Celebrity watching takes on a whole new meaning when it gives us regular people ideas for how to do our part to reduce climate change. Celebrities such as Harrison Ford (above), who has worked with Conservation International and other environmental groups for 25 years, use their star power to bring attention to climate change.
You can bet these entertainers have the means to drive big polluting cars and leave the lights on all night, but instead they’re promoting green living.
Brad Pitt
When not making blockbuster movies, the world-famous actor, through his Make It Right Foundation, has donated green building materials to replace homes in New Orleans that were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.
In his daily life, Pitt is an enthusiastic cyclist, climbing on a bike to get around town instead of calling a limo.
Cate Blanchett
The actress is the driving force behind Australia’s second-largest solar array (above), which is on top of the Sydney Theatre Company.
Blanchett is also a passionate recycler. “It makes me furious when you’re in the line in the supermarket and people just put everything into new plastic bags,” Blanchett told USA Today. “I very self-righteously pull my crumpled plastic bags out, you know.”
Don Cheadle
“What is more important than food and clean air? We need a big push,” says Cheadle.
Nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Hotel Rwanda and known for his roles in Iron Man movies and Ocean’s Eleven, he serves as an ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme. “I hope to use my celebrity to motivate people and contribute to moving our global society back from the brink,” Cheadle told makers of the climate-change documentary series Years of Living Dangerously.
Leonardo DiCaprio
He started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 2006, which is “dedicated to the long-term health and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitants,” and in December 2015 addressed a gathering of mayors and local leaders during the COP21 summit in Paris on the importance of acting on climate change.
DiCaprio’s commitment to everyday green living includes owning only one car — okay, that might only be impressive among the rich and famous, but the car is a high-mileage, gas-electric hybrid.
Angelique Kidjo
Sting
Rock legend Sting has a long history of environmental activism, mostly focusing on deforestation in the Amazon rain forest. “All of us could stop traveling tomorrow, industry could stop tomorrow,” he told the Guardian, “but the largest contribution to global warming is deforestation — by a huge, huge amount.”
Rich or poor, famous or not, everyone on the planet should be taking steps to live in an environmentally responsible way. Learn more about how your country can move forward on climate change and what you can do.