Oscar-nominated Leonardo DiCaprio, a leading figure in Hollywood’s environmental movement, is in Canada’s oil sands heart these days doing research for an upcoming documentary on the subject.
The visit comes on the heels of the release of a short film on carbon pollution narrated and co-produced by the actor. The video, called “Carbon,” is part of a series of short films on climate change, with additional episodes released ahead of September’s U.N. Climate Summit in New York City.
The short-flick does not attack the oil sands industry per se, although it does feature aerial footage shot in the region. It mainly calls for an end to carbon pollution by considering options such as carbon trading or carbon taxes.
Locals have enthusiastically used social media to invite DiCaprio to see that Fort McMurray isn’t only about the oil sands.
DiCaprio, 39, isn’t the first celebrity to recently visit the town in northern Alberta. Singer Neil Young sparked controversy in January after saying the oil sands sites around the city resembled the bombed-out ruins of Hiroshima.
The movie star currently serves on the board of the World Wildlife Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council, among other organizations.
He is spending quite a bit of time in West Canada these days, as he has a key role in the upcoming “Revenant,” which currently being shot in Vancouver and Calgary.
Watch “Carbon” here:
Image from WikiMedia Commons.
5 Comments
KGBoy
Let’s see. Against the oil sands means cheap oil for the US ad nauseam. Being for oil sands development means supporting Canada. I wonder which side he will choose to promote?
patentbs
I believe this guy is more honest the Neil Young, but he is off base if he thinks a carbon tax or trading will lower pollution. Pollution will just become a cost of doing business and the only thing to consider is the price.
Mark
This guy hops from party to party via a private jet, and he wants to do a doco on carbon? Priceless.
Murray_B
This is just another rich actor from Hollywood with no understanding of basic science but has convinced himself the sky is falling, globe is warming, climate is changing, or whatever the fad is now. Any “reptoid” that utters nonsense like “carbon dioxide pollution” should be put in a secure mental institution for their own protection. The reality is that CO2 is an important life gas and ambient levels have fallen so low that real greenhouses have to enrich CO2 levels to get things like tomatoes to grow properly. Leonardo should go home and find a new cause like ending the conversion of food into automotive fuel while millions of people starve.
By the way, Northern Alberta was like ‘Mordor’ long before humans went up there.
Oil girl
He flew up to ft Mac of a private jet, took a private helicopter out to site oh and I bet he even had his own private car while he was here. So where do you think all that fuel came from to make all of those forms of transportation and the fuel to go in them because I am pretty sure they don’t run on bubble gum and rainbows. If you are going to fight for a cause at least practice what you preach.