David Helvarg (born April 10, 1951) is an American journalist and environmental activist. He is the founder and president of the marine conservation lobbying organization Blue Frontier Campaign, a part of the Seaweed rebellion, which arose from his second book Blue Frontier. His first book, The War against the Greens, argues that violent organized resistance is being orchestrated against the environmental movement. Helvarg began his career as a freelance journalist, became a war correspondent, then returned to news journalism. He writes about politics, AIDS, and sea life. He has reported from every continent and been widely published. His experience of military conflict, civil conflict and marine biology is the basis of his lobbying. Early life Helvarg was born April 10, 1951 in New York City, the son of refugees; his mother left Nazi Germany and his father escaped civil war in Ukraine. He grew up on Long Island, where he became a civil rights and anti-war activist. He attended Boston University and earned a bachelor's degree in history from Goddard College in Vermont, in 1974. Works Journalism While still a student, Helvarg traveled to Northern Ireland in 1973. The civil warfare known as "The Troubles" was at a height, and Helvarg submitted reports on the conflict to the Liberation News Service. Helvarg focused on the role of women in the conflict, and highlighted allegations that agents of the British government had participated in sectarian murders. After graduating from college, he moved to San Diego to work as a freelance journalist. He published "Ireland Diary; A Day in the Life" in the underground publication San Diego Door, and wrote for the weekly newspaper San Diego Newsline. From 1979 to 1983, Helvarg covered the U.S. role in Central American conflicts, initially as a radio reporter for The Associated Press and Pacifica Radio in Nicaragua and El Salvador. His exclusive reports included combat coverage of the first town to fall to Sandinista rebels, the first delivery of U.S. gunships to El Salvador, the first visit to Contra camps in Honduras, and the last interview with Sister Ita Ford before her murder by the Salvadoran military. He was arrested by the Salvadoran army and deported from El Salvador in 1983 while reporting on a massacre of civilians. After returning to California, he qualified as a private investigator, and resumed freelance writing. He wrote reports on underwater technology, articles about John Hoagland after conducting the