The 2012 Energy Globe World Award was presented to Henry Red Cloud today at an award ceremony in Vienna, Austria. Mr. Red Cloud, owner of Lakota Solar Enterprises, was presented with the 17-kilo bronze statue in honor of his project “A Better Future through Natural Power Energy “, which was also the winning project in the category of Youth.
Award nominees from 14 different countries were in attendance at the award ceremony in the grand ceremonial hall of the city hall in Vienna, Austria, on 13 September 2012. Thrilled with excitement they looked forward to the announcement of the final winners in the categories of Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Youth.
“Through renewable energy, we can provide sustainable, environmentally friendly, economically beneficial, and culturally acceptable solutions that improve the quality of life for Native Americans, while protecting and honoring Mother Earth” said Henry Red Cloud.
Thanks to prominent supporters such as Kofi Annan, several presidents of the EU Parliament and EU Commission, EU environmental ministers, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNEP, and celebrities such as Martin Sheen, Aamir Khan, and Alanis Morissette, the Energy Globe Awards have become a global beacon for environmental awareness and sustainable actions. With 151 participating countries this is the world’s biggest and most important environmental platform. Since 1999, over 6,000 projects have been submitted but only 12 top Global World Awards have been presented.
Richard Fox, long-time friend of Henry Red Cloud and Executive Director of Trees, Water & People (TWP), said “This is a tribute to the great work of Henry Red Cloud, but also to the whole Lakota Solar Enterprise team and to all the Native Americans who have strived to blaze a path to understanding true sustainability and the importance of building green jobs and moving their tribes towards energy independence.”
Together with Henry, TWP runs the Tribal Renewable Energy Program, which puts the power of nature — the warmth of the sun, the power of the wind, the shelter of trees — to work for Native Americans. Working with reservation communities, TWP builds and installs supplemental solar air heaters for families in need, provides green job training to tribes around the country, and plants windbreak and shade trees around homes. These solutions are sustainable, economically beneficial, environmentally friendly, and celebrate the Native Americans’ respect for Mother Earth.
Learn more about the Energy Globe Award here: http://www.energyglobe.info
Sustainable Development, Sustainable Livelihoods 