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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead

Welcome!

Welcome back to the (GLP) GreenLifePixels.com Web site and our monthly eNewsletter, The Green Page eNews!

The theme of this month's issue is 'Individual Effort', and how the vision and courage of ONE, can not only inspire us to new heights -- but make a major impact on how we view and treat the world around us.

Join us this month while we highlight the contributions of Amazon-inspired environmental artist, Susan Cohen Thompson; the 2007 Goldman Environmental Prize recipients, and aspiring environmentalist/graduate student, Avra Goldman.

If you missed our April Launch Issue, be sure to visit our eNewsletter archive. We highlighted a number of green leaders you'll also want to learn about, including: Greenfestivals.org, Globalexchange.org, Grist.org and Earthwatch.org.

Erica Sokoloff, Editor

Featured Green Leaders

In this month's feature, we are showcasing the exceptional efforts of individuals across the globe: The 2007 Goldman Environmental Prize Recipients, and the efforts of two remarkable and creative women, environmental artist Susan Cohen Thompson and environmentalist and graduate student, Avra Goldman. Each of these contributors exemplify what we here at GLP are focused on - the advancement of green efforts and sustainability through businesses and individuals, and the need for information and education about the environment.

Susan C. Thompson, Environmental Artist
Art4Earth.com

LESSONS FROM THE AMAZON

“Art is my medium to communicate what is in my heart and mind. I experience everything (animals, plants, rocks, humans) as having an inner life. In my paintings, I strive to bring this hidden reality into visual form. To me, the world is interconnected and vibrating in relationship with everything in it even when things appear to be separated. Everything in nature merges into one another in space and time, like the transformation of earth from seed to tree to food for bird back to seed and tree.”
- Susan C. Thompson, Artists' Statement.

When you see Susan's art in person, a sudden calm falls over you. You are moved into a space that is both real and spiritual. Every curve, every leaf, every flower and animal comes to life before your eyes. Her connection to nature and the world around her stems from her ability to recognize and appreciate the interconnectedness of all natural things.

We recently went to a private show at her studio to hear her talk about her work. Two major themes came out of this talk, Susan's deep and personal connection to trees - most recently those of the Pacific Northwest, and the second the influential impact of the Amazon Jungle, and the native Shuar Indians who inhabit its natural spaces.

“Through a profound realization of her own true nature, Susan pinpoints and visually transports us to what I call the 'quiet awe' moment - that precise juncture where a perceived division between humankind and nature dissolves.”

- Marie Gunter, Founder, Green Life Pixels

Cedar of Compassion	Heartroots Oil	Tree with Man

Susan has been focused on Tree Imagery since 1987. Growing up surrounded by cement landscapes, most of her early work focused primarily on buildings, with an occasional tree in the background. It wasn't until Susan met her husband, mathematician and environmental supporter Clay Thompson, that buildings began to disappear as the forefront of her work, and nature began to take precedence. Now trees and nature are the predominant theme in her artwork, as well as a spiritual connection in her life.

“When I was growing up in New York, I remember standing in front of nature displays at The American Museum of Natural History. I longed to be surrounded by nature. This experience also influenced my desire to be an artist. It wasn't until Clay and I started hiking during visits to the Northwest, that I was finally off the pavement and surrounded by trees. The feelings were a profound connection.”

Susan is truly connected with the spiritual aspect of trees, which is quite apparent when you experience her work. She was once observed and then told by a Lakota visionary, “You are a tree” … and since then she has taken complete ownership of her tree connection. “Trees have a transcendent generosity” she says. “Standing, their generosity is in the form of habitat for many creatures, they create shade, air and even rain. But even after they die or are cut down, their physical material continues to provide beauty and usefulness in so many ways.” The generosity that they share, even after they have been cut down, is abundantly clear.

The old growth was logged years ago on Camano Island in Washington, where she and her husband currently reside. Susan dreams the future will have old growth trees again, if people reconnect with nature and take care of the environment.

Susan went on an expedition to the Amazon, with all its vivid and colorful life in search of a stronger relationship with nature. She visited the rain forest in 1998 and again in 2002. The connection that people have there with their environment deeply affected her, bringing into focus the love affair between man and nature, and how differently the native Shuar Indian people look at and into nature. In the jungle, nothing is separate from anything else. All life has its own place within the whole. Susan's Jungle series captures that connection beautifully and is further evidenced in her latest body of work, Forest Series.

We left Susan's studio awed and inspired. We hope to pass that awe and inspiration on to you.

To learn more about Susan and her work, please visit her website www.Art4Earth.com and press release.

2007 GOLDMAN PRIZE RECIPIENTS

The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world's largest prize honoring grass roots environmentalists. We are honored to share the work of these outstanding individuals with you this month.
A video message we've titled “Earth ~ Honor ~ Life”, named for the clips' thematic - content can be viewed in the video player to the right. .
More…

Avra Goldman, Environmentalist

THE CORPORATE CHANGE

Avra Goldman grew up in the rural areas of both Canada and Mexico. Her close proximity to nature gave her a personal sense of responsibility to protect and preserve the natural environment. The rural Mexican community in which she lived contributed greatly to Avra's current perspective and desire to protect natural resources.

The remote fishing village of Yelapa, only accessible by boat, had uniquely remained untouched by electricity, telephone lines, and roads during the time of her youth. Avra had the opportunity to watch the town grow and undergo development over the years and her connection with the village and the community there greatly influenced shaped her lifestyle and career goals. Avra watched the town struggle to cope with western development in the absence of appropriate infrastructure and knowledge of the impacts of pollution; while walking through the Yelapa, passing piles of burning plastic, noise-polluting generators, and garbage heaps on the coastal hillsides trickling down to the water - she began to be inspired to pursue a career in environmental management.

This is just one example of how individuals, through observing their own environment, can become inspired to action.

Avra is currently pursuing a Master's degree at the University of California's Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, with a concentration in Corporate Environmental Management, Her focus is on interdisciplinary strategies to address real-world environmental problems. Avra has worked on several projects aiming to reduce a company's environmental impacts, both through her coursework and professional experience with the U.S. EPA and ENSR consulting; projects include: pollution prevention opportunities for automotive shops, pollution prevention toolkit for tribal casinos, and a greenhouse gas inventory for a large energy company. In addition, Avra's Master's Thesis Group Projects focuses on GHG mitigation practices for electric utilities. For your reference, her final report can be found at: http://fiesta.bren.ucsb.edu/~greenhouse/index.html

Avra aspires to be a leader in facilitating a corporation's implementation of environmentally responsible practices and policies, through science-based and economic solutions. Her goal is to work with businesses, either through a consulting firm or within a business itself, implementing pollution prevention, energy and water efficiently, and greenhouse gas mitigation practices. She aspires to use the knowledge gained through graduate school and professional experiences to create change through her job.

Avra is currently seeking an employment opportunity in the San Francisco, Bay Area. If you are a sustainable organization with a green dream employment opportunity for Avra, or simply to be in touch, please use our contact form.

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