APES Unit 1 Project People

Aldo Leopald

a foundational figure regularly studied for his contributions to environmental history, conservation biology, and ecological philosophy

George Washington Carver

studied as a pioneer of sustainable agriculture and soil conservation

Rachel Carson

famous for writing the 1962 book Silent Spring, which exposed the environmental hazards of synthetic pesticides like DDT.

John Muir

best known as a champion of environmental preservation and the co-founder of the Sierra Club

Wangari Maathai

a key environmental figure studied in AP Environmental Science for founding the grassroots Green Belt Movement

Julia Butterfly Hill

a prominent figure, case studies focusing on deforestation, clear-cutting, and grassroots environmental activism

Theodore Roosevelt

"Conservation President" who championed utilitarian conservation—the belief that public lands and natural resources should be scientifically managed and sustained for public use rather than exploited or completely locked away

Robert Bullard

father of environmental justice" for his pioneering research proving that race and class strongly dictate where toxic waste and pollution are place

James Hansen

a prominent American climatologist known for his foundational 1988 congressional testimony on human-induced global warming and his long tenure directing the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

EO Wilson

"father of biodiversity" for his pioneering work in island biogeography, conservation, and the study of ecosystems

Paul Ehrlich (Pop Bomb)

an influential American biologist and ecologist at Stanford University best known for authoring the 1968 bestselling book The Population Bomb.

Greta Thunberg

teaching global climate change, fossil fuel consumption, and environmental ethics

Malaika Vaz

prominent Indian wildlife filmmaker, National Geographic Explorer, and environmental activist

Winona LaDuke

an Ojibwe indigenous land rights and environmental justice activist, economist, and author frequently studied in environmental science courses for her work in sustainable development and anti-pipeline movements