It’s The 4th-Biggest Illegal Industry In The World, And In 11 Years, It Will Destroy Itself

This is something we can actually change.

Trigger warning: Video contains violent images.


This is Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director and whose film “The Hurt Locker” won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture. She found out about this diabolical connection between extinction and terrorism and knew she had to do something fast.

She worked with national security analyst Juan Zarate and a team of filmmakers. Zarate told Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show“: “It’s on an industrial scale. It’s the fourth-largest illicit financing network and economy in the world, worth $4.3 billion a year.” China is a major buyer but New York is the second-largest market in the world. Groups benefitting from this illegal trade include al Qaeda and the Lord’s Resistance Army, groups that “kidnap children and kill hundreds of people.” This is where national security intersects with natural security.

“We only have about a decade left.”

Download and post this badge to tell people what’s going on. Here’s more on what you can do.

Modern Families

Grown up ‘bedroom kids’ share the realities of raising a generation of ‘living room kids’

Culture

Michelle Obama worried her $50 brooch was too modest for the Queen. Elizabeth wore it the next night.

Life Hacks

The ‘Claw Master’ hacked claw machine games by discovering the perfect drop spot

Pop Culture

Resurfaced video of French skier’s groin incident has people giving the announcer a gold medal