Women have been visible figures leading the environmentalist movement in many of its aspects. Rachel Carson, Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall are well known for their observations about the natural world and their contributions to saving a world that is safe for people and their primate cousins to live in.
1. Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature
by Linda J. Lear. This 1998 biography, now in paperback, rounds out a picture of Rachel Carson, a woman we may otherwise know mainly for her writings about nature and modern threats to life and the ecological system.
2. Woman in the Mists: Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas
by Farley Mowat. A biography of the woman whose observation of mountain gorillas eventually led her to work to preserve the gorillas from habitat destruction and poachers. The author uses Dian Fossey's diary and personal letters so that we hear her own voice describing her life and commitments as she battles poachers, hunters, traditional (male) academia.3. Jane Goodall: Fifty Years at Gombe
by Jane Goodall, 2010. The pictures and text of this volume describe the work of Jane Goodall in and around Gombe, including not only her signature chimpanzee studies, but also her work with reforestation, AIDS research, and health and education for the people living near the reserve.4. Jane Goodall: A Biography
by Meg Greene, 2008. A biography written for high school level, this book introduces readers to Jane Goodall and her work from both scientific and historical perspectives.5. Unbowed (A Memoir)
Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai tells her own story here, of working to save the environment and empower women in Kenya, often at odds with the government, sometimes in jail or physically attacked.6. Women Pioneers for the Environment
by Mary Joy Breton. This 1998 book profiles 42 women activists and leaders from the last two centuries who've helped shape the environmental consciousness. The book includes not just the better-known figures like Rachel Carson, bu also USSR activist Tatyana Artyomkina, British protestor Emma Must, Wangari Maathai in Kenya, Judi Bari, Ellen Swallow, Amrita Devi, Dai Qing, and many more.