A lot of celebrities preach green living practices today, but few put their money where their mouth is like actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio started The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to help bring attention to certain environmental issues. On the foundation’s web site, DiCaprio promotes environmental programs, including that to eliminate the use of plastic bags. DiCaprio is committed to his cause, nixing chartered jets for commercial flights, driving a hybrid car, and using solar panels in his home.
His 2007 documentary, The 11th Hour, which talked about various problems facing the life systems of Earth, received much praise. The documentary interviewed people such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Wangari Maathai (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize), and Stephen Hawking to discuss such issues as global warming, species extinction, and deforestation and how those issues put the human race in jeopardy.
Not all doom and gloom, The 11th Hour also focused on solutions that could help save the planet. In the documentary, DiCaprio said, “We all have to do our part to raise awareness about global warming and the problems we as a people face in promoting a sustainable environmental future for our planet.” The film spawned an online community, www.11thhouraction.com, where people can learn how to get involved in projects to help protect our environment.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation received the Martin Litton Environmental Warrior Award in 2001. Early last year, the Foundation merged with the California Community Foundation to become The Leonardo DiCaprio Fund at CCF.
DiCaprio serves on the Honorary Board of Directors for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Board of Trustees of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Board of Directors of Global Green USA, and as an Honorary Chair for Reef Check. He won both the Star Eco Station’s Celebrity for the Environment Award and the Green Cross International and Global Green USA’s Entertainment Industry Environmental Leadership Award in 2003.
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