Celebrities seem to get all the attention, don’t they? Some of it deservedly (insert scandal here) and other times not so much (insert scandal here).
Speaking of celebrity – chances are you could quickly name at least one ‘celebrity’ who advocates for environmental issues in his/her spare time. Without the spotlight of celebrity fame, there are thousands of unsung environmental heroes helping to shed light on important issues – each and every day.
Here are three of those unsung environmental heroes.
Beth Terry, author of Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too teaches all of us how we can easily reduce or eliminate the plastic we use. Her book is a practical look at how we really can reduce our plastic use. Beth speaks around the country about plastic use and even prompted a response from Richard Branson when she wrote to him about the plastic use on Virgin Airlines. Her tireless efforts to show people how easy it can be to reduce plastic pollution will have a lasting impact on our world.
Tamara Rubin, film maker and founder of Lead Safe America. A mother of two lead poisoned children. Rubin works educating people about the continued danger lead poses for our children. Many people think lead poisoning is an issue that went away in the 1970’s but Tamara is working to make sure people understand that there are continued risks of lead exposure everywhere. She tours the country meeting with groups to educate them even taking testing equipment. Using the power of social media, Rubin tests items for people and posts her results on Facebook. Her constant work while taking care of her poisoned children is admirable.
Robyn O’Brien is a mother and author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It. After one of her children had an allergic reaction to food, Robyn began researching why we as humans are allergic to certain food and how to best manage it. Her role as an analyst has given her unique access to corporations, speaking to them regularly about the effects of the food industry on our health. Her tireless work on improving the food industry awareness is inspiring. Check out her TEDtalk.
Kids are the future
Our young children are on the leading edge of making huge changes in the way we all live. Some big and some small – yet all are important.
- There is a 19 year old who is designing a device to clean up the plastic pollution in the ocean. If his invention works, it could remove 7.25 million tons of waste from the ocean.
- One child has invented a flashlight powered by the energy created by their hand
- Another child has invented a device will recharge a battery simply by it being hooked up to a walking dog
There are thousands of unsung environmental heroes we do not get to see everyday yet are making profound positive impacts on our planet. There are no prerequisites to the job. All you need is the desire to make a difference. Go out and make a difference – it only takes a step to get started.
Feature image courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center