For the last 15 years, the Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded to those who have made significant progress in protecting the environment. Their efforts show again and again that environmentalism is not just about protecting trees and bugs. It is about maintaining the integrity of natural systems that sustain human lives and economies, and about ensuring that the pollution and destruction of resources that result from development and industrialization do not fall disproportionately on the poor and disenfranchised.

North America - Margie Eugene Richard grew up in Norco Louisiana, in a neighborhood sandwiched between Shell-owned refineries and chemical plants nicknamed "Cancer Alley". In 1989 she formed Concerned Citizens of Norco to push Shell to pay fair resettlement costs to families who could not afford to abandon their homes. Using science (she got her neighbors to collect air samples), theatre (she broadcast live pictures of plant emissions taken from her home), and the law (she pushed for a criminal investigation that found Shell had falsified its toxic release reports) she got Shell to provide fair resettlement costs for all neighborhood residents.

Asia - In 1984 a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal India released 27 tons of toxic gas that resulted in 8,000 immediate deaths and another 20,000 deaths over the last 20 years. Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, both still suffering lingering health problems from their exposure, have successfully carried the demand for redress to the U.S. courts and to Dow's (which merged with Union Carbide in 2001) stockholders. Even Forbes recognized the recent 13% drop in Dow's stock wss due partly to their challenge to its corporate reputation.

Island Nations - After 27 years of sometimes brutal repression under Indonesia, East Timor gained its independence in 2002. Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho played a key role in East Timor's liberation and is now seeking to make sure the newly independent country doesn't repeat the development mistakes of other east Asian countries. He pushed for the inclusion of the right to a healthy environment; respect for traditional customary law; prioritization of sustainable development; and natural resource management in the new constitution and is actively working to see that they are implemented.

Asia/Europe - British Petroleum is planning the world's biggest pipeline in Georgia (Soviet) and Manana Kochladze is fighting to ensure that the 1,090 mile Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline doesn't contaminate wetlands and economically important mineral springs or undermine local communities. Kochladze founded the environmental group Green Alternative instead of pursuing a career in physiology. Her scientific training, and ease with high-ranking officials, has significantly raised the environmental stakes for BTC - and led to a report by an international coalition citing 173 violations of World Bank lending guidelines for the project.

Africa - School or drinking water? That is the choice poor Ghanians face from a government that charges 10% of a family's income for drinking water. Rudolf Amenga-Etego founded the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water to ensure that all Ghanians had access to water. Privatization of water has been linked to rising rates of water-borne illness, environmental degradation and economic inequity. In spite of this, it is promoted by the IMF and the World Bank (and in the U.S., by the Bush administration). In 2003, Amenga-Etego and his coalition got the Ghanian government to back away from the privatization plan, and now U.S. communities are seeking his counsel on whether privatization is a good option for them.

Latin America - Logging, palm oil plantations, mechanized gold mining and industrial shrimping have been a disaster for the Afro-Colombian communities living in Colombia's Pacific rainforest region. Instead of bringing economic prosperity, the unregulated development of the area has displaced more than one million residents and sparked a vicious war between FARC (a paramilitary group) and the government, with the local communities suffering brutal massacres. Libia Grueso founded the civil rights group Process of Black Communities (PCN) to secure rights for the Afro-Columbian residents of the area and to protect what remains of the ecosystems they depend on. She and other activists seek the implementation of sustainable development models sensitive to local communities, a position that puts them at risk from both FARC and government.
For more on the Goldman Prize winners go to - http://www.goldmanprize.org/

2004 MU Peter H. Raven Environmental Leadership Award - Jared A. Cole
Jared came to MU well-versed in recycling having started and run a program at his hometown school. It took him a little while to locate MU's recycling program when he got here in the fall of 2002 and he was perplexed that it was so hard for students to to find, let alone participate in. So in his first year, he initiated a recycling program in his residence hall and monitored the collection to identify what would make a successful program. Last year, as head of the Student Sierra Club - now Sustain Mizzou - he spearheaded a petition calling for the hiring of a recycling coordinator to organize the efforts and energy of departments and organizations already recycling. In 4 months, Sustain Mizzou gathered over 2000 signatures. Together with a committee of students he wrote and presented a report (and the petitions) to MU administrators outlining the need for and benefits of a coordinator. For next year he is planning on working on MU's purchasing practices.
Jared was also the recipient this spring of a nationally competitive $5,000 Udall Scholarship, given to students who are interested in environmental policy.

BioRegional Quiz:What kind of "Tiger" lives in Missouri?

Job of the Month: Environmental Chemist - DB Environmental, Inc.; Rockledge, FL. Responsibilities: Prepare water, soil and plant samples; analyze samples for major elements and nutrients; report findings. Status: Full-time position. Qualifications: AS or BS in Chemistry or related scientific discipline; lab and spreadsheet experience desired; previous work with spectrophotometers, rapid flow analyzers and ion chromatographs preferred but not required; Florida DL preferred. Salary: Pay is commensurate with experience and education. Application Procedure: Send cover letter and resume to: Ms. Nancy Chan, DB Environmental, Inc., 365 Gus Hipp Blvd., Rockledge, FL 32955 or fax to: (321) 631-3169 or paste cover letter and resume into body of an email and send to: dbenvlabs@aol.com. Note: Do not send as an attachment.

Special Events/Classes/Programs/Talks
PLANNING AND PLANTING A NATIVE GARDEN: Saturday, May 8; Join Nadia Navarette-Tindall of Missouri Wildflowers at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park for an introduction to planning a native garden 9 am. At 10:30 am there will be an informational hike to show different species of wildflowers in their typical habitats. Both events will take place at the Park Office in the upper parking lot.
PRAIRIE FORK WILDFLOWER PLANTING: Saturday, May 8; Join Wild Ones of Columbia and the Missouri Prairie Foundation in planting wildflowers; for more information email: wildonesmo@yahoo.com

MU Environmentally Related Seminars
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN A TREEHOPPER: Thursday May 6; Meet at noon in Tucker Hall Rm. 8; Presentation by Karthik Ramaswarmy

MU Organization Meetings and Contact Information
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL: http://www.missouri.edu/~jesse105/committees/pages/environmental.htm
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES EXEC COM: 882-7116 Friday May 7, 8 am - 208 A Tucker Hall
RECYCLING COMMITTEE: 882-3091 Thursday June 10, 9 am 185 General Services Building
SUSTAIN MIZZOU: 882-7116 Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, meet A&S 200 - last meeting of the semester -Potluck Wed May 5 at 6 pm in Peace Park

Organization Meetings and Contact Information
AUDUBON SOCIETY: 874-3904 / columbia-audubon.missouri.org Meet 3rd Wed 7:30 pm, USGS, 4200 New Haven
BOONE COUNTY SMART GROWTH COALITION: http://smartgrowth.missouri.org/, 1st Wednesdays 7:15 Boone Co Govt Ctr.
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING: 875-0539 or http://peaceworks.missouri.org/
CHOUTEAU GROTTO: http://chouteau.missouri.org/, Meet 1st Wed, 7 pm, Community Room of the Boone Electric Coop
COLUMBIA FOOD CIRCLE: 882-7463 or email hendricksonm@missouri.edu for information.
COLUMBIA PUBLIC WORKS VOL. PROGRAMS: 874-6271 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/#PW
COMMUNITY STORMWATER PROJECT: 884-8333 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/StormWater/cswp.html
ENV EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/teacher/workshops/
FRIENDS OF ROCK BRIDGE M. S. P.: 815-9255 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63S
GREENBELT COALITION: 442-4789 or http://greenbelt.missouri.org Meet 1st Tuesdays, 7 pm Outdoors Bldg 200 Old 63 S.
MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: npshawth@hotmail.com 2nd Mondays in Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov at 7:00 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd, Columbia, MO.
MISSOURI RIVER COMMUNITIES NETWORK: 443-0292 or http://mrcn.missouri.org/
PEDNET COALITION: email: pednet@pednet.org or http://www.pednet.org
RIVER RELIEF: http://www.riverrelief.org/
ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK: 449-7402 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org
SHOW ME CLEAN STREAMS COALITION: (573) 751-4115 ext 3169 or www.mostreamteam.org
SIERRA CLUB: 443-4401 or http://sierra.osage.missouri.org Meet 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hillel Foundation, 1107 University Ave
WILD ONES: 499-3749 or email wildonesmo@yahoo.com, http://wildones.missouri.org Meetings 2nd Saturdays. Call for location

Answer to BioRegional Quiz: A Tiger Swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus). This butterfly gets its name from the black and yellow stripes on its front wings. Adults begin emerging in April and can be seen into the late fall. The larva feed on hop tree, ash, tulip tree, apple and cherry. They are bright green with large yellow eyespots.

Feedback - Got an opinion? If we have space, we will consider publishing it. Submit it by email (envstudy@missouri. edu), snail mail (Environmental Studies, 211 Lowry , MU, Columbia MO 65211), or call Jan Weaver to talk about it (882-7116). MU Environmental Network News is published by MU's Environmental Studies Initiative. All opinions expressed are the responsibility of the editor. Any part of this newsletter may be copied for distribution but please give us credit.

return to NEWS page

return to HOME page