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Re: [greenyes] Media Release: Incinerator Opponent Wins Environmental Prize







YAYYYYYYYY!!!

Congratulations, Von!! more than well deserved - I know I speak for all when I say
that we are proud that you have won the "Nobel" prize of Environment - you are a fine
example to us all, and we are all very happy that we count you as one of our family -
well done!! here is a massive hug (((((((hug)))))))

brilliant!!!!

with much love.....

Muna


On 14 Apr 2003 at 12:26, Monica Wilson wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> Today the world's biggest environmental prize for grassroots
> environmentalists is being given to Von Hernandez for the Philippines'
> ban on waste incineration. This award is a recognition for everyone
> who worked to achieve this major legislative victory, for everyone who
> is helping to protect the ban from being repealed, and for everyone
> fighting to build a future free of incinerators and toxics.
>
> Below is a media release from the Goldman Environmental Prize about
> Von and incineration, which you can distribute (or write your own) to
> your local, national, and regional media contacts. If it is helpful,
> you might note that Von Hernandez is Co-coordinator of GAIA (Global
> Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives). Please also use/refer to the
> Goldman Prize website: www.goldmanprize.org for more press information
> about the prize and all recipients. For a Word document of this media
> release suitable for faxing, please contact Manny Calonzo:
> manny.gaia@no.address
>
> Thank you, and congratulations to Von and everyone!
> --------------
>
>
> GOLDMAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE, www.goldmanprize.org
>
> (All information in this document is STRICTLY EMBARGOED for release
> until APRIL 15, 2003 (Philippines Time))
>
>
> Filipino?s crusade against waste incineration wins
> world?s largest award for Grassroots Environmentalists
>
>
> An Asian environmental campaigner who helped make history in 1999 when
> the Philippines became the first country in the world to ban waste
> incineration nationwide has scooped a major international award.
>
> Von Hernandez, 36, who remains at the forefront of a heated battle to
> maintain the ban in the face of strong industry pressure, today became
> the first Filipino to win the Goldman Environmental Prize.
>
> The Prize is given annually to grassroots environmental heroes from
> six geographic areas. Each receives a no-strings-attached award of US
> $125,000. As the largest award of its kind, the Goldman Environmental
> Prize has been dubbed the ?Nobel Prize for the Environment.?
>
> Hernandez, who lives in Quezon City, is the Asia Toxics Campaigner for
> Greenpeace International and the  co-coordinator of the Global
> Anti-Incinerator Alliance /Global Alliance for Incinerator
> Alternatives (GAIA). His efforts to fight the serious human health
> hazards posed by incinerators have alerted the entire region to the
> real costs of waste incineration.
>
> In spite of the Philippines Clean Air Act of 1999, Hernandez
> acknowledges the struggle against waste incineration in Asia is far
> from being won with incinerators across the region spewing
> cancer-causing dioxins into the air. He is particularly concerned that
> industrialised nations are dumping toxic waste and moving dirty and
> deadly technologies like incinerators in developing Asian countries,
> bringing with them a host of serious threats to human health and the
> environment.
>
> ?Our fight against incineration, landfills and polluting technologies
> is actually a struggle against the negative and destructive forces of
> over-consumption and dirty industrial development,? said Hernandez.
> ?It is essentially a struggle to shift the dominant paradigm to one
> which is truly respectful of life and the rights of future
> generations.?
>
> In Thailand, home of last year?s Goldman Environmental Prize winner,
> Pisit Charnsnoh, there are several proposals to build Japanese waste
> incinerators. Other countries in the region such as Malaysia, Vietnam
> and China, are also being inundated with plans to erect incineration
> plants mostly from Japanese companies with the promise of soft loan
> packages from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
>
> Japan, a country typified by heavy consumption patterns, has more
> incinerators than any other country.  It also holds the dubious
> distinction of having the highest levels of dioxin emissions in the
> world today.
>
> ?The developing countries of Asia should avoid repeating the mistakes
> of industrialized countries. Incineration is one such mistake which
> not only generates toxic pollution but also perpetuates the continuing
> wastage and plunder of finite resources.  Incineration has no place in
> a sustainable future,? Hernandez said.
>
> Hernandez said the Goldman Prize came at a critical point in the
> campaign and described it as a ?very encouraging and pleasant
> surprise?. ?I feel gratified and vindicated having spearheaded this
> campaign and having been ridiculed constantly for it. The
> international recognition is an important validation that we are doing
> the right thing.?
>
> Hernandez, who is pushing a ?Zero Waste? agenda. is currently in San
> Francisco to collect his award and will attend a series of high level
> meetings with US Congress, senior World Bank officials and public
> policy leaders.  He will not miss the opportunity to ask the World
> Bank to stop funding the construction of incinerators in the global
> South.
>
> ?This year?s winners have looked beyond themselves, often risking
> freedom or safety, to inspire their communities to fight for
> environmental protection,? said Richard N. Goldman, founder of the
> Goldman Environmental Prize. ?In the current political climate, it is
> more important than ever to recognize people who are working to
> protect the health of their water, air and community resources. We are
> honored to recognize work that exemplifies how much can be
> accomplished when ordinary people take extraordinary action to protect
> the health of our planet.?
>
>
> -	Ends -
>
> Notes to editors
>
> 1.	High resolution images of Von Hernandez, together with a detailed
> backgrounder, can be downloaded from
> http://www.goldmanprize.org/media/ username: prize password: 2003
>
> 2.	The Goldman Environmental Prize allows individuals to continue
> winning environmental victories against the odds and inspire ordinary
> people to take extraordinary actions to protect the world. The Goldman
> Environmental Prize was created in 1990 by civic leaders and
> philanthropists Richard N. Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda H.
> Goldman. Richard Goldman founded Goldman Insurance Services in San
> Francisco. Rhoda Goldman was a descendant of Levi Strauss, the founder
> of the worldwide clothing company.
>
> The Goldman Environmental Prize winners are selected by an
> international jury from confidential nominations submitted by a
> worldwide network of environmental organizations and individuals.
> Prizewinners participate in a 10-day tour of San Francisco and
> Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony and presentation, news
> conferences, media briefings, and meetings with political, public
> policy, financial and environmental leaders.
>
> Background on the Prize and previous winners is available at
> http://www.goldmanprize.org/
>
>
> CONTACTS:
> -For further information on the Goldman Environmental Prize, contact
> Lucy Farmer in Australia +61-3-9589 7189 (mobile 0403 869905) -Von
> Hernandez is currently in San Francisco to collect his award. He can
> be contacted on his mobile - (63) (0) 917-5263050. Please note
> Philippines time is 16 hours ahead of San Francisco time. -For more
> information on Von Hernandez and the anti waste incineration campaign,
> contact Manny Calonzo of GAIA on Tel: (632) 929-0376 or Francis de la
> Cruz of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, on (632) 434-7034 -The following
> media contacts may also be reached in the US by cell phone: Simon
> Aronoff (415-596-0696), Mike Smith (415-613-8517), Daniel Silverman
> (415-378-400 -For more background on the GAIA campaign visit
> http://no-burn.org/
>
>
>
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>
>
>
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