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Key Personalities Making the Difference
From WikiVerde
We can no longer take our planet for granted. Today, the human race is in danger of being exterminated, not through war, but due to the rapid degradation of the natural environment around us. It's extraordinary how we still choose not to take this threat seriously as the evidence is right there before us. We just ignore it! However there are a bunch of dedicated people who are trying to make a difference in this regards. These are the warriors for the environment, who are using any and every means at their disposal to speak up for it. More importantly, they are also trying to pry the eyes open of people who think the natural environment is their's to do as they wish.
We have brought to you a list of people who are making a world of difference towards the concept of environmental protection and towards a Green Planet.
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David Suzuki
David Takayoshi Suzuki has donned many hats in his career but he is loved and respected for his championing efforts with regards to nature and the environment. Since the mid-1970s David Suzuki has hosted a TV and radio series that focuses on the natural environment. Moreover, he is the author of several books on the issue and has also hosted ‘The Nature of Things’ a CBC television Science magazine that has seen a syndication in over 40 nations.
He co-founded the David Suzuki foundation in the year 1990, whose prime aim is to find ways and means that would enable us to balance the way we live and the natural world that offers us sustenance. The foundation under the leadership of this charismatic man has prioritized its focus areas. They are
Ocean
Climate Change
Use of Clean Energy
Sustainable Fishing
All round Sustainability of Environment
David Suzuki has been one of the most forceful spokespeople on all things related to global climate change. He is also well known for the logical criticisms he levels at the government with regards to their lack of proactive approaches towards environmental protection.
Timothy Flannery
Professor Timothy Flannery hails from Australia and is a global warming activist, paleontologist, and mammal expert all rolled into one. In 2007, he was named the Australian of the Year for his efforts with regards to environmental activism. Over a period of time he has regularly asked for the shutting down of conventional power stations that use coal for electricity generation.
He has achieved rare prominence in his work as an environmental activist and has focused on the two major issues of carbon emissions and population levels. His book, "The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People" commented on the impact of humans on the Australian natural environment. In another book, "The Weather Makers- The History and Future Impact of Climate Change," Timothy Flannery underlined the threat of a global carbon dictatorship in the near future, if governments and people failed to act on climate change. This is just one facet that the book covered. Flannery has raised the innate profile of environmental issues and encouraged people to think about their environment by taking a look at history and also through the illustration of future ecological challenges.
James Lovelock
Dr. James Ephraim Lovelock is another crusader for the environment. He has earned fame and respect as an author, scientist, environmentalist, futurist, and a researcher. His primary focus is on the threat of global warming, as a result of the greenhouse effect. He holds a radical view that nuclear power can halt global warming. The argument he puts forth is that it is the only realistic alternative to fossil fuels, which would fulfill the large scale energy requirements of mankind, while at the same time not contributing to greenhouse emissions.
Lois Gibbs
In 1978, Lois Marie Gibbs, discovered that her son’s elementary school in Niagara Falls, New York, was built on a toxic waste dump. Thereby began her involvement in environmental causes. The remarkable fact is that she had no prior experience when it came to community activism but organized her neighbors for the same, when she came to know that her entire neighborhood was built on a waste dump.
She has authored several books about the effects of toxic waste. Haverford College honored her with an Honorary Degree – Doctor of Humane Letters in the year 2006. This was for her indefatigable work as an environmental activist.
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen is an American environmental activist and author. He usually talks through his books, which question contemporary society and their values. Many people have labeled him an anarcho-primitivist, which essentially means that he believes that civilization in its entirety is not sustainable and its foundation is based on violence. More importantly he takes pains to illustrate his view point that the modern industrial economy can sustain side by side with the natural environment.
His argument that mankind can live a harmonious way of life has a whole lot of takers. He believes that as people we can enter into a mutually sustainable relationship with nature.
Jane Goodall
Valerie Jane Morris Goodall is quite possibly one of the most famous women environmentalists ever. She has donned the role of the U.N. Messenger for Peace and has also earned unrivalled respect as an anthropologist, primatoligist, and ethologist. Her most famous work has been her 45-year study of the chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
She has not only founded the Jane Goodall Foundation but also a youth group called Roots & Shoots for the preservation and conservation of tropical forests. Moreover, her endeavor named the Forests Now Declaration, calls for a more sustainable and new marked based approach towards the protection of tropical forests.
She is also an extraordinary animal rights activist and is the President of an Edinburgh, Scotland-based animal rights organization called Advocates for Animals. This organization’s core focus is to campaign against the use of animals in zoos, sports, farming, and medical research.
