhutan'', with Dr. Ugyen Tshewang and Jane Gray Morrison, Springer Nature, New York and Switzerland, Non-Fiction.
* 2019 ''The Hypothetical Species: Variables of Human Evolution'', with Co-Author Jane Gray Morrison, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Non-Fiction.

* 1984 ''Kazantzakis'', Writer, director, producer, Co-Composer. PBS.
* 1984 ''House for All Seasons'', Writer, 2 specials. PBS.
* 1984 ''Cloudwalker'', Writer, director, producer. Channel 4/London.
* 1985-87 ''Science Notes'', Writer, director, producer, editor, host. Thirty-two part series. PBS.
* 1986 ''Sand and Lightning'', Writer, director, producer, editor, host. Documentary. PBS.
* 1986 ''Space Futures'', Writer, director, producer, editor, host. Documentary. PBS.
* 1986 ''Playing God'', Narrator. Documentary. PBS.
* 1986 ''The Gift'', Writer, director, producer, editor, host. Documentary. PBS.
* 1986-87 ''Animal Rights'', Writer, director, producer, editor, host. With three other MacNeil-Lehrer PBS specials.
* 1987 ''Antarctica - The Last Continent'', Writer, director, producer, editor, host. Documentary, PBS.
* 1987 ''Ahimsa - Non-Violence'', Writer, director, executive producer, Documentary, PBS.
* 1989 ''The Power Game'', Co-Executive producer for Maryland Public Broadcasting, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB/PBS), four hour series. Phillip Burton Production, with MPT.
* 1989 ''Black Tide'', Writer, director, producer. Discovery Channel.
* 1990 ''The Making of Voice of the Planet'', Writer, director, producer, executive producer. TBS.
* 1990 ''Voice of the Planet'', Writer, director, producer, executive producer, Starring William Shatner and the Voice of Faye Dunaway. Ten-Hour Dramatic Miniseries, TBS (Turner Broadcasting).
* 1991 ''The Fifth Annual Genesis Awards'', Director, producer. Discovery Channels.
* 1992 ''A Day in the Life of Ireland'', Writer, director. PBS-WNET/RTL-Dublin.
* 1992 ''The Sixth Annual Genesis Awards'', Director, producer. Discovery Channels.
* 1993 ''A Parliament of Souls'', Writer, director, producer, 28- and 32- part series, PBS/Vision TV-Canada.
* 1995 ''World War III'', Writer, director, producer, executive producer, host. Documentary. PBS.
* 1996 ''A Day in the Life of India'', Writer, director, producer. Feature film. PBS/Doordarshan/NHK/StarPlus.
* 1997 ''Element One'', Writer, director. A Geoffrey Holland production.
* 1997 ''Jam Packed'', Director, co-executive producer. A Geoffrey Holland production.
* 1997 ''Sean Connery – An Intimate Portrait'', Writer, Director. LifeTime Television Network.
* 1997 ''The Originals'', Co-Executive producer, Director. CMM Productions, Mumbai, India.
* 1997 ''Climb For Tibet'', Director. Wisdom Network special.
* 1998 ''The Wetlands of Japan: The Legacy of Ishahaya Bay'', Director, producer. Short-subject documentary. Goldman Foundation.
* 1998 ''Renewable Power'', Executive Producer. A Geoffrey Holland Film.
* 1998 ''America’s Great Parks'', Writer, Two-Hour Feature Documentary, Discovery Channel.
* 1998 ''Legends And Dreamers'', Co-Director, Producer, KAET/PBS.
* 1998 ''A Parliament of Science'', Director, Co-Host, Multi-Part Series, Vision TV/London, With UNESCO.
* 1998 ''At Home In The Universe – Biography of William Shatner'', Writer, Director. Harvey McKinnon Productions. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
* 1999 ''A Parliament of Minds'', Director, Producer, Hosted by Mike Malone, 15-part series, PBS/Wisdom Network.
* 1999 ''The Whale Shark Hunters of the Philippines'', Executive Producer, KETA Films, National Geographic Channel
* 1999 ''River Of Love'', Writer, Director. Feature Docu-Drama, Dharmic Productions.
* 1999 ''Kids & Animals'', Director, Co-Writer, Animal Planet/Discovery Networks.
* 1999 ''Reigning Cats of San Francisco'', Director, Writer, Animal Planet/Discovery Networks.
* 1999 ''The Last Stand: The Battle to Save Ballona Wetlands'', Co-Writer, Co-Executive Producer, Hosted by Ed Asner, Feature Documentary, A Sheila Laffey Film, Public Broadcasting.
* 2000 ''The View From Malabar'', Director, Documentary, Ohio PBS.
* 2000 '' Countdown: The Sky’s On Fire,'' Co-Executive Producer, Based upon the Novel, Fatal Exposure, by Michael Charles Tobias, Two-Hour dramatic Movie-of-the-Week, ABC.
* 2001 ''Images of Arizona'', Senior Director, Producer. KAET/PBS. Emmy Award winning.
* 2002 ''Dubai 24 Hours'', Writer, Director. Feature film Documentary. Al Arabiya TV.
* 2002 ''J.C. Leyendecker - The Great American Illustrator'', Writer. Kultur Video.
* 2003 ''Y.M.I.'', Co-Executive Producer, dramatic feature, Temple 4 Films.
* 2004 ''The Hydrogen Age'', Co-Writer. A Geoffrey Holland Film.
* 2005 ''Mad Cowboy'', Writer Director, Executive Producer, Hosted by Howard Lyman of Voice for a Viable Future, KQED/PBS.
* 2006 ''No Vacancy'', Writer, Director, Directory of Photography, Producer, Executive Producer, Hosted by Bob Gillespie of Population Communication, public broadcasting service.
* 2008 ''Hotspots'', Writer, Director, Producer, Co-Director of Cinematography, Executive Producer, Hosted by Dr. Russell Mittermeier of Conservation International, Two-Hour Feature Documentary, KQED/PBS.
* 2009 ''The Grand And Otago Skinks: Conservation of Two of New Zealand’s Rarest Reptiles'', Writer, Director, Producer. Short Subject Documentary, Dancing Star Foundation.
* 2011 ''State of the Earth'', Director, three-hour documentary series, Dancing Star Foundation/Earth Service Production.
* 2012 ''Yasuni – A Meditation On Life'', Writer, Director, Executive Producer, UNDP/Yasuni-ITT Initiative, Government of Ecuador, for Rio+20 U.N. Earth Summit Premiere. A Dancing Star Foundation Film.
* 2013 ''Ecosystems on the Edge'', 15 Short Ecological Documentaries. Co-Executive Producer for Dancing Star Foundation, the Primary Collaborating Partner with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC).
* 2016 ''bioreverie'', Writer, Executive Producer. One-hour documentary, GCSU (Georgia College and State University).

References

External links

About Michael Charles Tobias

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobias, Michael

1951 births
Living people
American animal welfare scholars
American documentary filmmakers
American environmentalists
American non-fiction environmental writers
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni