Carrot And

Any environmentalist can reel off a long list of grievous problems confronting the planet -- from acid rain and global warming to the destruction of tropical rain forests. The hard part is getting people to do something about them. Last week two fresh ideas for encouraging environmental activism were proposed, one a carrot, the other a stick.

The carrot is an annual $360,000 cash award -- the largest environmental prize ever -- to be split among six "grassroots heroes," each from a different region of the world. Made possible by San Francisco's Goldman Environmental Foundation, the award will recognize "important efforts to preserve or enhance the environment," from protecting endangered species to combatting pollution. The idea is to give conservationists the kind of recognition and prestige afforded to Nobel laureates. Says Richard Goldman, president of the foundation and a longtime environmental crusader: "We're trying to find people who can inspire others, people who make a difference." + The first Goldman prizes will be announced in April.

The stick could be a United Nations environmental police force deployed around the world to guard the planet's most precious natural resources. That is the vision put forward by Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock in a speech before the U.N. General Assembly. Mock points out that the growing body of international law governing use of the atmosphere, the oceans, the North and South Poles and other "global commons" will require new enforcement mechanisms to give it teeth. "Just as we have become accustomed to the Blue Helmets ((of the U.N. security forces)) in peacekeeping operations," he said, "we hope that in the foreseeable future 'U.N. Green Helmets' may engage in the protection of the environment."