Includes index.

The story of the remarkable visionaries who have quietly dedicated their lives and their fortunes to saving the planet from ecological destruction. While many people remain paralyzed by the scope of Earth's environmental woes, eco barons--a new and largely unheralded generation of Rockefellers and Carnegies--are having spectacular success saving forests and wildlands, pulling endangered species back from the brink, and pioneering the clean and green technologies needed if life and civilization are to endure. Journalist Humes tells of the former fashion magnate who has saved more rainforests than any other person, the college professor who patented the plug-in hybrid car, the impoverished owl wranglers who founded the nation's most effective environmental group, and the former Hollywood pool cleaner who became the guiding force behind a worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This book proves that one person with determination and vision can make a difference.--From publisher description.