My Dad. Throughout my childhood we took a lot of hiking and camping trips. He always taught me to tread lightly and leave nature the way I found it. At home, we always grew vegetables and herbs and had a fruit orchard. He taught me how to care for plants that feed us and clean the air. He even took us to fisheries so we could get a better understanding from a young age of such industries, and their pros and cons.

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Honestly, it was my school, Ithaca College. Before i had gone there, I could not even tell you what "sustainability" was...Each dorm came with recycling bins for cans, bottles, and paper - we also have one of the most sustainable buildings in the world on campus (Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise). I was so interested in the technology, that upon researching it, I became sucked into the "green movement". Check it out http://www.ithaca.edu/business/newbuilding/

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I think the first person who I admired for being an environmental activist was Dian Fossey. I devoured her book, "Gorillas in the Mist," when I was in middle school and became obsessed with the plight of endangered animals after that. She opened my eyes to how human behaviors have become detrimental to animals and how dangerous poachers can be. I have a little model of a gorilla that I got shortly after reading her book that sits on my desk and reminds me every day of the importance of protecting the world's animals and their habitats.

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Wangari Maathai. To me she is an unwavering inspiration to any belief, not just environmentalism. She combines her love of nature with her love of people and has stregth as a woman, an African, an environmentalist and a person. She is well deserving of her many accolades and the Nobel Peace Prize she received in 2004. I first learned of her from a professor and it made me look at environmental issues in a more human way. I still look for ways that environmental improvements can be directly liked to reducing poverty in a local and worldwide capacity. I encourage everyone to read her story and that of the Green Belt Movement.

Citations: http://greenbeltmovement.org/index.php

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Lots of people have influenced me, but one extremely memorable experience was when Bill Nye came to speak at my university. He is an incredible speaker and the entire audience of 800 people could follow him even though he was talking about science as well as other topics. He's done so many cool things (like his contribution to the Mars rovers!). He inspired me to want to also become a great speaker, though I may be still lacking in that department, but he made me want to be as an effective communicator as he is. This is partly why I have my hobbies now of blogging and answering questions on this website.

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When I was younger, there was a family friend who ran for local office under the green party banner. That was probably the first time I recognized that environmentalism existed, and was sort of culturally prone to it thanks to my family and acquaintances. I imagine that's probably a fairly ordinary story... I don't think one person in particular is responsible for all of it, but rather an appreciation and innate understanding of the severity of the issue, or at least some sort of psychological reaction to it.

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Apart from being brought up by parents who were nitpicky reduce-reuse-recyclers, I was really inspired by Captain Planet! I know that sounds so dorky, but I was really the ideal audience for that show, and it really made me more globally aware of the need for recycling and sustainably lifestyles.

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When i was in the fourth grade, I read a book about the manatees in Florida who were dying due to fishing boats. My parents were also very avid recyclers and I often competed in recycling competitions to raise money for sporting events. The combination of those events really made me interesting in conservation and sustainability. I went on to major in environmental policy and become active in environmental organizations. I still love manatees, for they are the inspiration for my environmentalism

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I've never minded making changes to my life as long as it wasn't too drastic and it was something that I could adopt easily enough. I became an advocate for marijuana legalization for a number of reasons (several of them being environmental) and it snowballed. I then started re-thinking every aspect of how I was living my life and I saw how the effects on the environment are starting to reach a critical mass and we all have a responsibility as inhabitants of planet earth to do what we can about it. If hemp (a relative to marijuana, but without the psychoactive properties) and its environmental effects does interest you, I've included a link in my citations.

Citations: http://www.natural-environment.com/blog/2008/01/31/environmental-benefits-of-hem...

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Unfortunately, I was most influenced by people in my hometown - a sprawling suburb outside of a mid-sized northeastern city. I was quite annoyed by the number of gigantic SUVs with lone drivers that I would see around town. We had a public transportation system but it was basically useless. Thinking about ways to improve places like my hometown has influenced me to pursue a career in sustainable energy - I'm now a graduate student studying green transportation.

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Honestly, it was the internet who really inspired me. Treehugger and Peta were the two largest influences on me.

Citations: http://www.peta2.com/meatsnotgreen/
http://www.treehugger.com

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My parents, they taught me to respect the environment at a young age.

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It's probably a combination of my third grade teacher and Al Gore, which is yes, an odd combination. We'd been talking about the O-Zone layer in class which was tied in with rainforests (back in about 1993) and we had to write to President Clinton to express our concerns. Well, after getting a stamped autographed postcard back, I was very upset that the president apparently wasn't even concerned, and decided to write to Al-Gore instead. I got back a personalized letter (that I hope to god is still somewhere in my house) that even referenced things I written and drawn in my letter. I started actively recycling and picking up loose garbage after that. Today I am a LEED AP and recently received my Master's in architecture. My ultimate goal is to design sustainable housing and educational facilities.

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