Uroš Macerl (born 4 July 1968)[a] is an organic farmer and environmental activist from Slovenia. He won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2017 after leading a successful legal challenge against the company operating a cement kiln that was incinerating hazardous waste near his farm.[1][2][3][4][5]
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Biography
editA farm belonging to Macerl's family stands on a hill near the town of Trbovlje.[1][4] Air pollution from nearby factories has affected people and wildlife in the region for a long time.[1][4] Macerl grew up on the farm, which belonged to his grandfather at the time; he has said that he remembers the effects of coal dust pollution on the farm that he witnessed as a child.[1] Macerl, who began running the farm when he was 23, switched to raising sheep on his property after rising air pollution prevented him from raising crops any longer.[4] The region Macerl lived in in central Slovenia had a history with air pollution from emissions from industrial towns. The area had above average rates of cancer, and of respiratory illnesses among children.[1] The European Union introduced incentives in recent years for companies willing to incinerate energy sources such as "medical waste, old tires, and other industrial residue", in place of coal. As a result of this policy, companies such as Lafarge Cement began refurbishing old industrial plants to use the new fuel.[1] Lafarge started burning petcoke, a byproduct of oil refining, in a 130-year old cement plant. Both cement production and petcoke burning are known to be highly polluting processes.[1][3]
Macerl's family farm stood near the plant reopened by Lafarge.[4] Macerl, the president of a local environmental group called Eko Krog ("Eco Circle"[2]), organized local residents to collect data on air pollution; though they presented this to the media, it had little impact. In 2009 Lafarge applied for a permit to burn hazardous waste at the plant; Macerl's property fell within the zone that the company said would be affected, allowing him to challenge the permit in court.[1] Macerl was the only person legally permitted to make this challenge before the European Commission, where the legal battle went from the local authorities.[3][4] The Commission ruled in favor of the residents of the town in 2015, and Lafarge was forced to stop cement production at the plant.[3] In 2017 Macerl was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, described in the Slovenian media as being a Nobel Prize for environmental activism.[2] Macerl's legal battle led to him separating from his spouse. He has said that his effort had taught his three children "that the struggle was worth it".[6]
Notes and references
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Uroš Macerl: 2017 Goldman Prize Recipient Europe". goldmanprize.org. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ a b c Lebar, Jolanda (1 May 2017). "Uroš Macerl: Capital shows no mercy for the lives of people and children nor for the environment". RTV-SLO. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d K., Deepalakshmi (24 April 2017). "The riveting stories of this year's six Goldman prize winners". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "2017 Goldman environmental prize recipients – in pictures". The Guardian. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Marshall, Claire (24 April 2017). "Ex-child soldier wins environment prize". BBC. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Kavcic, Bojan. "Slovenia's 'eco-hero' who crushed a cement giant". Phys.org. Retrieved 7 July 2017.