New book; possibly the first of several to expose a side of charities the public would not otherwise see - or approve of.

Every bit of copy below was sent to me today as you see it, apart from the last paragraph with the link attached.

I think you can expect to see further revelations about other charities etc. before too long. It's not an if, but when; probably quite soon. Prepare to be shocked - your favourite group may be amongst them. Once again, if in doubt, please do read the book mentioned above: "Thinkers of the Jungle."
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Green, Inc.

An Environmental Insider Reveals How a Good Cause Has Gone Bad by Christine MacDonald

Green, Inc.

Price: $24.95Pub. Date: 09/16/2008Edition: Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 288Trim Size: 6 x 9 ISBN: 1-59921-436-9 Publisher: The Lyons Press Imprint:

This book has not yet been published. The estimated date this book will be available is 8/14/2008

Green, Inc. is by a veteran journalist and former member of the global communications division of Conservation International. It is a first- person account of an eco warrior’s travails at the crossroads of the nonprofit and corporate worlds. MacDonald arrives at one of the world’s largest environmental groups with no small dose of idealism.

She is ready to dedicate herself to the fight for the planet’s remaining forestlands and endangered species. Quickly, however, she grows disillusioned by the group’s questionable liaisons with environmentally hostile corporations; the six-figure salaries of its leaders; and the lack of environmental ethos exhibited by her colleagues at their stylish Washington offices.

A snapshot from inside the global environmental movement, the story unfolds at a time when global warming nears the point of no return and more people are awaking to the consequences.

Main characters include the stalwart’s of US conservationism including Russell Train, the former Environmental Protection Agency administrator and longtime World Wildlife Fund leader; the Nature Conservancy president Steven J. McCormick, whose efforts to build closer ties between the Conservancy and corporate American have cause controversy; Russell Mittermeier, the globetrotting primatologist and president of Conservation International; and CI’s millionaire founder, chief executive and chairman Peter Seligmann, who spends most of his time globetrotting with celebrities aboard gas-guzzling private jets to some of the most breathtakingly exotic and pristine spots on earth. Being a leading conservationist today means you go scuba diving with rock stars and corporate scions, hobnob with remote indigenous tribes and party with big donors and celebrity journalists aboard private jets, yachts and land Rovers, vehicles that get far from the best fuel mileage.

While providing an overview of the environmental movement, the story centers on conservation groups, particularly Conservation International, a 20-year-old nonprofit with operations in 40 countries. Seligmann, the group’s chief executive, told his staff from late 2006 on that CI would be a beneficiary of a “We Are the World”- type concert for the environment, finally broadcast in July 2007 as “Live Earth.” Concert preparations coincided with a marketing push to transform CI into a household name.

Besides first-hand anecdotes, the journalistic narrative flows from carefully checked facts and interviews with other insiders, many with longtime knowledge of the organization and the environmental movement. These insiders witnessed the mind-boggling growth of the US conservation movement in the last few decades and the rise of corporate values that have gradually diminished the movement’s activist edge and have led to excesses.

The book takes a hard look at corporate liaisons and examine the truth to claims that the country’s most prominent environmental groups have allow themselves to be silenced by corporate money. While working inside one of the largest conservation groups in the world, the author noticed too often its sophisticated public relations machine focused on touting the virtues of corporate sponsors, spinning unrelentingly upbeat stories that distracted the public from looming environmental crisis.

The book provides frank talk about allegations of “greenwashing.” The author has interviewed conservationists from the United States and several other countries, who express their concerns about the celebrity lifestyles and decision making by elite conservationists and corporate leaders. But it not only focuses on the failures. The book also examines environmental-corporate partnerships that are bearing fruit, and reforms that could nurture a truly sustainable capitalism based on the premise that p rotecting natural resources can be good for both the environment and the profit margin.

If you want to see Conservation International's finances, visit the following link - and do take special note of how much the President of this CHARITY get's paid. Click on http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3562