Author: elomonico

For nearly a decade Shell has been trying to build an oil pipeline through the heart of Rossport, Ireland, which would cut through private property, jeopardize the area’s delicate bog ecosystem and threaten both the safety of Rossport’s citizens and the local farmers’ way of life. However, thanks to a small group of local, committed…

In 2005, Stephanie Roth was awarded the Goldman Prize for leading an international campaign to stop construction of Europe’s largest open cast gold mine near the historic Romanian town of Rosia Montana. Thanks to her efforts, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) withdrew support and the European Union expressed concern over the mining project.…

Continuing efforts to support past Goldman Prize winners under duress, Douglas E. Goldman, President of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, recently sent a letter to the President of South Korea asking her to release 1995 Goldman Prize recipient Choi Yul from prison. Choi was sentenced to one year in prison in March 2013 and has already…

1999 Goldman Prize recipient Jorge Varela recently announced that he is coming out of retirement to head up Honduras’ Association of Fisherfolk of the Gulf of Fonseca (APAGOLF) as executive director. Jorge Varela was awarded the Goldman Prize in 1999 for his marine conservation work in Honduras, particularly his efforts to protect the ecological diversity…

Randall Arauz was awarded the Goldman Prize in 2010 for the role he played in drawing international attention to the inhumane and environmentally catastrophic shark finning industry in Costa Rica and around the world. More recently, Arauz celebrated a victory when five shark species were added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade…

2012 Goldman Prize recipient Ikal Angelei recently shared a link to a stirring video posted on the Yale e360 blog about the struggle between nomadic herdsman in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya- whose survival depends on access to the Omo River and Lake Turkana. The two bodies of water are currently being threatened by drought,…

Congratulations to 2013 Goldman Environmental Prize recipient Azzam Alwash and his team at Nature Iraq, who are celebrating a huge victory this week, following the announcement that the Mesopotamian Marshlands have been officially recognized as Iraq’s first National Park! Alwash was awarded the Goldman Prize in 2013 for his unwavering dedication to restoring and preserving…

From China to Bangladesh, rivers run purple, blue and black with waste from garment factories. Locals say they can tell what colors are in fashion by looking at the river. Meanwhile, the air is so thick with toxic fumes- it causes regular nosebleeds, fainting, and retching- especially in children. Rampant pollution from the garment industry is…

Congratulations to Goldman Prize recipients Kimberly Wasserman and Ignace Schops on being selected to join Al Gore’s Climate Leadership Corps, part of the Climate Reality Project– an organization that seeks to fight climate change by empowering local citizens to make a difference. Schops was awarded the Goldman Prize in 2008 for the leadership role he…

Douglas E. Goldman, President of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, recently sent a letter to Gabonese President Ali Bongo in support of 2009 Goldman Prize winner Marc Ona Essangui. Mr. Ona is facing possible jail time and a fee of nearly $10,000.00 US after being convicted of defamation by a Gabonese court for speaking out against…