The Fukashima disaster in Japan illustrated all too clearly the dangers of nuclear power. Ursula Sladek’s campaign for a nuclear-free future is reaching people around the world, especially in Japan, where one woman was so inspired- she decided to start an anti-nuclear movement of her own: the Natural Energy Society. Mariko Sayama wrote to the…
A federal district court in Washington state has found a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) in violation of the Clean Water Act and is forcing it to implement stricter pollution monitoring programs. Manure (mixed with other waste) from CAFOs is often used as “fertilizers” on agricultural fields or stored in “manure lagoons.” These lagoons often…
Manana Kochladze, founder of Georgia’s largest environmental NGO, Green Alternative, won the Goldman Prize in 2004 for her precedent setting campaign against the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Today she celebrates a victory as Turkish investors pull out of the massive Namakhvan Cascade dam project. The project seeks to build three separate hydroelectric stations along the Rioni…
Wanjira Maathai, daughter of the late Wangari Maathai, paid a visit to the Goldman Prize office to chat about her mother’s legacy and the future of the Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement continues to focus on tree-planting and community engagement operations in Kenya, and would eventually like focus on expanding into other African…
Egyptian garbage collector communities, known as zabbaleen, play an invaluable role in the management of Cairo’s solid waste. They specialize in separating organic and non-organic materials. Recyclable materials are sorted from the non-organic waste and delivered to recycling companies. The organic waste is turned into rich compost which is then delivered to local farms. Organic…
Honor and recognition keep pouring in for the late environmental hero Wangari Maathai. The 18th annual African Union Summit officially changed the name of “African Environment Day” to “Wangari Maathai Day.” The AU also created a new continental prize, the “Wangari Maathai Award for Outstanding Achievements in Environment and Biodiversity Conservation,” to promote conservation efforts…
A mysterious illness in LeRoy, New York is making national headlines. Teenagers from LeRoy High School are showing symptoms of a neurological disorder, similar to Tourette’s Syndrome. Doctors who have treated the teenagers have diagnosed the illness as a psychological disorder, but many people are not satisfied with that answer, including environmental activists Lois Gibbs and Erin…
As the global community gears up for the 2012 Olympic Games in London this summer, at least one country is struggling with the decision to participate amid news that Dow Chemical will be one of the Games’ main sponsors. In 1984, Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) was responsible for a horrific gas leak at a…
Since the US began destroying its chemical weapon stockpiles in 1986, Craig Williams has been monitoring the process to ensure that safe disposal methods are in place. He won the Goldman Prize in 2006 for his work to ban hazardous incineration techniques at weapons depots around the country. In late 2011, Williams traveled to The…
In 2003 Von Hernandez won the Goldman Prize for his activism against toxic waste incineration in the Philippines. Thanks in part to his efforts, the Philippines became the first country ever to pass a nationwide ban on waste incineration with the Clean Air Act in 1999, followed shortly thereafter by the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act in…