Current Status: Author-turned-impassioned environmental activist

Changing the Game By: Taking an apocalyptic piece of scientific data and using it to launch a worldwide grassroots campaign — 350.org — to fight global warming. McKibben’s goal is to have “350” become symbolic of a life-and-death effort to reduce the presence of CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere to a safe level: 350 parts per million. 350.org uses the Internet to help people organize in the flesh: On October 24th in the run-up to major climate talks that will take place in Copenhagen in December, McKibben has orchestrated what he hopes will be the largest day of climate-centered protests in history — complete with scuba divers in the Maldives and monks in Tibet.

Scary Stat: Percentage that 2008’s Arctic seasonal sea ice melt outpaced normal levels: 34%.

Key Kudos: “McKibben is one of the main drivers in moving this thing from the cafes and blogs into the streets,” says ousted White House adviser Van Jones.

Must Click Link: 350.ORG