Goodall: Environment Near 'Point of No Return'

The LA Times catches up with chimp guru Jane Goodall, who argues in a new book that that the world is nearly "at the point of no return" on the environment, but that political will can turn things around. Interview excerpts:

• On the environment: "When I began there was no need to worry. All the terrible things we started doing to the planet environmentally really started after World War II. Things are very bad now."
• Michael Jackson and Bubbles: "Sadly, some people still think (chimps) are cute and charming and (don't) know anything about them in the wild at all, zero, nothing.

• On animal feelings: "There's a huge resistance in thinking about animals as having emotions, feelings, by anyone involved in invasive research. ... It's much easier to be nasty to creatures if you feel they don't have proper feelings."
• On zoos: "I could say, 'Zoos are bad; I couldn't care less what we do for these chimps because they shouldn't be there'—but that's not terribly helpful if you're a chimp in a zoo."
• Favorite pop-culture depiction of herself: A "Far Side" cartoon in which a female chimp finds a blond hair on a male chimp and suspects "'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp."

(More Jane Goodall stories.)