Heroes of the Environment

There’s something about hero stories that make us feel hopeful and good about ourselves. Harriet Rohmer’s Heroes of the Environment goes beyond that. It’s easy nowadays to pat ourselves on the back for planting a tree or two while the forests are dying. Her collection of real people going to bat for the environment shows them doing extraordinary things – like designing an “eco-machine” that could clean up entire watersheds – and yet they come from ordinary backgrounds. The profiles are written in a language accessible for young people, but she doesn’t shy away from technical terms like APFO (ammonium perfluorooctanoate, used to make Teflon). Ms. Rohmer captures the courage of activists who stand up to corporations – not an easy thing to do – but stresses that it takes a community to make change happen. These heroes are committed and serious, but they also have a sense of humor. One young man started a business in salvaging and reusing construction materials, only to have his mother say, “I sacrificed so you could go to school to learn to pick up trash?” He didn’t give up. And neither did the 11-year-old who kept electronic waste out of the landfill; his program has expanded to Mexico and three African countries. Ms. Rohmer’s heroes inspire us with their pluckiness, and might just give lead a young reader down the path to their own eco-quests.