Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio | Nadia Conners | Leila Conners Petersen | Discuss

Leonardo DiCaprio has been passionate about the environment since he was a child. Currently serving on the boards of both National Resources Defense Council and Global Green USA, he campaigns for changes in environmental policy and educates the public on the issues of global warming.

In 1998, he started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, followed by LeonardoDiCaprio.org, which foster awareness of environmental issues. The Foundation places particular emphasis on the issues of global warming, alternative and renewable energy sources and the preservation of the planet's biodiversity. DiCaprio has supported non-profit organisations such as the Dian Fossey Foundation, Reef Check, Oceana, Santa Monica's Heal The Bay, the U'wa Defense Project and TreePeople.

In 2000, DiCaprio chaired the national Earth Day celebration. During ABC's "20/20" special on Earth Day, DiCaprio interviewed President Clinton to address the issues surrounding global warming and the environment. Together, they discussed policies and steps that the administration could take to encourage Americans and US oil companies to adopt greener practices.

Believing that education is critical to making changes, DiCaprio teamed up with NRDC in 2004 to build the e-Activism Zone in Santa Monica, aimed at educating young people and inspiring them to make a lifelong commitment to the environment. DiCaprio, along with Norman Lear's campaign Declare Yourself and Diddy's Citizen Change, Vote or Die campaign, criss-crossed the U.S.A., visiting college campuses and encouraging young people to register to vote.

Combining both his passions, DiCaprio narrated two short environmental films, entitled Global Warning in 2003 and Water Planet in 2005. Most recently, he teamed up with Tree Media to produce and narrate The 11th Hour," a feature-length documentary about the human impact on our planet, which is an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007.