Making Waves: EII in the News

Earth Island News

A Nautilus for Climate Solutions
Climate Solutions authors Guy Dauncey and Patrick Mazza, and their publishing house New Society Publishers won the coveted Nautilus Award at the New York Book Expo in May, 2002 for their book Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change. The annual award recognizes books that make an exceptional contribution to promoting conscious living and positive social change. Described by James Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, as “a must read for anyone who wants a cleaner, healthier planet,” the book provides a concise and comprehensive overview of global warming and delivers 101 practical solutions.

Lust for power
The International Marine Mammal Project’s dolphin safe tuna program made the pages of Newsweek in May 2002 giving IMMP publicity described by one Earth Islander as “the kind money can’t buy.” The article recounts the story of how the dolphin safe label was adopted by the tuna industry and later formed the basis of federal law, now at risk of being gutted (see page 8). The feature began: “This is the unlikely tale of how an obscure San Francisco office of dolphin lovers gained what all activists lust for: real power. Over the last decade, the Earth Island Institute has become a de facto global regulator of the $2 billion-a-year canned-tuna industry.” It went on to quote IMMP’s Mark Berman as saying: “If one of these major companies cheated, all we would have to do is run a couple of full-page ads, and sales would fall.” Though pleased by IMMP’s increased exposure, Mark regretted that the article failed to give adequate credit to Brenda Killian, the founder and Executive Director of IMMP’s worldwide monitoring program.

Orcas in recovery
IMMP was one of the organizers of a three-day Orca Recovery Conference in Seattle in May-June, 2002 that discussed how to save the orca whales of Washington State and southwestern British Columbia. The conference coincided with an outreach campaign using donated space on 200 billboards in the greater Seattle area to promote the message “going… going… gone?” featuring shots of endangered orcas leaping through the waters around Seattle. The billboards also included a reference to the Website www.SaveOrcaWhales.org that enables people to send Action Grams to government officials promoting specific action to save the orcas.

Heading for the (big) hill
Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) has chosen the seven lucky participants in its first mountaineering expedition, destination California’s Mount Shasta, the second highest volcano in the lower 48 states. Participants are all enthusiastic supporters of BAWT’s work, many associated with companies in the sporting apparel industries, or who whose markets include youth. Look for news of the expedition in September. www.bawt.org.

Africa travelers needed
Global Service Corps (GSC) is looking for interns for its sustainable agriculture program in Arusha, Tanzania. Participants will travel to Africa, learn farming techniques and teach them to local farmers and communities. The experience includes a stay with a host family and Swahili lessons. Email gsctanzania@earthisland.org or visit www.globalservicecorps.org for details of this and other GSC programs.

Surf for a better planet
Grassroots Globalization Network (GGN) has published the second installment in its Community Solutions briefing series “Community Forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa.” GGN is also offering “The Informed Activist,” a guide to progressive activist issues on the Internet with over 700 Websites arranged in 35 categories with brief descriptions of each. Issues covered include: globalization, democracy, militarization, alternative media, media watchdogs and gender issues to name but a few. Both publications can be found at www.earthisland.org/ggn or calling GGN at (415) 788-3666 ext. 162.

And the winner is…
...David Steichen from Berkeley, California. Earth Island Journal proudly announces the recipient of a $50 gift certificate from Greenfeet.com as the winner of the reader survey prize draw. We received 278 print surveys by our June 1 deadline and 76 entries through the Website making a total of 354. (We continued to review them up to July 1, but we’ll happily read your comments past that date!) Many, many thanks to everyone who provided much needed feedback. We hope you’ll see the results in forthcoming issues of the Journal.

Happy Birthday, DRB!
Brower Day is coming up Saturday June 29, celebrating the 90th anniversary of Dave’s birth. To be held at two garden sites on Sacramento Street in Berkeley (on Woolsey and Harmon Streets), this year’s event provides CPR (Conservation, Preservation and Restoration) for the earth through hands-on participation. Come and learn gardening skills and how to manage pests naturally, make honey, paint ceramic tiles - and fill up on homemade ice cream and cake.

Coordinating the event is Shyaam Shabaka, the director of Earth Island’s new project Eco-Village West, which plans to buy and restore several acres of undeveloped riparian habitat in Richmond, a lower-income city in the San Francisco Bay Area. A small organic farm on an upland parcel will form the centerpiece of the Eco-Village. Look for expanded coverage of this exciting project in a future issue of EIJ.

Power to the people
After three years of training, volunteer coordination, fundraising, community organizing and hard work, the first community-owned and operated micro-hydro system in Sarawak, Malaysia is now up and running in Long Lawen. The project is a result of a partnership between EII’s Borneo Project, Green Empowerment, the village of Long Lawen and several other local organizations. The 9.6-kilowatt generator, which derives power from a small nearby river, is designed to provide the community with clean, quiet, and renewable electricity for lights, appliances and agricultural processing. For more information see www.earthisland.org/borneo/news/articles/020203article.html