35th Goldman Environmental Awards honors 7 extraordinary citizens
The Goldman Environmental Prize -- also known as the Green Nobel Awards -- was held early Monday evening at the War Memorial Opera in San Francisco.
It honors grassroots environmental activists from around the world. One of the winners was a 29-year-old Southern California woman named Andrea Vidaurre.
Vidaurre was born and raised in the state's Inland Empire, an area known for having some of the worst air quality in the United States. A huge contributing factor is diesel fuel emissions from the region's economic focus on shipping and trucking.
"Right now, the logistic industry almost 100% runs on diesel, which 100% causes cancer clusters in communities, asthma, heart issues and lung issues," said Vidaurre during her interview with the Goldman Environmental Prize Foundation.
Vidaurre persuaded the California Air Resources Board to adopt two groundbreaking regulations. The new regulations significantly limit trucking and rail emissions and create a path to 100 percent zero emission for freight truck sales by 2036.
Other winners include Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu from the Wild Coast in South Africa; Alok Shukla from Chhattisgarh, India; Teresa Vicente from Murcia, Spain; Murrawah Maroochy Johnson from Galilee Basin, Australia, and Marcel Gomes from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
To learn the stories behind what this year's other award winners accomplished, visit the Goldman Prize website.
