Cellular Non-Linear Networks as a New Paradigm for Evolutionary Robotics
Eleonora Bilotta, Pietro Pantano · 2008
organizations.A 501 (c) (3) entity has a tax-exempt status, a privilege that allows it to dispense its financial resources to do more good to the society.Qualified activities include: Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literacy, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, and Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals (IRS, 2008).Virtually all reputable NGOs with an environmental focus, or Environmental NGOs for short, in the United States, are registered with the U.S. government as 501 (c) (3) entities.Examples include the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Sierra Club, just to name a few.Recent decades have seen an increase in the number, role, and functions of environmental NGOs.The one, single most notable watershed event took place in 1962 when Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring."Her book depicted how destructive such chemicals as DDT are to the environment.Her alarm touched off a national debate in the United States.It set in motion set in motion a course of events that would resulted in the ban of domestic production of DDT in 1964 and the creation of a grass-roots movement demanding protection of the environment through state and federal regulation.Carson's writing initiated a transformation in the relationship between humans and the natural world and stirred the awakening of public environmental consciousness (Carson et al., 2002).Her inspiration triggered the sprouting of many environmental NGOs, e.g. the coming-intobeing of the Environmental Defense Fund in 1967 and the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970.These and other NGOs have become champions for the environment.1.2 Post "Silent Spring" era: the character defining moment of the environmental NGOs Today, environmental NGOs are playing increasingly vital roles in directly impact and influence environmental issues on the international, national, and local levels.The environment emerged as a new critical international issue in the 1970s.Concerns such as the depletion of natural resources, climate change, and harmful pollutants began to gain awareness in the public's mind.In the United States, the environmental movement emerged from incidents and individuals reacting to governments who might be slow, unable or unwilling to address issues and problems.The long and winding road toward the "Clean Air Act" typifies how the environmental movement in general and the NGOs in particular have been defined their unique character -environmental advocacy.In 1923, leaded gasoline was introduced to the market to enhance engine performance of automobiles.Although the harmful effects of lead to health are increasingly recognized, auto makers fight mandatory emissions control for their cars.In 1967, Congress finally passed a bill called "Air Quality Bill of 1968," the first federal legislation aimed at reducing pollution.Without setting standards, imposing hard deadlines, and providing enforcement, though, it failed to accomplish its goals.It was, however, a good first step that provided a framework for more effective legislation down the pipeline.In 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI, 1963-1981) found inspiration in the 1969 anti-war movement and proposed a large-scale demonstration on behalf of the environment.He organized and founded Earth Day, the first mega-scale grassroots environmental rally.On April 22, 1970 millions of participants across the country simultaneously voiced their environmental concerns.The idea was big enough to make headlines across the country in major news outlets, which report on the planned event in the preceding months.A masterpiece was the one printed on the New York Times, which reads: "Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may www.intechopen.com