What is Wrong with Star Powered Environmental Advocacy
BY
Many of these
stars do more than pay lip service to green lifestyles, they show their concern
for the environment by driving hybrid cars, living in green homes or changing
their dietary habits. A few have even become stalwart activists.
He is a passionate supporter of tigers and he
actively works on protecting their habitats particularly in Nepal. In November
2010, DiCaprio donated $1,000,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Society at
Russia’s tiger summit. In 2011, DiCaprio joined the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s
campaign to free a tiger who was languishing at a Truck Stop in
Louisiana. He has also advocated for a number of other environmental
causes including access to clean water, renewable energy and forest
preservation.
Matt Damon is a
celebrity best known to environmentalists for his water advocacy. Recently in
Davos, the movie star was honored by the World Economic Forum for his work as
co-founder of Water.org,
a nonprofit organization whose motto is “safe water and the dignity of a toilet
for all.” During his acceptance speech he said that Water.org is extending
“water credit” to poor families so they can afford to install a toilet or
connect their homes to a waterline that for them is “literally a
lifeline.” Water.org has already helped more than 5 million people, and
he noted that McKinsey consultants have estimated his organization could reach
100 million by 2020.
Daryl Hannah is
serious about her green activism and involvement. In February 2013, Hannah was
arrested in front of the white house for protesting against the Keystone XL.
Hannah has been an environmental advocate for years. She has participated in
many environmental protests, including two tree sit-ins. In
2012, she spoke out against the fallacy of ‘ethical oil’, ‘clean coal’ and
‘natural gas.’
She is also the founder of the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance
(SBA), and sits on several environmental advocacy boards such as the
Environmental Media Association (EMA), Sylvia Earle Alliance, Mission Blue and
the Action Sports Environmental Coalition. Her website dhlovelife.com provides
solutions for living a green lifestyle.
Ed Begley jr. is
a longtime environmental advocate who lives in a solar-powered home and drives
an electric car. Begley and his family are currently documenting the
construction of a LEED Platinum-certified home for Begley Street, a television
and Web series.
Cameron Diaz is
another celebrity well known for her green activism. Her sustainability
advocacy even attracted the attention of unlikely publications like Vogue
magazine. Diaz also worked with Al Gore to raise awareness about climate change
and she is allegedly one of the first celebs to buy an electric vehicle.
Hayden
Panettiere has been involved in the fight to protect whales and other marine
life since she was 15 years old. She filmed the slaughter of dolphins and the
footage appeared in the acclaimed documentary The Cove. She is a spokesperson
for the Whaleman Foundation,
which works to protect whales and dolphins from the impact of climate change and
fishing, and has also appeared before the U.S. Congress.
Edward Norton is
very vocal about environmental concerns and he has served as the United Nations
Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity.
Natalie Portman
has a long history of ecological advocacy. She is a vegetarian who has designed
a line of vegan shoes. She also participated in a documentary film about
gorillas.
Sting is a
longtime supporter of the Amazon’s rainforests and he has established a charity
called the Rainforest Foundation, which is dedicated to the protection of the
rainforests and their inhabitants.
Brad Pitt has
helped with rebuilding New Orleans by contributing green building materials
after the city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Don Cheadle has
taken action against the genocide in Darfur, and he has also worked with the
United Nation on climate change concerns.
Alicia
Silverstone owns a home made of sustainable materials, she’s vegan and she has
written a book about sustainability.
Pamela Anderson
has advocated for animal rights and forest preservation. She has worked with
the Inga Foundation which fights the “slash-and-burn” process of clearing land.
She has also supported efforts to ban oil tankers off of Canada’s west coast.
Mark Ruffalo is
a vocal opponent of horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and he
co-founded waterdefense.org to educate the public about fracking concerns.
Ted Danson is
involved in ocean activism and he even started his own charity.
American actor
Robert Redford and Canadian rocker Neil Young have been vocal opponents of
Alberta’s tar sands. Redford appears in a video released by the National
Resources Defense Council saying the tar sands are “destroying our great
northern forests at a terrifying rate” and “killing our planet.”
Neil Young put
together a concert tour to help the indigenous people who are suffering from
the effects of the tar sands in Alberta. He also speaks out against the
Canadian government’s unconscionable support for oil interests.
There are a host
of other stars who have come out in support of environmental causes including:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Bonnie Raitt
- Christie Brinkley
- George Clooney
- Jessica Alba
- Jon Bon Jovi
- Julia Louis Dreyfus
- Pierce Brosnan
- Sir Paul McCartney
- Tony Hawk
These are just a
few of the many famous people who advocate for the environment. So how could
there be anything wrong with stars who support environmental issues?
Even though our
culture appears to venerate stardom, celebrities are treated like disposable
commodities which are worshiped one day and forgotten the next. The hollow and
transient nature of celebrity worship is at odds with the attitude required to
foster global action. While the popularity of celebrities is superficial and
fleeting, the environmental challenges we face demand that we very seriously
take the long view.
We require the
type of perspective that enables us to appreciate and act on behalf of that
which is most important. Our veneration of people who are famous is a colossal
bastardization of a balanced understanding of the fundamentally prescient
elements that constitute a healthy planet.
Some celebrities
clearly work hard on behalf of noble causes, while others may be involved for
more selfish reasons. Celebrity is all about popularity, they engage a phalanx
of press agents to advise them on what kind of public statements are the most
politically correct for the demographic they are playing to. Few know what they
really think. Regardless of what they may actually believe, people who are household
names have been co opted by the public and as such, they are deprived of their
identity apart from their characterizations in the popular media. They become
two dimensional cutouts.
By contrast, our
appreciation of climate change and other environmental issues requires that we
go beyond glossy exteriors so that we can collectively get our heads around the
scope of the challenges that confront us.
While some stars
may know what they are talking about, others appear to have a passing interest
that may be more about generating good press than genuine concern. That is not
to deny that those in the public eye can sometimes help the average person to
come to a better understanding of complex issues.
The point is
that star worship is a reflection of our own shallowness. We do not really know
these people, although we may come to know a two dimensional character they
play, or what their publicists feel would be good for their careers.
It is a sad
reflection on our society, but our preoccupation with celebrity is born from
the same place as the impulse to exploit and dispose of our world. Our values
and our priorities are out of balance and the veneration of stardom is a comes
from the same mass confusion that created the ecological crisis we now face.
Our interest in the lives of the rich and famous is part of the same
mindlessness as the environmental nightmare we are perpetrating against
ourselves and future generations.
A 2010 national survey by Rasmussen indicated that 84 percent of Adults
admit that Americans pay too much attention to celebrity news and not enough
attention to news that has real impact on their lives.
Our
preoccupation with the habits of celebrities detracts from our appreciation of
the issues that are most pressing. We do not have the luxury of willful
negligence, nor can we afford to succumb to paralysis if we do pay heed to the
most pressing concerns of our times. The fact is that when we feel overwhelmed
or hopeless we commonly indulge in escapism which is at the heart of what
celebrity worship is all about.
We need to get
real and take a serious look at what is happening to the world we live in. How
are we to come to terms with the work that needs to be done if we refuse to
take a hard look at the facts?
Stars may be
well meaning supporters of noble causes, but the way that the general public co
opts their identity, artificially elevates them (and ultimately drops them),
make them less than ideal representatives for environmental activism.
The cult of
celebrity feeds into all that is wrong with our world. It is not that
celebrities are inherently untrustworthy, the problem is that star culture
exacerbates the valueless and fickle myopia of the public eye.
——————–
Richard Matthews is a consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor and author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, eco-economics and enviro-politics. He is the owner of The Green Market Oracle, a leading sustainable business site and one of the Web’s most comprehensive resources on the business of the environment. Find The Green Market on Facebook and follow The Green Market’s twitter feed.
Richard Matthews is a consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor and author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, eco-economics and enviro-politics. He is the owner of The Green Market Oracle, a leading sustainable business site and one of the Web’s most comprehensive resources on the business of the environment. Find The Green Market on Facebook and follow The Green Market’s twitter feed.
Image credit: Gordon Vasquez,
courtesy flickr