Published in 1998, Global Greens narrates the story of international environmental groups in world affairs. It examines how nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) work with the United Nations and other international organizations to promote environmentalist policies and treaties. To understand many of the current foreign policy controversies it is increasingly important to know how international environmental groups are involved.
Global Greens describes in detail NGO activity at some of the most significant UN environmental conferences through the end of the 20th century, including the global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan. Most of the story is serious, but some of it amuses. Inside the Kyoto conference hall, four men disguised as world leaders play soccer with a large inflatable balloon of the planet, activists blanketed the building with propaganda leaflets, and a group of grim-faced individuals stand solemnly around three ice carvings of penguins begging the little creatures to forgive mankind for permitting the global warming that causes them to melt.
As recent news developments have confirmed, environmental groups have been accomplishing-and continue to accomplish-their objectives gradually and under a cloak of secrecy. Few Americans know that nonprofit organizations, staffed by professionals, primarily Americans, and financed by a mix of private and public funds, exercise real power in the conduct of diplomacy and the creation of international policy. A global environmental movement is using international agencies to undermine national self-government, economic freedom, and personal liberty. Global Greens exposes the behind-the-scenes efforts of this well-funded and ideologically driven force.
About the Author: James M. Sheehan is an adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He specializes in policies concerning international environmental regulation, trade, finance, and foreign aid. Sheehan speaks and writes about such international institutions as the United Nations, World Bank, NAFTA, and the World Trade Organization. He has presented his views on television programs for CNN, C-SPAN, CNBC, Fox News and America s Voice. His writings have appeared in "The Wall Street Journal," "Baltimore Sun, San Francisco Examiner, Washington Times," and J"ournal of Commerce." He has testified before Congress and is a frequent guest on radio programs across the country, including National Public Radio. Sheehan holds a Master of Business Administration from Duke University and a BA in international politics from the Catholic University of America."
