In the United Kingdom, The Guardian newspaper brought together a panel of scientists (like former World Bank chief scientist Bob Watson and Indian physicist Vandana Shiva, among others), activists, and politicians, along with its science, environment, and economics correspondents to come up with a list of 50 people that are most able to influence action towards planet preservation.

Included in the list are former US Vice President Al Gore, who put climate change on every government’s agenda, and actor Leonardo Di Caprio. There are also church leaders, an Indian peasant farmer, a seed collector, and a scientist who persuaded an African president to make a tenth of their country a national park.

Here are some of the planet heroes chosen to lead the earth’s preservation:

• Terry Tamminen (Australia) - He has been a sheep farmer, a sea captain, a property dealer, and the environmental adviser to California governor Schwarzenegger. Because of Tamminen’s influence, the governor passed groundbreaking environmental laws, and put pressure on polluting industries. By 2020, California aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 25%.

• Capt. Paul Watson (US) - Capt. Watson is the man that Japanese whalers, Canadian seal hunters, and illegal fishermen all over the world fear the most. He co-founded Greenpeace in the 70’s. He is setting up a new role for environment groups, making them the new green police. For instance, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society became an official law enforcement agency in Ecuador, going on official patrols, and making arrests in the Galapagos National Maritime Park.

• Vicki Buck (New Zealand) - She helped establish Aquaflow, a company that harvests wild algae from sewage ponds and extracts fuel from it to run cars and aircrafts. Companies from Boeing to Virgin Airways are going to her for biofuel. Vicki had been a mayor of Christchurch. She is the director of NZ Windfarms and is currently working at reducing methane gas emitted by animals through a change in diet. Vicki also set up the top eco-website, celsias.com.

• Angela Merkel (Germany) - This German chancellor is a politician who is a strong advocate for action on climate change. Angela was a quantum chemstry teacher who was made a German environment minister in 1994. Germany now sets the highest standards for renewables and emission cuts, and turns away from coal and oil.

• Madhav Subrmanian (India) - A 12-year old schoolboy, he goes around Mumbai collecting money for tiger conservation. He set up Kids for Tigers which works in hundreds of schools, collecting half a million rupees in two years. Because of young activists like him, conservation awareness is growing in middle-class India.

Source:

Vidal, John. “50 people who could save the planet.” Retrieved April 25, 2010 from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/05/activists.ethicalliving