... Sacred mountain woman ... The Inspirational Woman in Preservation Award was
presented to Ola Cassadore Davis by national Indian rights organization Morning
Star Institute [403 Tenth Street, SE, Washington DC 20003, (202) 547-5531]. She
is honored for her work in protecting Mt. Graham, the mountain sacred to the
Apache as the place for girls' coming of age ceremonies and other traditional
rituals. A medicine woman, grandmother and Western Apache leader, Ms. Davis is
an advisor and role model to native women throughout Indian Country, according
to Morning Star president Susan Harjo.
... Villagers save snow leopard ... Himalayan villagers in Pakistan demonstrated
the positive results of an intensive educational campaign on the endangered snow
leopard when they caged - instead of killed - a marauding female leopard. Four
days later, with help from the World Wildlife Fund, the cat was released back
into the wild.
... Greenaction picks up the torch ... When Greenpeace dropped its environmental
justice campaigns, Bradley Angel, who had been their toxics activist in
California and the Southwest, created a new grassroots organization called
Greenaction to continue the toxics-battling crusades. Unlike Greenpeace,
Greenaction's board is made up mainly of people of color and includes
representatives from organized labor, the women's movement and the cancer-
survivor community. [Greenaction, 915 Cole Street, Box 249, San Francisco, CA
94117, (415) 566-3475, www.greenaction.org]
... "Miracle tree" leaves illnesses behind ... Trees for Life [1103 Jefferson,
Wichita, KS 67203, (316) 263-7294], an organization that helps people in Third
World countries plant food-bearing trees to combat hunger, reports that 40,000
villagers in India are combating life-threatening effects of Vitamin A
deficiency by planting "miracle tree" seedlings. The leaves of Moringa oleifera,
the drumstick tree (named for its long bean-like fruit) supply abundant calcium,
potassium, and Vitamins C and A. In Orissa, India, children from 20 villages
recently helped to distribute and plant the seedlings while village women
participated in cooking demonstrations using boiled drumstick tree leaves and
local priests consecrated the tree saplings as holy offerings.
... Good fellows' ideas well met ... Ashoka: Innovators for the Public [1700
North Moore St., Suite 1920, Arlington, VA 22209-1903, (703) 527-8300,
www.ashoka.org ] invests money to help local leaders who have problem-solving
ideas for their societies. To date, they have helped launch 850 social
entrepreneurs in 33 countries. Their criteria: The idea has to have local
significance and also be replicable, allowing the impact to extend regionally,
nationally and internationally. The grant provides a three-year stipend for
living expenses, freeing each "Ashoka Fellow" to realize his or her vision.
... Free advice = clean technology ... Malaysian textile, food-processing and
electroplating industries are benefiting from free reviews of their production
process by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute. SIRIM offers to go
over production methods "with a toothpick" to pinpoint processes which waste
water and/or energy or cause pollution. Cleaner production cuts manufacturing
costs and protects the environment. The service will be free for two years,
after which SIRIM bets Malaysian businesses will be willing to pay for it.
... Not just on paper ... To encourage US paper mills to curb release of dioxins
into the air and water, the EPA offers an incentive package to those who switch
to less-polluting technologies. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice
wants the EPA to require mills to adopt European "closed loop" technologies that
produces no organo-chlorines. This is discussed in the Green Guide, a
publication of Mothers and Others [40 West 20th St., New York, NY 10011-4211,
(888) ECO-INFO, mothers@mothers.org], a national non-profit organization of eco-
conscious consumers.
... Earth's voices, direct from the indigenous world ... The recently-released
videotape "Yakoana: The Voice of Indigenous Peoples" documents an unprecedented
1992 gathering at a village constructed especially for the event by Amazon Basin
tribespeople. The meeting (held to protest the fact that the 1992 Rio Earth
Summit invited only one indigenous presenter) drew nearly 1000 tribal leaders
from Africa, Asia, the Arctic, the Americas, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
[VHS 60 min. $95. Profits to indigenous communities. Parabola Video, (800) 560-
MYTH; orders@parabola.org]
... Made in the shade... Peets Coffee Company has announced an organic addition
to its java stable. Gaia Certified Organic Blend (a hefty $11.99/lb) originates
in Indonesia and Central America, where it is grown under the shade of native
trees without fungicides or pesticides. To celebrate, the company is donating
$.50 per pound sold in 1998 to organizations providing education on agriculture
and food preparation in the San Francisco Bay Area. [PO Box 12509, Berkeley, CA
94712, (800) 999-2132, www.peets.com]
... Good health for your car ... An EPA-registered product called Super 21, in
an interesting beaker-bottle, promises to increase auto fuel efficiency by as
much as 29 percent while decreasing tailpipe emissions by 98 percent. All this
by means of tiny water droplets exploding in your engine at just the right time,
causing eco-friendly turbulence. Endorsed by the UN, Super 21 is being tested in
auto fleets in several US cities. (One downside: If it works as promised, people
will just wind up driving their cars more.) [Roger Swedzinski, 713 Hathaway Rd.,
Ft. Wayne, IN 46845-9769]
... Empowering kids to do good ... Yes Action Camps have worked with youth from
25 countries, blending discussion, experimental exercise, video, nature and free
time in exciting and worthwhile getaways. Teens and young adults explore
solutions to environmental and social justice challenges while overcoming
prejudices. Eleven Yes Action Camps are located across the US and Canada.....
[420 Bronco Rd., Soquel, CA 95073, (408) 427-3646,
camps@yesworld.org, www.yesworld.org]
... The government goes greenish ... The US General Services Administration
(GSA) now buys partially recycled copier paper, but Todd Paglia of the
Government Purchasing Project says he would like to see the US make an even more
"effective use of [its] vast market power ... re-processed motor oil, recycled
carpet and toner and printer cartridges should be used by all federal agencies."
[(202) 387-8030, PO Box 19367, Washington DC 20036]
... Progressive development in the South ... A Memphis, TN, printing company
stocks a full line of tree-free fiber papers made from sustainably-harvested
farm crops, including industrial hemp, kenaf, flax, waste straw and cotton.
[Peerless Printing Co., (901) 458-8152]
... Fair deals for coffee farmers ... Sipping your morning latte, you might not
think about whether the farmers who grew your beans are getting a fair deal.
(Then again, you EIJ readers might.) Equal Exchange is out to balance the
inequities rampant in the conventional coffee trade by offering its coffee
grower-partners in Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica advance credit during tight
times between harvests. Equal Exchange, a worker-owned coffee-importing
cooperative, also has established a $10,000 fund to support survivors of the
Actéal massacre in Chiapas, Mexico. The fund supports 1,200 Tzotzil and Tzeltal
communities. Forty-six percent of Mexico's coffee comes from Chiapas. Since the
December 1997 attack, the farmers have been unable to harvest their coffee and
their processing plant "has been occupied by the Mexican Army." According to EE
President Jonathan Rosenthal, "it is critical for the US coffee community... to
support these small farmers. ." [251 Revere St., Canton, MA 02021, (781) 830-
0303, fax: -0282, www.equalexchange.com.]
... Boomers, teens concur ... No generation gap here! Both today's youth and
those who were young adults on the first Earth Day in 1970 agree when it comes
to environmental issues and culprits, according to a national opinion poll
conducted by Earthview. Both ends of the 13-to-52 age spectrum appear to agree
that the sad state of environmental affairs is the fault of government and
business leaders - and the average American's lack of commitment. [(202) 434-
8522, www.forthcouncil.edu]
... Organic wining and dining ... The Organic Traveler's Guide to Wine Country
runneth over with suggested stops for organically inclined visitors to
California's wine country. The guide features maps and a review of organic
farms, wineries, breweries, restaurants, stores, nurseries and lodging. (What
exactly IS an organic lodge?) [Community Action Publications, 6984 McKinley St.,
Suite 60-M, Sebastopol, CA 95472, (707) 829-2999,
pdines@compuserve.com]
... Wearable world-saving ... Wildlife Works produces casual clothing from eco-
friendly and recycled materials while contributing a portion of its profits to
the survival of endangered wildlife in Kenya. The plan is to create conservation
areas, employ rural villagers and provide an electronic hub for discussion and
involvement. [PO Box 190756, San Francisco, CA 94119, (415) 563-4900
www.wildlifeworks.com]
... A profusion of on-line green ... Green PagesTM Online [
www.greenpages.org] is a virtual cornucopia of environmental community and concerns resources,
featuring business contacts, products and services with an eco-conscious bent.
You can read all about it in Connections: Networking for Sustainable Business, a
newsletter printed in its entirety on tree-free kenaf-plant paper. [Co-op
America, 1612 K Street NW, #600, Washington DC 20006, (202) 872-5307
