DiCaprio's Big Scene

Leonardo DiCaprio's most important role is no act.

To be honest, I haven't always liked DiCaprio's movies (though he's starting to grow on me as an actor), but I appreciate his work on environmental issues. Many celebrities sign their names to nonprofit efforts, but endorsement of and actual work on social issues are two different things.

DiCaprio backs up his words with involvement. In 2007, he produced The 11th Hour, a documentary on global warming. He's also met with world leaders to find ways of protecting tigers. Most recently, his foundation made a $3 million donation to Oceana's efforts to protect marine habitat in both the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. For more information on his foundation, click here.

Yesterday, I saw a news article talking about why DiCaprio hasn't won an Academy Award. Although I'm sure he'd love to win one, he seems to realize he's playing in a much larger theater, and I think he would be willing to trade an Oscar for the chance to make an impact on environmental issues.

Sequels rarely appeal to me, but I can't wait for the next installment of DiCaprio's environmental work.

Picture Forever

Think of the world without tigers.

Considering how iconic they have become, it is hard to imagine tigers disappearing forever. Yet these awe-inspiring animals are among the most endangered cats on the planet. Fewer than 3,200 remain in the wild. Three subspecies have already become extinct.

Panthera, an organization co-founded by noted biologist Alan Rabinowitz and dedicated to creating programs that ensure the survival of the world's wild cats, has a more positive vision in mind. Check out a video from the organization below:

About Panthera from Panthera Cats on Vimeo.

Tigers are one of the species Panthera has focused on most heavily. Efforts like Tigers Forever have emphasized the study and protection of the species and the conservation of its habitat.

To tell the story of Tigers Forever, Panthera media director Steve Winter has put together a book, Tigers Forever: Saving the World's Most Endangered Big Cat. The book provides information about the program and contains more than 100 pictures (Winter is also a photographer for National Geographic). Available now for pre-order, the book begins shipping on November 12. Part of the proceeds from sales of the book support the Tigers Forever program. For more information, click here.

We can either learn to live with tigers now or live with their extinction forever. Winter's book and Panthera's programs show us how to do the former.