If you were to hear that the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Sheryl Crow and Selma Hayek were all rubbing shoulders at a star studded event you could easily be forgiven for mistaking it for some A-List, red carpet movie premiere rather than a summit for the protection of the environment. Right now the color of Hollywood is green in fact it’s the new black. Hollywood has made green sexy and appealing for the rest of us and have drawn more attention to the environmental cause than ever before.

Nowadays celebrities are lending their names and their support in the global message for environmentalism.

Leonardo Dicaprio, who spearheaded the film that raised awareness of environmental issues, “The 11th Hour” has been a committed activist for years and walks his talk by living green every day. Leonardo’s home runs on solar energy and he drives a Toyota Prius which is the new hybrid car of the 21st century, emitting 90% less green house gases than its gasoline powered rival. Leonardo believes that we now have the technology to produce more inexpensive, environmentally friendly, energy efficient cars.

Brad Pitt brought New Orleans under the microscope with his “Make It Right” project in a bid to build cleaner, greener more energy efficient “eco-homes” from sustainable materials for Hurricane Katrina survivors. His goal was to build 150 homes and pledged to match up to $5 million dollars in donations of his own money. The project was born out of frustration at the lack of effort from the government to rebuild New Orleans.

Sheryl Crow is another activist passionate about the environment and does her part by visiting colleges around the country spreading her message about the consequences of global warming. She also encouraged youths to rally at Capitol Hill to influence the change of laws and policy governing the environment.

She lives what she preaches by using only the cold water cycle for washing her clothes, she drives a hybrid and proudly sports solar panels as a permanent fixture of her home.

Sheryl is the prime example of how celebrity can be used as an influence for the better and how it can help unite society in a common goal for the positive.

The Hulk’s Edward Norton wanted to make the hulk more “green” than ever before by reducing the productions carbon footprint, setting the tone from the very beginning starting with the first production meeting which included an environmental consultant to help keep their green vision tightly within focus.

They reduced the amount of plastic bottles and utensils used on set which markedly reduced the amount of throwaway garbage.
A green perspective was used with regards to set construction, resource management and conservation, recycling and energy usage making “The Hulk” the first ever film to feature the Green Seal of the Environmental Media Association in its closing film credits. The goal of the film industry is to proudly sport more Green Seal logos in more films for the future.

Not only are celebrities pushing the green message but the film studios that back them are also supporting the cause in an effort to create more environmentally friendly productions.

Tom Shadyac’s film “Evan Almighty” took green thinking to a whole new level by donating around 2,000 trees to the Conservation Fund to offset any greenhouse gases emitted during its production. The tons of wood used for the elaborate sets were also dismantled and donated to anyone that needed them, reducing the amount of wastage that usually ends up in landfills with a production of this scale.

Fox Studios “24” made a pledge to introduce both solar and wind energy to provide power to their productions where all materials would be recycled and reused.

Film sets used on the film “The Matrix” were re-used in the construction of homes in Mexico. Nonprofit organization “ReUse People Of America” believe that it costs less to reuse materials than it does to demolish them, an encouraging incentive to reuse and recycle.

You’ll find celebrities driving their Hybrid Prius cars, opting for green cleaning products and recyclable cloth bags with the “Apple” brand of computer being at the top of the list for its sustainability through its recyclable parts.

So as you can see, celebrities are more than just pretty faces and can lend their status to good causes to give our planet a voice.