The Worldwide Web of Environmental Multilevel Marketing

…when SUWA, Outdoors, Friends of Cedar Mesa, Patagonia, or the Utah supporters of progressive State Senator Jim Dabakis, et al, protest Capitalism and corporate influence and its impacts on public land decisions, they have no further to look than their own sugar daddy “venture capitalists.”

Opinion by Janet Keeler Wilcox

Graphic Design by Devin Bayles Hancock

Welcome to the Worldwide Web of Environmental Multilevel Marketing which has recently reached an all-time nationwide frenzy. Benefits of joining up are staggering, and multiple web sites and propaganda are always just a mouse click away.

While promoting “progressive” protectionists policies, global environmentalists have determined to discredit state’s rights and attack elected officials and rural families who choose to live in the West. Not only have they launched attacks against Utah Congressmen using half-truths, and fear mongering, but Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, and even W. Virginia, and Hawaii have been their targets.  Their “Monumental” maneuverings to sell out America have been going on for some time. It doesn’t take a degree in geography to see that Obama’s 553 Million acres of “Monumental” manipulation, has put our country at risk, and under subjugation to those who can afford to pay off our $20 trillion-dollar debt. That is one of the reasons freedom loving people didn’t elect another “One World Order” queen with ties to Russia’s Uranium One company.   

Frank Guistra

A quick review of the Clinton scandal involving Russian mining engineer, Frank Giustra follows:

New York Times Article: 

“The path to Russian acquisition of American uranium deposits began in 2005 in Kazakhstan, where the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra orchestrated his first big uranium deal, with Mr. Clinton at his side. . . .‘In three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s, Giustra, used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million.”  

 

In other words, by making money in energy related, businesses, he could afford to donate millions to support environmental causes via the Clintons. Was this hypocrisy or ulterior motives, or both?

Next, Giustra came to SE Utah:

“Soon, Uranium One began to snap up companies with assets in the United States. In April 2007, it announced the purchase of a uranium mill in Utah and more than 38,000 acres of uranium exploration properties in four Western states, followed quickly by the acquisition of the Energy Metals Corporation and its uranium holdings in Wyoming, Texas and Utah. That deal made clear that Uranium One was intent on becoming “a powerhouse in the United States uranium sector with the potential to become the domestic supplier of choice for U.S. utilities, the company declared.”

Then he advanced the cause of environmental multi-marketing:

“Mr. Giustra held a fund-raiser for the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, a project aimed at fostering progressive environmental and labor practices in the natural resources industry, to which he had pledged $100 million.” 

Therein lies the rub. Why would locking up land in the United States be beneficial to Russia?

At some point investors will want benefits. This connects “Monumental Money” donations to the movement to restrict American extraction, thus, forcing below-the-surface fossil fuels to hibernate for “future generations,” or, perhaps, as collateral for foreign investors.  Since the Conservation Lands Foundation cares more about land than people, more about ideology than freedoms, and because they are funded by “monumentally” wealthy people who want to control energy markets for their own financial gain, they are only too happy to use such money in the name of “protection.” Foundations the likes of William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Wyss Foundation, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, and the Wilburforce Foundation love to prey on rural America, the working man, and those living outside the “inner circle of wealth.”

David Bonderman

​David Bonderman’s life further illustrates this dichotomy. About 17 years ago, Jim Stiles, the environmental writer/historian/publisher of Canyon Zephyr, discovered that some of the “world’s wealthiest bankers, financiers, and industrialists were throwing huge amounts of money into mainstream environmental organizations. The contributions trickled all the way down to SUWA and Friends of Cedar Mesa; in exchange, many of these mega-wealthy benefactors acquired positions of influence, often as members of the groups’ boards of directors.”

Bonderman is a venture capitalist and the founding partner and power broker at TPG Capital. This is a “private equity firm with more than $65 billion in assets; TPG has invested across the country and around the world. To get an idea of just how vast the TPG empire is, click here and here to see their portfolios.”

In 2015 “Environmentalists in Utah, led by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), supported the Red Rock Wilderness Bill, calling for the protection of 9.2 million acres of public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Grand Canyon Trust (GCT), with offices in Moab, also supported RRWA.” Bonderman was on the Board of Directors of the GCT and was a major financial supporter of the Red Rock Bill. Ironically, at the same time, Bonderman’s company TPG, invested heavily in the energy sector, including Alinta Energy, Amyris, Beta Renewables, China Renewable Energy, Maverick American Natural Gas and more.

Knowing this, why would any true environmental group tolerate Bonderman’s hypocrisy and the double-faced strategies which he used for his own benefit?

In June of 2015, David Bonderman was caught between profits and being politically correct — and he chose profits. The private-equity mogul attended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum against the wishes of the White House. Yes, Bonderman plays both sides, using his Russian connections.  So when SUWA, Outdoors, Friends of Cedar Mesa, Patagonia, or the Utah supporters of progressive State Senator Jim Dabakis, et al, protest Capitalism and corporate influence and its impacts on public land decisions, they have no further to look than their own sugar daddy “venture capitalists.”

Janet Keeler Wilcox is a retired school teacher and was co-founder of Blue Mountain Shadows, a regional history magazine. Her blog Beyond the Bears Ears keeps a running update of articles and events related to land issues, specifically those in San Juan County.  She was raised on a dry farm near Ririe, Idaho. She’s a life-long conservationist.

Stay tuned for Part II: Environmental Multi-Level Marketing Plan Part II or Lobbying 101

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