Haute 100: Happy Birthday Environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio!

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Last week Haute 100 lister Leonardo DiCaprio visited a village in India to assess the impact of climate change. The Hollywood actor took a trip to the northern Indian state Haryana to analyze how regional climate patterns has impacted local farmers and residents, according to IB Times.

Through the duration of his visit, DiCaprio spoke with the Delhi-based organization called the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). In a statement, the NGO said, ā€œDiCaprio visited India for a sit-down interview on climate change with CSE. He wanted to understand our perspectives on the issue and discuss how the world should work together to combat catastrophic climate change.ā€

Following the interview, DiCaprio visited Kheladi village in Mewat district of Haryana. The actor had the opportunity to to see the impact of unseasonal weather on farmers of our country as well as interact with local residents.

Itā€™s no surprise the actor will make time to visit the South Asian country. The 42-year-old, who is celebrating his birthday today, has become a crusader for the environment. Since the inception of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998, DiCaprio has made it his mission to protect the ecosystem and well-being of the Earthā€™s inhabitants. Through grantmaking, public campaigns and media initiatives, LDF brings attention and needed funding to the organizationā€™s focus areasā€”protecting biodiversity, oceans conservation, wildlands conservation, and climate change.

Last year, DiCaprio was appointed as a United Nations representative on climate change.

Today, the actor tweeted he is now an investor to Diamond Foundry Inc., a company reducing human and environmental toll by sustainably culturing diamonds. According to Business Insider, DiCaprio is one of the many investors financing the company including a number of influential individuals from Silicon Valley such as Twitter/Medium founder Evan Williams, Zynga founder Mark Pincus, One, among others. The company just closed three rounds of financing.

Ā Featured photo courtesy of Instagram