George Monbiot

George Joshua Richard Monbiot (/ˈmɒnbioʊ/ MON-bee-oh; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain (2000) and Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding (2013). He is the founder of The Land is Ours, a peaceful campaign for the right of access to the countryside and its resources in the United Kingdom. In January 2010, Monbiot founded the ArrestBlair.org website, which offers a reward to people attempting a peaceful citizen's arrest of former British prime minister Tony Blair for alleged crimes against peace. 2Early life George Monbiot grew up in Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, in a house next to Peppard Common. Politics was at the heart of family life—his father, Raymond Geoffrey Monbiot, is a businessman who headed the Conservative Party's trade and industry forum, while his mother, Rosalie—the elder daughter of Conservative MP Roger Gresham Cooke—was a Conservative councillor who led South Oxfordshire District Council for a decade. His uncle, Canon Hereward Cooke, was the Liberal Democrat deputy leader of Norwich City Council between 2002 and 2006. Monbiot was educated at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, an independent school, and won an open scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford. He stated that his "political awakening" was prompted by reading Bettina Ehrlich's book Paolo and Panetto while at Stowe, and that he regretted attending Oxford, stating that his time there was unhappy and he did not fit in with the college's culture. 2Career After graduating in zoology, Monbiot joined the BBC Natural History Unit as a radio producer, making natural history and environmental programme