News came early this morning of the passing of Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Having fought cancer for many years she passed away in Kenya yesterday at the age of 71.
Maathai’s had a role in many areas of life, from education, to public policy, to debt reform, and even domestic and international peace efforts. However, her legacy will be the common sense approach she brought to environmental issues like those that were destroying her own homeland. Her observations of what had changed with development and agriculture in Kenya – the disappearance of trees that helped control erosion – had a simple answer. Plant new trees to recover some of what has been lost and in the process find new ways to live with nature. And her simple act along with organizing skills inspired many more people around the world.
That simple philosophy was brilliantly outlined (and beautifully animated) in this clip from the Movie “Dirt”.