Wangari Maathai was an environmentalist who believed that it is everyone responsibility to make our world greener
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Explanation:
129 million hectares (1 hectare = 107639 ft2) of forest were lost from 1990 to 2015 according to the most recent and comprehensive assessment conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2015 [1]. The area is about the size of South Africa. The second largest contributor to global carbon emissions arises from deforestation (the first is emissions from the use of fossil fuels) [2]. In Kenya, deforestation dramatically affects local village life since it heavily impacts food security, health, water sources, the economy, and women. Wangari Muta Maathai dedicated her life to solving some of these key issues in Kenya and the world. In 1977, Maathai founded a grassroots organization, the Green Belt Movement, focused on reforestation to promote sustainability and establish financial income for women in the region. Throughout her life, Maathai pursued movements toward both environmental conservation and women empowerment regardless of the associated obstacles. Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), described Wangari Maathai as “a force of nature – strong in character and able to survive sometimes the harshest conditions” [3]. Despite being beaten, imprisoned, tear gassed, and attacked multiple times, Maathai kept fighting for what she believed in. Wangari Maathai’s accomplishments inspired her country and the world to further move toward solutions in environmental and humanitarian concerns.
“In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness,” she said, “to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.” [3]
Maathai journeyed across the world to further her education and earn her advanced degrees while facing insurmountable odds at every turn. Born in Kenya in 1940, in her youth it was rare for women to finish elementary and secondary school. Maathai succeeded academically at a young age while attending St. Cecilia's Intermediate Primary School and Loreto High School in Kenya. As a top rated student, in September 1960, she was selected along with 300 Kenyans to study in the United States through funds from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. She earned a scholarship to attend Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas where she graduated with a degree in biology in 1964. She proceeded to the University of Pittsburgh to obtain a Master of Science degree in biology in 1966 funded by the Africa-America Institute [5]. Returning to her roots, in 1971 she attended the University of Nairobi where she studied veterinary anatomy and becam