Person of the Year

Dan Rather

Former CBS Evening News anchor, Emmy Award winner and host of Dan Rather Reports on HDNet

The environment is the defining challenge of our time. But if the list must be confined to a one-person nomination, the Dalai Lama--for his contributions to peace, spirituality, philosophy and science, as well as his nonviolent efforts on behalf of freedom from oppression for his people. His leadership in the study and development of neuroplasticity has also furthered science and medicine.

Nicole Kidman

Academy Award-winning actress and UNIFEM goodwill ambassador

I nominate my dear friend Dr. Jonathan Berek, a well-known gynecologic oncologist. He has committed his life to the treatment of women and is one of the leading proponents of immunotherapy for the treatment of ovarian cancer. His work has been instrumental in the development of novel strategies and therapeutics. He is a man who has the ability and desire to change people's lives.

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)

Pop singer and songwriter, philanthropist and renowned convert to Islam

I nominate Al Gore. His outspoken commitment to ecological balance--An Inconvenient Truth--and global consciousness was inspirational and got me out of my incubation to sing for Live Earth in Hamburg earlier this year. Where on earth will the children play if we don't listen and do something now? He represents the cleaner image of American politics, the less imperialistic one.

Tullis Onstott

Influential professor of geosciences at Princeton University who studies microorganisms

Recent events have overtaken my considerations for Person of the Year. I think stem-cell pioneers James Thomson and Shinya Yamanaka are good nominees. I'm not a molecular biologist, but their discoveries with stem cells will have enormous scientific and political impact--which is very rare. Certainly, this discovery is as big and potentially even bigger than the cloning of Dolly, the sheep.