Marek Mayer (1952–2005) was a prominent environmental

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

who influenced the development of UK environmental policy for over 25 years.

Biography

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

parents, Marek obtained a master's degree in environmental studies at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

before joining the fledgling subscription journal ENDS Report (Environmental Data Services) in 1979. The journal had been founded shortly before by

Edward Max Nicholson Edward Max Nicholson (12 July 1904 – 26 April 2003) was a pioneering environmentalist, ornithologist and internationalist, and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund. Early life Max Nicholson, as he was known to all, was born in Kilternan, Ire ...

and David Layton of

Incomes Data Services Incomes Data Services (IDS) was a British research organisation dedicated to employment-related areas. Acquired by Thomson Reuters in September 2005, it was dedicated to providing original research, analysis and training on pay benchmarking, pay ...

, an early attempt to engage British business with

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

. Within ten years this had become a successful business led by Mayer.Alastair Hatchett
David Layton obituary
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' dated 29 September 2009 The journal faced hard times in its early years and its staff complement fell to just two - with Marek providing all of the content for many years. However, as the environmental business agenda grew in the 1980s, the journal took off and became essential reading for politicians, business specialists, campaigners and consultants. Marek's ability to scan vast amounts of information and his eye for detail made him a force to be reckoned with. Although he became a director of a successful business which employed over thirty people, his top priority remained the environment and he never lost his enthusiasm for journalism. Marek continued to make a substantial contribution to the ENDS Report until months before his death from kidney cancer on 23 July 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Marek Jerzy Tadeusz 1952 births 2005 deaths British environmentalists Journalists from London