We look to the heroes in our world for direction, inspiration, and motivation when fighting against impossible odds like those facing us today in the environmental community. Here are a few influential environmentalists you should watch as they change the world with their good green message.

• Wangari Maathai

• Perhaps one of the most influential environmentalists in Africa, Wangari Maathai is a fearless leader, working to improve human health, foster vibrant communities, and encourage women to become economically independent, all with a green angle. She was the first woman from Africa to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and started the Green Belt Movement.

• Despite the recent smear campaign against Van Jones, he is a leader in the environmental community worth watching. He has a knack for linking good jobs to social justice and environmentalism, skilfully connecting the dots and coming up with ambitious and innovative solutions for today’s greatest environmental problems.

• Founder of Better Place, Shai Agassi has a vision to make electric vehicles affordable and mainstream in short order. His solution is to provide battery swap stations that are powered by renewable energy, making personal vehicle ownership virtually emissions-free.

• Founder of Patagonia, a leading-edge, eco-friendly outdoors company, Yvon Chouinard has been experimenting with green concepts for over fifty years.
• Main character in An Inconvenient Truth and advocate for audacious climate goals, Al Gore is naturally one of the most well-recognized faces in the fight against global warming.
• An environmental hero in Canada and beyond, David Suzuki has been talking and writing and filming about the environmental challenges of our time for decades.
• If you’re looking for a humorous slant on the environmental movement, check out Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno for a quirky twist on the issues.
• Bringing the green to Hollywood, Ed Begley Jr. has been talkin’ up eco-friendly living for decades, too. He’s even got his own show, Living with Ed.