Global Compact International Yearbook 2016

“
The time I spent in Paris was a
decisive point in my life. It transformed
me. It pushed me to think and develop
my ideas, and that process was a major
step in my evolution.
”
mess of the land. It kind of horrified me that we could be so
dismissive of the damage we were doing to the soil and air.”
The chance for Redford to showcase the fruits of his environmental
labor came as the popularity of his independent film
festival began to rise. The event was moved from Salt Lake City
to the Sundance Resort, an area of land on the slopes of Mount
Timpanogos in western Utah that Redford acquired in 1968.
“I grew up in a grim urban setting, and being able to develop
land out there was a form of liberation to me,” he says. “Utah
was an ideal setting because it was very raw and beautiful – at
Sundance, I’ve taken this acreage, which is now almost 6,000
acres, so that only wildlife can exist inside.”
Not even Redford’s beloved Utah, however, is untouched by
commercial development.
“If you drive out of Sundance,” he says, “the moment you
leave the canyon, you see nothing but concrete, cement, and
bulldozers – that’s the attitude that surrounds us.”
The veteran thespian hopes that recent signs of positive change
in the general public and mainstream media’s attitude toward
environmentalism will only continue. One modern ally that
Redford did not have back when he began his fight to protect
America’s natural landscapes in the late 1960s was the internet,
which he says is allowing “more information to reach people
faster than ever before.”
This, he envisions, will bring about a change in politics. And
although he believes it has already begun to happen, he is as
determined as ever to challenge the same dominant voices
that threatened to drown him out decades ago.
“I think they are genuinely worried, but the ones that are most
threatened are going to raise their voices the loudest because
they see their time is running out,” he declares. “They don’t
want to go quietly into the night because of all that money that
has been made in their industries – and since money really
runs the show, I think they see a threat to their investments.”
Having fought tooth and nail against the powers that be for
decade after decade, Redford’s mission is just as important
now as it was in the 1960s. However, the true cost of such
development, he says, will not be known for many years to
come, when future generations will be tasked with the attempt
to rebuild the world, if they can.
“Our planet is shrinking, and I worry about what’s going to
be left if we don’t stop,” he sighs. “What we develop for our
survival, and also what we preserve for our survival – if we
don’t have equal preservation, there will be no planet left.
After all, why would anybody want to bring children into the
world if that’s the direction we are going in?”
Written by Jake Taylor.
Global Compact International Yearbook 2016 59