Most agree on the urgent need for climate action, yet we are often divided on how to stop the destruction of the natural world. Earth for Sale exposes the danger of governments giving over this responsibility to powerful private interests, namely the same energy, chemical, agribusiness, and bottled water corporations that brought us to this ecological brink.
Their answer? Put a price on nature and bring it into the market. Under the inviting language of "nature-based solutions" and "ecosystem services," this financialization and commodification of nature takes many forms: carbon trading; debt-for-nature swaps; water pollution trading; biodiversity credits; green, blue, and wildlife conservation bonds; plastics offsets; water futures; and more.
Renowned activist Maude Barlow, who sounded the alarm decades ago on the corporate assault on water, argues the financialization of nature is dangerous and surprisingly few understand the implications, including many in environmental movements. With detailed examples and meticulous research, Earth for Sale unmasks this insidious new form of corporate plunder. We must not allow the movement to protect nature and biodiversity to be handed over to private interests whose driving motive is, and always has been, profit. Activist Maude Barlow argues against the financialization and commodification of the natural world - including carbon credits, conservation bonds, and pollution trading - as a false climate solution and yet another erosion of public spaces and resources.
Maude Barlow is the bestselling author of 21 books. She co-founded the Council of Canadians, chairing its board for over three decades, sits on the board of Food & Water Watch, and the board of advisors of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. She served as senior water advisor to the UN General Assembly and was a leader in the campaign to have water recognized as a human right. She is the recipient of 17 honorary doctorates and many awards, including the 2005 Right Livelihood Award. She lives in Ottawa, ON.
"Years ago, Maude Barlow's book Blue Gold sounded the alarm on corporate theft of the world's water and launched a powerful global water justice movement. Now, with Earth for Sale, Maude is calling out a new form of corporate plunder, where nature - instead of being protected - has to compete in the global market to survive. This is one of the most important books of our time, and I dearly hope we hear Maude's call to action once again." - Jane Fonda, actor and activist
"Elders tell us, in their own words and in their language, about the natural world; we are given instructions from Creator on how to care for it. If not, then balance is lost and we too are lost. In this powerful book, Maude Barlow has given us a strong warning about the 'financialization of nature' - the newest corporate assault on Mother Earth. Thankfully, she has also given us sacred instructions on how to care for the forests, soil, other species, air and water. We must all work together and listen to these words. It will take the coming together and the working together, that will help us protect and sustain the gifts of Creator." - Jesse Cardinal, Cree/Métis, executive director, Keepers of the Water
"In Earth for Sale, Maude Barlow sounds the alarm on a new threat: the push to use free markets to solve every environmental problem. These so-called solutions include carbon, plastic and biodiversity offsets and putting a price on every aspect of nature, from whales to water to forests. Building on her prescient earlier warnings about free trade and water privatization, Barlow exposes the staggering insanity of further entrenching the very economic system that is driving ecological collapse. Earth for Sale empowers readers with the knowledge, the motivation and the solutions needed to fight back." - Dr. David R. Boyd, former UN special rapporteur on the right to
