6/14 Creation Corner Column: More Environmental Leaders identified by TIME magazine

More Environmental Leaders identified by TIME magazine

In addition to the Christian Evangelical climatologist Katharine Hayhoe regarded as a “Pioneer” among TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” cover story of May 5/May 12 (noted in this column last month), these others are noted:

TITANS

Tony Fadell, 45, CEO of NestLab, is combining design, engineering and entrepreneurship to create “smarter homes.”

Aliko Dangote, 57, businessman/activist is “doing well and doing good for Africa” as an advocate for agricultural research, malaria control, and leadership on polio and other diseases.

Ertharin Cousin, 56, from Chicago, is an advocate with a goal to eradicate hunger in our lifetime as she heads the United Nations World Food Programme, bringing food to more than 100 million people worldwide yearly.

PIONEERS

Kathryn Sullivan, 62, former astronaut, is the scientist/new administrator of NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and thus “the world’s weatherwoman.”  With the planet suffering increasingly severe upheavals, at least partly a result of climate change (droughts, floods, typhoons, tornadoes, etc.) she is “the right person for the right job at the right time” according to John Glenn.

Tom Steyer, 56, an investor/environmentalist/fundraiser is seen as a “green game changer”.  His group, “NextGen Climate” mobilizes young voters, politicians and candidates for office to ensure that facts, not anti-science climate denial, have a better chance to be heard.  He is also profiled in a two-page article, entitled “Green Giant” in the June 2 issue of TIME. 

Jack Ma, 49, chairs the Nature Conservancy’s China program.

ARTISTS

Barbara Brown Taylor, 62, author and Episcopal preacher is seen as a “centering voice in the wilderness”.  Her latest book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, helps in strengthening our “mental environment”.

Yao Chen, 34, is a romance comedy actress with more than 66 million followers on the Chinese Weibo blog, where she writes about the disturbing by-products of the epic economic rise in China.

LEADERS

John Kerry, 70, U.S. Secretary of State, is said to have a commitment to address the dangers posed by climate change that is long-standing.

Jerry Brown, 76, Governor of California is cited as a wise steward of the state’s resources, focused on overhauling its broken water system, supporting America’s largest agricultural economy, and fighting climate change.

ICONS

Pope Francis, 77, Roman Catholic Pontiff, chose his name “Francis” after the Catholic saint of nature, and, because nature can be viewed as impoverished, marginalized, cast-out, he urges us to be moral leaders in word and deed, especially in our practice of environmental ethics.

Robert Redford, 76, actor, showcases environmental-theme independent films at the Sundance Festival and supports environmental causes such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Arundhati Roy, 52, writer/activist, is said to be the “conscience of India” with her essays on crony capitalism and environmental depredation, thus providing  “bracing ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling.”

Carrie Underwood, 31, singer/songwriter is an American Idol winner (2005) and animal rights advocate.

Alice Waters, 69, chef and activist on behalf of better eating habits, food (fresh and local), cuisine, farmer markers, and improved home economics courses for children (The Edible Schoolyard Project).

Note:

If my analysis is correct, and my count accurate, these persons represent sixteen percent of the total of the 100 named, thus reflecting a considerable number of persons with environmental concerns, and a considerable depth of environmental issues worldwide.