It’s hard to believe that after offering more than [1]50 ways to save the planet that Time could find more ways to revel in environmental hype. Yet, the latest Time issue which lists the 100 “Most Influential People in the World” paints a very green picture.
The list of “people who shape our world” favors those interested in saving the world by fighting off global warming and forcing “green” practices on businesses and individuals. It includes well-known eco-activists Leonardo DiCaprio, Virgin Airlines’ Richard Branson, who offers a [2]$25 million prize to anyone who can solve the global warming “crisis,” and former Vice President Al Gore (listed in the “Scientists and Thinkers” category).
Celebrities were well represented: Cate Blanchett, who [3]marched in protest of global warming in Sydney, Australia; George Clooney, who made the cover of Vanity Fair’s 2006 “Green Issue”; and [4]“Light Green” musician John Mayer who advocates changing one thing each year. Others included Brad Pitt, who has worked with [5]Global Green on “sustainable” building, and Oprah Winfrey, who recently handed out compact fluorescent light bulbs to her audience.
And don’t forget politicians who argue for carbon caps, taxes and all manner of green regulations, like Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
More green-friendly influentials:
Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, which launched a [6]$20 billion initiative “to address global climate change.”
Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo., which [7]recently topped the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of “green power” users.
Katsuaki Watanabe, president of Toyota Motor Co., who said in a [8]speech, “Our mission is to contribute to enriching society. In view of the challenges confronting us, I want to broaden our field of vision to the entire planet earth in addressing such issues as preservation of the global environment, resource and energy use …”
Klaus Schwab, head of the World Economic Forum, who received an [9]honorary knighthood for “safeguarding the environment” and focusing “concern on climate change.”
Brian Williams, anchor of the “NBC Nightly News,” who “regularly condemns SUVs,” as the Media Research Center’s [10]Brent Baker wrote. Williams has said: “With the U.S. locked in dependence on foreign oil, is it downright unpatriotic to drive an SUV?”
J. Craig Venter, described by The Washington Post as a “maverick biologist” who “wants to cure our addiction to oil,” was profiled in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s [11]OnEarth magazine where he said his studies of undersea life would show what microbial populations are becoming overabundant due to “toxins” and “waste products” brought on by “shrimp or fish farming.”