Why Leonardo DiCaprio is an example for the defense of the environment
While many celebrities worry about fattening their wallets or preserving his figure, Leonardo DiCaprio is being revealed by the planet. He is convinced that caring for nature is essential to guarantee the future.
A record number - 175 world leaders - met on April 22 at the United Nations headquarters in New York to ratify, in a first stage, the agreements reached at COP 21. There, between presidents and prime ministers, was Leonardo Dicaprio. The recent winner of the Oscar for best actor was not only at the ceremony, but also gave one of the most applauded speeches of the event.
Two years earlier, during the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit, he dared to say to world leaders: "I make a living by acting, but you don't." This time it was less harsh, but his message did not lose steam, “Think of the shame that each of you will carry with them when our children and grandchildren look back and realize that we had a chance to stop this devastation, but that we simply the political will to do so was lacking, ”he said.
Although DiCaprio is not endorsed by a diplomatic forum, he is endorsed by a broad trajectory in the defense of the environment. In fact, if there was an environmental Oscar, DiCaprio would already have several statuettes on his mantel.
The history of his fight for environmental causes dates back to 1998. After the success of Romeo and Juliet in 1996 and Titanic in 1997, the actor, instead of getting lost in the honeys of fame, created the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. His initial mission was to protect the last wild places on the planet. However, the flags of the foundation grew in such a way that today they cover topics such as climate change, the protection of biodiversity, the conservation of the oceans and bringing clean water to millions of people in the world.
In addition, it has financed projects such as the purchase and construction for 1.5 million dollars of an ecological resort in the uninhabited Blackadore Key (near Belize) and has contributed 10 million dollars for the protection of the oceans between 2013 and 2014. DiCaprio He not only donates his money but also raises funds for environmental causes. In July 2014, he raised $ 25 million after bringing together personalities like Martin Scorsese, Robert de Niro and Bono in one place. But beyond the economic issue, he can be considered a visionary, since he is also in charge of bringing supporters to the environmental cause.
At 41, DiCaprio turned his website into a vehicle for environmental awareness and education. In addition, his Facebook and Twitter profiles accumulate, separately, more than 16 million followers. The funny thing is that instead of publishing photos of his portfolio, almost all of the content is linked to the environment. Even on his official page he does not flaunt his physical appearance or his artistic career, on the contrary, the site is 70% dedicated to his environmental concerns and only 30% to the race of the.
Likewise, DiCaprio is convinced that the best way to persuade is through example. That is why he makes sure that all his properties have the LEED certification, which legitimizes that a building is sustainable from its conception to its destruction. Also, it is one of the forerunners of the Formula E world championship, it uses electric vehicles, which began at the end of 2014 and in which DiCaprio entered as a co-owner of the Venturi team.
The sum of these actions earned him the appointment of the United Nations, in that same year, as a messenger of peace with special dedication to climate change. This task combines with his role as a member of the board of directors of organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the National Geographic Pristine Oceans Association and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (International Fund). for Animal Welfare).
Despite these obligations, DiCaprio also tries to send a message through the seventh art. That is why in recent years he has served as an executive producer of documentaries such as Virunga, focused on the defense of the mountain gorillas of the Congo; and Last Hours, a series of mini-documentaries on climate change.
But he definitely reached the pinnacle of defending the environment once he had the Oscar in his hands thanks to The Revenant, a film that explores man's relationship with nature. At the ceremony DiCaprio addressed the whole world, which was already waiting for his first coronation as best leading actor after four nominations.
Despite this and the joy that he obtained his first statuette, in his speech he only had words to talk about the change in temperature on the planet and its dire consequences. “Climate change is real, it is happening right now and it is the most urgent threat facing our species. So we have to work together to deal with it, ”she stressed.
And although he has not been exempt from controversy due to events such as the one that occurred when he took a private jet to travel from Cannes to New York to collect an environmental award, over the years Leonardo DiCaprio gradually ceased to be a pretty face more. His incredible performances worthy of an Oscar - which finally came - and his commitment to social causes elevated the actor, not only to the organizations he leads but to political circles in the United States and the world. In this way DiCaprio is faithful to his words and shows that he does make a living acting and not just on the big screen.
