Q. You seem to have mellowed in the last few years. Do you think a kinder, gentler approach is more productive in solving environmental problems?
A. We need organizations like Greenpeace to shock people into reality. I have reached a point where I want to carry all sectors of society including business with me. After all business people have families and children as well.

Q. You are one of the most public faces of sustainable ecology in the world. Has big business tried to bribe you?
A. I have made it a policy that I do not take money from the private sector. I'll take money but only if there are no strings attached. The same policy applies for government funding. I've had many offers for commercials, but have never bothered to ask how much I would be paid. Because that implies that you are open to negotiations. The other aspect is that I have had a bullet shot through my house. My office was broken into and my computer hacked.

Q. You have done a PhD in genetics and your textbook is recommended reading for university students. But you feel that science should not let people live for hundreds of years.
A. I don't think scientists will ever be able to prolong life for hundreds of years. Life requires death in order for it to flourish and change. We need death. It is a great conceit that we can think we can live longer than our allotted life span. In the past, older people were respected as repositories of wisdom and culture, but today people want to push away all the elderly people.

My wife is English, and I made it a point to invite my in-laws to stay with us when they retired.

Q. Do you think a catastrophic event will finally focus people's mind?
A. We seem to be a very reactive species. The leading scientists are telling us that we are on a dangerous path and no one seems to be paying any attention. We are more concerned that Janet Jackson's breast was revealed for a few seconds. Or that Bill and Monica had an affair. If a catastrophic event happens, we will respond. Thousands of people died in the heat wave in France. We are about to hit the wall and everyone is arguing about who is going to drive.

Q. One of the main elements for any solution is for rich countries to share their wealth with poorer countries to create an ecological balance.
A. What is being poor? I was in Papua New Guinea where 85 percent of people live on land they own and enjoy their rich culture and forests. The World Bank comes in and says you poor people, you need development. We will give you money to cut down your forests and dam your rivers. And with this money you can buy Nike shoes and Michael Jackson cds and be rich. Their forest is rich and their oceans are pristine and they are happy with their way of life and they are called poor. To the developing world, I say your happiness lies in your culture and way of life and in following your own model. The rich countries have made their money by ripping off other countries and they have a moral obligation to share their wealth and technology. The industrial world has to cut off their rampant consumerism. They have to understand if the poorer countries suffer, we will go down the tube with them.