Eco Barons

"Well written and compelling, Eco Barons gives the reader a first glimpse of the activists, philanthropists and gadflies who may well turn out to be the J.D. Rockefellers and Rachel Carsons of our time."-Cleveland Plain DealerPulitzer Prize-winner Edward Humes offers readers an eye-opening look at the remarkable philanthropists and visionaries who are devoting their lives to saving the earth from overdevelopment and destruction. In Eco Barons, Humes, the bestselling author of Mississippi Mud and Monkey Girl, gives us fascinating portraits of extraordinary men and women who are dedicated to humankind's survival-as important a contribution to the environmental cause as Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. As the New York Times points out, "Humes's urgent message is clear: We must all strive to become 'eco barons' in our own right if we are to save Planet Earth."Visionary Philanthropy: Meet the dreamers and schemers, including the fashion mogul behind Esprit who sold everything to save Patagonia, and the media titan re-wilding two million acres of the American West.Grassroots Activism: Discover how a "Malibu pool cleaner" became California’s environmental chief, a determined "turtle lady" took on an entire industry to save a species, and two radical activists used the law to protect millions of acres of wilderness.Sustainable Business Pioneers: Learn from the co-founder of Burt’s Bees, who is using her fortune to create a new national park, and the renegade professor building 100-mpg plug-in hybrids that the auto industry tried to ignore.The Fight for Our Planet: Go behind the front lines of the most urgent environmental battles, from saving the last great eastern forest to the high-stakes war over global warming policy.