Green Heroes

László Erdős was born in 1982. He became passionate about the natural world at the age of seven, thanks to a wildlife book he received from his mother. He graduated as a biologist and earned a PhD in vegetation ecology. His research expertise includes conservation implications of spatial heterogeneity in natural and near-natural ecosystems. He is also interested in environmental ethics and the history of the green movement. He is an animal lover, a vegetarian, and an ardent supporter of animal rights. Currently he is a research fellow at the Institute of Ecology and Botany of the MTA Centre for Ecological Research (Vácrátót), a research fellow at the MTA-DE Lendület Functional and Restoration Ecology Research Group (Debrecen), and a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest). He often gives popular presentations on conservation issues.László lives in rural Hungary with his wife Dolly and a rescued cat named Marci.

• Introduction.- Charles Darwin and the implications of evolution St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.- Environmentalism gaining momentum: Rachel Carson and ’Silent sping’ Denis Hayes and Earth Day.- Planting trees with Wangari Maathai.- In defense of rain forests: Chico Mendes and Bruno Manser Al Gore’s fight for the environment.- The strong men of environmentalism: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Seagal Movie stars and activism.- Arne Naess and ’Deep ecology’.- Vandana Shiva and traditional agriculture.- Ian Kiernan, Rossano Ercolini, and Bea Johnson Pioneers of ecological economics.- The Greenpeace story Forerunners of animal advocacy Spokesmen for animals: Peter Singer, Richard Ryder, and Tom Regan.- Henry Spira, the hero of animal advocacy.- Animal advocates from Central Europe.- Albert Schweitzer: The man who loved all living beings Talking animals: The capacity of animal minds.- Primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas Ingrid.- Newkirk, Alex Pacheco, and PETA.- John Muir and Yosemite.- Aldo Leopold, the founding father of nature conservation.- James Lovelock and the Gaia-hypothesis.- Their symbol: The giant panda.- Scientists involved in conservation and environmentalism.- Gerald Durrell: How an amateur naturalist developed into a great conservationist Farley Mowat never cried wolf.- David Attenborough, the grand old man of natural history films Jacques-Yves Cousteau: Under the spell of the sea.- Paul Watson, the daredevil of conservation.- Epilogue.- Acknowledgements List of illustrations.