| Murder
of Dorothy Stang |
edniz |
| Feb
19, 2005 04:56 PST |
Hello,
I
came across a couple articles locally regarding the murder of
Dorothy Stang, a 74 year old American nun who was shot to death
near Anapu,
Brazil. Anapu is nearly 1,000 miles northwest of Brasilia, the
capital.
Stang had been an environmental advocate and had worked to
protect local
land owners from loggers. Stang, a native of Dayton, Ohio, had
been in
Brazil since the early 1960's. Brazilian officials are comparing
her fate
to the killing of Chico Mendes back in 1988.
I
saw a somewhat related story in the Ithaca Journal yesterday
(Feb. 18th) regarding a 75% drop in the monarch butterfly
population.
Illegal logging in Mexico, intensive farming in the United
States and Canada
and some severe weather may all be factors contributing to
severe drop in
population. Activists in Mexico have complained that forest
preservation
efforts in their country are often met with violent resistance
from logging
gangs.
I
think that it is important to remember that in many parts of
the world, environmental advocacy can come at a very high price.
Ed Nizalowski |
|