by Maria Vera
At the 2016 Academy Awards night this past February,
Leonardo DiCaprio was inarguably one of the most prominent winners. Taking home
the Best Actor award for his role in 2015’s The
Revenant, the 41-year-old DiCaprio quickly dispensed with the usual
thank-you’s to cast and crew – then devoted the rest of his time at the podium
to some serious comments about his other great passion, eco-activism and green
energy. While his words on the crisis posed by climate change earned a standing
ovation from his peers at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, they also provoked
swift criticism from many who accused him of fact twisting and hypocrisy.
DiCaprio is a Hollywood heavyweight, with six Best Actor
nominations behind this February’s win. In a career that began with roles in
television’s 1990s soap opera Santa Barbara and the comedy Growing
Pains, DiCaprio has won 45 awards, including three Golden Globes, two Teen
Choice awards and one Screen Actors Guild award. He vaulted to heartthrob
status as Jack opposite Kate Winslet as Rose in 1997’s top-grossing Titanic,
and he’s played an array of odd and complex characters including Howard Hughes
(The Aviator) and J. Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar). At one point,
though, he considered walking away from acting to devote himself to his
lesser-known career as an environmental activist.
His Oscars speech may have been the first time many viewers
heard of DiCaprio’s commitment to more sustainable forms of energy and
environmental conservation, but the actor has been deeply involved in these
efforts for years. The Leonardo DiCaprio
Foundation was founded in 1998 to promote biodiversity and support
threatened ecosystems around the world. Since it was founded, the LDF has
donated millions of dollars to support the conservation of animals and
ecosystems, including Nepal’s tiger population and various ocean habitats.
Additionally, the actor has partnered with environmental groups and media
outlets including Netflix to produce a series of documentaries under the title Green
Planet Rising to educate about climate change and encourage viewers to move
towards 100 percent renewable energy.
Though DiCaprio contemplated abandoning acting in favor of
environmentalism, he notes that his high profile in film has given him a
far-reaching platform for raising awareness about the threat posed by climate
change and our consumption of dirty forms of energy. Those two paths converge
in documentary projects such as the 2007 documentary The 11th Hour,
which he produced and narrated, and 2014’s Cowspiracy: the Sustainability
Secret, for which he was executive producer. He also narrated the 2015
short Carbon, one of the Green Planet Rising projects, which
explores the dangers of the continued use of carbon-based forms of energy. He
encourages the use of greener energy forms such as wind, solar and hydro power
and in response to this short film, some lawmakers are starting to generate
ideas to make these more sustainable resources cheaper. The results from this
small project can already be seen and recognized. According to Alberta
Energy, solar power actually became cheaper than natural gas as many
companies become dedicated to the use of renewable energy.
Despite DiCaprio’s various environmental efforts and
projects, his activism has still been met
with criticism. It seems that many accuse the actor of leaving a massive
carbon footprint of his own from constant travel, movie projects that require
massive movement of crews and equipment around the world, and vacations with
various women. That widely shared Oscars speech garnered its share of criticism
too, as some observers accused DiCaprio of using his time in front of the
camera to for a lecture, instead of more sincere and lengthy thanks to The
Revenant’s cast and crew. Others challenged his statements and called him
ill-informed and manipulative.
However, no matter what the critics say, DiCaprio and his
Foundation continue to focus their efforts on the environment, climate
change, and renewable energy. With this new Netflix documentary series,
DiCaprio aims to promote sustainable energy practices and the conservation of
various ecosystems on Earth. Additionally, DiCaprio hopes to give these
hard-working filmmakers recognition and a voice in the film industry through
this partnership. For DiCaprio, this year’s Oscar win allowed both actor and
eco-warrior a world stage to make a plea for a sustainable future.
