47. Patti Wood

Danger. Danger all around us. That’s what we face in the air we breathe, food we eat, products we use, clothes we wear. From the crayons our kids draw with to the shampoo we use. From our carpeting at home to our kids’ school playgrounds: beware. Wood is the founder and executive director of Grassroots Environmental Education (www.grassrootsinfo.org), an LI-based not-for-profit dedicated to the research and dissemination of information about pesticides and other toxins and their impact on our health and the environment. So you have two choices here—lock yourself away in a toxic-free box (good luck finding that) or be like Patti and fight like hell to make this a safer and healthier world for ourselves and our kids. The information she imparts and the changes she works so hard for are both fascinating and essential. Soon the only danger will be if you’re messing up Patti Wood’s planet.