WANGARI MAATHAI IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS BLOG!
A YEAR AGO WHEN I FIRST STARTED USING THE FAN APPLICATION ON FACEBOOK, I DISCOVERED THAT WHILE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE BARACK OBAMA HAD OVER 7 MILLION FANS ON FACEBOOK, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE WANGARI MAATHAI DID NOT HAVE A FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. SO I MADE ONE AND ACCUMULATED OVER 100 FANS. THIS PAST WEEK THE NUMBER OF FACEBOOK FANS FOR THIS BLOG SURPASSED WANGARI MAATHAIS NUMBER BY ABOUT FIFTY.
KNOWN AS THE TREE LADY, WANGARI MAATHAI RECIEVED HER PEACE PRIZE FOR FOUNDING THE GREEN BELT MOVEMENT, A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT OFFERS WOMEN IN KENYA MONEY IN EXCHANGE FOR PLANTING TREES. THESE TREES OFFER KENYANS A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF LUMBER AS WELL AS DECREASE EROSION WHICH PREVENTS MUDSLIDES AND HELPS MANTAIN WATER QUALITY. SHE IS THE FIRST ENVIRONMENTALIST AND THE FIRST AFRICAN WOMAN TO WIN THE PEACE PRIZE. MAATHAI DOES NOT PERHAPS SEE HERSELF AS ONLY AN ENVIRONMENTALIST. RATHER, SHE IS A WOMAN WHO BELIEVES THAT THE ANSWER TO EVERY PROBLEM SHOULD START WITH A QUESTION- ¨WHAT ARE THE RESOURCES AND RAW MATERIALS NEEDED TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?¨ THIS SORT OF QUESTION IS THE KIND OF ¨ENVIRONMENTALISM¨ THAT I STRONGLY SUPPORT. PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE GREEN BELT MOVEMENT.
-JOHNNIE JUNGLEGUTS
