At a ceremony in Stockholm on Friday, scientists and activists from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Turkey, and the U.S. received Right Livelihood awards, commonly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prizes,” for their work on environmental and human rights initiatives. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, the chief environmental official in Ethiopia, was honored for leading an international effort to set rules for trade in genetically engineered products that protect biodiversity and the rights of developing countries. The Turkish environmentalist Birsel Lemke was recognized for her fight against cyanide-based gold mining. Wes Jackson from the U.S. received the award for his two decades of work with the Land Institute to develop a sustainable agricultural system based on perennial prairie plants.
