Matthew Meyer, Ecosandals.com

Matthew Meyer is a third-year law student at the University of Michigan. In 1995 he cofounded the Wikyo Akala Project, which today sells used-tire sandals around the world at Ecosandals.com.

There are over 6 billion people on this planet. Many of them, at least several hundred million, recently migrated from rural to urban environments in the developing world. In cities like Nairobi, most basic systems -- sanitation, transportation, water, communications -- have been unable to keep pace with the population growth. Sewage literally runs through the streets in Korogocho, and clean water is sold in alleyways as a precious commodity. The Nairobi River that meanders beside the slum is filthy, and continues to serve as a public bath for millions and a public toilet for many others.

I have always felt that environmentalism in a place like this has to involve forging long-term solutions to existing human problems. Almost everyone would agree that environmentalism is a commitment to leave the planet in better shape for our children. For sandal-makers like Roselyn Egosangwa, who has five children of her own, that sentiment takes on much more urgency. Being an environmentalist in Korogocho is not about saving the planet for generations to come; it is about providing a better life for Roselyn and her five children today.

The collection of volunteers who assist with Ecosandals.com live far, far away from Korogocho, and the work we do -- internet marketing -- is a world away as well. Today, my volunteer duties include responding to a potential customer who has a size 9 left foot and a size 9 1/2 right foot. (I need to determine if and how she can place an order online.) I'll also talk to Canadian and British sandal distributors that want us to link to their websites. In addition, I'll help handle the day-to-day details that enable a Korogocho-based multinational business to continue running smoothly.

Although the work we do here in Michigan is far removed from Roselyn and Maina and the environmental consequences of mass urban migration, the livelihoods of people a half a world away depend on what we do. Our success determines their ability to recycle tires from Nairobi landfills in order to earn enough money to access clean water and decent health care. We are eco-friendly in an American way, trying to reduce our paper use and turn the lights off when we leave the room. They are eco-friendly in a Kenyan way, operating a paperless office because of a broken printer, living with flickering lights due to sporadic electricity, and surviving by selling anything of quality they can make from the scraps society leaves for them.

Collectively, ours is an environmentalism that believes economic growth and environmental preservation must work in concert. It is difficult to expect people to nurture their ecosystem if they do not know whether their children will have food to eat that day. Therefore, if we want environmentalism in Korogocho to move beyond what is demanded by the basic necessities of life, then first we must meet those basic necessities. That is what the Wikyo Akala Project is trying to do. In a most literal way, the sale of recycled sandals promotes the wise use of resources. But the most important work we do on behalf of the environment is recycle hope by bringing it back to a people who named their own community "hopeless."