Who’s done the most to save the planet?
It seems that there’s a Baha’i in the list of the top 100 green campaigners, according to an article in today’s Guardian newspaper.
Richard St Barbe Baker, founder of Men of the Trees (now known as the International Tree Foundation) appears at number 66 on the UK’s Environment Agency list, drawn up by experts:
To help celebrate its tenth anniversary, a panel of experts listed its 100 greatest eco-heroes of all time. And it does mean all time: St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is there, as is Siddartha Gautama Buddha, who died in 483BC.
Top of the list is Rachel Carson, a US scientist whose 1962 book, Silent Spring, is credited by many with kick-starting the modern environmental movement. Her account of the damage caused by the unrestrained industrial use of pesticides provoked controversy and fury in equal measures. Barbara Young, the Environment Agency’s chief executive, said: “She started many of us off on the road to environmental protection.”
The “Small is Beautiful” economist E F Schumacher is second, followed at third place by Jonathan Porrit, head of the Sustainable Development Commission. The world-famous broadcaster David Attenborough is fourth.
It’s good that there’s a Baha’i somewhere on the list, even though luminaries like London Mayor Ken Livingstone are placed ahead of him.
I once had the honour of meeting St Barbe, when I was a Baha’i youth. I was at a summer school in Ireland when he came through. He swept up a crowd of people, including me, to do various things for him. There was no question of not doing what he wanted. He was an old-school British Empire character who did not take no for an answer.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, St Barbe Baker, St Francis of Assisi, Buddha, environment
No related posts.
4 comments
Hello brother Leith
Welcome to the family of Baha’i bloggers! Your blog looks great and I look forward to becoming a regular reader. I’ve included you as a link on my blog so that other folks can check you out. My wife just did and she’s really impressed!
‘Allah’u'Abha
I had the opportunity of knowing St. Barbe Baker both in early 1950’s when I was at the Edinbourgh University and in late 1960s’s when he used to come to Iran quite often. During the years that I was in U.K. he used to regularly participate at the Summer School sessions. Among my many interesting memories from close association with St. Barbe Baker one is realted to the account he told me on how as a small child he became a strict vegetarian. The other is the account of his visit to the Holy Land and meetings with the Guardian. Also I should say that he persoanally took a large number of very young shoots of redwood trees from North Califonia to Tehran and arrange for having them planted at the property for the future House of Worship. He was indeed an extraordinary character and a sincere and devuted Baha’i.
Hi, Phillipe, thank you for your comments and for your link. I’ll put a link to your blog in my blogroll. It’s good to cross-link and strengthen the network of Baha’i bloggers.
I’ve been running this blog since March 2005. Before that I had a relatively short-lived blog on Blogspot. In that time, I’ve become aware of more and more Baha’i bloggers - partly because I’ve found other Baha’i blogs (or been found by them), and partly because there are more Baha’is in the blogosphere.
Good luck to us all!
Dear Iraj, many thanks for sharing your stories of St Barbe Baker. The more one finds out about his life, the more one realizes just what an extraordinary man he was. And it’s so good that his legacy is still remembered and that there are experts in the field who still recognize the importance of his achievements.
Leave a Comment