Six campaigners winthe environmental world's 'Nobels'.
By PETER GRIFFITHS
FROM the rainforests of Africa to the mountain-top coal mines of West Virginia, six campaigners who have fought governments and industry to protect the planet won prestigious Goldman Environmental Prizes recently.
The awards, often referred to as the Nobel Prizes of the environmental world, went to activists in six continents who took on everything from toxic chemical dumps in the former Soviet Union to ship-breaking in Asia.
Thisyear's African winner is Marc Ona Essangui, who campaigned against plans by a Chinese state-owned company to open an iron ore mine in the rainforests of Gabon, west Africa.
Ona, who uses a wheelchair due to child- hood polio, has been repeatedly threatened, and arrested and evicted from his home.
"Threats shouldn't prevent you from carrying on your fight. It could destroy the most beautiful forests in central Africa."
His campaign helped lead to a review of the project, which is currently on hold, the prize's organisers said.
The North America winner was Maria Gunnoe, a former waitress who campaigns against the environmental impact of mountain-top coal-mining in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia.
The method involves blasting the tops of mountains, removing the coal and pushing the rubble into valleys. Critics say it pollutes land, destroys streams and causes flooding.
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