To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have chosen 7 women across the globe who are using their voice in making significant contributions for the environmental. Let’s get to know them!
Source: Saph Photography [10]
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1. Sylvia Earle
Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer who has spent more than four decades at the forefront of ocean exploration, raising awareness of the threats that overfishing and pollution pose to the world. Not to mention, she has also made notable contributions towards the development of oceanography.
Other than discovering new species of marine life, she was also among the first underwater explorers to use modern self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) gear [1]! Another amazing fact about Earle is she was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
2. Marina Silva
Marina Silva is a Brazilian politician and environmentalist who is a central figure in deforestation protests, fighting back against the expulsion of indigenous communities from their traditional land, and advocating for women’s equality [2].
As a result of her commitment towards environmental efforts, she has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers as well as receiving the Goldman Environmental Prize. Her commitment in fighting for environmental justice solidifies Silva’s influence in the global environmental community!
3. Swietenia Puspa Lestari
Swietenia Puspa Lestari is the founder and executive director of Divers Clean Action (DCA), a youth-led organization based in Indonesia that focuses on marine debris cleanup. One of Tenia’s major achievements is the #nostrawmovement, a campaign to reduce single-use plastic straws, one of the most common marine plastic waste [3].
For her contributions, Tenia was named in ‘Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2020’ in the category of Social Entrepreneurs.
4. Gretha Thunberg
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who has been outspoken about the threat of climate change. In 2018, then 15-year-old Greta Thunberg started a school strike in Sweden to draw attention to the climate crisis, and her protests went viral along with her message [4]. As her fame has grown, she has called for world leaders to do more to cut global emissions. She has spoken at international meetings, including the UN's 2019 climate change gathering in New York.
In 2019, she was named Time’s Person of the Year.
5. Miranda Wang
Ten years ago, Miranda Wang went on a school field trip to a waste–management facility and was shocked by the vast amount of plastic she saw there, destined for landfill [5].
Now, Miranda Wang is the co-founder and CEO of BioCellection, a company that transforms unrecyclable plastic waste into new materials using pioneering chemical technology, enabling a circular plastic economy [6]!
Read Also: Composting: What, Where and How to Do It
6. Luisa Neubauer
Luisa Neubauer is a German climate activist and leader of the "Fridays For Future" school strike movement to encourage the government to comply with the Paris Agreement [7]. In December 2018, when she was just 22, she became a delegate of German Association for the UN at the World Summit on Climate [8]! How cool is that?
7. Melati and Isabel Wijsen
Co-founders of Bye Bye Plastic Bags, sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen have been leading the fight against plastic. Their advocacy and petition played a part in the Bali government’s decision to ban plastic bags, straws and styrofoam in 2018. In 2020, they were named in ‘Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2020’ in the category of Social Entrepreneurs [9].
It’s wonderful to see how all of these women have dedicated their lives to save the planet through their own unique ways, and turned themselves into powerful environmental heroines. Are you the next environmental heroine?
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[10] https://www.pexels.com/photo/crowd-of-people-marching-on-a-rally-2975498/