Edward Goldsmith dies

Edward Goldsmith has died aged 80 - he was one of the great environmental campaigners who founded and edited the Ecologist. One of his most influential publications was a special issue in 1972, entitled 'Blueprint for Survival', proposing the formation of a movement for sustainability - it was published as a book that apparently sold 750,000 copies in 17 languages and led to the foundation of the People party, later the Ecology party, which eventually became the Green party.

Photo: Teddy taken from Ecologist website

Teddy probably made the single most important intellectual contribution to the formulation of green politics. To this day his thinking on eco-systems and sustainability underpins the rationale behind Green politics.

Jonathon Porritt said: "Teddy was the first person who articulated the essence of sustainability in a complete and uncompromising way. He never worried about realistic possibilities. His mission was to have it all. Not always the most accommodating, but he was at his best applying scientific rigour to a problem."

Mark Anslow, editor of the Ecologist, said: “We live and breathe Teddy's legacy every day. His rigorous thought processes and endlessly interrogative approach to environmental issues help guide the Ecologist's editorial process: never taking developments at face value, and always asking the bigger, wider questions. He will be fondly remembered, and sorely missed.”

See more in The Guardian here and Teddy Goldsmiths website: www.edwardgoldsmith.com/