Eco-couture, Green Dubai and Stone Walls

Today on World Footprints we’ll contemplate the personal boundaries of Stone Walls with Ansel Adams protégé, photographer Mariana Cook. We’ll also look at the fusion between eco-friendly couture and glamour. We’ll talk to one traveler about her initiatives to fight human trafficking and we’ll learn about Dubai’s progressive sustainable initiatives. Mariana Cook is an extraordinary photographer who is actually the last protégé of Ansel Adams. Mariana’s work can be seen in major museums throughout the world including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC and the National Gallery in London, England, among others. She has produced several amazing portrait books including Fathers and Daughters, Couples and Mathematcians. She joins us today to discuss her newest photographic book, Stone Walls: Personal Boundaries. Imagine how fulfilling your life would be if your work were your passion and this passion provided a wonderful living but also allowed you to have a positive impact in others lives. Designer Elizabeth St. John is living a passion that she began cultivating at the age of 5. From that tiny beginning to now, Elizabeth is known for her elegant couture that is a masterful fusion of Eco-Friendly and Glamour. Outside of her Silver Spring, MD studio, Elizabeth is also known for her humanitarian work. She donates a percentage of profits from her Couture collections to charities that do hands on work throughout the world, and she has co-founded the Universal Strategic Services Foundation, which works at the crossroads of human needs and the environment. As you know, the fight against human trafficking is one of World Footprints major causes. Until recently, little attention had been paid to this crime, despite the fact that it is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. In 2002 while on a trip in Europe, Deborah Sigmund first heard the phrase, human trafficking. When she later learned about human trafficking and the challenges and issues surrounding the fight against this crime, Deborah took her knowledge and turned it into action. In 2006, she founded Innocents At Risk, a non-profit organization that was formed to help fight human trafficking. With all of the development that Dubai is experiencing the country is embracing sustainable developmet during its growth. We spoke to Saud H. Al Nowais from the UAE Trade & Commercial Office in the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC about how Dubai is setting the bar for sustainable development throughout the Middle East.