COVER
Heroes of the Environment
From activists to tycoons, politicians to inventors, these remarkable people offer hope for the future
To Our Readers: A Sense of Urgency
For 2007, TIME's annual celebration of heroes spotlights the most innovative and influential protectors of the planet
HEROES | LEADERS & VISIONARIES
Mikhail Gorbachev (Leaders & Visionaries)
Faced with the cold war's disastrous ecological legacy, he saw that the Soviet Union had to change its ways
David Attenborough (Leaders & Visionaries)
Hundreds of millions around the world have watched his nature shows, beguiled by his infectious, childlike joy at the variety of life
Lee Myung Bak (Leaders & Visionaries)
Renouncing Seoul's polluted past, he showed cities around the world a greener path to development
Al Gore (Leaders & Visionaries)
A tireless campaigner with unerring vision, Gore has sparked a global movement with his inconvenient truths
Janine Benyus (Leaders & Visionaries)
Taking her inspiration from nature's ingenuity, she helped launch a design revolution
Tommy Remengesau Jr. (Leaders & Visionaries)
The President of Palau is heading a campaign to save the Pacific Islands from the threat of climate change
José Goldemberg (Leaders & Visionaries)
A research paper he wrote in the 1970s heralded the great promise of harvesting ethanol from sugarcane to produce a clean, renewable fuel
Prince Charles (Leaders & Visionaries)
Once mocked for his green beliefs, the Prince of Wales is now lauded as a pioneering eco-farmer
James Lovelock (Leaders & Visionaries)
The Gaia theorist conceived of the earth as a living system and charged us all to look after it
Robert Redford (Leaders & Visionaries)
In making his cause the environment, the movie star set a celebrity trend
David Suzuki (Leaders & Visionaries)
A geneticist-turned-broadcaster has introduced millions to the wonders of the natural world
Barnabas Suebu (Leaders & Visionaries)
Papua's Governor aims to combat poverty by protecting the region's unrivaled biodiversity
Angela Merkel (Leaders & Visionaries)
Having led the push for Kyoto, Germany's Chancellor isn't about to let up now
HEROES | ACTIVISTS
Frederic Hauge (Activists)
How a Norwegian pragmatist makes big waves among corporate and political leaders
Wang Canfa (Activists)
China's environmental conscience uses the law to fight for pollution victims' rights
Olga Tsepilova (Activists)
Courageous in the face of injury and intimidation, she dispelled the cloud of secrecy around Russia's nuclear legacy
Von Hernandez (Activists)
One man's bid to stem the relentless tide of toxic trash in the Philippines
Wangari Maathai (Activists)
A Kenyan woman plants millions of trees, takes on a President and wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Christine Loh (Activists)
The former trader is now a unique resource for policy proposals in the southern China boom zone
Benjamin Kahn (Activists)
When the reef of his childhood began to die, an Israeli businessman figured out how to revive it
Karl Ammann (Activists)
His shocking photographs expose the abuse of animals in the hope that shame will halt it
Hammer Simwinga (Activists)
To combat poaching, he realized that hunters had to be offered a better way to make a living
BOOKS
Mystery Man
He's famed as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, but Conan Doyle's letters show the scope of his ambitions
LETTERS
A'jad in the Big Apple (Inbox)
Change for a Fiver; Wooed by a Worm; Race for Resources; What Would Jesus Censor?
HEROES | SCIENTISTS & INNOVATORS
Toyota Prius Design Team (Scientists & Innovators)
Ten years ago Toyota launched a gasoline-electric hybrid; the fuel-sipping Prius has since set the environmental standard
Tim Flannery (Scientists & Innovators)
Crusader, teacher, activist, academic, author, fossil hunter and explorer extraordinaire
Theo Colborn (Scientists & Innovators)
At age 80, she continues to blaze a trail with her work on the health effects of pollution
Chip Giller (Scientists & Innovators)
Founder of a website that changes minds about the environment with mordant wit instead of earnest gloom
James Hansen (Scientists & Innovators)
Pressure from the White House could not silence this scientist-statesman
D.P. Dobhal (Scientists & Innovators)
A glaciologist ascends the mighty Himalayas with bamboo rods to gauge the earth's fever
Norman Myers (Scientists & Innovators)
From groundbreaking researcher to government consultant, a career of posing new questions
Paul Crutzen (Scientists & Innovators)
He led the charge on ozone depletion. Now the Nobel winner offers up a radical proposal to counter climate change
Abul Hussam (Scientists & Innovators)
Using iron, sand and charcoal, a chemistry professor found a simple way to purify poisoned water
George Schaller (Scientists & Innovators)
A legendary biologist fosters man's soulful connection with animals in order to protect wildlife
HEROES | MOGULS & ENTREPRENEURS
Tulsi Tanti (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
Wind power saved his first factory. Now he wants to harness it to help save the world
Kazutoshi Sakurai and Takeshi Kobayashi (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
A bank founded by Japanese rockers draws attention to environmental problems and finances programs designed to solve them
Jeffrey Immelt (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
Repositioning General Electric to prove that "green is green"
Amory B. Lovins (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
Teaching corporations that going green is better for the bottom line
Ray Anderson (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
The carpet king who helps forge eco-friendly business practices
Richard Sandor (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
The father of carbon trading used the power of the market to cut greenhouse-gas emissions
William McDonough and Michael Braungart (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
An architect and a chemist join forces to design a new and greener industrial revolution
Shi Zhengrong (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
The kid from rural China who made Suntech a solar powerhouse and himself a billionaire
Ahmet Lokurlu (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
An engineer harnesses the sun's energy and turns it into something cool
Richard Branson (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
The high-flying tycoon and adventurer who's trying to leave a cleaner mark on the world
Kristine Pearson and Rory Stear (Moguls & Entrepreneurs)
A pioneering couple provides cheap, nonpolluting products to those who need them most
GLOBAL ADVISER
Times Past (Style Watch)
Japanese watchmaker Haruo Suekichi crafts one-of-a-kind timepieces that recall the mechanical fantasies of the Victorian era
Higher Education (Diversions)
In-flight tutorials are helping travelers learn the local lingo before they arrive
One Night in Singapore (TIME Traveler)
Three insiders tell you how to spend it right
Welcome to the Jungle (Great Outdoors)
It's safari season in India. Grab that pith helmet and pack a long lens