10. Dave Matthews Band
The band has become well respected as leaders in green touring, offsetting pollution produced by their travels by funding projects including tree plantings and constructing wind farms. This year, the band's “Eco-Village” 40-city tour will inspire fans to learn about technologies and products that offer environmental benefits.
9. Barenaked Ladies
Since 2004, the band has been running its tour vehicles on clean-burning biodiesel fuel, setting up informational “Eco-Villages” called Barenaked Planet at live shows. Even the band's CDs are sold in 100% recyclable cases, and they recycle their own musical waste including broken guitar strings. Backstage is always fully stocked with organic food and biodegradable supplies.
8. Adrian Grenier
Grenier is more than just the self-involved character he plays on Entourage. Off-screen, this actor lives a green lifestyle with a home that uses recycled jeans as insulation and solar panels for electricity. He also hosts Planet Green's Alter Eco show, demonstrating the changes people can make to live a similar lifestyle.
7. Sting
Sting and his wife Trudie Styler founded Rainforest Foundation to protect rain forests and the indigenous residents that reside there. Oceana, an organization that works to protect and conserve the world's oceans, has honored the couple along with Bill Clinton for their efforts.
6. Harrison Ford
As Vice Chairman of Conservation International, Ford has been instrumental in raising awareness regarding conservation, including helping the organization launch a campaign for an innovative strategy to combat climate change. He also has a Central American ant named for him and has won numerous awards for his environmental efforts.
5. Alicia Silverstone
Silverstone lives and breathes an eco-friendly lifestyle. The vegan actress lives in an eco-friendly house in Los Angeles with her own organic veggie garden and runs her own line of natural cosmetics. In her book The Kind Diet, Silverstone discusses tips for living an eco-friendly lifestyle.
4. Ed Begley Jr.
Begley has been ahead of the eco-game for decades. He's driven an electric car since the 1970s, utilizes both wind and solar power at home and is a longtime vegan. He has worked with a number of environmental organizations, hosts the Planet Green show Living Like Ed and published the book Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Lifestyle.
3. Brad Pitt
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Pitt founded a green home program, the Make It Right Foundation. In 2009, Pitt met with President Obama to discuss federal funding for green housing projects. He is also the voice of PBS's e2 series on environmentally sound design.
Read more in June's issue of Energy Digital: Energy Turns to SPACE
2. Edward Norton
As a board member of Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to creating affordable housing, Norton has lobbied on behalf of green housing and even testified before Congress to support the cause. He has also hosted National Geographic's environmental series Strange Days and is a huge proponent for public transportation. You might even spot him on the subway in New York.
1. LEONARDO DICAPRIO
Ah, Leo, Leo, Leo—my personal favorite. The heartthrob actor of one of the highest grossing films of all time, Titanic, does more than just star in Academy Award winning films. As one of Hollywood's most committed environmentalists, DiCaprio has been praised by a number of environmental groups for his activism.
In 2007, DiCaprio wrote, produced and narrated the eco-documentary The 11th Hour, regarding the state of the natural environment. He also started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in support of environmentally friendly initiatives. He has donated one million dollars to the Wildlife Conservation Society and another million dollars to relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake, among other contributions.
In his personal life, DiCaprio owns an electric car, Prius and hybrid, has solar panels installed on his house and eschews from private planes to take the more eco-conscious commercial route. He's so green, he avoids the “unnatural” use of deodorant and only showers a couple days a week to conserve water. But hey, we still love him.
