Monitoring deforestation

Sir Richard Branson has a message: we can save our Earth from nuclear Amageddon and environmental meltdown alike.

With Cutnukes.org, Branson pushes for fewer atomic bombs. His airliners use waste as fuel, and he has created a sanctuary for Malagasy lemurs displaced by deforestation. Now he plans to monitor global deforestation with satellites, he tells Metro.

You’re about to open a reserve for ringtailed lemurs that have been displaced by deforestation in Madagascar. Are you planning to help other species that have been displaced by deforestation?

The lemur is such a beautiful species. We simply have to save the lemurs, and I’m trying to help other species as well.

For the past several months I’ve travelled around the world to save sharks, and soon I’ll be travelling to India to try to save the blue tiger.

When it comes to deforestation, of course humans who have been displaced are very im­portant, but animal species are equally important. More important, actually.

Deforestation is often caused by local subsistence farmers. What’s the solution?

One thing we can do about illegal logging is discover it before it’s too late. That’s why I’ve just launched a new initiative based at my spaceport. We’ll run have satellites that will monitor forests to see where forests are being cut down.

You’re in favor of eliminating nuclear weapons. Why should good countries get rid of their nuclear weapons when bad countries still have them?

They shouldn’t completely eliminate them. What we’re suggesting is that nuclear weapons states get rid of their nuclear weapons in steps. From a deterrent point of view, a country only needs 300 nuclear weapons. Getting rid of nuclear weapons would save a lot of money and would solve many of the world’s current deficit problems.

In other words, is the global recession a good thing for nuclear disarmament?

Definitely. For example, one of the easiest things President Obama could do to solve the US budget crisis is getting rid of 1,000 nuclear warheads.

Is your interest in nuclear weapons an extension of your green involvement?

Yes. I’ve been visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the effects of nuclear weapons. And it’s an extension of my interest in solving global conflicts.

That’s why I fund The Elders, an organization founded by Nelson Mandela that works to solve global conflicts.

The world has been talking about environmental problems for so long. Do you see any reasons for optimism?

Absolutely. We have to deal with environmental problems in an entrepreneurial spirit. For example, Virgin’s new aviation fuel uses waste from steel mills. Millions of jobs could be created worldwide by greening our cities.

The environment would benefit, the cities would benefit, regular people would benefit, and it would stop money pouring out to the Middle East.

Even if we solve all the world’s environmental problems, the world might be wiped out if Iran drops a nuclear bomb….

If Iran dropped a nuclear bomb nuclear weapon [the] States would quickly obliterate Tehran, so I don’t think it will.

The bigger risk is terrorists using nuclear weapons, but we have to set a moral example so terrorists don’t feel the need.