San Francisco – Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador Bianca Jagger will join environmental justice leaders to talk about the impact of oil extraction and refining on the environment, on Sunday, June 5th, at 3:00 p.m. at Civic Center Plaza (Polk Street between McAllister and Grove).
International human rights advocate Bianca Jagger will speak; in 2004, Ms. Jagger received the prestigious Right Livelihood Award, known as the alternative Nobel Prize, for her longstanding commitment to human rights. Since traveling to Ecuador in October 2003, Ms. Jagger has made a personal commitment to speaking out for communities affected by pollution from the oil industry.
Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco City Supervisor, District 5 and founder of the Green Party, will make introductory remarks.
Other speakers from communities in California and around the world will tell moving firsthand stories of what it’s like to live daily with the devastating effects of the oil industry. They include Sowore Omoyele, Scholar Activist from the Ogoni Region of Nigeria; Evon Peter of Native Movement, Gwitchin 1st Nation in Alaska’s ANWR Region; Anank Nunink, Schuar Shaman from the Ecuadorian Amazon; and Carla M. Pérez, Contra Costa Community Organizer for Communities for a Better Environment (CBE).
CBE will also talk about its campaign for groundbreaking legislation to monitor oil flares in Northern California.
The outdoor event will also include an art exhibit with stunning, life-size photographs illustrating the oil industry’s grave impacts on human rights and public health.
This event concludes the Social Equity track of the UN World Environment Day conference. It is sponsored by Communities for a Better Environment, Amazon Watch, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, The Environmental Justice Climate Change Initiative, Rainforest Action Network, Redefining Progress, Urban Habitat, West County Toxics Coalition, and Native Movement.
