Captain Planet: Ian Somerhalder’s Mission is to Save the Earth

There are many people who live and die by the expression ‘my body is a temple,’ but Ian Somerhalder is not one of them. Thanks to his mentor, New Ager and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra, Somerhalder believes that his body is, in fact, the Earth itself.

“When someone asks you, ‘What is the environment,’ typically you’d say, ‘The natural world that surrounds us.’ But when I first started spending time with Deepak, he said, ‘Let me offer up this information: If you view the world as separate from yourself, why would you want to take care of it? We ultimately have the same biological processes as the world.’ The rivers, lakes and streams are the cardiovascular systems carrying all our vital nutrients. Trees are carbon copies of the human lung; coral is the human brain. We’re all connected. It’s all the same shit, literally, and if you understand [this], then your idea of the world around you changes dramatically. You don’t want to destroy it anymore; you want to love it. You want it to thrive, to live.”

The fact that the actor, director, producer and activist is speaking both about his environmental outlook and how he conducts his day-to-day life is not lost on us. He and wife Nikki Reed live as sustainably as possible in Los Angeles and Atlanta; while their Venice Beach, California pad truly embodies eco-architecture, both homes are built as integrative medical clinics with in-home infrared saunas, oxygen chambers and prophylactic frequency machines.

The Vampire Diaries star has loved and protected both animals and the environment since he was a child, but it was only after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 devastated his Louisiana home that he started to take serious action. As a 32nd birthday present to himself (the Benjamin Button-esque actor will turn 38 this December), he started the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which aims to empower, educate and collaborate with those who positively impact the planet. In addition, he has acted as a United Nations Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador and World Environment Day Ambassador, and has testified in front of the US Congress on behalf of HR 50, a multinational Species Conservation Funds Reauthorization Act. Somerhalder also serves on the advisory board of RYOT.org, and co-founded and launched Go Green Mobile Power. To top it all off, this year he will be involved in The Movember Foundation’s annual campaign; Movember is the leading global men’s health organization raising funds and awareness for men’s physical and mental health.

He says, “I’ve set out on the path. I’ve worked my ass off tirelessly and I’m very positive about the future. The future’s bright—get your sunglasses!—but the future needs to start now.” Here, the ocean-eyed star discusses his foundation, his upcoming segment on the Emmy-winning National Geographic series, Years of Living Dangerously, as well as what’s in store for his future now that his CW show is in its eighth and final season.