DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD FIGHTS GLOBAL WARMING
AGE 28
OCCUPATION Author of The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, out this month
LIVES IN Leighton Buzzard, England
HOW HE’S GREEN “I grow my own vegetables,” says de Rothschild, heir to a banking fortune. He also bikes to get around his rural town (he doesn’t own a car) and in 2009 plans to sail across the Pacific on a boat made from recycled plastic bottles. “The message is about the amount of trash in our oceans,” he says.
DATING DEALBREAKER “I’d never push my ideologies onto someone,” he says, “but I probably wouldn’t date somebody who runs around in a private jet.”
SEXIEST WAY TO CONSERVE WATER “I love baths,” says de Rothschild. “But I try to share them–that’s a good ecotip!”
AARON ROURKE CLEANS UP ECOHAZARDS
AGE 44
OCCUPATION Industrial hygienist, who tests workplaces to ensure they’re safe from toxic substances
LIVES IN Springboro, Ohio
HOW HE’S GREEN “I pick up trash everywhere I am,” says Rourke, whose Christmas wish list included a trash-grabbing tool like those used to clean up roadways. “If I set the example, other people won’t think it’s strange to do something like that.”
ENVIRO-ASSETS “Women say they like my sense of responsibility,” says Rourke, who’s also a booster for recycling and against drinking bottled water. “The fact that I’m an activist–that’s been attractive.”
BILL SCHENK GUARDS THE RIVERS AND FISH
AGE 40
OCCUPATION Attorney for the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks agency LIVES IN Helena, Mont. HOW HE’S GREEN Schenk hangs his laundry to dry, makes his own compost and recycles everything, right down to the liners in his cereal boxes (they make excellent pooper-scoopers for his dog, Carmen). “I lead a very low-consumption lifestyle,” he says.
PERFECT DATE “For me it would involve an entire weekend. On Friday we’d run out to a trail, camp out. On Saturday, we’d hike the mountain, come back down in the late afternoon and then find a good place to watch the sunset.”
TOM BALLANCO SAVES THE FORESTS
AGE 39
OCCUPATION Environmental lawyer
LIVES IN San Rafael, Calif.
HOW HE’S GREEN “Being green informs all my actions–the food I buy, the vehicle I drive, the relationships I have,” says Ballanco, who helped fight to save redwoods in Mendocino, Calif. He grows much of his own food, uses candles instead of electric lights when possible and tries to live in “off the grid” homes (ones that don’t use commercial power).
DATING PITFALL “If a date doesn’t understand that I’d go to three different stores in my search for the right recycled paper, that could be a factor.”
GUILLERMO PAYET HELPS LOCAL FARMERS
AGE 43
OCCUPATION Founder of www.localharvest.org , a Web site that promotes buying food from nearby farms
LIVES IN Santa Cruz, Calif.
HOW HE’S GREEN “I wash my hair with handmade soap. Sometimes I even brush my teeth with it. I like to keep chemicals away from my body.”
DATING NO-NO “I’ve had girlfriends who wear a pair of jeans once and wash them immediately. I’m like, ‘You’re polluting the water and wasting electricity.'”
TED MILLER PROTECTS WILDLIFE
AGE 28
OCCUPATION Marketing analyst at the World Wildlife Fund
LIVES IN Bethesda, Md.
HOW HE’S GREEN He picks up trash in parks, helped start a garden at a school and doesn’t own a car: “I feel better walking. And you get to know your environment better.”
ECOCHIC “I’m always walking around in a World Wildlife Fund T-shirt. It’s baby blue with a big panda. It’s not the most masculine thing, but women think it’s cute.”