Goldman Environmental Prize

Photo: Małgorzata Górska of Poland

Last month I attended the Goldman Environmental Prize receptions at the Natural History Museum and the Capitol. It's one of my favorite events of the year, and one of the most inspirational.

The Goldman's award a cash prize to one person from each continent who has shown outstanding grassroots environmental work. The recipients are often unknown outside of their communities, and it is amazing to see them rewarded for their valuable work that benefits the environment well-outside their communities. The winner for the "Island-Nations" practically thought of a strategy to feed all of Cuba. The winner from Asia convinced the crowd to help elephants and the winner from Central America warned us about the ongoing dangers for sharks, due to the delicacy of shark-fin soup. Sharks need protection, too!


The North American winner was amazing, too. Family farmer Lynn Henning exposed egregious polluting practices of livestock factory farms in rural Michigan, gaining the attention of the EPA.

I was most inspired by the European winner, Małgorzata Górska, a Polish woman who worked to protect one of Europe's last true wilderness areas. She implemented strategies with both the European Court of Justice and the Polish courts in order to stop a highway being built through the wilderness. I think it impressed me the most because the tactics seemed more like a legal hypothetical and I was amazed that she succeeded in bringing the weight of environmental law to reality. Full story here.

Video below. Narrated by Robert Redford!

For a re-cap of last year's award winners, see this post.

Shark video below.