Dr. Jane Goodall, Wyoming

While attending the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film fest, I had the good fortune to see Dr. Jane Goodall speak to a crowd of mostly children as part of the UN International Day of Peace.

Attending and being a judge for this film fest served as an urgent reminder that we are living in a critical time. Our actions - such as supporting laws that protect the environment/wilderness, recycling, riding a bike, ditching toxic corporate products in favor of environmentally friendly ones - can make a difference.

The winner of the festival was Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action - a powerful, disturbing, and also promising film. Another recommendation - the PBS series Strange Days on Planet Earth (narrated by Edward Norton). And for stunning cinematography, an ode to earth and family, and loads of visual sugar - Earthling.

*Important Update: The House of Representatives will vote this week on a dangerous bill that would strip America's endangered wildlife of many crucial safeguards. If it passes, this legislation would abolish critical habitat protections for threatened and endangered species -- a vital part of wildlife recovery efforts - - and exempt the pesticide industry from key regulations. Large-scale land developers, as well as the mining and oil industries, would profit at the expense of our most vulnerable wildlife.

Please go to
www.nrdcactionfund.org/esa/action.asp?step=2&item=53044
and send an email urging your Representative to help defeat H.R. 3824.

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Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action:
www.katahdin.org/
More about Jane Goodall's "Roots and Shoots" program for youngsters:
www.janegoodall.org/peace-day/index.asp
Strange Days on Planet Earth:
www.pbs.org/strangedays/index_flash.html
Earthling:
www.earthlingmovie.com/

(9/24/05, Jackson Hole, Wyoming)