eco-warrior, bob hunter dies at 63
from joseph hall - toronto star. read full article.
bob hunter, the greenpeace co-founder who came into countless toronto living rooms in his housecoat as a quirky commentator on citytv's breakfast television, died yesterday after a long battle with prostate cancer.
described by friends and colleagues as a congenial, funny, kind and fiercely brave rebel, hunter was a seminal figure in the global environmental movement. his Greenpeace work in the 1970s and 1980s helped achieve moratoriums on whaling and the newfoundland seal hunt (since lifted) and a ban on nuclear testing in the pacific.
it also ushered in a general global concern for the environment that had been largely absent before he and his "eco-warrior" comrades took the stage.
hunter was citytv's environment reporter for 15 years, and also was also a founding contributor to the toronto weekly eye and the author of 13 books.
"i was the right person in the right place," said hunter of his pivotal role in greenpeace's dissident activities to halt the slaughter of whales.
"but when it's done, i think you can get into a habit of just clinging to it because you don't know what to do next, whereas i knew all along i wanted to get back to what i was doing already."
confrontational stunts at sea became his greenpeace trademark â even as they literally put hunter's life on the line.
indeed, many say it was the televised image of a harpoon flying over watson's head and into a whale he was trying to protect in the mid-'70s that brought environmentalism into the public eye.
bob hunter, the greenpeace co-founder who came into countless toronto living rooms in his housecoat as a quirky commentator on citytv's breakfast television, died yesterday after a long battle with prostate cancer.
described by friends and colleagues as a congenial, funny, kind and fiercely brave rebel, hunter was a seminal figure in the global environmental movement. his Greenpeace work in the 1970s and 1980s helped achieve moratoriums on whaling and the newfoundland seal hunt (since lifted) and a ban on nuclear testing in the pacific.
it also ushered in a general global concern for the environment that had been largely absent before he and his "eco-warrior" comrades took the stage.
hunter was citytv's environment reporter for 15 years, and also was also a founding contributor to the toronto weekly eye and the author of 13 books.
"i was the right person in the right place," said hunter of his pivotal role in greenpeace's dissident activities to halt the slaughter of whales.
"but when it's done, i think you can get into a habit of just clinging to it because you don't know what to do next, whereas i knew all along i wanted to get back to what i was doing already."
confrontational stunts at sea became his greenpeace trademark â even as they literally put hunter's life on the line.
indeed, many say it was the televised image of a harpoon flying over watson's head and into a whale he was trying to protect in the mid-'70s that brought environmentalism into the public eye.
posted by jessalauren at 1:11 PM
1 Comments:
i think its a great idea that people are making donations to environmental organizations in his honour. greenpeace is an obvious choice, but evergreen (http://www.evergreen.ca) does a lot of great work, especially in schoolyards across the country.
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