On the evening of September 18th, local time, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held the award ceremony for the UN's flagship environmental award, the Champions of the Earth Award, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. This award recognizes pioneers and trailblazers who have made significant and positive contributions to environmental protection. Brian McClendon, Vice President of Google Earth, and Jack Dangermond, the pioneer of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), were awarded this year's Champions of the Earth Award for providing powerful tools to monitor the state of the Earth's environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other recipients of the 2013 UNEP Champions of the Earth Award include: Janez Potocnik, EU Commissioner for the Environment; Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement; Izab Ella Teixeira, Brazilian Minister of the Environment; Veerabhadran Ramanathan, professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego; and Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo of the Sierra Leone Geosphere Reserve in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, said, \"Leadership and vision are hallmarks of the transition to an inclusive green economy in both developed and developing countries. We are on the path to a green economy, and the outcomes of last year's Rio+20 summit have provided new impetus for this transition.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added, \"This year's Champions of the Earth award winners are actively taking action and developing policies to accelerate the transition to a green economy. Therefore, they are illuminating the path to sustainable development in the 21st century.\" UNEP Goodwill Ambassador and Brazilian supermodel Gisele B\u00fcndchen also attended the awards ceremony and presented the awards to the winners.
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