Best foot forward: a decade later, why this environmentalist is still walking and planting trees.War is not only devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. to humanity; it's devastating to the natural environment. When bombs fall and tanks roll, environmentalism environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. ceases to exist. Regions once preserved as national parks This is a list of national parks ordered by nation. Africa
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Throughout Africa, where severe hardships exist even without strife, warfare has plagued society and decimated valuable natural resources such as the great equatorial equatorial /equa·to·ri·al/ (e?kwah-tor´e-al) 1. pertaining to an equator. 2. occurring at the same distance from each extremity of an axis. rainforests, and animals, such as the magnificent gorillas. During the three-year siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, lasting from April 5 1992 to February 29 1996. It was fought during the Bosnian War between the forces of the Bosnian government, who had declared independence from Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav (1992-1995), a once beautifully renowned city, more than 80 percent of the city's trees were cut down to provide fuel so the population could survive three harsh winters. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In May 1994, I began walking from San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden to Sarajevo via Washington, DC, and Paris, with a mission to plant a tree in Sarajevo on Earth Day, April 22, 1995 (see "Earth Day Earthwalker," American Forests American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization that promotes healthy forests and urban tree planting. The organization was established in 1875 as the American Forestry Association, by physician/horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens March/April 1995). I wanted to alert people to a previously unknown war casualty: the environment. On my way to Sarajevo people expressed doubt in the wisdom of the mission. "They're not going to care about trees, people are being killed," they said. I must admit that when I saw the devastation and the falling bombs, I too, for a moment, doubted my mission. But that doubt went away after I reached the city, planted the tree, addressed the Sarajevo General Assembly, and received from the Mayor and representatives, a list of trees they wished to see planted after the war. The walk to Sarajevo was the beginning of what has become a major commitment to spread the word about why we need to stop killing to start surviving. War removes valuable financial resources from the global effort to restore our planetary ecosystems and from the everyday humanitarian efforts that feed, shelter, and clothe people worldwide. From 1997-1998, I walked around Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. , planting trees for the children killed in Sarajevo. This action was meant to show how much nicer it is to give life than to take it away. In November 2000, I set off on a 10-year walk from the U.K. to China to encourage the planting of at least 100 million trees, one tree for every person killed in the last century of war. The support was tremendous, ranging from individuals who opened their homes to national governments who organized mass tree plantings. I slept in mud huts, was chased by elephants, and planted trees with heads of state. Most recently, 5 million trees planted by Environment Africa were dedicated to this cause. World Environment Day (June 5th) will begin the next leg of the Walk To China. This time it will be around the Island of Okinawa where more than 230,000 women and children perished during the last great battle of World War II. For this action I have much support, coming from the Okinawa Ocean Cultural Environmental Action Network (OCEAN), an organization created when its founding members began cleaning up Okinawa's beach's 10 years ago. Support also comes from the recently opened Tsushima Maru Coordinates: Tsushima Maru (対馬丸) was a Japanese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk during World War II while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin. Museum, dedicated to children lost in the sinking of a ship that was taking them away from the battle of Okinawa The Battle of Okinawa, fought on the Japanese island of Okinawa, was the largest amphibious assault during the Pacific campaigns of World War II.[1] It lasted from late March through June 1945. . Our mission is to see the planting of 230,000 trees for the number of people killed. We welcome donations that will help to accomplish our goal. Plant a tree for a person killed in conflict. The earth and those gone by will appreciate your action. Martin Luther King once said "If I knew I were going to die tomorrow. I would plant a tree today." Me too. You can contact Paul Coleman via his website, www.earthwalker.com |
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