Diane Wilson

Last updated
Diane Wilson
Born (1948-10-17) October 17, 1948 (age 75)
Nationality American
Occupation(s)Activist, author
Organization Code Pink
Awards Goldman Environmental Prize
Website dianewilsonactivist.org

Diane Wilson (born October 17, 1948) [1] is an American environmental activist, an anti-war activist, and an author. In 1989, she was a shrimp boat captain in Calhoun County, Texas, and she saw an Associated Press article saying that the county had the most toxic waste disposal of all counties in America. [2] Texas produces the most amount of chemical waste than any other state in the United States, with the majority of the pollution concentrated on the state's Gulf Coast. [3] Wilson began a campaign against Formosa Plastics, a Taiwanese chemical company then building a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) facility near her town, with tactics including several hunger strikes and sinking her own boat to draw attention to the matter. [2] [4] [5] In 1994 she won "zero discharge" agreements (meaning no liquid effluent discharge into the environment) from Formosa and Alcoa. [5]

Contents

Wilson has also protested at meetings concerning the BP oil spill, as well as protesting in support of victims of the 1984 Bhopal, India, Union Carbide gas leak. [6] [7]

She is a co-founder of the anti-war organization CODEPINK. [4]

In 2005 a documentary was made about her, titled Texas Gold. [7] [8] [9] It won several awards, including "Best Documentary" at the New York City Short Film Festival. [10]

She has received the "Hellraiser of the Month" award from Mother Jones magazine, [7] and a number of other awards, including National Fisherman Magazine Award, Louis Gibbs' Environmental Lifetime Award, Louisiana Environmental Action (LEAN) Environmental Award, Giraffe Project, Jenifer Altman Award and the Bioneers Award. [11]

In 2006, she was honored with the Blue Planet Award from Ethecon Foundation, one of the comparatively very few 'grass-root' foundations [12] for "more than 20 years of commitment to environmental issues, even putting her life at risk." [13]

In 2013, Wilson participated in the movement to close Guantanamo Bay, calling for Obama to release the prisoners that had been declared for release, give the men a fair trial, and end indefinite detention. Most notably, she stood in solidarity with the hunger strikers by fasting on salt and water for 58 days. Her fast ended on June 26, 2013 on International Day in Support of Victims of Torture after jumping the White House fence at a Close Guantanamo protest (with groups including Amnesty International, CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace, and Witness Against Torture) in an attempt to deliver a letter to President Barack Obama. [14] Wilson was charged with unlawful entry and handed over to local authorities. [15]

In 2019, she was a plaintiff to a suit, Waterkeeper v. Formosa, against Formosa Plastics for violations of the Clean Water Act resulting in discharges of pollution along the Texas coast. Along with other volunteers, she collected millions of nurdles that served as evidence in the case. The suit was settled for $50 million in October 2019. [16]

In 2023, Wilson was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for North America. [17] [18]

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldman Environmental Prize</span> Award

The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The award is given by the Goldman Environmental Foundation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is also called the Green Nobel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medea Benjamin</span> American political activist and author

Medea Benjamin is an American political activist who was the co-founder of Code Pink with Jodie Evans and others. Along with activist and author Kevin Danaher, she created the fair trade advocacy group Global Exchange. Benjamin was the Green Party candidate in California in 2000 for the United States Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formosa Plastics Group</span> A conglomerate in Taiwan

Formosa Plastics Group is a titular Taiwanese conglomerate of diverse interests, including biotechnology, petrochemical processing and production of electronics components. The group was founded by Wang Yung-ching and his brother Wang Yung-tsai, and is chaired by Wong Wen-yuan. Despite its name, its holdings include several companies prominent in the high tech electronics sector, including VIA Technologies and Nanya Technology Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Code Pink</span> American non-governmental organization

Code Pink: Women for Peace is an internationally active left-wing anti-war 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on issues such as drone strikes, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Palestinian statehood, the Iran nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia, and Women Cross DMZ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formosa Plastics Corp</span> Taiwanese plastics company

Formosa Plastics Corporation is a Taiwanese plastics company based in Taiwan that primarily produces polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins and other intermediate plastic products. It is the corporation around which influential businessman Wang Yung-ching formed the Formosa Plastics Group, and it remains central to the Group's petrochemical operations. The president of Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC) is Jason Lin (林健男).

Oscar Olivera Foronda is a Bolivian union leader who was one of the main leaders of the protesters against the water privatization in Bolivia. The result of these protests was an event known as the Cochabamba Water War. He was also one of the main leaders of the protests in the Bolivian gas conflict. He is also the head of a confederation of factory workers' unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic pellet pollution</span> Marine debris from plastic manufacturing particles

Plastic pellet pollution is a type of marine debris originating from the plastic particles that are universally used to manufacture large-scale plastics. In the context of plastic pollution, these pre-production plastic pellets are commonly known as 'nurdles'. These microplastics are created separately from the user plastics they are melted down to form, and pellet loss can occur during both the manufacturing and transport stages. When released into the open environment, they create persistent pollution both in the oceans and on beaches. About 230,000 tonnes of nurdles are thought to be deposited in the oceans each year, where they are often mistaken for food by seabirds, fish and other wildlife. Due to their small size, they are notoriously difficult to clear up from beaches and elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora Castillo</span>

Aurora Castillo known as "la doña — a title of respect given to her by her largely Latino community — was an American environmentalist and community activist from Los Angeles, California. She co-founded the Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA) in 1984. The MELA organization successfully opposed a planned building of a toxic waste incinerator and state prison in Eastside Los Angeles. Castillo was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Shephard</span> Canadian journalist (born 1972)

Michelle Shephard is an independent investigative reporter, author and filmmaker. She has been awarded the Michener Award for public service journalism and won Canada's top newspaper prize, the National Newspaper Award, three times. In 2011, she was an associate producer on a documentary called Under Fire: Journalists in Combat. She produced the National Film Board documentary, Prisoners of the Absurd, which premiered at Amsterdam's film festival in 2014. Shephard also co-directed a film based on her book about Omar Khadr, Guantanamo's Child, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015.

Diane E. Beaver is an American lawyer and former officer in the United States Army. In 2001, she was Chief of the Eastern U.S. Torts Branch of the U.S. Army Claims Service. By 2002, she was deployed to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp as a lawyer in the U.S. military prison complex there. As of 2016, she is currently practicing commercial litigation for the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis, Missouri.

Maria Gunnoe is a native West Virginian who opposes mountaintop removal mining, and is a winner of the Goldman Prize and Wallenberg Medal.

Margie Eugene-Richard is an African American environmental activist. Richard’s childhood neighborhood, impacted by its proximity to a Shell Oil Company Chemical Plant, inspired her to fight for environmental justice. In addition to forming advocacy groups in her neighborhood, Richard has worked with other communities experiencing similar environmental injustices. Because of her advocacy work, Richard was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2004.

The Guantanamo Trap is a documentary film about four individuals whose lives were changed by their association with the Guantanamo Bay detention camps. The film was directed by Thomas Wallner and won the special jury prize at the 2011 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Thomas Selim Wallner is a German/Canadian filmmaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethecon Foundation</span>

Ethecon Foundation is a German environmental organisation, which describes itself as a "foundation for ethics and economy". Founded in 2004, Ethecon started presenting annual awards, the Blue Planet Award which is given for actions deemed to be protecting the environment, and conversely the Black Planet Award given to those deemed to be destroying it, in 2006. The foundation has initiated campaigns against Monsanto, Nestlé, Blackwater and TEPCO and has contributed to the construction of a self-governing children's hospital in Fukushima, which commenced operation in 2013.

Jared Ian Goldman is an American film and television producer. He is known for his work on the Justin Timberlake starrer Palmer, Antonio Campos' adaptation of The Devil All the Time starring Tom Holland, the film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's masterpiece, We Have Always Lived in the Castle starring Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Sebastian Stan and Crispin Glover, Craig Johnson's Alex Strangelove, the Sundance hit Ingrid Goes West, the Sundance hit The Skeleton Twins, and the Academy Award-nominated Loving. He also produced the second season of The Punisher for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other projects include Craig Johnson's adaptation of Daniel Clowes Wilson, Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe, Solitary Man starring Michael Douglas, Rob Reiner's And So It Goes starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, The Wackness, and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary Manda Bala .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Paragas</span>

Diane Paragas is a Filipino-American documentary and narrative film and commercial director. She is best known for writing, directing and producing the 2020 film Yellow Rose. Yellow Rose was Paragas' debut narrative feature The film was selected as the Opening Night Film of the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Yellow Rose won Grand Jury Prizes at LAAPFF, Bentonville Film Festival, CAAMFEST37, and Urbanworld where it also took the Audience Award. The film also won the Audience Award at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Lavigne</span> American environmental activist (born 1950)

Sharon Lavigne is an American environmental justice activist in Louisiana focused on combating petrochemical complexes in Cancer Alley. She is the 2022 recipient of the Laetare Medal, the highest honor for American Catholics, and a 2021 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Gloria Majiga–Kamoto is a Malawian community development officer and environmental activist, who was awarded the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa, in recognition of her work in advocating for the enforcement of a national ban on the importation, manufacture and distribution of single-use plastics in Malawi, in 2019.

Bonni Cohen is an American documentary film producer and director. She is the co-founder of Actual Films and has produced and directed an array of award-winning films. Most recently, she produced the Oscar-nominated film Lead Me Home, which premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival and is a Netflix Original. She also recently co-directed Athlete A, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and received four nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards. She is the co-founder of Actual Films, the production company of the documentaries An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Audrie & Daisy, 3.5 Minutes, The Island President, Lost Boys of Sudan and The Rape of Europa. Cohen is the co-founder of the Catapult Film Fund.

References

  1. ↑ "Wilson, Diane, 1948-". LC Linked Data Service. Library of Congress. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Independent News Media from Columbus, Ohio". The Free Press. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  3. ↑ "Diane Wilson - Goldman Environmental Prize". 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  4. 1 2 Website by Karakas. "Passion into Action - Diane Wilson". See Jane Do. Archived from the original on 2011-01-15. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  5. 1 2 "An Unreasonable Woman by Diane Wilson : Reviews". Chelsea Green. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  6. ↑ "Protester Diane Wilson Disrupts Tony Hayward Testimony (Video) - Political Hotsheet". CBS News . Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  7. 1 2 3 "Diane Wilson: Champion for Mother Earth". Iowasource.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  8. ↑ "Texas Gold Documentary: Synopsis". Texasgoldmovie.com. 2005-10-03. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  9. ↑ http://www.texasgoldmovie.com/pdf/texasgoldpressrelease.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  10. ↑ "TEXAS GOLD: Award Winning Documentary about Diane Wilson". Texasgoldmovie.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  11. ↑ "Our Chelsea Green Authors : Diane Wilson". Chelsea Green Publishing. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
  12. ↑ "What do Hugo Chavez, Vandana Shiva, and Diane Wilson Have In Common?". Chelsea Green Publishing. September 14, 2009. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Justification of the Blue Planet Award 2006". ethecon - Stiftung Ethik & Ökonomie. 2007. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  14. ↑ "Scaling the White House fence to close Guantánamo". wagingnonviolence.org. 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  15. ↑ "HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. And World News". HuffPost .
  16. ↑ "No More Nurdles? Formosa's Agreement to Stop Pumping Plastics Into Lavaca Bay Is Historic". Texas Monthly. 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  17. ↑ "Introducing the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners". Goldman Environmental Prize. April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  18. ↑ Lakhani, Nina (April 24, 2023). "2023 Goldman environmental prize winners include Texas Gulf coast defender". The Guardian . Retrieved April 24, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.