http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/mother-earth-inspirational-women.html 10 Powerful Women Dedicated to a Cleaner, Kinder Planet

1. Rachel Carson Sounding a toxic wake-up with the publication of her must-read book Silent Spring in 1962, Rachel Carson alerted the public to the chemical dangers all around them. The use and abuse of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, Carson posited, were directly responsible for myriad health hazards not only for humans, but all life on the planet. Thus, Silent Spring became a major rallying call for the budding environmental movement.

2. Lois Marie Gibbs Gibbs burst into national consciousness in 1978, when she discovered her child's elementary school was built on top of toxic-chemical dump in Niagara Falls, New York. She organized the Love Canal Homeowners Association to struggle for relocation for the families of Love Canal. In 1981, Lois created the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, an organization that has assisted over 10,000 grassroots groups with organizing, technical, and general information nationwide.