Key figures in environmentalism

Abbey, Edward (1927–89): American environmental activist and author. The originality of Abbey’s ideas regarding the preservation of nature, expressed with great eloquence in his writings, helped to increase awareness of environmental issues and inspired a radical environmental movement.

Abzug, Bella (1920–98): American attorney, politician, and social activist. Abzug founded the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO). She argued that women’s perspectives are important to policy making concerning the environment and peace efforts, and in 1972 she was elected to the US House of Representatives on a women’s rights and peace platform. In 1997 Abzug launched a major initiative to link environmental contaminants to various health issues and other problems.

Adams, Ansel (1902–84): American photographer and environmental activist. Through his spectacular photographs and his advocacy, Adams helped to increase Americans’ awareness of the beauty of the nation’s wilderness areas and the importance of preserving that beauty.

Amory, Cleveland (1917–98): American author and animal rights activist. Amory’s decades of activism for animal rights and animal protection saved thousands of animals from extermination and helped bring the issue of cruelty to animals into the public spotlight.

Attenborough, Sir David (b. 1926): English naturalist and television broadcaster. Attenborough is an esteemed presenter of nature documentaries in Great Britain. His first success was with the series Life on Earth in 1979. The Living Planet followed in 1984, and in 1990 The Trials of Life looked at animal behavior. His 2006 two-part program Are We Changing Planet Earth? addressed the issue of global warming.

Audubon, John James (1785–1851): French American naturalist and wildlife artist. Through his unique paintings and his writings, Audubon demonstrated ecological relationships among organisms and set new standards for field observation. By illustrating the beauty of birds and animals, he helped to lay the foundation for a national environmental consciousness in the United States.

Bahro, Rudolf (1935–97): German ecosocialist philosopher and author. Bahro, born in East Germany, joined the East German Socialist Unity Party in 1954. He argued that both the communist and the capitalist powers of the world engage in policies that promote unlimited economic development on a planet with limited resources, and that such policies exploit developing nations as well as nature. In the early 1990s Bahro taught classes in social ecology at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Bailey, Michael (b. 1954): Canadian conservationist and film and video producer. Bailey was an early member of Greenpeace and is especially interested in saving dolphins and whales. Through his involvement with the Climate Summit, a consortium begun by former US vice president Al Gore, he uses video technology to educate the public on climate change and global warming. In 1997 Bailey was instrumental in pressuring the Japanese government to release dolphins in connection with the Japan-based ELSA Nature Conservancy.

Bancroft, Tom (b. 1951): American ecologist. Bancroft was named chief scientist at the National Audubon Society in 2007. In 2008 he testified before the US Congress regarding the decline in bird populations around the world, citing environmental causes for the decline that include global warming, habitat destruction as the result of agriculture and encroachment of human settlements, and introduction of nonnative species.

Bari, Judi (1949–97): American environmental activist. As a member of the radical environmental organization Earth First!, Bari worked as an organizer in a 1990 campaign to protect a redwood forest in Northern California and raise national awareness of the issue of logging in old-growth forests. During the campaign, she was seriously injured by a bomb that had been placed in her automobile by an unknown assailant.

Berry, Thomas (1914-2009): American Catholic priest, ecotheologian, and cultural historian. Berry taught that science can promote the religious sense of mystery in the universe and that a relationship with the earth is necessary for human spirituality as well as for human life itself. He is best known for his 1988 book The Dream of the Earth, which addresses the place of human beings in the cosmos.

Berry, Wendell (b. 1934): American author of books on conservation and agrarianism. Berry’s integrated professions of farmer, writer, and critic of industrial development have placed him among the major figures of the twentieth century in both conservation and literature.

Bookchin, Murray (1921–2006): American ecological activist, author, and anarchist thinker. Bookchin, the creator of the concept of social ecology, suggested in the 1960s that the prosperity of the post-World War II United States had been bought at the price of serious harm to the environment.

Borlaug, Norman (1914–2009): American plant pathologist and environmental activist. Borlaug, who became known as the father of the Green Revolution, pioneered efforts to develop high-yield crops to increase food production throughout the world.

Brockovich, Erin (b. 1960): Legal clerk and environmental activist. Brockovich helped construct a legal case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for its role in polluting the drinking water of Hinkley, California, with chromium 6. The clients in the case received the largest settlement ever made in the United States in a direct-action lawsuit.

Brower, David (1912–2000): American environmental activist and writer. Brower, who was vigorously involved in battles concerning environmental issues for more than fifty years, was one of the twentieth century’s most influential and controversial environmental activists and writers.

Brown, Lester (b. 1934): American agricultural scientist and author. Brown founded the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental think tank the mission of which is to analyze the state of the earth and to act as “a global early warning system.”

Browner, Carol M. (b. 1955): American attorney and environmentalist. In 2009 President Barack Obama named Browner to be the first director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy. Previously she had held the post of administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (the first woman to do so), after serving as head of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, where she established herself as an aggressive advocate for the environment in general and for wetlands in particular.

Brundtland, Gro Harlem (b. 1939): Norwegian politician, physician, and environmental advocate. Brundtland has been called the “Green Goddess” because of the innovative environmental programs she initiated during her career as prime minister of Norway.

Burroughs, John (1837–1921): American nature writer. Through his best-selling books, Burroughs raised Americans’ awareness of the beauty of nature and the importance of preserving it.

Callicott, J. Baird (b. 1941): American environmental philosopher. Callicott is a leading interpreter of the work of American wilderness conservationist and environmental philosopher Aldo Leopold. Callicott maintains that there should be no sharp division between humans and nature; he asserts that the world should not be thought of as atomistic and mechanical, but rather as organic and systematic.

Carson, Rachel (1907–1964): American author and environmentalist. As the author of Silent Spring (1962) and other best-selling books, Carson helped to spark the modern environmental movement.

Carter, Jimmy (b. 1924): American politician who served as governor of Georgia and as president of the United States. During his political career, Carter made many decisions that demonstrated an environmentalist agenda.

Commoner, Barry (b. 1917): American biologist and antinuclear activist. Commoner has raised public awareness of a number of important environmental issues, particularly regarding the use of energy resources, organic farming and pesticides, waste management, and toxic chemicals.

Comstock, Anna Botsford (1854–1930): American artist and conservationist. At a time when many Americans were moving from farms to cities, Comstock developed the idea that nature study is a necessary part of a full human existence; she saw such study as a nurse for human health, an elixir of youth, and even a cure for problems of school discipline. She wrote and illustrated several books on the topic of nature study and helped to create the nature study movement in the United States.

Cousteau, Jacques (1910–97): French explorer, conservationist, and filmmaker. Cousteau, one of the twentieth century’s best-known explorers and conservationists, gained widespread attention for environmental issues, particularly those concerning the world’s oceans.

Darling, Jay (1876–1962): American cartoonist and wildlife conservationist. Darling was instrumental in starting the Federal Duck Stamp Program, which generated revenue to buy new lands to serve as waterfowl refuges, as authorized by the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.

Darwin, Charles (1809–82): English naturalist. Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection, the dominant paradigm of the biological sciences, underlies the study of ecosystems.

Davis, Naomi (b. 1956): American environmental activist. Davis is the founder of the Chicago-based group Blacks in Green, which focuses on rallying African Americans to link environmental technology with job creation. The long-term goal of Blacks in Green is to convert one thousand blighted acres in Chicago into a mixed-income ecodevelopment that will use both solar power and wind power to generate electricity and will be a site of substantial horticultural activity.

Dubos, René (1901–82): French-born American bacteriologist and environmental writer. Through his writings, Dubos encouraged exploration of the manner in which humans interact with the environment.

Eaubonne, Françoise d’ (1920-2005): French novelist, poet, essayist, and journalist. D’Eaubonne, who coined the term “ecofeminism,” influenced thinking about the relationship between ecology and feminist theory, both of which are built on the concept of the interconnectedness of living and nonliving beings.

Ehrlich, Paul R. (b. 1932): American biologist and environmental philosopher. Ehrlich has published several books that have been influential in raising awareness and promoting action concerning such problems as the dangers of overpopulation and the possible effects of nuclear war.

Foreman, Dave (b. 1946): American environmental activist and author. As one of the cofounders of the radical environmental group Earth First! and through his continued leadership in less radical organizations, Foreman has had a great deal of influence on the environmental movement.

Fossey, Dian (1932–85): American zoologist and author. Fossey influenced views of animal behavior and the need for animal protection through her writings about the mountain gorillas of Central Africa and her passionate attempts to save the gorillas from poachers. She was murdered in 1985 many believe in relatiation for her activism.

Francis of Assisi, Saint (c. 1181-1226): Italian monk. In modern times Saint Francis of Assisi has become the patron saint of environmentalists because of his love of nature. Among his works admired by environmentalists is his “Canticle of the Creatures,” in which he uses the expressions “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon.”

Freudenburg, William R. (b. 1951): American environmental researcher and educator. Freudenburg, who teaches environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is known for his work on the relationship between environment and society. His areas of research include resource-dependent communities, the social impacts of environmental and technological change, and risk analysis. He has examined such topics as the social impacts of US oil dependence and the polarizing nature of debates over protection of the northern spotted owl from logging in old-growth forest habitat.

Garnaut, Ross (b. 1946): Australian economist. Garnaut is best known for his influential report the Garnaut Climate Change Review, which examines the likely effects of climate change on the Australian economy. From 1981 to1983 he directed the Australia Economic Relations Research Project. He has also written widely on the industrializing economy of China, including the 2004 volume China: Is Rapid Growth Sustainable?

Gibbons, Euell (1911–75): American ethnobotanist and nature writer. Gibbons improved the public image of wild food foraging and thus of environmentalism in general, as his staid, avuncular image made environmentalism acceptable to Americans who had tended to perceive environmental activism as subversive.

Gibbs, Lois (b. 1951): American environmental activist. Gibbs united her community by forming the Love Canal Homeowners Association and leading efforts to compel state and federal officials to relocate residents in her neighborhood whose homes were compromised by exposure to toxic waste.

Gibran, Kahlil (1883-1931): Lebanese American artist, philosopher, and writer. Gibran taught that humans are one with nature and that what humankind does to the earth it does to itself. He is chiefly known for his 1923 book The Prophet, a series of philosophical poems written in English; many of the images in this work are taken from nature.

Gill, Frank B.: American ornithologist. From 1996 to 2004 Gill was senior vice president and director of science for the National Audubon Society. He is especially known as the author of the book Ornithology, which is considered the leading textbook in the field; several editions of the work have appeared since the first was published in 1990.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832): German philosopher, scientist, dramatist, poet, and novelist. Goethe held a holistic view of nature—that is, he believed that although humans are the crowning achievement of nature, they are a part of nature like any other part. He had a passionate respect for and even veneration of the natural world, and this holistic view penetrated every aspect of his literary as well as his scientific work.

Gore, Al (b. 1948): American environmental activist and politician who served in both houses of Congress and as vice president of the United States. Through his activism and particularly his participation in the documentary filmAn Inconvenient Truth, Gore has brought worldwide attention to the problem of global warming.

Griffin, Susan (b. 1943): American ecofeminist author. Griffin writes poetry and nonfiction prose that makes connections between the mistreatment of women and the destruction of nature. Among her works are the book Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her (1978), which explores how female anger can be a transforming force.

Hansen, James E. (b. 1941): American climate change scientist. As a prominent climate scientist and activist, Hansen has been an important contributor to increased public awareness of global warming.

Hardin, Garrett (1915-2003): American ecologist. Through his writings—in particular his widely read 1968 article “The Tragedy of the Commons”—Hardin raised awareness of the environmental problems caused by human overpopulation and overexploitation of resources.

Hemenway, Harriet (1858-1960): American socialite and activist for protection of birds. Hemenway began the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1896 after she realized that many thousands of birds were being slaughtered to provide feathers for women’s hats. She convinced women to give up wearing feathers and campaigned for milliners to design featherless hats. By 1905 fifteen other states had formed Audubon Societies, which eventually combined to form the National Audubon Society.

Jeffers, Robinson (1887-1962): American poet. Jeffers is known for his philosophy of “inhumanism”—that is, his high regard for the nonhuman and his low regard for the human. He asserted that the universe is one being, a single organism, and that whatever human beings do to a landscape damages it.

Kress, Stephen W. (b. 1945): American ornithologist. Kress is an expert in seabird conservation and, as vice president for bird conservation for the National Audubon Society, has had extraordinary success leading that organization’s Project Puffin seabird restoration program in Maine. He has also published several books that provide expert tips for creating bird-friendly habitats.

Leopold, Aldo (1887-1948): American wilderness conservationist and environmental philosopher. Leopold, who has been called the father of modern wildlife management and ecology, applied his insightful concepts of ethics and philosophy to conservation strategies and thus helped raise awareness of environmental issues.

Lovejoy, Thomas E. (b. 1941): American tropical biologist. Lovejoy is recognized for his contributions to conservation policy making. He is best known for developing creative solutions to issues of scientific concern, such as debt-for-nature swaps.

Lovelock, James (b. 1919): English environmentalist and inventor. Lovelock is best known for his Gaia hypothesis, which suggests that the earth itself is the source of life and that all living things on the planet have coevolved and therefore are inextricably intertwined.

Lovins, Amory (b. 1947): American physicist. Lovins, cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, has worked to promote the use of sustainable and clean energy, particularly as a means to attain global stability and security.

Lubchenco, Jane (b. 1947): American marine ecologist. Lubchenco is the first woman to serve as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Previously, she was a member of a team of researchers who conducted the first National Academy of Sciences study on the policy implications of global warming and provided advice on that topic to President George H. W. Bush and the US Congress.

Maathai, Wangari (b. 1940): Kenyan environmentalist and social activist. A visionary and activist in the fight against deforestation in Africa and beyond, Maathai has spearheaded various initiatives that have resulted in the planting of billions of trees and have brought global attention to this critical environmental issue.

McHarg, Ian L. (1920-2001): Scottish American landscape architect. McHarg was a pioneer in the area of ecologically based landscape architecture. His book Design with Nature, first published in 1969, helped to create the field of ecological planning and showed how development can be integrated with aesthetics and environmental concern.

Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766–1834): English political economist. The author of An Essay on the Principle of Population, as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society (1798), Malthus provided the direst explanations of the causes and consequences of population growth.

Manabe, Syukuro (b. 1931): Japanese meteorological scientist. Manabe’s research using computer modeling has improved humankind’s understanding of the role that the oceans play in the global climate.

Marsh, George Perkins (1801–82): American statesman, diplomat, and author. Marsh’s widely read book Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action (1864), a treatise on environmental history, became one foundation for the conservation and environmental movements of the twentieth century.

Marshall, Robert (1901–39): American forester and plant physiologist. Marshall influenced both government policy and public opinion through his numerous writings on the need for wilderness conservation and through his participation in the Wilderness Society, an organization he cofounded.

Mather, Stephen T. (1867-1930): American conservationist. As the first director of the US National Park Service, Mather personified the national parks movement during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Mendes, Chico (1944–88): Brazilian rubber tapper and trade union leader. Mendes spent his entire life working against the forces of environmental destruction in the Amazon forest in order to sustain a way of life for his fellow rubber tappers and other indigenous peoples of western Brazil. He earned international recognition as a defender of the Amazon ecosystem.

Molina, Mario (b. 1943): Mexican chemist. Molina’s pioneering work concerning the formation and catalytic decomposition of ozone in the stratosphere led to greater scientific attention to the issue of climate change.

Muir, John (1838–1914): Scottish American naturalist, preservationist, and writer. Muir, one of America’s most notable preservationists and a founder of the Sierra Club, introduced Americans to California’s Sierra Nevada and worked hard to protect much of the region’s wilderness, including Yosemite, against development.

Mumford, Lewis (1895–1990): American historian and social philosopher. Although Mumford could not be called an environmental activist in the usual sense, his advocacy of garden cities, his criticism of urban sprawl and the directions taken by modern technology, and his opposition to the use of nuclear energy show his deep-seated concern for the human environment.

Nader, Ralph (b. 1934): American political activist and consumer advocate. As a consumer advocate and as a Green Party political candidate, Nader has been a champion of the underdog—including the poor, the elderly, and members of minority groups—against corporate and political power structures in the United States.

Naess, Arne (1912–2009): Norwegian philosopher. Naess’s ideas, in particular his introduction of the concept of deep ecology, have had a great deal of influence on environmental philosophy and activism.

Olmsted, Frederick Law (1822–1903): American landscape architect. Olmsted left a distinct mark on the American environment from New York City to the wilds of California. He synthesized a variety of experiences in his youth and young adulthood to become one of the greatest landscape designers in the history of the United States.

Osborn, Henry Fairfield, Jr. (1887–1969): American naturalist and conservationist. Through his work with the New York Zoological Society and his writings, Osborn promoted the preservation of endangered species and their habitats and also raised public awareness of the dangers of human overpopulation.

Ostrom, Elinor (b. 1933): American political scientist. Through her extensive empirical research, Ostrom has shown that it is not inevitable that shared resources will be depleted by overuse.

Passmore, John Arthur (1914–2004): Australian philosopher. Passmore argued that humans cannot continue to exploit the environment, but he also believed that those who say that nature has intrinsic value or that nature has rights of its own are irrational. According to Passmore, the value in nature lies in what it contributes to living things, including humans.

Pinchot, Gifford (1865–1946): American conservationist and forester. As the first head of the US Forest Service, Pinchot influenced national policy making concerning the conservation of natural resources as well as their management for human use.

Plumwood, Val (b. 1939): Australian ecofeminist author. Plumwood coined the term “human chauvinism” to point to the insensitivity that comes from the human tendency to dominate nature. In her 1993 book Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, Plumwood laments the Western world’s lack of respect for nature and the idea that only humans can have any direct ethical significance.

Powell, John Wesley (1834–1902): American geologist and explorer. Powell contributed significantly to scientific knowledge of the American West in the mid-nineteenth century, and his ideas regarding environmental policy are recognized as being ahead of their time.

Revkin, Andrew (b. 1956): American journalist. Revkin reported on the environment for The New York Times from 1995 to 2009, when he joined Pace University’s Academy for Applied Environmental Studies. He has written on a wide range of environment-related subjects, including the destruction of the Amazon rain forest, the Asian tsunami of 2004, and the North Pole. In 2008 Revkin received Columbia University’s John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, which is presented to reporters committed to writing about difficult stories.

Richards, Ellen Swallow (1842–1911): American environmental chemist. Richards was the first woman to receive a degree in science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the 1870’s she supervised a major project for the newly established Massachusetts Board of Health that involved a sewage and watersupply survey. Her research led to the creation of the first water-quality standards in the United States and the establishment of the world’s first modern sewage treatment systems.

Roddick, Anita (1942–2007): English businesswoman and environmental activist. In 1976 Roddick founded the Body Shop, a company that sells cosmetics, soaps, and lotions made from natural ingredients and not tested on animals. Roddick designed the Body Shop stores to do more than sell merchandise—they would also serve as centers for education about social justice and environmental issues.

Rolston, Holmes, III (b. 1932): American environmental ethicist. Rolston is known for his writings on environmental ethics and on the relationship between science and religion. In 2003 he was awarded the Templeton Prize for his affirmation of life’s spiritual dimension, and his Gifford lectures in 1997-1998 were published under the title Genes, Genesis, and God: Values and Their Origins in Natural and Human History (1999).

Roosevelt, Theodore (1858–1919): American politician and conservationist who served as governor of New York and president of the United States. During his years as US president, 1901–09, Roosevelt did more to boost conservation efforts in the United States than any other president before him.

Rowell, Galen (1940–2002): American nature photographer. One of the best-known American nature photographers, Rowell was also a serious mountaineer and helped to develop the field of participatory photography.

Rowland, Frank Sherwood (b. 1927–2012): American chemist. Rowland was the first person to discover that chlorofluorocarbons released into the atmosphere were destroying the protective ozone layer, and he was influential in the eventual move to ban production of these compounds.

Sale, Kirkpatrick (b. 1937): American journalist, historian, and environmental writer. In a long career as journalist and activist, Sale has helped shape the modern environmental movement through his writings emphasizing human scale, bioregionalism, decentralization, and a thoroughgoing critique of technology and the idea of progress.

Schumacher, E. F. (1911–77): German British economist. Schumacher’s promotion of nonmaterialist values and his writings emphasizing the importance of protecting resources while attending to the needs of humans had a great influence on the environmental movement in the 1970’s and 1980s.

Schweitzer, Albert (1875–1965): German philosopher and physician. In 1913 Schweitzer established a hospital in west central Africa, in what is now Gabon; in doing so, he took care to preserve the surrounding forest and rejected the use of any technology that would degrade the environment. He believed that all life is precious and that although killing may at times be necessary, it is never ethical. Schweitzer won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in equatorial Africa, and Rachel Carson dedicated Silent Spring (1962) to him.

Seattle (c. 1780–1866): Native American chief. Chief Seattle is known for the peaceful negotiations he carried out with white settlers in what is now the state of Washington. His words have become a source of inspiration for many environmentalists, particularly a speech in favor of ecological responsibility that has been attributed to him. In this speech he asked, “How can you buy or sell the sky—the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.”

Shiva, Vandana (b. 1952): Indian ecofeminist and environmental activist. Shiva, a leading theoretical physicist in the ecology movement, has devoted herself to environmental activism. She has written numerous influential volumes on topics such as biodiversity, biopiracy, biopolitics, ecofeminism, globalization, and food security.

Silkwood, Karen (1946–1974): American nuclear industry worker and union activist. Until her death in an automobile crash Silkwood was not widely known, but after the accident, which occurred under mysterious circumstances, many antinuclear activists saw her as a martyr to their cause and a symbol of the movement.

Singer, Peter (b. 1946): Australian philosopher and bioethicist. Singer, author of the 1975 book Animal Liberation and numerous other works in applied ethics, is considered by many to have launched the modern animal liberation movement.

Snyder, Gary (b. 1930): American poet, essayist, and environmental activist. Snyder was one of the first writers to base his poetry, ethics, and spirituality in environmental ideas and values. He is one of the most influential figures in American nature writing.

Suzuki, David (b. 1936): Canadian genetics scientist and environmentalist. Suzuki is known for his activism regarding climate change and for his television and radio programs that have addressed various issues related to science and the environment. He became the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television series The Nature of Things in 1979; this widely viewed program has focused on the topics of nature, wildlife, and sustainable human societies. Suzuki was awarded the United Nations Environment Programme Medal for his 1985 series A Planet for the Taking, in which he called for a change in the way human beings relate to nature.

Swimme, Brian (b. 1950): American mathematical cosmologist. Swimme, who specializes in the study of the evolutionary dynamics of the universe, is director of the Center for the Story of the Universe at the California Institute of Integral Studies. His best-known work is his 1992 book The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era—A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos, which he coauthored with Thomas Berry.

Tansley, Arthur G. (1871–1955): English botanist. Tansley, who coined the term “ecosystem,” published scholarly articles and books on natural processes that have become central to ecological theory.

Thoreau, Henry David (1817-1862): American naturalist and philosopher. Best remembered as a persuasive advocate of nonviolent civil disobedience to protest unjust laws, Thoreau was also an early advocate of environmentalism.

Udall, Stewart L. (1920–2010): American politician who served as US secretary of the interior. During his term as secretary of the interior (1961–69), Udall acquired for the federal government 1.56 million hectares (3.85 million acres) of new lands, including four national parks and six national monuments. He was an early supporter of Rachel Carson and was instrumental in the signing of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, which provided benefits for persons sickened by radiation as the result of American nuclear weapons testing.

Vernadsky, Vladimir (1863–1945): Russian geochemist and mineralogist. Vernadsky developed the concepts of the biosphere and the noosphere, and his 1926 bookThe Biosphere inspired a new vision of humankind’s role in shaping the earth’s environment.

Watson, Paul (b. 1950): Canadian animal rights and environmental activist. A dissident Greenpeace member and experienced sailor, Watson founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, one of the world’s most aggressive environmental organizations. He and his organization have mounted vigilante (but deliberately nonlethal) attacks against the efforts of seal hunters, whalers, and drift-net fishers.

Watt, James (b. 1938): American attorney who served as US secretary of the interior. Watt was labeled a major antienvironmentalist during his tenure as secretary of the interior; he was frequently accused of using his office to weaken environmental policies that fell under his domain of authority.

Wayburn, Edgar (1906–2010): American environmentalist and physician. Wayburn joined the Sierra Club in 1939 and was elected to that organization’s board of directors in 1961. During the 1960’s he was elected president of the Sierra Club five times. His activism has been credited as being an important element in the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. In 1999, when Wayburn received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Bill Clinton stated that “over the course of more than a half century, both as president of the Sierra Club and as a private citizen, [Wayburn] has saved more of our wilderness than any person alive.”

Weyler, Rex (b. 1947): American Canadian author, journalist, and ecologist. During the 1970s Weyler served as director of the original Greenpeace Foundation. He was a cofounder of Greenpeace International in 1979 and is the author of Blood of the Land: The Government and Corporate War Against the American Indian Movement (1982), a book about Native Americans’ rights, and Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists, and Visionaries Changed the World (2004).

White, Lynn Townsend, Jr. (1907–87): American historian and author. White argued that religion—medieval Christianity, in particular—played a significant role in the environmental crisis that was becoming apparent during the late 1960s. His controversial thesis was influential in spawning several movements in environmentalism, including ecotheology.

Wilmut, Ian (b. 1944): English reproductive biologist. Wilmut, one of the world’s foremost authorities on biotechnology and genetic engineering, conducted a landmark cloning experiment in 1996 that produced Dolly the sheep, the first mammal clone ever produced from adult cells.

Wilson, Edward O. (b. 1929): American evolutionary biologist and author. An evolutionary biologist with extensive field experience, especially in studying ants, Wilson became a political target during the 1970’s because of his application of sociobiology to humans. More recently, he has championed biological diversity and has worked to save species from extinction.

Wolman, Abel (1892–1989): American sanitary engineer. Wolman was a pioneer in the field of sanitary engineering. His innovations and advocacy influenced the establishment of sound water-resource management strategies by American cities during the twentieth century.

Wright, Frank Lloyd (1867–1959): American architect. Wright believed that daily communion with nature is essential, and in his architectural designs he made the landscape a central element. One of his most famous buildings is the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, which brings light from the sky down into its depths. Wright’s “prairie-style” houses are built at the edges of their lots to allow room for gardens in their centers.

Zahniser, Howard Clinton (1906–64): American conservationist and nature writer. Zahniser was an influential figure in the wilderness preservation movement of the mid-twentieth century. In addition to serving as executive secretary of the Wilderness Society for more than twenty years, he authored the landmark Wilderness Act of 1964.

Bibliography

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