Making a Difference

Years ago while taking a college class, we had to write a research paper about making a difference. While not one of my better writings, for some reason, I felt the urge to post and share today. Jeff Miller - Research Paper #2, Nov. 1998

Making a Difference

There are many organizations concerned with the earth, the environment and it's inhabitants. They are concerned not only with what has happened, but what is happening. They are concerned with what we can do, but even more importantly, what we must do. They are concerned with making a difference. Let me give you a brief look at some of these organizations and what they do.

One such organization is the Cousteau Society. Founded in 1973 by Captain Jacques–Yves Cousteau, the “Cousteau Society is a nonprofit, membership–supported organization dedicated to the protection and improvement of the quality of life for present and future generations” (www.cousteau.org).The society believes that only an informed and alerted public can best make decisions necessary to protect and manage the world’s natural resources and to insure a healthy and productive world. Captain Cousteau defined a new approach to decision making named Echotechnie, that integrates the environment with technology, and natural and social sciences.

To increase our knowledge and awareness of the environment, the Cousteau Society undertakes expeditions exploring and filming natural systems. The Cousteau teams have explored the water systems throughout the world for over forty years and have alerted the world to the importance and vulnerability of the global water system as well as the complex life within it.

Another organization concerned with the earth’s water is GREEN, the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network. GREEN’s mission is to improve education through a global network in over 135 countries around the world that promotes watershed sustainability. A watershed is the elevation or divide separating the drainage basin of one river system from another. GREEN serves as a resource to schools and communities that wish to study their watershed and to work to improve their quality of life. Their network approach to education “links cultures and societies and strives to help all build a more caring and sustainable society for all inhabitants” (www.igc.apc.org/green).

Friends of the Earth is a “nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the planet from environmental degradation; preserving biological, cultural, and ethnic diversity; and empowering citizens to have an influential voice in decisions affecting the quality of their environment and their lives” (www.foe.org).With over 25 years of effort, they have focused on the social and economic causes of environmental problems and have established three main program areas:

• Economics for Earth: focusing on the crucial economics of protecting the environment

• Global Action: working to promote sustainable development and environmental justice

• Protecting the Planet: working to involve citizens and address environmental problems

Formed in 1992, “Plant–It 2000 is an international nonprofit tree–planting foundation dedicated to properly planting, maintaining and protecting as many indigenous trees as possible worldwide” (www.tesser.com/plantit). Many of our natural areas need additional trees which, in turn, reduce pollution and improve our air and our climate. For every dollar contributed, they will plant a tree. The contributor decides where the trees get planted by selecting a site from their international site list.

Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, the Wildlife Conservation Society has the largest staff of non–governmental scientists working to protect endangered wildlife and ecosystems. Entire species of animals are vanishing in to extinction. So are many of the plants that support them – and humans, too. A main cause of this bad news is human overpopulation and development. The society believes that “human causes imply human solutions” and that has been the premise motivating their work for over a century. They describe their organization as:

The Wildlife Conservation Society is a story about sustaining biological diversity, teaching ecology and inspiring care. It is the story of men and women working in the United States and throughout the world to advance the field sciences, propagate endangered species, preserve habitats in peril, and enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of nature. (www.music.sony.com)

There is another wildlife protection organization, the International Wildlife Coalition. It was “founded specifically to be an advocacy organization with a three part mandate: prevent cruelty to wildlife, prevent killing of wildlife and prevent destruction of wildlife habitat” (www.iwc.org). It is against these objectives that the success or failure of their projects and programs are evaluated. Through wildlife rehabilitation, working for better environmental laws and wildlife education, they pursue the goals of fighting to save endangered species, protect wild animals and preserve habitat and the environment.

Some of the most beautiful habitats in this country are our national parks. The National Parks & Conservation Association is “America’s only private, nonprofit, citizen organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the U.S. National Park System” (www.npca.org). The NPCA was founded in 1919 and has more than 500,000 members who are “Citizens Protecting America’s Parks.” Through its efforts, the NPCA has developed a base of grassroots support that has increased effectiveness at both local and national levels. The association protects national parks by identifying problems and generating support necessary to resolve them.

The Rocky Mountain Institute established in 1982, is a nonprofit research and education foundation with a vision across boundaries. RMI’s mission is “to foster the efficient and sustainable use of resources as a path to global security” (www.rmi.org). Working with a global perspective, RMI devises new solutions to old problems “mainly by harnessing the problem–solving power of market economics and of advanced techniques for resource efficiency” (www.rmi.org). Their goal is not only to devise new solutions, but new ways to avoid problems altogether. It's research is focused in seven areas: energy, transportation, green development, water, economic renewal, forests and corporate sustainability. Security is the ultimate goal of all RMI’s work, promoting strategies for helping people and nations to be safe and feel safe in ways that work better and cost less.

The World Federalist Association promotes the idea of “Campaign for Global Change.”The WFA is a nonprofit education and advocacy organization “devoted to empowering the United Nations to be able to achieve global goals which nations can’t achieve alone, such as assuring common security, building sustainable economies, protecting human rights and preserving the environment”(www.getnet.com/wfa). They are concerned with the problems we face today that show little or no respect for national boundaries. There is pollution and destruction of natural resources that is caused by those who use the global marketplace as a cover for evading environmental laws. Destruction of our global ecosystem, poverty and abusive child labor practices are spread across borders by corporations in search of quick profit rather than sustainable development. WFA’s “Campaign for Global Change” hopes to create a United Nations that is capable of achieving the goals nations cannot achieve alone.

The Hunger Project is committed to solving the problem of 13 to 18 million human beings dying each year needlessly because of chronic, persistent hunger. Believing that charitable responses and bureaucratic programs are too inefficient and inflexible, “The Hunger Project takes a strategic approach that empowers people to achieve lasting, society–wide solutions” (www.thp.org). The Hunger Project has devised a people–centered, decentralized methodology known as Strategic Planning–in–Action (SPIA). This is empowering people to achieve breakthroughs in health, education, nutrition, food production, the empowerment of women and improved income. They believe people should be self–reliant and should build from their own skills, resources and decision making. The work of ending hunger is, therefore, not feeding people. It is the work of creating an enabling environment in which people have the opportunities they need to build lives of self–reliance. In contrast to sending in outside experts, The HungerProject “mobilizes local leadership from all sectors and from every level ofsociety, and empowers them to work together effectively to achieve the end of hunger” (www.thp.org).

The Windstar Foundation’s mission statement is “To inspire individuals to make responsible choices and take direct personal actions to achieve a peaceful and environmentally sustainable future” (www.wstar.org). Windstar builds on the premise that respect for our planet begins with respect for self and others.The foundation believes that personal, interpersonal, societal and ecological environments are all integral components in the creation of a sustainable future for the planet. Their vision is:

[A]world where people see themselves as a part of a complex and interdependent web of life. Decisions and actions regarding ecological, cultural, political, economic and global issues guided by concern for each other and the planet will ensure a society that works for all people -- for all time. Windstar is a commitment to conscious choice.(www.wstar.org)

They use the following as a statement of belief: “The Windstar Foundation … Together We Can Make a World of Difference” (www.wstar.org).

All of the organizations I have mentioned are concerned with the earth in one way or another. A common theme seems to be saving ourselves and protecting the earth for the future. They all have something else in common, too. His name is John Denver. Raising awareness and working to protect the earth were his passion. He called himself a global citizen. In answer to the question of what one person can do to help the environment, John responded, “If each one of us follows our heart and our own inclinations, we will find the small things that we can do and together we will come up with enough to create a sustainable future and a healthy environment” (www.envirolink.org).

Along with founding the Windstar Foundation, The Hunger Project and Plant–It 2000, John Denver served on the board of directors or the advisory boards of numerous environmental organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Cousteau Society, Friends of the Earth, the National Parks and Conservation Association, the Rocky Mountain Institute, the World Federalists Association, GREEN, the National Space Institute, The Challenger Center, the Human/DolphinFoundation, the International Wildlife Coalition, the Sierra Club and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. He received the Presidential World WithoutHunger Award and the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award, among others (www.sky.net).

John Denver expressed his beliefs in his music and in many speeches he gave for the organizations with which he was involved. John Denver’s music reflects the consciousness of a concerned citizen, working for the improvement of the quality of life for all people – environmentally, socially and politically. At a speech he gave for the World Wildlife Conservation Society, John said:

Within the coming few years we will make choices that determine whether the earth’s ecological systems remain viable to support biodiversity for future generations. We can’t make those choices without understanding and action, both of which the WCS provides worldwide better than anyother organization. Join us. Together we can make a world of difference.(www.music.sony.com).

For an annual Windstar Symposium, he chose as the theme “Choices for a Healthy Future.” The purpose was to support a process of informed decision making that leads to responsible action (www.sky.net). In his speech called “Earth’sBalance,” he said, “We have the power to change the course of what happens on the earth. Although we have the power, I worry about our wisdom” (www.sky.net).

I was fortunate enough to know John Denver. Many years ago while in the music business, I got to work with him and then I went on to work for him. He became a friend. One year I spent time touring with him and the band. He invited me to his home in Aspen. We talked, we joked, we watched the eagles and hawks soar, we watched the heavens, and we became better friends. Though I had not spoken with John in some years, I will miss him. The world will miss him. He was a true international figure dedicated to protecting the planet, to world peace and to the elimination of hunger. He was making a difference. Thank you, John.