Do celebrities actually help address social and environmental issues?

Clearly we see celebrities speaking out about various social and environmental problems plaguing the world. But have the really done anything to help solve the problems. What initiatives has Leonardo DiCaprio spearheaded to address global warming. Or other celebrities who show up in commercials or in Africa concerning the AIDS epidemic. I for one would like to see them set an example, such as donating the many millions they bring in toward research, or perhaps making sacrifices they propose the public should make.

Yeah sure like I should listen to a idiot movie star on how to save the earth. When they do thier part then they can talk.

Julia Roberts drives a Prius, which gets (at best) 60 miles to the gallon, shaving 30 miles off a normal car's mpg. She flew Chicago/LA, 1,749 miles in a private jet, the route she took with Rupert Everett while shooting "My Best Friend's Wedding."
She guzzeled 2,100 gallons of jet fuel. Julia would have to drive 30,000 miles, or roughly once around the earth and then some to even out her consumption in the air.

J-Lo tools around in her 60 miles-per-gallon Prius. She Flew LA /New York, 2,475 miles in a private jet. Lopez was actually sued by a private jet company for allegedly skipping out on the bill, though she says it's all a misunderstanding and she was not supposed to be billed. She guzzled 2,750 gallons of jet fuel. She'd have to drive 45,000 miles, and that's a lot longer for Jenny than just going down the block. It's actually more like twice around the earth.

Eco-champ Brad is yet another Prius-lover, and he reportedly has several hybrids in his stable. He Flew Los Angeles/Namibia, 9,400 miles in a private jet. He Guzzled 11,000 gallons of jet fuel.
Brad burned enough fuel to take a Prius to the moon.

And my Favorite Self riteous Liberal George Clooney favors a Tango, an electric car that gets a whopping 135 miles to the charge. He flew Los Angeles/Tokyo, 5500 miles in a private jet.
He Guzzled 7,000 gallons of jet fuel. Even with his super-saver Tango, he'll have to drive over 57 oceans -- Pacific Oceans to break even.

Its my humble opinion that they should donate 75% of thier money to any cause they care to get involved with since basically we paid them.... so they could be like our spokespeople
I wonder how many actors would be talking then.... if i want to hear them talk about anything, i'll rent a movie

HELL NO!

The worst of them has probably already done more than you will ever do. How much DO you do? What makes a "celebrity"s obligations any different than your own?

And exactly how much cash can a person earn before they become "obliged" under your personal estimation to start giving it away?

Who has done more to help cancer research, the celebrity that talks about it on the "Breakfast Show", and while perhaps encouraging thousands of people to give $5 each, spends none of her own money? Or the man who sends in $10?

If you feel there is an obligation their, then hurry up & become a celebrity and teach by example!

No they are irritating, and they are not news worthy, yet the Media
shoves people like Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie down everyone's throat....

Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Alec Baldwin are functionally illiterate and appeal I guess to the high school crowds..

y do u think if only celebrities adress uill listen...do u listen to only celebrities...even they go wrong...see wat u do and judge urself..thats the best thing u can do it to the world.

I think they do help a great deal. I work for a Nonprofit and I understand the importance of having some celebrity endorse you...because they become the conductor.
They speak to millions where sometimes a small group of people can only be heard by a couple handsfuls.
Our group does not have that yet...maybe someday.
Celebrities do help out a lot.
They do their part by lending Organizations their fame...if that makes sense.
Do you think anyone would have cared about Darfur if George Clooney wouldn't have gone over and made it in the public eye?
Or Angelina Jolie and Africa?
These are all serious problems and money from one individual can only go so far...sometimes the important thing is that a problem is made very public and people notice.
Information is like a wildfire...it spreads and with it comes change.

Celebrities occupy a unique position in our society - they have the resources to travel, to see the world, to experience events firsthand that most of us can only get soundbites from on the evening news or the web. So when Sean Penn talks about the Bush government's lack of involvement in the aftermath of Katrina or the horrors our imperial adventure in Iraq have wrought on the everyday lives of ordinary Iraqis, he's actually been there, trying to save lives in Katrina and touring Iraq. When Brad Pitt talks about poverty in Africa, he's been there and seen it firsthand. This is certainly more than Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and others who like to try and discredit celebrity participation in political debates can say.

The only reason there's any debate on this issue is that celebrities often espouse views that most insulated and ignorant suburban/small town Americans find offensive. So these people try to discredit these views by derogatorily labeling them as 'celebrity views'. There wasn't a big to-do in 2004 when Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson came out in support of Bush, only when Penn, Tim Robbins, and a bunch of others came out in support of Kerry. Call a spade a spade - if you're upset at a celebrity for being a responsible citizen participating in social debates about pressing political matters, have the decency to acknowledge that you just don't like what they have to say, and stop pretending to hate all celeb political participation, because odds are you don't.

And by the way, Leonardo DiCaprio drives a Prius in addition to his work on global warming, Brad and Angelina give millions to AIDS research and poverty in Africa, Bono started the One and Red campaigns... I could go on. Point is, celebs often draw attention to issues that aren't in the public eye, and, by virtue of the firestorm among the right they kick up whenever they enter a debate, ensure that their issue will get an extra two or three days worth of coverage in the major media outlets. Keep it up!

I think it is EXTREMELY helpful when celebrities get involved with causes/problems that affect the lives of humans. They draw in media and the public eye and help draw contributions/money that will aid the victims in need. Sometimes their publicity will deter the people causing some of the problems. I think we need more celebrities to step up and draw more attention to the problems in the world. Millions will stop to pay attention to Angelina Jolie and Viggo Mortenson. Jolie has helped many many people because of her charitable/ambassador work.