Leonardo DiCaprio is famously an environmentalist, having dedicated a large part of his life to conservation efforts and having used his Hollywood platform to combat climate change. News that the actor’s foundation is donating a significant amount of money to the Amazon Rainforest’s restoration is unsurprising, due to his commitment to similar causes in the past. However, the fact that he’s teaming up with Jeff Bezos for this effort is unexpected and is totally a story I didn't think I'd write this week.
The two are teaming up to donate $200 million to the Protecting Our Planet (POP) Challenge. This campaign adds to the Brazilian government’s efforts to preserve the Amazon, which is collapsing due to deforestation and climate change. The A-list actor and the Amazon founder are involved through their respective environmental foundations, Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund. The donation also contributes to the protection of wildlife and indigenous tribes in the area. This is a step in regard to Brazil having a more green and sustainable economy, as explained by Variety.
This is an odd match for many reasons. For one, Jeff Bezos jokingly threatened to push the Wolf of Wall Street actor off of a cliff after a video of the movie star presumably flirting with the CEO’s girlfriend went viral. This was obviously a silly bit, and there were likely not actual hard feelings. However, while Bezos has an environmental fund and has donated to climate change prevention in the past, he remains polarizing amongst some green-conscious circles. Many believe that the operations of his company have left a massive carbon footprint and that donations are unable to counteract the effects.
On the other hand, this is a big donation for a big cause they both care about, and any kind of unification for such a purpose is a positive. This kind of generosity sends a strong message, and one can only hope that these efforts are a step towards a better, healthier planet. Whether or not donations are sufficient remains in question, though at least there are people who are indeed helping to improve the world we live in.
As for the actor, he's found various ways to advocate for environmentally-conscious initiatives over the years. Leonardo DiCaprio's Best Actor Oscar speech became an opportunity to speak out about climate change, and his latest movie, Adam McKay's Don’t Look Up, served as an allegory for the public's relationship with the environment. Don't Look Up's ending acts as a warning about humanity's future. He also produced the 2016 documentary Before the Flood, which details the crisis that our ecosystem is currently facing. On top of all that, he continues to use his social media platform to spread awareness on these causes. He's made some keen allies along the way, and it would seem that he can now count Jeff Bezos as one of them. (And that's still a little weird for me to say.)
You can check out Before the Flood now using a Disney+ subscription, and Don’t Look Up is also streamable with a Netflix subscription. In addition, you can donate to Re:wild using their website, if you feel so inclined to do so.
