Orion > Current Wisdom > Peter Matthiessen

Our Political Environment
Environmental Policy, Corporate Ethics, and Global Warming

A video interview
with author
Peter Matthiessen
October 2004

Part One
Politics and the Environment:
The Looting of a Nation (4:40)

Part Two
Globalization, Resources, and Ethics (4:50)

Part Three
Corporate Profits and Common Sense (4:10)

(File size: 2MB each -- high-bandwidth connection recommended, but not essential. Load time at 56K approximately 2-3 minutes for each part.

For fifty years, Peter Matthiessen has been engaged with concerns that have informed and inspired two generations of readers and writers. His writing has appeared frequently on OrionOnline.org, most recently in the Discourse & Dissent feature, with Lighting the Fuse: Freeing the Iraqi People to Death. A reading from his book, Killing Mr. Watson is also available online, as well as an essay for the Thoughts on America series, The Volunteers, which appeared just after September 11th, 2001.

Matthiessen is a recipient of The National Book Award, a 1991 Laureate of the global Honor Roll of the United Nations Environment Programme, and the 2002 Lannan Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement. His nonfiction works include among others, The Snow Leopard, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Indian Country, Men's Lives, and, most recently, The Birds of Heaven.

He lives in New York.

QuickTime Required:
_______________________________

In order to view these interviews, it is necessary to install a QuickTime player (version 6 or above, if you don't already have one). It's easy, quick, and FREE. Just click on the QuickTime icon above. The Download page will ask you for your name and e-mail address, but you don't have to supply it to get the QuickTime Player. Just hit the Download button.

A word about video & connection speeds:
If you are like most of us, your connection speed is less than desirable. Regardless, you can view the interview - it just may take longer to load before it plays, and may stop and start until it is completely loaded.

Related Features:

Killing Mr. Watson
by Peter Matthiessen
Audio reading

Lighting the Fuse
by Peter Matthiessen
Discourse on the invasion of Iraq.

Consent of the Governed
by Jeffrey Kaplan
As corporations gain in power -- and in control over our lives and livelihoods -- the notion of democratic governance seems more and more quaint. But some don't see it that way and are fighting back in unexpected ways.

This feature was made possible by your contributions to the Thoughts on America Fund.