Caroline Cannon Goldman Prize Winner 2012

See Jane Do exclusive interview with Caroline Cannon North America winner of the 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize. Elisa Parker chats with Caroline at the Goldman Prize Ceremony in San Francisco. Caroline of the Arctic community in Point Hope Alaska has become one of the strongest voices against off shore drilling in the Arctic Seas. As an active leader she has participated in hundreds of meetings in Washington, D.C. in order to represent Point Hope and the marine environment.

The Work of One Woman Activates Thousands to Provide Clean Water

By Gemma Bulos

Director, Global Women's Water Initiative

Award-winning Social Entrepreneur

Can you believe an award-winning mission to provide clean water to over 160,000 people in Asia and Africa started with a song? As a pre-school teacher and singer who was not on my regular 8:50am train to the World Trade Center on 9/11, I witnessed a global community united through tragedy. In response, I wrote “WE RISE”, a rousing anthem that celebrates water as a metaphor for peace and unity in action. Based on the notion that “it takes a single drop of water to start a wave”, I left my life, career, gave away all my belongings and with my guitar, backpack and meager savings, began traveling around the world to build the unprecedented Million Voice Choir! By September 21, 2004, I mobilized over 100 cities in 60 countries to sing 'WE RISE" from all over the planet in celebration of the UN International Day of Peace. This was the “single drop” that has rippled into my award-winning humanitarian mission!

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How Girl Scout Cookies can Save the Planet

Having been a part of the Girl Scout organization for the past 11 years, we have certainly sold (and eaten!) our fair share of Girl Scout cookies. Imagine our surprise when five years ago we discovered an ingredient in the Girl Scout cookies we had been selling was contributing to rainforest deforestation, endangers thousands of species and contributes to human rights abuses.

In 2007, as 11 year olds, we set out to earn our Girl Scout Bronze Award, which required us to pick an issue we were passionate about and raise awareness within our community. Inspired by Dr. Jane Goodall’s selflessness and dedication in protecting the chimpanzees, we set out to advocate for another great ape, the endangered orangutan.

We discovered that one of the main reasons orangutans are endangered is due to the destruction of their rainforest habitat to plant oil palm plantations. The clearing and burning of these forests, and carbon-rich peatland have made Indonesia the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind China and the United Sates. Unsustainable palm oil production is a human rights crisis too: the US Department of Labor links its production to child and forced labor. The palm oil harvested from these plantations is used in a variety of products, including everything from baked goods to candy bars and cosmetics. In fact, it’s used in about half the products in the grocery store.

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Kathy Sanchez: Embracing our Power at UN CSW

A See Jane Do exclusive interview with Kathy Sanchez, Co-Director of TEWA Women United. Elisa caught up with Kathy at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Kathy shared her insight into what the rural women looks like in 2012 and what it will take to create a more loving healthy planet.

Girl Scout from Rwanda: Changing the World One Girl at a Time! UNCSW

See Jane Do interviews inspirational Girl Scout, Pamela from Rwanda at UN CSW. Pamela shares the commonalities between women and girls across the world and how women and girls from rural communities are changing the world for the better.

Rural American Women in 2012- Girl Scouts at UN CSW

What does the rural woman look like in 2012 and how is she changing the world for the better? See Jane Do interviews Girl Scouts at the 56th Session of UN CSW in New York. They describe what it's like to be a young woman living in a rural American community and the projects they are leading to make a difference.