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Environmentalism, Then and Now

Ari Hershowitz
Director, Latin American BioGems campaign
Year joined NRDC: 1999

Then: "A decade ago, I was in college studying biochemistry and molecular biology. I was planning to be a professor of neuroscience and study how the brain works. But at a certain point, I began to want to see results more quickly, and to know that what I was doing was having an impact. In science, your research forms part of a much larger body of work and it's very hard to see where your contributions make a difference. NRDC offered me the best of both worlds -- a chance to work on preserving biodiversity and the environment without having to give up the rigors of science, because as an organization we very much base our advocacy on scientific findings. I was a good fit for NRDC, too. Because of my background, I can speak with scientists and understand what companies are saying when they try to misuse science. And because I was born in Bolivia and speak Spanish and Portuguese fluently, I'm able to work directly with local communities in Latin America."

Now: "In my work from Baja California, Mexico, to Chilean Patagonia I've seen first-hand the global nature of environmental threats. The international market for natural resources can put tremendous pressure on local communities, and they're often faced with a choice between neglect and exploitation. What makes me hopeful is that we now have better tools to fight such exploitation. Through the Internet, we've been able to assemble networks of activists from many countries, and we can quickly bolster actions taken by local residents with major international pressure."

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