EII Receives Major Goldman Grant:

On September 10, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund announced a $1 million grant to Earth Island Institute to further develop EII's project assistance model. Rainforest Action Network and International Rivers Network (both originally EII projects) also were recipients of $1 million grants. The funds, to be paid over four years, recognize the substantial contributions that these organizations have made - with very limited budgets and staffing - to tackle pressing environmental issues.

No Jabs:

The July 1 edition of CounterPunch, Washington's hard-hitting political newsletter, included Earth Island Institute among its ranks of "Good Guys in Green." CounterPunch saluted EII founder Dave Brower as "the most radical, visionary and humane leader of the US environmental movement" and praised "executive director Dave Phillips and his troops [for confronting] the US State Department, Don Young, Mexican drug cartels, Al Gore and Greenpeace" in the battle to save dolphins from dying in tuna nets. CounterPunch also had praise for Chad Hanson and David Orr of EII's John Muir Project.

Making the Green Scene:

In its July 28 assessment on the US environmental scene, In These Times' "Field Guide to the Environmental Movement" bestowed kind words on EII's Dave Brower, Urban Habitat Program's Carl Anthony and Dave Phillips of the International Marine Mammal Project. ITT called Earth Island Journal "the liveliest and most comprehensive magazine covering the environment."

Hello Haiti:

After a recent visit to Haiti, Walter Miali, director of the EII-affiliated Green Earth Institute (GEI), published a remarkable book called Hello Haiti. With sparse text and compelling photos, the book takes readers into the homes and lives of Haiti's poor and their courageous defenders. For copies and information on how to help Haiti, contact GEI, PO Box 45, Highgate Springs, VT 05460.

A Better Motorboat:

San Francisco's Baykeeper and EII's Bluewater Network joined forces to float the West Coast's first boat powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). The $70,000, 20-foot boat runs on two 90-horsepower four-stroke outboards retooled for CNG by Honda engineers. When it's not monitoring water quality in San Francisco Bay, the Baykeeper will demonstrate clean boating alternatives at local boat shows.

Cause and Effect:

For years, the EPA has permitted industrial wastes to be recycled into agricultural fertilizers. In early April, following simultaneous exposés in the Seattle Times and Earth Island Journal, the EPA announced that it would undertake a review of the policy. Keep those calls and faxes coming in. Address them to Michael Shapiro, the EPA's director of solid waste management (703) 308-8895, fax -0513.

New EII Projects Welcomed Aboard:

The Salmon Protection Network (SPN), co-directed by Peter Fugazzotto and Todd Steiner of EII's Sea Turtle Restoration Project, works to protect and restore central California's coho salmon population. Further south, the Leaf project will be organizing an environmental restoration effort in an old-growth tropical rainforest on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula. Project Directors Dale Carter and Jason Nedelman are bringing together researchers, young American students and the local community to establish a model for rainforest protection.

Our Favorite Humanitarian:

EII President Carl Anthony was honored for his strong commitment to environmental justice issues with the national Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award, presented September 20. (The Duvenecks are the founders of Hidden Villa [26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, (415) 949-8652], the country's first interracial summer camp. Today, 18,000 school children visit Hidden Villa's 1,600-acre educational farm and wilderness preserve each year.) Carl's new assistant at Urban Habitat Program is Juliet Ellis, a recent graduate of San Francisco State University.

NAFTA Watcher:

EII has had the good fortune to rent desk space to California Fair Trade Campaign's Jeremy Madsen who is attending graduate school at University of Oregon this fall. Jeremy diligently lobbied California's congressional delegation to veto the "fast track" negotiating authority which would allow expansion of NAFTA and enable the president to negotiate the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (see story on page 8). Tell Congress that you oppose "fast track" and NAFTA expansion by calling (888) 723-5246.

Green Gatherings:

ReThink Paper's Emily Miggins attended the American Institute of Graphic Artists' Regreening of Design conference in July and offered RTP swatch books (tree-free and alternative paper samplers) to conferees. Also in July, Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) held press conferences with key members of the Turtle-Safe Shrimp Coalition, which now includes more than 90 organizations representing 6 million people. STRP continues to fight the World Trade Organization's efforts to weaken sea turtle protection laws. STRP's informational ads recently have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and International Herald Tribune.

Comings and Goings:

Global Service Corp's Rick Lathrop is off to Kenya to coordinate new program sites. EIJ Associate Editor Charmaine Oakley is footloose and fancy-free on a trek through northern Africa. EIJ's peerless Managing Editor Leslie Weiss, just back from a honeymoon jaunt through Italy, will be returning to school to obtain a teaching credential. Communications Associate Tracy Pon, whose radiant voice greets EII callers, begins a media and outreach internship for the Union of Concerned Scientists in October.

Helping Hands:

EII offers a tremendous thankyou to our devoted interns: Sadayuki Miyamoto, Japan (International Marine Mammal Project); Rachel Plotkin, Canada (International Marine Mammal Project, Earth Island Journal); Mioh Nemoto, Japan (Global Service Corps); Josephine Kuever and Marissa Schainker, US (Sea Turtle Restoration Project).

Earth Island Journal's Green Pages Fund is pleased to send a $200 check to author-activist Luz Marina Delgado to support the forestation of an urban eco-park project in Quetzaltengo, Guatemala. The fund, which helps grassroots groups plant trees around the world, is financed through the sales of kenaf seeds. If you would like a Kenaf Seed Kit and Grower's Guide, please send a minimum $3 donation to the Journal.

In his crusade to restore Glenn Canyon, EII Founder David Brower, was scheduled to deliver a passionate testimony calling for the draining of Lake Powell before the National Parks congressional subcommittee on September 23. The October 8 Annual Conference of Glenn Canyon Institute features Dave as keynote speaker.