A Wonderful Week For Canaries

Wangari Mathai, one
of my great heros.

I squealed with delight when I heard that Wangari Maathai had won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize last week. An environmental activist from Kenya, she typifies a great Yellow Canary in every way. As leader of the Green Belt Movement , she has helped to improve the environment, empower women, and fight corruption for nearly 30 years.

She is currently Kenya's Deputy Environmental Minister and the first black African woman to ever win a Nobel Prize. She is best known for leading a campaign to plant 30 million trees to counter deforestation.

"Many of the wars in Africa are fought over natural resources," she said. "Ensuring they are not destroyed is a way of ensuring there is no conflict."

This is a major discovery I made in January 1998, and it is a premise of this website and blog — that environmental protection and peacemaking go hand-and-hand.

In receiving the award, Dr. Maathai continued by saying:

"Don't farm in forests ... because we will lose our forests. We have been given the responsibility of caring for future generations, and the younger ones, so that they may have water."

This is exactly what I've been trying to say in different ways throughout my website and blog. Notice her beautiful phrase, "responsibility of caring for future generations." This is such a key part of what it's all about.

Here is what my greatest of all heros, Jimmy Carter, had to say about Dr. Maathai's award:

"She has fought courageously to protect the environment and human rights, in the face of severe governmental pressures to silence her often lonely voice. As an outstanding woman leader, she is a role model for other women throughout Africa struggling to improve the well-being of their families and communities."

And here's what the Nobel committee had to say in presenting the award:

"We believe that Maathai is a strong voice speaking for the best forces in Africa to promote peace and good living conditions on that continent."

In 1977, as a member of the National Council of Women of Kenya, she abandoned her promising career as a biology professor to pursue her environmental projects. She has since dedicated her life to making the world a better place.



A Message from the Canary...

Now, really, sometimes I have no idea why I'm keeping this blog, but this week I've gotten a better idea why. I know that I am not destined for greatness like Dr. Maathai and others that I have mentioned on this blog. However, there are young people around the world like Julia Butterfly and others who may be searching and who may stumble onto this blog. I hope that, if anything, my contribution to the world is to inspire some up-and-coming Canaries. All of us are like clay, and our lives are molded by our experiences — things we see, read, and hear. My hope is that this blog can provide one positive sound bite to some great, rising leader in our movement.

Ultimately, I do believe that we Canaries will prevail in our goal to promote peace and global sustainability. But, I also know that the institutions we are pushing against will persecute us, imprison us, and sometimes kill us. There are many Canaries around the world who are far greater than I because they are risking their lives to do what is right. From Thailand to Nigeria and from Mexico to Colombia, they are standing up against exploitation, hate, war, and inequality. These are the people who are going to ultimately save the Earth. I thank these true super heros for giving me hope, and I ask God to bless them.

— Sources: Associated Press, National Public Radio