A prolific American writer, scientist, and ecologist, Rachel Carson sparked a movement with her 1962 book, Silent Spring. Disturbed by the widespread use of chemical pesticides after World War II, she warned the pubic about the dangers and long-term effects of this practice. Courageously speaking up, she was attacked by government officials and the chemical industry, but never backed down.

Having served as a scientist, editor and eventually editor-in-chief for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 15 years, she was uniquely qualified to sound the alarm. In 1963, she testified before Congress, calling for new policies to protect human health and the environment. She died just one year later after a long battle with breast cancer.

Although she is best known for writing Silent Spring and inspiring the first Earth Day, Carson spent decades researching and writing about the environment before creating her pinnacle book. Her work continues to inspire new generations of citizens to protect the planet and all the life forms we share it with.

An award winning broadcaster, writer, and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough has inspired millions to connect with and care about nature. Early in his career, Attenborough helped create the hit series "Zoo Quest," which combined live studio presentation with footage shot on location for the first time. This program proved that wildlife programs could attract large audiences. In 1965, now Controller of BBC Two, he oversaw Europe's first color broadcasts, and commissioned several innovative programs.

In the 1970s, he began creating programs in some of the world's most remote places, eventually inventing the natural history documentary as we know it today. His first major natural history program was Life on Earth, which was watched by an estimated 500 million people around the world. From there, he wrote and narrated several award-winning programs, including the The Blue Planet, State of the Planet, Are We Changing Planet Earth?, and Climate Change—The Facts.

Through his work, he has brought environmental issues to the forefront, warning that failing to act on climate change could lead to “the collapse of our societies”. More recently, he narrated Blue Planet II and the 8-part Our Planet Series, and met with former President Barack Obama to discuss climate change. Today, he continues to work and inspire viewers around the world.

U.S. senator, lawyer, WWII veteran, and champion of environmental causes Gaylord Nelson is widely known as the father of Earth Day. The son of a country doctor, Nelson began his political career in 1948, starting as the Dane Country state senator and then moving on to become the governor of WI. During this time, he created Wisconsin’s Outdoor Recreation Acquisition Program, which funded the purchase of 1 million acres of park land in the state.

In 1962, he was elected to the U.S. senate and represented WI for 18 years. While there, he quickly established himself as a trailblazer, authoring legislation to create a national hiking trail network and helping to preserve the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail System. He also sponsored several important pieces of environmental legislation, including the Wilderness Act—and his efforts led to historic environmental laws, including the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

What he is best known for, however, is conceiving the idea of Earth Day. In 1969, he traveled to California to speak at a water conference and saw for himself the damage from the Santa Barbara oil spill, calling it “a horrible scene.” While flying home, he read a magazine article about the college campus teach-ins of the Vietnam War era, and was struck by an idea: “Why don’t we have a nationwide teach-in on the environment?” Earth Day was an instant success, drawing 20 million participants in the first year.

English Primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist, Dr. Jane Goodall is best known for her decades-long study of the social and family lives of more than 200 chimpanzees at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Through her research, she discovered that chimpanzees make tools, hunt cooperatively, eat meat, wage war, have strong mother/infant bonds, and show acts of compassion.

Thanks to her groundbreaking, immersive approach to research, she observed what no other scientist had before. In 1963, her discoveries were shared with the world via the National Geographic article “My Life Among the Wild Chimpanzees.” Two years later, NatGeo released “Miss Goodall,” following Jane as she worked.

In 1977, she cofounded the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation, thus beginning her shift from research to science-based activism. In 1991, she founded Roots and Shoots, a network of young people who share Jane’s conservation ethic and are working to make the world a better place.

The recipient of numerous honors, she was named a UN Messenger of Peace in 2004 for her Roots & Shoots program. Through her work, Goodall has redefined species conservation and changed the way we view ourselves forever. Today, she travels the world, speaking about the environmental crisis and the unique threats facing chimpanzees.

2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, founder of the Green Belt Movement, and author of 4 books, Wangari Maathai was born in 1940 in rural Kenya. From a young age, she showed grit and determination, eventually becoming the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn her doctorate degree. Shortly thereafter, she also became the first woman in the region to be an associate professor, and to chair The University of Nairobi’s Department of Veterinary Anatomy.

Active in the National Council of Women in Kenya, she served as its chairman from 1981-1987 and introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. Focused on reducing poverty and conserving the environment via planting trees, she eventually founded the Green Belt Movement. Respected for her work in service of democracy, human rights, and environmental conservation, Maathai overcame incredible odds to change thousands of lives and become an global inspiration. She addressed the UN several times, speaking on behalf of women during the 5-year review of the Earth Summit and serving on the Commission for Global Governance and the Commission on the Future.

A true barrier-breaker, she also served in the Kenyan government in many capacities and was named a UN Messenger of Peace in December 2009. In 2010, she was appointed to the Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group and a trustee of the Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust. That same year, she founded the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies in partnership with the University of Nairobi. Just one year later, she passed away after a battle with ovarian cancer. Her work continues to inspire and uplift women everywhere.

Of course, we can’t talk about environmental heroes without mentioning Greta Thunberg. Lone protestor turned leader of the historic Fridays for the Future movement, Thunberg has inspired millions of people around the world to voice their concerns about climate change.

Rising above attacks from high and low, she has emerged to give a platform to a group that's often referenced but rarely listened to when it comes to climate change: children. In 2019, she was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, a winner of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award in Sweden, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times.

From the U.N. Climate Summit to the steps of the White House to the chambers of U.S. Congress and the World Economic Forum, Thunberg speaks truth to power everywhere she goes—and we don’t think she’ll be going away any time soon.