Man of the Hour: Leonardo DiCaprio

April 2013

Trisha Bravo

Best known for his roles in award winning films such as the Titanic, Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, Inception, and many others, Leonardo DiCaprio is nothing short of a successful actor. But aside from acting, he is currently known to be one of the biggest celebrity environmentalists. Coming from a family of activists, it’s no surprise that DiCaprio dedicates a large part of his life to living and promoting a greener lifestyle.

     While being on the board of trustees for the Natural Resources Defense Council and Global Green USA, DiCaprio runs the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which was created in 1998. The foundation actively recognizes any and every environmental issue, and raises awareness to others. They primarily work within wildlife protection, forest preservation, healthy oceanic systems, clean water, renewable energy, disaster relief, and climate change. Their latest success as announced on Twitter was the end of ivory trade in Thailand.

    Leonardo DiCaprio also sees global warming as one of our biggest issues. He drives a hybrid to reduce carbon emission, uses solar panels for his home, and fly’s commercially instead of high fuel-consuming private jets. He also co-wrote, co-produced, and narrated a documentary on global warming, The Eleventh Hour.

     Although acting has never been a barrier to his activist work, it was recently announced this past January that Leo is taking a long break from acting to focus on his environmental work.

To give support and/or stay up to date with current environmental issues, follow Leo on twitter @LeoDiCaprio or visit his website at www.leonardodicaprio.com.