Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been appointed UN climate ambassador. He has been named a messenger of peace by the UN, with a special focus on climate change.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon presented DiCaprio with the role one week ahead of a landmark climate summit in New York, where the actor is invited to address the heads of state and government in attendance, including Barack Obama and David Cameron. Actor will speak at Ban Ki-moon climate summit, where leaders gather next week to curb greenhouse gas emissions .

Many of us (especially his fans) may  know  that in addition to his reputation as a guy who loves dating models, DiCaprio is known as an environmentalist and activist. Earlier this year, the actor took part in an oceans summit, hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry, and pledged $7 million to ocean conservation. In 1998, DiCaprio established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which campaigns and awards grants to environmental projects. The "Titanic" star's namesake foundation, dedicated to the preservation of the Earth's wild places, has given grants to groups working to save tigers and sharks preserve rainforests, Antarctica and the oceans and provide clean water to hundreds of thousands of people in Africa. Leonardo DiCaprio donated $3 million to benefit wild tigers.

So undoubtedly he is the most apt choice to be the face of the United Nations' effort to raise awareness of its climate change efforts. He strongly feels that . "How we respond to the climate crisis in the coming years will likely determine the fate of humanity and our planet."

DiCaprio will join 11 other UN messengers of peace , including George Clooney , Paulo Coelho and Yo-Yo Ma. Messengers are picked from the fields of art , film , literature , music and sport , and  are charged with raising awareness of the ideals and missions of the UN.

I was wondering how effective it would be if we have many more  such messengers , limited not only to UN Summits etc but beyond that . 

How if celebrities like Bollywood actors , prominent artists , sportspersons etc  advocate "Sustainability , green living & environment protection" in their commercials /advertisements. They endorse so many commercial products , why not they saying a line about "Let's protect environment " or "Let's save paper" or " lets plant trees" or "Let's reduce use of plastic" etc.  They could also say a line (on environment protection)  on key moments /celebrations/concerts like Grammy awards , Bollywood filmfare award ceremonies , Music nights  or any occasion where mass public has gathered. Don't you think many youngsters , children today follow them a lot and environment advocacy from their mouth would make a better impact. This could be one way of spreading awareness to wider mass about "need to protect environment". Currently newspapers and magazines are talking about this but TV or radio media still lack this advocacy(or not enough). It's time that we raise the level , mode and intensity of global campaign for environment protection.

After all every effort counts , every word spreads awareness.

News Source :

http://www.rtcc.org/2014/09/17/leonardo-dicaprio-appointed-un-climate-ambassador/

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-leonardo-dicaprio-united-nations-climate-change-ambassador-20140916-story.html

http://www.standartnews.com/english/read/leonardo_dicaprio_becomes_ambassador_-5348.html