Edward Goldsmith (1928-2009) was an influential environmentalist and author. For more than four decades, he was at the forefront of efforts to warn about the scale and seriousness of environmental destruction and present proposals to reverse it. Goldsmith’s principal vehicle was the magazine The Ecologist, founded in 1969, with himself as Editor.
The Ecologist rouse to prominence in 1972 with its issue entitled Blueprint for Survival, which sold half a million copies in 17 languages. One result was forming a Green Party in the UK, the first of its kind in the world. Several times after that, The Ecologist adopted a radical stance on issues that later became a prime campaigning focus for other groups.
Goldsmith was a notable scholar on both theoretical and applied matters. He was known for his uncompromising critique of industrialism. In later years, Goldsmith was preoccupied with climate change, which he saw as by far the most serious problem confronting the world.
Edward Goldsmith passed away in 2009 at the age of 80.
