After stepping down as the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev went from red to green. In 1993, he founded Green Cross International, devoted to improving the environment worldwide. On a recent U.S. visit, Gorbachev, 72, told us his passionate environmentalism began as a child, when his family's crops were ruined by dust storms from poor land use.

"When I became a political leader," he said, "I saw how badly nature was suffering. Our technology-centered civilization has resulted in a major conflict between man and nature." He cited the lack of fresh water as the most pressing global issue today. "Two billion people don't have access to clean water," he said, "and a primary result is infectious disease. In the Middle East, the situation is so bad that we may see a conflict even worse than what we are seeing today -- over water."

His second major concern is global warming, and he challenged President Bush to support the Kyoto Protocol on pollution. Gorbachev noted that the President created a commission to study the protocol's findings. "Now he has that report," Gorbachev said, "and the report confirms that the science is serious. The President should respond."