Goldman Prize Winners announced on Earth Day
Earth Day (22 April) is considered by some to be the largest secular holiday in the world. It is marked every year by half a billion people in 175 countries around the globe. The Earth Day Network's mission is to "grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. We pursue these goals through education, politics, cultural events, and consumer activism."
The first Earth Day celebration was organized by US Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin in 1970 as an Environmental 'Teach-In' in which over 20 million people participated. Senator Nelson directly credited the first Earth Day with advancing the environmental policy agenda in the US, and following this first Earth Day, Congress passed several important pieces of environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act, laws to protect drinking water, natural habitats, and the ocean.
Earth Day is celebrated in a variety of ways, from neighbourhood clean-ups to workshops and lectures. It is also the day when the recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize are announced each year.
The Goldman Prize is one of the world's largest prizes honouring grassroots environmentalists. It was founded in 1990 by Richard and Rhoda Goldman and annually awards US$125,000 to environmental heroes from each of the world's six inhabited continental regions. This year's laureates are Sophia Rabliauskas (Canada), Hammerskjoeld Simwinga (Zambia), Tsetsegee Munkhbayar (Mongolia), Julio Cusurichi (Peru),Willie Corduff (Ireland), and Orri Vigfússon (Iceland). They are being honoured today at the San Francisco Opera House.