Life-long lessons in caring for the Earth’s gifts and in doing battle to protect the Land, Air and Waters come together in a different kind of book by a different kind of lawyer. ShootingStars and Dancing Fish is a picture-and-story book that speaks to ordinary people, especially to the young, to thought-leaders and to action-oriented citizens.
The book tackles the crises of environment and climate in simple and understandable language and sees these challenges as opportunities for humankind to prove its wisdom.
Beyond the problems, the book presents solutions with entertaining essays, stories, poems, colorful pictures, paintings and fun illustrations. It shows practical pathways that can be game-changers for the massive transformation of human society. It will shift the economic mindset from the present ego-centric model of mindless extraction and consumption eco-centric model of conservation, protection, and restoration (CPR). CPR also stands for Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation of the Earth’s vital organs – the Land, Air and Waters – the LAW of Life. Real-life stories are told of how CPR Economics is now happening all around the world, three of which are from the Philippines.
Tony Oposa is one of Asia’s leading voices in the global arena of Environmental Law. His work is internationally known for the case where children, acting on behalf of future generations, took legal action against the Philippines Government to preserve the country’s remaining old-growth forests (1993). The case illustrates the principle of intergenerational responsibility, now also known as ‘Oposa Doctrine’. In 2008, after a ten-year legal battle, he won a case to compel the Philippine Government to clean up Manila Bay.
As an ordinary citizen without any funding, Tony organized elite operatives and conducted daring enforcement operations against environmental crime syndicates.
He is a lawyer (UP Law) who holds a Master of Laws from Harvard, where he was the commencement speaker of his graduating class. He was given The Outstanding Young Man (TOYM) of the Philippines award (1993), the UN Environment Global Roll of Honor (1997), and is the only Asian to receive the Washington DC-based Center for International Environmental Law Award (2008).
In 2009, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s highest recognition for public service. He was cited “for his path-breaking and passionate crusade to engage Filipinos in acts of enlightened citizenship that maximize the power of the Law to nurture the environment, for themselves, their children and for generations yet unborn.”
He is a swimmer, scuba diver, sailor, tennis player, edible gardener, vocalist, painter, poet, storyteller, and a loving husband and father of four.