On a warm Barcelona evening in the autumn of 2008, I was seated at an al fresco dinner table to honor awardees of theat the World Conservation Congress. This is an award given by the United Nations Development Programme to recognize community efforts to reduce poverty through environmentally sustainable practices. Just before the award ceremony was to start, a silver-haired well-dressed gentleman sat down next to me and pleasantly introduced himself: “I’m Ted Turner.
A decade before he established the United Nations Foundation, Turner established another novel philanthropy called the “Captain Planet Foundation,” (along with television producer The focus of this charity has been grassroots ecological literacy to inculcate knowledge and values about planetary order and individual actions needed by citizens for sustainability. Turner himself appeared in an episode of Captain Planet in the 1990s called “Who’s Running the Show?” as an environment-friendly media mogul inconspicuously named “Fred Lerner”.
“Our world is in peril. Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, can no longer stand the terrible destruction plaguing our planet. She sends five magic rings to five special young people: Kwame, from Africa, with the power of Earth... From North America, Wheeler, with the power of Fire... From the Soviet Union/Eastern Europe, Linka, with the power of Wind. From Asia, Gi, with the power of Water... and from South America, Ma-Ti, with the power of Heart.