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近來是草根運動者的黑暗時期。就在幾個星期以前，美國總統布希才將上百萬的反戰抗議人士駁斥為無足輕重的「特定團體」──他不但決意要忽略這個團體的意見，而且也的確做到。但，這世界唯一強權所顯示出的漠不關心僅僅是運動者所遭遇的阻礙之一。現在的問題往往具國際規模，其起源及影響都龐然複雜。這樣的狀況下，我們要如何著手處理這些難題呢？
此期特刊中訪談的2003年環保金人獎得主們就是因為找到了回答這個問題的方法而獲頒此環保運動的最高榮譽。這7位不平凡的女士和先生，不但勇於挑戰沉重的環境及社會問題﹝包括從破壞阿帕拉契山巔的採煤活動，到澳洲的核廢料棄置問題﹞，而且他們也確實改變了現況，有時甚至還是在面對足以危及生命的阻力下做到的。「直到眼見一台60噸的煤礦卡車在狹路上故意把車身甩向你之前」，礦業運動者茱莉亞•龐茲說，「你其實不算真正被恐嚇過。」
環保金人獎由理查和洛達高德曼（Richard and Rhoda
Goldman）創立於1990年。每年這個獎都會從全球各主要區域──包括非洲、亞洲、歐洲、北美洲、中南美洲，還有諸島嶼國家，各選出一名草根運動者或是運動團體予以授獎。每位得主各獲頒12萬5000元美金，獎金沒有任何附帶條件。過去的得獎者包括有：洛懿•吉普斯，她之前是位主婦，極力反對將化學廢料傾倒在紐約愛河中；愛瑪•莫斯特，她是英國圖書館員，以將自己綁在推土機上的行為帶起一連串對抗道路建設的全國實踐運動；肯•沙羅─威，他是奧幹尼族的環保運動者，畢生在祖國奈及利亞對抗皇家荷蘭／殼牌的採油活動，直到1995年被自己國家的腐敗政府所處決。本年度的得獎者將在4月14日於舊金山戰爭紀念歌劇院舉辦的典禮中接受表揚。
環保金人獎的候選人是由世界各地的環境保護組織提名，再由一個由環保運動者、政策制訂者，以及前任得主們所組成的審查團選定最後由誰勝出。大多數的得主們都把獎金用來推動所從事的工作，他們一致認為獲獎的事實大大地增加了他們的自信，也更有利於國際間對他們工作目標的支持，有時甚至連敵手也不得不醋溜溜地表示欽佩之情。
在這份Grist特刊中，我們訪問了本年度的環保金人獎得主，他們將與各位分享他們的掙扎奮鬥、動機來源，還有他們的勝利時刻。這些人非凡的勇氣和決心激勵了世界各地所有努力不懈的環保運動者。 |
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These are dark times for grassroots activists. Just weeks ago, President
Bush dismissed millions of anti-war protesters as little more than a
"focus group" -- a group whose opinions he was determined to ignore, and
did. But the indifference of the world's sole superpower is only one of
the obstacles facing activists. Today's problems are often international
in scale and staggeringly complex in their origins and effects. How,
then, to begin tackling them? The winners of the 2003 Goldman
Environmental Prizes -- interviewed here in this special edition of
Grist -- have earned one of environmentalism's highest honors because
they found ways to answer that question. These seven extraordinary women
and men took on overwhelming environmental and social problems -- from
mountaintop-removal coal mining in Appalachia to nuclear waste dumping
in Australia -- and made a difference, sometimes in the face of
life-threatening opposition. "You really haven't been intimidated," says
mining activist Julia Bonds, "until you see a 60-ton coal truck swerve
at you on a narrow road."
The Goldman Prize was established in 1990 by Richard and Rhoda
Goldman. Each year, the prize is awarded to one grassroots activist or
team of activists from each major section of the globe: Africa, Asia,
Europe, North America, South and Central America, and islands or island
nations. Winners receive $125,000 each, no strings attached. Past
honorees include Lois Gibbs, the former homemaker who fought chemical
waste dumping in New York's Love Canal; Emma Must, an English librarian
who began a national direct-action campaign against road-building by
chaining herself to a bulldozer; and Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni
environmental activist who fought oil exploitation by Royal Dutch/Shell
in his Nigerian homeland until he was executed by the nation's corrupt
government in 1995. This year's prize winners are to be honored in a
ceremony held at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco on April
14.
Environmental organizations around the world nominate individuals for
the prize, and the winners are chosen by a panel of activists,
policy-makers, and former prizewinners. Most winners use the money from
the award to further their work -- and all of them say the recognition
boosts their confidence, builds international support for their cause,
and sometimes even gains them the grudging admiration of their foes.
In this special edition of Grist, we interview this year's Goldman
Environmental Prize winners, who share with us their struggles,
motivations, and triumphs. Their extraordinary courage and commitment
are a source of inspiration for hardworking environmental activists
everywhere.
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