Adrian Grenier, environmental causes, Goodwill Ambassador, United Nations, World Environment Day, World Oceans Day
June 5, 2017
by Carla Hay
Entertainer/activist Adrian Grenier (known for his starring role as Vincent Chase in “Entourage”) was officially named a United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador at a ceremony held at the New York City’s Empire State Building on June 5, 2017—World Environment Day. Hosted by Canada, World Environment Day 2017 has the theme “Connecting People to Nature.” During the ceremony, Grenier (who co-founded the Lonely Whale Foundation to inspire empathy for marine species) also lit the Empire State Building.
In a brief speech, Grenier said that having the ambassador position is a “great, great honor,” and he thanked his mother (who attended the event) for being his earliest inspiration to “make the world a better place … She taught me to care about myself and the world outside myself.”
Grenier, who was raised in New York City, also talked about how the city has been an inspiration to him and his environmental work: “It’s a place where we’re forced to interact with one another and rub elbows and connect. We can’t do anything without radical collaboration.” The ocean “has taught me what it means collaborate—all the infinite drops of water that come together as a powerful force that is the ocean. We have to unite as individuals behind science and reason and facts and empathy and passion to become a sea of change for the better so that we can be good leaders for our children.”
After the lighting ceremony, I spoke with Grenier for this exclusive interview:
What do you think is the most important thing you’ve accomplished with the Lonely Whale Foundation?
One thing I’m very proud of is the work I’ve been doing with Dell. We launched an amazing virtual-reality experience. It gives people the opportunity to go swim with our lonely whale and see what our whales encounter on a daily basis, from ocean-noise pollution to plastics pollution. It’s a way to get people who don’t have a direct connection to the ocean to have a sense of empathy for the sea.
Also, we’ve launched a program that actually retrieves single-use plastic before it has a chance to get to the ocean and use it in new packaging. There’s been so much we’ve been doing together, and I’m really proud of that relationship.
You’ve been very vocal about being against using plastic products, such as plastic straws and plastic bags. What can you say about any progress you’ve seen in reducing plastic use in society?
I think we need to re-think how we use single-use plastics. Until governments take the moral stance of eliminating single-use plastics from our lives, we have to make those choices personally. Single-use plastic straws are not necessary. We have other alternatives: paper, glass, metal and our own lips.