Brockovich urges global partnership to save Earth

Brockovich urges global partnership to save Earth

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Parapat

"The environment is the place where mankind lives. In dealing
with the environment, we have only two extreme positions: Ally or
enemy. If we take care of it, it will take care of us and if we
abuse it, it will abuse us," visiting American environmentalist
Erin Brockovich said in an interview with The Jakarta Post after
delivering her address to the Lake Toba Summit in Parapat, North
Sumatra, recently.

She insisted that a country could not fight on its own for a
better environment and against environmental destruction, and
that all humankind and every countries needed a global
partnership to salvage the planet from further environmental
catastrophe.

"All nations, whether big or small, have to work hand in hand
to create cleaner air, to support reforestation programs in
tropical and subtropical countries, and to comply consistently
with all the agreements they have made.

"Otherwise, we will become enemies, the environment will be
further destroyed and the planet will not be a pleasant place to
live for the next generation," she stated.

Erin expressed her disappointment with the U.S. government's
rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, but said that more and more
federal states were expected to follow California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger's move to accept the international agreement so as
to reduce to a minimum the greenhouse gases they produce.

The United States is the highest greenhouse emissions producer
worldwide, she said, and it needed to set a good example for
other industrial countries by accepting the protocol and showing
a commitment to minimizing the greenhouse effect and supporting
other federal states in implementing the protocol.

"I know the US government has not yet signed the protocol;
however, I want the (American) people to know that state by state
in America, they are contributing, they are making changes and
they are getting involved and more are getting on board," she
said.

Referring to the summit's conclusion, she emphasized the
importance for all governments at the regional level to continue
enhancing bilateral and multilateral cooperation to exchange
information, human resources and technology to implement the
sustainable development concept.

Brockovich, who is also the vice president of environmental
affairs at Los Angeles-based Save the World Air, Inc., said she
was here to join in showing international solidarity for
Indonesia and not to promote her film Erin Brockovich, starring
noted Hollywood actress Julia Roberts, who bears a striking
similarity to her.

"I come here because I love Indonesia, its kind people and its
unique environment. I'm representing the American people in
conveying their sorrow over the recent earthquake and tsunami
that devastated Aceh and Nias.

They (American people) have been showing genuine sympathy and
joined the international solidarity to contribute to the disaster
victims and help the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction
work," she said, adding that the disaster occurred only weeks
after her visit to Bali in November, 2004.

She said that natural disasters provided sound lessons for all
humankind about the importance of taking care of the environment.

"We give our deep empathy to all the victims but I am opposed to
activities that degrade the environment; all nations should pay
attention to this in an attempt to make the Earth a safe place to
live in."

She said she would continue campaigning for a better
environment and against air pollution through films, books and
country visits worldwide as part of a global attempt to make the
world a better place for the next generation.

She said she was proud of the film not because it won five
Grammy Awards in the United States but mainly because it has
raised mankind's awareness of the importance of the environment.
This was especially true having regard to air pollution, which
had reached alarming levels in most developed and developing
countries with high levels of industrialization and large numbers
of motor vehicles.

The film depicts how Brockovich, played by Roberts, was
affected by a deteriorating environment. Since then she has
initiated a global campaign against air pollution.

She said air pollution was a genuine cause for concern as
numerous studies showed that it triggered cancer and other health
problems.

Brockovich and her organization are still holding discussions
with the Yogyakarta Governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, and Gadjah
Mada University on how to reduce air pollution in the city, which
is home to a very large number of motorcycles.

She said her company would introduce an affordable special
product for motorbike owners to use in local campaigns to reduce
combustion emissions.

"From Yogyakarta we will move to Jakarta, and West and East
Java, where industrial and vehicle densities are very high. Air
pollution in Java has reached alarming levels and it has affected
people's health as the small island is overpopulated and many
industries that use environmentally unfriendly technology operate
in industrial zones on the island," she said.

Brockovich also called on major developing countries like
Indonesia to start promoting the use of liquefied natural gas as
an alternative energy source to replace polluting fuels.

"Resource-rich Indonesia should start promoting the use of
liquefied natural gas as alternative energy in its transportation
sector because it has enormous gas deposits," she said.