Who's the greenest of them all?

Vote for the most heroic eco-hero of 2007 7

Check out our nominations for the most ass-kicking hero of 2007, then vote at the bottom of this post. (And tell us who we missed.)

Barbara Boxer. Sen. Boxer (D-Calif.) has been pushing for tough climate and energy legislation as chair of the Senate Environment Committee, and going head-to-head with James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on global warming. She's also trying to make Capitol Hill more energy efficient.

Leonardo DiCaprio. This green-leaning actor shined a spotlight on the world's top environmental leaders in his eco-documentary The 11th Hour, plotted a reality TV series about green building, and topped Grist's list of green celebs.

John Edwards. Edwards pushed other Democratic presidential contenders to go greener by coming out first with an aggressive climate plan and environmental platform.

Al Gore. This climate crusader won a Nobel Peace Prize, starred in an Oscar-winning film, and, uh, was named first runner-up for Time magazine's Person of the Year.

James Hansen. Hansen, the top climate scientist at NASA, has been outspoken and aggressive about the need to fight global warming. He's taken his share of hits, and punched right back.

Van Jones. Jones has been everywhere this year fighting for environmental justice and promoting a green economy. Plus, he's a hottie.

Angela Merkel. German Chancellor Merkel has made fighting climate change a top priority this year. She had hoped to advance her cause at the G8 summit this past summer; unfortunately, the U.S. got in the way.

Nancy Pelosi. The House speaker doggedly pushed through an aggressive energy bill -- though the Senate neutered it before it got to Bush's desk. Pelosi has also kept up demands for action against climate change, called for green-collar jobs, and worked to green the Capitol -- even if she doesn't "carry a big stick."

Kevin Rudd. Elected as Australia's prime minister in November 2007, Rudd followed through on his campaign promise to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on his first day in office, leaving the U.S. all by its lonesome.

Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governator continues to be California's most pumped-up environmental defender and ambassador. Watch out, Bush, cause he's pissed about the EPA's auto-emissions decision.

Sorry, the poll you are seeking no longer exists. If you’re in a voting mood, suggest a poll and you might just see it on the site.

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  1. 314159265 Posted 3:03 am
    21 Dec 2007

    Angela Merkel, ummm...At least she gets that AGW thing (being scientificly educated), BUT,

    being yet another Tsherman chancellor, she's a whore of the automobile industry. Now that EU wants to tighten CO2 emission standards, BMW etc. are whining like in the times when the catalysator was made obligatory. And Merkel of course stands behind the tech dinosaurs. And, of course, never will she allow a speed limit on the Autobahn.
    Unlimited BS tech forever! Dont touch the holy Tsherman BS car!

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  2. lorna salzman Posted 4:29 am
    21 Dec 2007

    Real hero in this countryBetween Jones, Gore and Hansen, Hansen wins hands down. He has the most to lose by sticking his neck out. Jones is promoting growth, and even though he calls it "green growth", it is still more of what we need less of. Gore is great but late.  Hansen still has to abandon his faith in nukes but has come out against coal powered plants, which right now are the biggest threat of all (along with deforestation).  Gore hasn't proposed any specific solutions, and certainly none that challenge the dominant growth paradigm, and this is true of Jones too, who, like too many people, focuses more on economics than ecology and still has a lot to learn.
    Lorna Salzman

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  3. caniscandida Posted 5:45 am
    21 Dec 2007

    John EdwardsThese are all fine choices.  There are many different yardsticks by which to measure their respective virtues and accomplishments.  I pick Edwards, not just because I like him (but I like just about everyone on the list, in fact), but because in practical terms, his early, sophisticated statements have forced all the Democratic candidates to get up to speed; and so, whether or not he gets elected, he has done more, practically, than anyone so far to move us all in the direction of the desideratum of Al Gore (and many many others), that the US government must begin to show effective leadership.
    I love Barbara Boxer, and very much wish she had become our first serious female candidate for president.
    I do not have any sense at all yet of Kevin Rudd's personality, but I admire what he has already accomplished.  It is encouraging that the Australians have continued to express disapproval of the Japanese whaling mission, and have sent a vessel and an aircraft to observe the whalers.  Greenpeace has just sent word that the Japanese are backing down from their original intention to kill humpback whales.  No doubt Australian pressure played a part in that reversal.

    Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.

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  4. caniscandida Posted 9:03 pm
    21 Dec 2007

    Kevin Rudd and the AustraliansGood for them!  Unclear, though, what exactly is going on.  Is the Japanese "suspension" of humpback slaughter just a waiting game?
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3 ...

    Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.

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  5. Maywa Montenegro Posted 3:17 pm
    22 Dec 2007

    Bill McKibbenAlthough McKibben (like most of the nominees) has been active on the environmental scene for decades, 2007 was truly a banner year for him. With "Step It Up!" campaigns in both April and November, two new books on the shelves (Deep Economy and Fight Global Warming Now), and dozens of essays, articles, and book reviews, it's surprising McKibben seldom repeats himself (and that he finds time to sleep). Readers from the National Geographic (readership over 2 million) to the "elephant journal," from the Washington Post to the Gristmill blog have been educated, moved, mortified, and most importantly, inspired to act by his smart yet always humble journalism.

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  6. caniscandida Posted 7:44 pm
    22 Dec 2007

    Bill McKibben; Tom FriedmanYes, Bill McKibben!, hear hear!
    I guess it was only in this past year that I became acquainted with Bill McKibben.  There are indeed not many environmentalists who write with wisdom, and write so as to inspire, as well as McKibben does.  And it is a wonderful benefit for Grist readers, that we get to read him right here, from time to time.
    Also, Laurie David, at StopGlobalWarming.org, included Tom Friedman in her Year's Best list, under the title "Best Reporting."
    Well, fine.  He is not everyone's favorite here at Grist; e.g., DR often finds him wanting; but whatever.
    In today's New York Times, Friedman has a piece in which he suggests that GW-anxiety may be eclipsing our equally proper anxiety concerning the biodiversity crisis:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/opinion/23friedman.html ...
    He quotes a Conservation International spokesman, to the effect of, "It will not be a very good thing, if we get the world's climate just right, but the world is dead."
    Aside from what seems to have been resolved in Grist's editorial policy, whether after a conflict or not we on the outside cannot say, I have not noticed that global warming and the biodiversity crisis are issues in competition.  (Though, if so, we know easily enough which one won at Grist.)  It would be wonderful, were Friedman to elaborate.  But he signs off with an au revoir, saying he will be away for a few months writing a book.
    As I have written more than once here in Gristmill, there ought to be no divide between global warming and the biodiversity crisis as issues meriting our attention and concern.  But the former occupies the lower rank, ultimately.  The fundamental value of environmentalists is the well-being of all the community of living beings on Earth.  Global warming is of importance to environmentalists, because it threatens that well-being.  There are numerous threats to that well-being, but global warming is the most important and most urgent, and therefore it merits the attention that e.g. Grist and Al Gore give it.  
    But it is by no means the Final Challenge.

    Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.

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  7. mayo615 Posted 3:36 am
    29 Dec 2007

    2007 Eco Hero Al GoreThe key factor for me is that Al Gore represents a crucial turning  point in public consciousness. He is an invaluable symbol. Purists may argue that Hansen is more important, etc. but the simple fact is that Al Gore has made a greater impact on the broader global population. People are finally beginning to think and change behavior because of Al Gore. I am in the environmental business and I see it every day. We literally describe it as the "Al Gore factor." It simply did not exist until Gore started making waves.

    Complete Home Energy, Ltd.

    (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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