READ Famous Environmentalists from the United States

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List of notable or famous environmentalists from the United States, with bios and photos, including the top environmentalists born in the United States and even some popular environmentalists who immigrated to the United States. If you're trying to find out the names of famous American environmentalists then this list is the perfect resource for you. These environmentalists are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known environmentalist from the United States is included when available.

List is made up of people like Pierce Brosnan and Daryl Hannah.

This historic environmentalists from the United States list can help answer the questions "Who are some American environmentalists of note?" and "Who are the most famous environmentalists from the United States?" These prominent environmentalists of the United States may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected American environmentalists.

Use this list of renowned American environmentalists to discover some new environmentalists that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. (58 items)

1
Al Gore is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 70 Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., is an American environmental activist, author, businessperson, former politician and former journalist. He served as the forty-fifth Vice President of the United States ...more

2
Aldo Leopold is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 61 (1887-1948) Aldo Leopold was an American author, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his book A ...more

3
Amory Lovins is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 70 Amory Bloch Lovins is an American physicist, environmental scientist, writer, and Chairman/Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and ...more

4
Benjamin Bronfman is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 35 Benjamin Bronfman is the lead singer of indie band, The Exit and fiancee of M.I.A.

5
Bestor Robinson is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 89 (1898-1987) Bestor Robinson was a California mountaineer, environmentalist, attorney and inventor. He was a law partner of Earl Warren, later governor of California and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of ...more

6
Bette Midler is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 72 Bette Midler, also known by her informal stage name The Divine Miss M, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and film producer. In a career spanning almost half a century, Midler ...more

7
Bill McKibben is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 57 William Ernest "Bill" McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished ...more

8
Bruce Kershner is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 57 (1950-2007) Bruce S. Kershner was an environmentalist, author, high school biology teacher and forest ecologist. As a child he resided in Staten Island. Bruce Kershner obtained degrees from Binghamton ...more

9
Daryl Hannah is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 57 Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. She is best known for her performances in the films Blade Runner, Splash, Roxanne, Wall Street, Steel Magnolias and Kill Bill. She is also an ...more

10
David Foreman is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
David Foreman age 71 Dave Foreman is an American environmentalist and co-founder of the radical environmental movement Earth First!

11
David R. Brower is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 88 (1912-2000) David Ross Brower was a prominent environmentalist and the founder of many environmental organizations, including the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth, the ...more

12
David Sive is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 92 (1922-2014) David Sive was an attorney, environmentalist, and professor of environmental law, who has been recognized as a pioneer in the field of United States environmental law.

13
David Steinman is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
David Steinman David Steinman is an environmentalist, journalist, consumer health advocate, publisher and author. His major books include Diet for a Poisoned Planet, The Safe Shopper’s Bible, Living Healthy in ...more

14
Doug La Follette is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 77 Douglas J. "Doug" La Follette is an American academic, environmental activist, and politician from the state of Wisconsin. A Democrat, he is the current Secretary of State of ...more

15
Douglas Tompkins is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 75 Douglas Tompkins is an American environmentalist, prominent landowner, conservationist and a former businessman. Tompkins co-founded and ran two clothing companies: the outdoor clothing company ...more

16
Ed Begley, Jr. is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 68 Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his ...more

17
Ed Sanders is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 78 Edward Sanders is an American poet, singer, social activist, environmentalist, author, publisher and longtime member of the band The Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and Hippie ...more

18
Edgar Wayburn is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 104 (1906-2010) Edgar Wayburn was an environmentalist who was elected president of the Sierra Club five times in the 1960s. One of America's legendary wilderness champions, Dr. Edgar Wayburn was a tenacious and ...more

19
Erin Brockovich is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 57 Erin Brockovich-Ellis is an American legal clerk and environmental activist, who, despite the lack of a formal education in the law, was instrumental in building a case against the Pacific Gas ...more

20
Gregory Kats is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Gregory Kats age 58 Gregory H. Kats is an American businessman, environmentalist and writer. He is President of Capital E, a national clean energy advisory and venture capital firm. He previously served as a ...more

21
Hazel Wolf is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Hazel Wolf Died at 102 (1898-2000) Hazel Wolf was an activist and environmentalist who lived in the Seattle area for most of her life. Born in 1898 to an American mother and a Canadian father, she lived to see three centuries ...more

22
Homer D. Calkins is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 85 (1911-1996) Homer D. Calkins was an American environmentalist who became a leading voice in the effort to save native habitat in Hardin County. He worked to develop county parks that met needs from plug-in ...more

23
Hugh Iltis is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 93 Hugh Hellmut Iltis is Professor Emeritus of Botany at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is best known for his discoveries in the domestication of corn. Raised in Czechoslovakia, Iltis left ...more

24
J. Michael Scott is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 76 Dr. J. Michael Scott, a senior scientist, distinguished emeritus professor, environmentalist and author, was born in 1941 in San Diego, California.

25
Jacob Nolde is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 57 (1859-1916) Jacob Nolde was an American industrialist and environmentalist who was largely responsible for the creation of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center, a Pennsylvania state park in Berks ...more

26
Jane Poynter is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Jane Poynter Jane Poynter is a Biosphere 2 crewmember, author, TV host and company President and CEO. She was born in Britain.

27
Jimmie Driftwood is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 91 (1907-1998) James Corbitt Morris, known professionally as Jimmy Driftwood or Jimmie Driftwood, was a prolific American folk music songwriter and musician, most famous for his songs "The Battle of New ...more

28
Joel Hedgpeth is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 95 (1911-2006) Joel W. Hedgpeth was a marine biologist, environmentalist and author. He was an expert on the marine arthropods known as sea spiders, and on the seashore plant and animal life of southern ...more

29
John Francis is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
John Francis age 72 John Francis is an American environmentalist nicknamed the planetwalker. Born in Philadelphia, the son of a West Indian immigrant, he moved to Marin County, California as a young man. After ...more

30
John Michael Greer is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 56

31
Joseph Rothrock is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 83 (1839-1922) Joseph Trimbel Rothrock was an American environmentalist, recognized as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania. In 1895, Rothrock was appointed the first forestry commissioner to ...more

32
Judi Bari is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 48 (1949-1997) Judi Bari was an American environmentalist and labor leader, a feminist, and the principal organizer of Earth First! campaigns against logging in the ancient redwood forests of Northern ...more

33
Julia Hill is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 44 Julia Hill (born Feb 18, 1974) is an Actress and Author.

34
Bill Lane is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 91 (1919-2010) Laurence William "Bill" Lane, Jr. was an American magazine publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist.

35
Lester R. Brown is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 84 Lester Russel Brown is a United States environmental analyst, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, and founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization ...more

36
Lewis Mumford is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 95 (1895-1990) Lewis Mumford, KBE was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad ...more

37
Linda Hogan is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 70 Linda K. Hogan is a Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories. She is currently the Chickasaw Nation's Writer in Residence.

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Margaret Murie is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 101 (1902-2003) Margaret Thomas "Mardy" Murie was a naturalist, author, adventurer, and conservationist. Dubbed the "Grandmother of the Conservation Movement" by both the Sierra Club and the ...more

39
Marjory Stoneman Douglas is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 108 (1890-1998) Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an American journalist, writer, feminist, and environmentalist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for ...more

40
Maurice Wertheim is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 64 (1886-1950) Maurice Wertheim was an American investment banker, chess player, chess patron, environmentalist, and philanthropist. Wertheim founded Wertheim & Co. in 1927.

41
Nancy Skinner Nordhoff is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 86 Nancy Skinner Nordhoff is an American philanthropist and environmentalist. Nordhoff's work is primarily focused in the Seattle and Langley, Washington regions, where she works to empower women, ...more

42
Nell Newman is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 58 Elinor Teresa Newman is a former child actress who performed under the name of Nell Potts. She is an environmentalist, biologist, and a prominent supporter of sustainable agriculture, who became ...more

43
Paul Hawken is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 72 Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and author.

44
Persia White is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 45 Persia White is an American actress and musician. White is known for her role as Lynn Searcy on the sitcom Girlfriends. She is also a member of the industrial rock band XEO3 and a solo singer, ...more

45
Pierce Brosnan is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 64 Pierce Brendan Brosnan, is an Irish-American actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving comprehensive school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration. He then went ...more

46
Rees Jones is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 76 Rees Jones is an American golf course architect. He was born in Montclair, New Jersey the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer ...more

47
René Dubos is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 81 (1901-1982) René Jules Dubos was a French-born American microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, humanist, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book So ...more

48
Robert K. Watson is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Robert K. Watson age 57 Robert "Rob" Watson, is a market transformation expert, international leader in the green building movement and CEO and Chief Scientist of The ECON Group. He founded the LEED Green ...more

49
Robinson Jeffers is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
Died at 75 (1887-1962) John Robinson Jeffers was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Most of Jeffers' poetry was written in narrative and epic form, but today he is also known for ...more

50
Roger Payne is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list Famous Environmentalists from the United States
age 83 Roger Searle Payne is an American biologist and environmentalist famous for the 1967 discovery of whale song among humpback whales. Payne later became an important figure in the worldwide ...more