The legendary Amazonian defender of the rainforest and its peoples was the first rubber tapper ever elected to Brazil’s federal Senate, served as Minister of the Environment under Lula, and ran as the 2010 Green Party Presidential candidate, gaining as astonishing 19% of the vote. Marina Silva depicts how we can balance protecting the Amazon and other vital ecosystems with sane development that brings people out of poverty without destroying the environment.

This performance/speech was given at the 2012 Bioneers National Conference.