Thursday, November 04, 2010

Environmentalist killed

  Write this date [5 September 2010] on your calendar: in Italy,
  organized crime has murdered an environmentalist politician for the first time (line from e-blogs).

The italian environmentalist and politican Angelo Vassallo was a mayor in the little italian town Pollica. He worked with micro loans, renewable energy, littering and said no to illegal building contruction.

The Telegraph writes:

Mr Vassallo, a father of two, was regarded as a 'green' mayor for his efforts in helping preserve a national park and for fighting against illegal building close to beaches and other local beauty spots. Shopkeepers in his hometown kept their shutters and doors closed as a protest at his death on Tuesday.
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Vassallo was found in his car, shoot to death by nine bullets. The style of the murder and knowledge of his work against illegal constructing, leads the suspections to the mafia, which leads me to the question if an environmentalist is so much different than any other politican that wants to make it better for the citizens.

I mean, he was not shoot to death by nine bullets just because he wanted renewable energy, a beautiful city with parks and no litter- no he was shoot to death because he wanted a change. A change for poor people, the inclusion of all.

I have to quote Richard Register when building an ecocity, or just a city with improvements then, will also give other perspective about our selves and the surrounding; ”While it probably won't rid the world of greed, ethnocentrism, and violence, building a nonviolent city that respect other life forms and celebrates human creativity and diversity is consistent with solving those problems” (Register, Ecocites-rebuilding cities in balance with nature).

The story of Vassollo make me think of Antanas Mockus, former mayor of Bogotá and runned the green party in the Colombian President election 2010 (got 22% of the votes). Mockus' work and later mayor Peñalosas' work, on the development of Bogotá, is described in the documentary CITIES ON SPEED - Bogotá Change from oktober 2009. It is promoted as being "the story of two charismatic mayors, Antanas Mockus and Enrique Peñalosa who, with unorthodox methods, in less than 10 years turned one of the world's most dangerous, violent and corrupt capitals into a peaceful model city populated by caring citizens. With Mockus and Peñalosa and key members of their staff as first hand witnesses, the film uncovers the ideas, philosophies and strategies that underlie the changes in Bogotá and which are now being exported to cities worldwide."

Environment, human health and security issues is about the same thing; people. Removing favelas, demolish streets for cars, or higher the taxes of emissions, are not everytime what people wants. A dialouge with them or a "survey" with a focus group is common needed to give something back, doing something good from the bad.

Because 'they' are not angry or dissapointed because of cleaner surrounding or that other people gets a better life, but because it changes peoples lives. Even the mafia boss.

Good environment requires good communication.

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