Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward

Translated from eco-speak, this means two things: (1) a reductionin the standard of living in Western nations through massive newtaxes and regulations, and (2) a wholesale transfer of wealth fromindustrialized to under-developed countries. The dubious premisehere is that if the U.S. economy could be reduced to, say, the size ofMalaysia's, the world would be a better place.... Most Americans

probably would balk at the idea of the U.N. banning automobiles inthe U.S.2

Who is this Maurice Strong who sees the United States as the environmental aggressor against the world? Does he live in poverty? Does he come from a backward country that is resentful of American prosperity? Does he himself live in modest circum-1. "Ecology Remedy Costly," (AP), Sacramento Bee, March 12, 1992, p. A8. Also Maurice Strong, Introduction to Jim MacNeil, Pieter Winsemius, and Taizo Vakushiji, Beyond Interdependence

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. ix.

2. "Road to Ruin," Arizona Republic, March 26,1992.

532 THE CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND

stances, avoiding consumption in order to preserve our natural resources? None of the above. He is one of the wealthiest men in the world. He lives and travels in great comfort. He is a lavish entertainer. In addition to having great personal wealth derived from the oil industry in Canada—which he helped nationalize—

Maurice Strong was the Secretary-General of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio; head of the 1972 UN Conference on Human

Environment in Stockholm; the first Secretary-General of the UN

Environment Program; president of the World Federation of United Nations; co-chairman of the World Economic Forum; member of the Club of Rome; trustee of the Aspen Institute; and a director of the World Future Society. That is probably more than you wanted to know about this man, but it is necessary in order to appreciate the importance of what follows.

A PLOT FOR ECONOMIC CRISIS

Maurice Strong believes—or says that he believes—the world's ecosystems can be preserved only if the affluent nations of the world can be disciplined into lowering their standard of living.

Production and consumption must be curtailed. To bring that about, those nations must submit to rationing, taxation, and political domination by world government. They will probably not do that voluntarily, he says, so they will have to be forced. To accomplish that, it will be necessary to engineer a global monetary crisis which will destroy their economic systems. Then they will have no choice but to accept assistance and control from the UN.

This strategy was revealed in the May, 1990, issue of West magazine, published in Canada. In an article entitled "The Wizard of Baca Grande," journalist Daniel Wood described his week

-long experience at Strong's private ranch in southern Colorado. This ranch has been visited by such CFR notables as David Rockefeller, Secretary-of-State Henry Kissinger, founder of the World Bank Robert McNamara, and the presidents of such organizations as IBM, Pan Am, and Harvard.

During Wood's stay at the ranch, the tycoon talked freely about environmentalism and politics. To express his own world view, he said he was planning to write a novel about a group of w o r l d leaders who decided to save the planet. As the plot unfolded, it became obvious that it was based on real people and real events.

Wood continues the story:

DOOMSDAY MECHANISMS

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Each year, he explains as background to the telling of the novel'splot, the World Economic Forum convenes in Davos, Switzerland.