Leonardo DiCaprio
The actor and environmentalist is so devoted to protecting the last wild places that exist on earth that he created the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Founded in 1998, the organization offers grants to a variety of conservation projects that help save the rain forests, protect oceans, sharks and help gain access to clean water. He has been a proud Toyota Prius owner for years.
Ed Begley, Jr.
When it comes to the environment, the actor is a fierce believer in taking action in a big way. Begley has been known to show up at events on his bicycle. He’s on the board of many conservation groups, including the Coalition for Clean Air and the Thoreau Institute. He has a plant-based and cruelty-free cleaning product line called Begley’s Earth Responsible Products. Begley lives in a in a self-sufficient house powered by solar energy. And he’s also building a Platinum LEED-certified home (considered North America’s greenest and most sustainable one). The construction is being documented in the web series On Begley Street.
Meryl Streep
Long before it was cool to go green, Meryl Streep was a passionate activist who worked with the Natural Resource Defense Council to help raise awareness for environmental issues. She likes to buy locally, shops at farmer’s markets, and even installed a geothermal heating system in her Connecticut home. In the 1980s, she co-founded the organization Mothers & Others, which advocated for more stringent pesticide standards.
Cameron Diaz
“I know this is our only planet,” Cameron Diaz told National Geographic TV for Kids. “And we are realizing that our resources—our air, water and soil—are starting to run out on us and it’s time for us to start taking care of it.” The actress worked with Al Gore on environmental initiatives. On her MTV show, Trippin', she and her pals (including Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, and Eva Mendez) visited locales around the globe from the Serengeti to Bhutan help raise environmental awareness. And she’s driven a Prius since they were available on the market.
Susan Sarandon
A tireless supporter of health, human rights, and environmental causes, Susan Sarandon (with Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon) toured various fracking sites in Pennsylvania last year and talked with local residents. She also signed a letter, along with Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, and Alec Baldwin, urging President Obama to address the issue of climate change. The letter said in part, “...we need to phase out fossil fuels and lead America, and the world, in a clean energy revolution.”
Ted Danson
For more than 25 years, Ted Danson has fought to save our oceans. He co-founded the American Oceans Campaign (AOC), which helped educate people about hazards created by toxic waste and offshore development. The organization merged with Oceana and is now the largest international organization specifically focused on ocean conservation. Danson also co-authored the book Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them.
Al Gore
When he was 14, Al Gore read Rachel Carson's environmental manifesto, Silent Spring. At Harvard, he developed a further environmental awareness. Since then, part of his life’s work has been to educate people about global warming. His PowerPoint presentation turned into the wildly successful book and Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. In 2007, Gore won the Nobel Peace Price for his efforts to inspire greater knowledge about man-made climate change.
President Barack Obama
Before he was leader of the free world, President Obama owned a dark gray Ford Escape Hybrid. He had exchanged his Chrysler 300C sedan for the fuel-efficient SUV. In 2010, after the car’s lease had expired, Obama returned the car to the dealership where he originally got it. It has been said that the dealer put up the car for auction but did not reveal the presidential owner.
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On April 22, 1970, 44 years ago, the nation celebrated its very first Earth Day. This movement was the brainchild of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson who longed to create teach-ins to raise awareness about environmental issues. Nearly 20 million Americans from elementary school students to seniors to politicians (including Barry Goldwater and Edward Kennedy) participated in grassroots activities of all varieties. New Yorkers strolled in the middle of 5th Avenue, as part of the street was closed to vehicle traffic. Environment awareness demonstrations were held in Atlanta, Greensboro, and Miami. In Madison, Wisconsin, people gathered to see the sunrise over Lake Mendota.
Earth Day was instrumental in inspiring legislation like the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts. And now more than 1 billion people participate in some kind of Earth Day activities. But a vast variety of people and places have devoted themselves to the environment, even when it’s not Earth Day. Many people work throughout the year to help preserve the environment for generations to come. In fact, a number of celebrities are passionately committed. Launch the gallery to take a look at these celebrities who are also Earth Day pioneers.