Many talk about climate change, but rare are those who dare to speak about its systemic, deeply-ingrained root cause. Depression, unemployment, racism and climate change indeed seem to be all interconnected through the invisible web of the power of multinational corporations. In this interview, Helena-Norberg-Hodge explains to me the history behind it all. She describes with great precision the economical culture that has been destroying our planet and communities for decades, and today threatens our very own survival. Not only that, but she offers an alternative supported by decades of collecting evidence and ground studies, a path which she now calls localization (or decentralization).
Helena Norberg-Hodge is the founder and director of Local Futures, a non-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide.
In 1986, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "preserving the traditional culture and values of Ladakh against the onslaught of tourism and development."
In 2011, she produced and co-directed the award-winning documentary film The Economics of Happiness which lays out her arguments against economic globalization and for localization.
And in 2012, she received the Goi Peace Award for "her pioneering work in the localization movement".
The book "Wisdom for a liveable planet" profiled her as one of the eight visionaries changing the world, and The Earth Journal counted her among the world's ten most interesting environmentalists.