Hi Canada:
The National Post has run a lovely obituary. And today's Toronto Star has a fun article on animal and earth friendly shoes. I will paste both below. They both offer great opportunities for animal friendly letters.
The National Post takes letters at http://tinyurl.com/85bvu
The Toronto Star takes letters at lettertoed@thestar.ca
Here is the National Post obituary of Gretchen Wyler:
National Post (f/k/a The Financial Post) (Canada)
May 31, 2007 Thursday
National Edition
Actress marshalled stars to defend animal rights
Byline: Los Angeles Daily News
ARTS & LIFE; Pg. AL11
Gretchen Wyler, the actressturned- animal-rights activist who drew national attention to the plight of captive animals using big-name celebrities, died of breast cancer on Sunday at her home in Camarillo, Calif. She was 75.
Wyler had been battling cancer for four years, said Catherine Doyle, campaign director for In Defense Of Animals, a California non-profit group.
A Broadway and television actress whose career spanned more than five decades, Wyler became a superstar in the world of animal activism when she created the Genesis Award in 1986.
Using such celebrities as Judd Nelson, Brooke Shields and Betty White, Wyler pulled together a Hollywood-styleawards ceremony to honour activists. The ceremony is broadcast annually on the Animal Planet TV channel. "She was one of a kind. She brought animal issues to the public and educated them on it," Doyle said.
As an actress,Wyler understood the power of celebrity and founded the Ark Trust in 1991. The group -- which later merged with the U.S. Humane Society's Hollywood office--promotes media coverage of animal topics.
Wyler first became an activist after visiting what she described as a dank and filthy shelter in Warwick, N.Y., in 1966. Moved by the experience, she split her time between activism and theatre. Wyler managed the shelter for 10 years, later becoming the first woman to sit on the board of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
But she was ousted early on, after filing a lawsuit against the board accusing it of squandering funds, Wyler's Web site says. The lawsuit, settled out of court, prompted reforms within the organization.
In 1978, after completing a run in the theatrical production of Sly Fox, she moved to Los Angeles, where she gained a reputation as a tireless animal rights advocate.
During the early 1980s, she led the fight to repeal "pound seizures" -- the selling of shelter cats and dogs for medical research. Later, she became a leading voice against exhibiting Ruby, a 4½-ton elephant, at the Los Angeles Zoo, where activists say the pachyderm was isolated, unable to roam and more likely to develop chronic health problems.
Pressuring officials to arrange this month's transfer of Ruby to a 2,300-acre preserve in central California was among Wyler's proudest achievements, friends say.
An actress with a wide-ranging career, Wyler appeared in dozens of television shows, including Dallas, Judging Amy, Private Benjamin and Charlie's Angels. She also appeared in the original Broadway productions of Guys and Dolls, Silk Stockings, Damn Yankees and Bye Bye Birdie.
(End of obituary)
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And here is the Toronto Star on green shoes:
The Toronto Star
May 31, 2007 Thursday
Shoes will make you green and envied
Erin Kobayashi, Toronto Star
LIFE; Pg. L02
El Naturalista's logo may be a frog but, unlike Kermit who sang, "It's not easy being green," this shoe brand is finding it easy to be greener.
Founded in 2002, El Naturalista shows its sensitivity toward environmental and social issues by using natural and recycled materials, and methods, in making its footwear.
Though the shoes are manufactured far away, in La Rioja, Spain, and petroleum is used in their transportation to Canada, rest easy.
Most highly polluting shoemaking production systems are nearly obsolete in Europe. El Naturalista uses more modern shoemaking practices.
The good thing about being from Spain is that the shoes offer North Americans European flair in the styling. The saturated colours and distinctive shapes of the shoes have made them widely popular in France, Germany, Israel and Japan.
Additionally, the bright colours - the pinks, reds, greens and yellows, to name a few - are obtained through tanning and vegetable dying processes that try to use as little trivalent chromium as possible, if any.
Shoppers can avoid the chemical altogether with the company's all-natural Dakyu series.
The shoes have environmentally conscious natural and recycled outsoles. El Naturalista offers canvas shoes for vegans and the company is looking into alternative materials such as hemp and corn-based fabrics.
El Naturalista is also involved in a corporate responsibility program, whereby money from the Nasca line goes toward the education of children in Peru. That means shoppers can feel a little less guilty when paying $140 to $300 for their shoes.
(End of Toronto Star article)
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Date: Thu May 31 10:39:55 2007
