An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities". An environmentalist is engaged in or believes in the philosophy of environmentalism or one of the related philosophies. John Muir - from Library-of-Congress (cropped)

John Muir - from Library-of-Congress (cropped)

The environmental movement has a number of subcommunities, with different approaches and focuses – each developing distinct movements and identities. Environmentalists are sometimes referred to by critics with informal or derogatory terms such as "greenie" and "tree-hugger", with some members of the public associating the most radical environmentalists with these derogatory terms.

Types

The environmental movement contains a number of subcommunities, that have developed with different approaches and philosophies in different parts of the world. Notably, the early environmental movement experienced a deep tension between the philosophies of conservation and broader environmental protection. In recent decades the rise to prominence of environmental justice, indigenous rights and key environmental crises like the climate crises, has led to the development of other environmentalist identities. Environmentalists can be describe as one of the following:

Climate activists

The public recognition of the climate crisis and emergence of the climate movement in the beginning of the 21st century led to a distinct group of activists. Activations like the School Strike for Climate and Fridays for Future, have led to a new generation of youth activists like Greta Thunberg,

Jamie Margolin Jamie Margolin (born December 10, 2001) is an American climate justice activist. She is the Co-Executive director of Zero Hour. Education Margolin attended Holy Names Academy. She currently studies film at the New York University Tisch Sc ...

and Vanessa Nakate who have created a global youth climate movement.

Conservationists

One notable strain of environmentalism, comes from the philosophy of the conservation movement. Conservationists are concerned with leaving the environment in a better state than the condition they found it distinct from human interaction. The conservation movement is associated with the early parts of the environmental movement of the 19th and 20th century.

Environmental defenders

Greens

The adoption of environmentalist into a distinct political ideology led to the development of political parties called "green parties", typically with a leftist political approach to overlapping issues of environmental and social wellbeing.

Water protectors

Notable environmentalists

Artist, naturalist, Sergio Rossetti Morosini, Pico Bone, Brigadeiro Mountain, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2017

Some of the notable environmentalists who have been active in lobbying for environmental protection and conservation include: * Edward Abbey (writer, activist, philosopher) *

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...

(photographer, writer, activist) * Bayarjargal Agvaantseren (Mongolian conservationist) * Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad (environmental activist and economist of Bangladesh) *

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

(broadcaster, naturalist) *

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

(naturalist) *

Sundarlal Bahuguna Sunderlal Bahuguna Ji (9 January 1927 – 21 May 2021) was an Indian environmentalist and Chipko movement leader. The idea of the Chipko movement was suggested by his wife and him. He fought for the preservation of forests in the Himalayas, fi ...

(environmentalist) *

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the United St ...

(writer, philosopher) *

Vic Barrett Vic Barrett (born ) is an American climate activist. He is a plaintiff in ''Juliana v. United States'' and appeared in a documentary about the case, ''Youth v. Gov''. Activism After experiencing Hurricane Sandy, Barrett started eating with ...

(climate activist) * Patriarch Bartholomew I (priest) * David Bellamy (botanist) * Ng Cho-nam (Hong Kong environmentalist and Associate Professor of Geography at University of Hong Kong) * Thomas Berry (priest, historian, philosopher) * Wendell Berry (farmer, philosopher) * Chandi Prasad Bhatt (Gandhian environmentalist) *

Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ec ...

(anarchist, philosopher, social ecologist) * Wendy Bowman, Australian environmental activist *

Stewart Brand Stewart Brand (born December 14, 1938) is an American writer, best known as editor of the ''Whole Earth Catalog''. He founded a number of organizations, including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation. He is the auth ...

(writer, founder of Whole Earth Catalog) * David Brower (writer, activist) *

Molly Burhans Molly Burhans (born 1989) is an Americans, American Cartography, cartographer, Data science, data scientist, and Environmental activism, environmental activist. She is the founder of GoodLands, an organization which aims to mobilize the Catholic C ...

(cartographer, activist) *

Tahir Qureshi Tahir Qureshi ''Mangrove Man'' or ''Mangroves Hero'' of Pakistan (1946-2020 Urdu بابائے مینگروز پاکستان ) was a senior Pakistani environmentalist and coastal ecosystem expert at the IUCN International Union for Conservation ...

Mangrove Man or Mangroves Hero of Pakistan. Pakistani environmentalist. * Lester Brown (environmentalist) * Kevin Buzzacott (Aboriginal activist) * Michelle Dilhara (actress) * Helen Caldicott (medical doctor) *

Joan Carling Joan Carling (born 1963) is an indigenous Filipino human rights activist and environmentalist who has defended the rights of native and marginalized peoples for over two decades. She has served as Secretary General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples ...

(Filipino human rights defender) * Rachel Carson (biologist, writer) * Charles III (King of the Commonwealth Realms) * Chevy Chase (comedian) * Barry Commoner (biologist, politician) * Mike Cooley (engineer, trade unionist) * Jacques-Yves Cousteau (explorer, ecologist) *

Faiza Darkhani Faiza Darkhani (born c. 1992) is an Afghan environmentalist, women's rights activist, and educator. In 2021, she was part of the 100 Women BBC list, which includes the most inspiring and influential women in the world. Darkhani is one of the few ...

(c. 1992), Afghani environmentalist,

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, and educator *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

(musician) * Leonardo DiCaprio (actor) * René Dubos (microbiologist) * Paul R. Ehrlich (population biologist) *

Hans-Josef Fell Hans-Josef Fell (born 7 January 1952) was a member of the German Parliamentary Group Alliance 90/ the Greens from 1998 to 2013. He served as spokesman on energy for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group, a member of the Environmental ...

(German Green Party member) *

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

(actor) * Rolf Gardiner (rural revivalist) * Peter Garrett (musician, politician) *

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

(politician, former Vice President of the United States) * Tom Hanks (actor) *

James Hansen James Edward Hansen (born March 29, 1942) is an American adjunct professor directing the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is best known for his research in climatology, his 1 ...

(scientist) * Denis Hayes (environmentalist and solar power advocate) * Nicolas Hulot (journalist and writer) *

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

(journalist, co-founder and first president of

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

) * Tetsunari Iida (

sustainable energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...

advocate) * Jorian Jenks (English farmer) *

Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner is a poet and climate change activist from the Marshall Islands. Early life Jetn̄il-Kijiner was born in the Marshall Islands and raised in Hawaii. She received her B.A. from Mills College in California and her MA in Pacif ...

(poet and climate activist) * Naomi Klein (writer, activist) * Winona LaDuke (environmentalist) *

A. Carl Leopold Aldo Carl Leopold (December 18, 1919 – November 18, 2009) was an American academic and plant physiologist, son of Aldo Leopold, a noted ecologist. He is known for his research on soybeans which led to techniques allowing insulin to be dried ...

(plant physiologist) *

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his ...

(ecologist) * Charles Lindbergh (aviator) *

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating sys ...

(scientist) * Amory Lovins (energy policy analyst) * Hunter Lovins (environmentalist) *

Mark Lynas Mark Lynas (born 1973) is a British author and journalist whose work is focused on environmentalism and climate change. He is a contributor to ''New Statesman'', ''The Ecologist'', ''Granta ''and ''Geographical ''magazines, and ''The Guardian'' ...

(journalist, activist) *

Desmond Majekodunmi Desmond Olumuyiwa Majekodunmi (born June 1950) is a Nigerian environmentalist. He is the chairman of the Lekki State Urban Forest and Animal Shelter Initiative (LUFASI), and a radio show host of the Green Hour on Nigeria Info 99.3 FM. Majekodu ...

(environmentalist) *

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez ( ; born May 9, 2000), also known by the initial X, is an American environmental activist and hip hop artist. Martinez was formerly the Youth Director of Earth Guardians until 2019. Martinez has spoken about the effe ...

(activist) * Peter Max (graphic designer) * Michael McCarthy (naturalist, newspaper journalist, newspaper columnist, and author) *

Bill McKibben William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...

(writer, activist) *

David McTaggart David Fraser McTaggart (June 24, 1932 – March 23, 2001) was a Canadian-born environmentalist who played a central part in the foundation of Greenpeace International. An excellent all-around athlete, as a young man he won three consecutive C ...

(activist) * Mahesh Chandra Mehta (lawyer, environmentalist) * Chico Mendes (activist) * George Monbiot (journalist) * Sergio Rossetti Morosini (naturalist, activist) * John Muir (naturalist, activist) * Luke Mullen (actor, filmmaker, environmentalist/activist) *

Hilda Murrell Hilda Murrell (3 February 1906 – on or before 24 March 1984) was a British rose grower, naturalist, diarist and campaigner against nuclear power and nuclear weapons. She was abducted and found murdered five miles from her home in Shropsh ...

(botanist, activist) * Ralph Nader (activist) * Gaylord Nelson (politician) *

Yolanda Ortiz (chemist) Yolanda Ortiz (1923 or 1924, Tucumán – 22 June 2019, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine doctor of chemistry. She was the first Secretary of Natural Resources and Human Environment of Argentina, appointed by then-president Juan Perón in 1973. She ...

, Argentine environmentalist * Eugene Pandala (architect, environmentalist, natural and cultural heritage conservator) * Medha Patkar (activist) *

Alan Pears Alan Pears, Member of the Order of Australia, AM, is an environmental consultant, and a pioneer of Efficient energy use, energy efficiency policy in Australia since the late 1970s. In the 1980s, Pears worked on the Home Energy Advisory Service, sta ...

(

environmental consultant Environmental consulting is often a form of compliance consulting, in which the consultant ensures that the client maintains an appropriate measure of compliance with environmental regulations. There are many types of environmental consultants, b ...

and energy efficiency pioneer) * River Phoenix (actor, musician, activist) * Jonathon Porritt (politician) * Phil Radford (environmental, clean energy and democracy advocate,

Executive Director) *

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

(musician) * Theodore Roosevelt (former President of the United States) *

Hakob Sanasaryan Hakob Sanasaryan ( hy, Հակոբ Սանասարյան; born December 21, 1936, in Yeranos, Armenia) is a leading Armenian environmental activist, author and biochemist, the cofounder of the one of the first environmentalist groups in the former ...

(biochemist, activist) * Ken Saro-Wiwa (writer, television producer, activist) *

Shimon Schwarzschild Shimon Schwarzschild (December 19, 1925 – November 10, 2021) was a German-born American environmental activist. His work contributed to the establishment of a nature preserve in Assisi, Italy.Cynthia Hanson (3 November 1986)"Bringing the Bird ...

(writer, activist) * Vandana Shiva (environmental activist) *

Swami Sundaranand Swami Sundaranand (April 1926 – 23 December 2020) was an Indian Yogi, photographer, author and mountaineer who lectured widely in India on threats to the Ganges River and the loss of Himalayan glaciers due to global warming. Biography S ...

(yogi, photographer, author and mountaineer) *

David Suzuki David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at th ...

(scientist, broadcaster) * Candice Swanepoel (model) *

Shōzō Tanaka was a Japanese politician and social activist, and is considered to be Japan's first conservationist. Tanaka was politically active in the Meiji Restoration and leader in the Freedom and Popular Rights Movement. In Japan's first general electi ...

(politician and activist) *

Saalumarada Thimmakka Saalumarada Thimmakka, also known as Aala Marada Thimmakka, is an Indian environmentalist from the state of Karnataka, noted for her work in planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a forty-five-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulika ...

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

(writer, philosopher) * Greta Thunberg (activist) * Jo Valentine (politician and activist) *

Harvey Wasserman Harvey Franklin Wasserman (born December 31, 1945) is an American journalist, author, democracy activist, and advocate for renewable energy. He has been a strategist and organizer in the anti-nuclear movement in the United States for over 30 years ...

(journalist, activist) * Paul Watson (activist and lecturer) * Franz Weber (environmentalist and animal welfare activist) * Henry Williamson (naturalist, writer) * Wangari Maathai (Kenyan environmentalist,

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

) * Vanessa Nakate (Ugandan youth

climate justice Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...

activist, UN SDG 13 Young Leader) *

Nyombi Morris Nyombi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Peter Nyombi (1954–2018), Ugandan lawyer and politician *Thembo Nyombi (born 1964), Ugandan economist and politician Surnames of African origin {{Short pages monitor