Famous 20th Century Environmental Activists

Legal consultant, environmental activist, and consumer activist Erin Brockovich is known for suing California-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company, alleging them of contamination of water with hexavelent chromium, in 1993. Her story inspired the Julia Roberts-starrer 2000 movie Erin Brockovich. She has written two books and hosted TV shows, too.

Timothy Treadwell is best remembered for his work on Alaskan bears. He founded the organization Grizzly People and lived among bears in the Katmai National Park for 13 years. In 2003, he and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by a brown bear. He inspired the documentary Grizzly Man.

Dick Strawbridge is a British engineer, television personality, and former army officer. In 1993, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his service in Northern Ireland. After his military career, Strawbridge has established himself as a TV personality, appearing on several TV programs. He is popularly referred to as Colonel Dick in the media.

Laurie David is an American environmental activist best known for producing An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film that has been credited for reenergizing the environmental movement and raising public awareness on global warming. In 2003, she was honored with the Children's Nature Institute's Leaf Award for her efforts to educate young children about our environment.

Zuzana Čaputová is a Slovak politician, environmental activist, and lawyer. In 2019, Čaputová became the first woman to be elected as the President of Slovakia. She also became the youngest Slovak president of all time as she was 45 years old when she was elected. In 2020, Zuzana Čaputová was included in Forbes magazine's World's 100 Most Powerful Women list.

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmental, social, and political activist. She achieved popularity after becoming the first African woman to be honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. She is credited with founding a non-governmental organization called The Green Belt Movement (GBM), which focuses on women's rights and environmental conservation.

Charles Robert Redford Jr. is a retired actor, activist, and director. He is credited with founding the Sundance Film Festival and was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2014. For his contributions to arts, Charles Robert Redford Jr. was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Jane Fonda is hailed as one of the best actresses ever and has won two Oscars. She has acted in popular and acclaimed films like Barefoot in the Park, Barbarella, Klute, Coming Home, Julia, The Morning After, The China Syndrome and California Suite. She’s also known for her exercise videos and is famous for her opposition to the Vietnam War.

Polish actress, dancer, film producer and environmental activist Izabella Miko is noted for starring in the films Coyote Ugly and The Forsaken and in the music videos Mr. Brightside and Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers. She debuted as film producer with Desert Dancer. She runs the eco foundation called EkoMiko and has a sustainable candle line called EkoMiko Candles.

A global adventurer and environmentalist, David Mayer de Rothschild is a descendant of the Rothschild banking family. He once crossed the Pacific in a vessel made of plastic bottles, to raise awareness about ocean pollution. His Sculpt the Future Foundation supports environment-friendly innovations and sustainable initiatives.

George Monbiot is a British writer and activist best known for his political and environmental activism. He also contributes as a columnist for The Guardian and is credited with founding a land rights campaign called The Land is Ours. Monbiot is the recipient of the United Nations Global 500 Award, which was presented to him by Nelson Mandela in 1995.

Once regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on botany and the environment, David Bellamy was also a successful TV presenter and was a regular on BBC programs. However, he later claimed that he was shunned by the TV fraternity for his denial of the importance of climate change.

Renowned James Lovelock is best known for propagating the Gaia hypothesis, which states that every living being on planet Earth is part of a single self-regulating superorganism. He is also known for his long association with NIMR, London, and Harvard University and has over 50 patents under his name.

The son of British financier James Goldsmith and socialite Lady Annabel Goldsmith, Ben Goldsmith serves as the CEO of Menhaden Capital Management. An avid environmentalist and philanthropist, he co-founded the sustainability-oriented WHEB Asset Management and the JMG Foundation, which focus on environment-friendly business opportunities. He also co-established the UK Environmental Funders’ Network.

Baba Amte was an Indian activist and social worker best remembered for his work that aimed at empowering people suffering from leprosy. Dubbed the modern Gandhi of India, Amte received several prestigious awards, such as the Gandhi Peace Prize, Dr. Ambedkar International Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the Padma Vibhushan.

Philippine environmental activist and philanthropist Gina Lopez is remembered for her relentless fight against hazardous and destructive mining practices. She had led the ABS-CBN Foundation and had chaired the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission. She had also served as the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines.

Jean-Michel Cousteau is a French environmentalist, oceanographic explorer, film producer, and educator. He is also an ardent advocate of a world without nuclear weapons. Cousteau is also credited with founding an education organization and marine conservation called Ocean Futures Society. Inspired by his documentary Voyage to Kure, President George W. Bush took measures to safeguard the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Medha Patkar is an Indian social activist known for her work concerning several issues raised by farmers, tribes, women, and laborers facing injustice in India. She is also known for popularizing the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) movement which opposes the construction of large dams across the Narmada River. Medha Patkar is the recipient of many awards including the Mother Teresa Award.

Currently a nuclear energy advocate and industry consultant, former activist Patrick Albert Moore began his career with Don't Make a Wave Committee—a forerunner of Greenpeace—eventually being elected as its President. Later, he left Greenpeace over differences in policy and founded a PR company called Greenspirit Enterprise, developing solutions in areas of natural resources, biodiversity, energy and climate change.

Judith Wright was an Australian environmentalist, poet, and campaigner for Indigenous land rights. Wright is credited with founding one of the earliest environmental conservation movements in Australia. Best remembered for her poetry skills, Judith Wright won the prestigious Christopher Brennan Award in 1976. In 1991, she was honored with the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

Sheherazade Goldsmith is known for her pioneering a venture of concept jewelry, Loquet London, which offers customized pendants. She has been a columnist for publications such as The Sunday Times and has also penned books. An environmental activist and philanthropist, too, she once owned an organic food business.

Canadian author and environmentalist Farley Mowat is best known for his books on his experiences as a naturalist. A zoology student at the University of Toronto, he dropped out without a degree. His bestselling novel People of the Deer related his concern about the plight of the Ihalmiut of the Arctic.

British environmentalist Daniel Hooper, also known as Swampy, is widely famous as an eco-warrior. He was quite a rage in the 1990s, when he would often occupy tunnels and trees, to protest against developmental projects that harmed nature. He lived with his girlfriend and children in a tent in Tipi Valley.

Indian environmental activist and physicist Vandana Shiva is known for her anti-GMO campaigns. The Gandhi of grain is the founder of RFSTN, which promotes sustainable agriculture, and is against globalization. She developed an interest in environmentalism after witnessing a forest at her hometown being cleared for a project.

Born to Italian writer Cino Boccazzi, Kuki Gallmann later moved to Kenya with her husband and son, both of whom she lost in separate accidents. Taking up Kenyan citizenship, she focused on ecological conservation. He bestselling book I Dreamed Of Africa was later made into a movie.

Celine Cousteau is a public figure and socio-environmental advocate. She is renowned for her work as an explorer, documentary filmmaker, artist, public speaker, designer, and brand ambassador. Céline Cousteau is credited with founding CauseCentric Productions, which produces multi-media content.

Sunderlal Bahuguna was an Indian environmentalist best remembered for his involvement in the Chipko movement. The movement, which aims at conserving forests, received a major boost after Bahuguna created the slogan ecology is the permanent economy. The movement inspired similar movements across India. Sunderlal Bahuguna is also remembered for leading the anti-Tehri Dam movement.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a photographer, journalist, activist, and environmentalist. He is well known for directing films that portray the impact of humans on Earth. Over the years, his environmental work and activism have earned him prestigious awards, such as the 2010 National Outdoor Book Award for his popular book, Our Living Earth.

Prominent environmentalist and world-class mountaineer, David Brower became aware of the environmental issues through his proximity to nature, eventually joining Sierra Club, serving it in different capacities over a long period before establishing several organizations of his own. Author of three autobiographies, he fought to keep dams out of the Grand Canyon and was thrice nominated for Nobel Peace Prize.