I looked back at the woman next to me in disbelief; a mid-forties Greenpeace Director. It was June 2006 and we had been chatting a few minutes as the plane taxied on the runway. She began by telling me about her journey to activism. A literature major in college, she felt a longing to do more to save the environment. In the early 90's she joined Greenpeace and rose to a Director over time. Finally she asked what I did. 'I work in the Senate on ocean, energy, and environment...' That's where she cut me off.
'Our planet is a mess because of you people!'
The thing is, up until then I imagined we were on the same team, but she stopped me before I could get to the part about being a marine biologist in conservation. I hadn't had a chance to tell her of projects with The Nature ...