Two Heroes for Blog Action Day!

Today is Blog Action Day! A day when over 14,000 blogs will reach more than 12,000,000 readers on one topic that affects us all: the environment.

I write about the environment every day either here, at Greener Assets or Inhabitat. I do it for two reasons: because I love to write and because the health of the environment is important to me. Today, on Blog Action Day, I’d like to share two organizations who have and continue to inspire me by combining community efforts with a green lens to become leaders for environmental change.

Napo Wildlife Center

The Amazon is often called the lungs of the planet but too often this natural wonder is threatened by unsustainable, exploitative industry. In Ecuador, a small community has bounded together to protect both the balance of the forest and the people who live there with a project that benefits us all.

I visited the Añangu community and stayed at their eco-tourism lodge, Napo Wildlife Center. Not just any tourism lodge, the project is 100% community owned and the proceeds directly pay for the conservation of 82 square miles of pristine lowland rainforest – land that would have otherwise been destroyed with logging, market hunting and oil extraction. (see it on the map here). Profits go to the democratic Añangu community and are used primarily for education and health care.

The lodge itself is small and built on sustainable design principles including natural wastewater treatment, solar-powered electricity and minimal consumption of short-life products. It is a true eco-tourism facility and recently won First Choice for Best Protected Area in the 2006 Responsible Tourism Awards.

Louisiana Bucket Brigade

In the Spring of 2005 I spent two weeks traveling up and down the Mississippi River along ‘Cancer Alley’. During that time I witnessed extraordinary community efforts and met hundreds of dedicated leaders who are working for environmental justice throughout the region. One organization that stands out in particular is the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.

LABB is an environmental health and justice organization working with communities that neighbor Louisiana’s refineries and chemical plants. With EPA-approved LABB “buckets”, fenceline communities can monitor the air in their neighborhoods allowing real time pollution testing that arms residents to fight toxic exposure and hold corporations accountable.

LABB has been working in Louisiana since long before Katrina and remains a steadfast organization. The communities served however are some of the hardest hit by the storms of 2005. In addition to their primary mission, LABB now calls for toxic clean up and relief support.

These two organizations inspire me and are two of my biggest heroes so check ‘em out. If you’ve got an environmental hero, let me know and share it here in the comments. And be sure to surf around for more Blog Action Day action.