Adrian Grenier Wants to Help Connect People to Nature: 'Better People Make a Better Planet'
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Shawn Heinrichs/NowThis
Adrian Grenier is using his platform to help build a better world.
The Entourage alum, 44, joins stars such as Jane Fonda, Matt Damon, Common, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Greta Thunberg in raising awareness about important environmental causes and foundations on Action Planet, a new discovery+ and NowThis Earth series. The show debuts on Thursday, which is Earth Day.
"I think it's always a good idea to bring awareness to the work that's been done out in the world by incredible organizations and human beings who are dedicated to making the world just maybe a little bit better," Grenier tells PEOPLE of the new show, which features his Lonely Whale organization.
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As the world has shifted gears amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Grenier's organization has done the same. The actor says the challenging past year has given Lonely Whale, which aims to eliminate the flow of plastic into the ocean, renewed determination to accomplish its goal.
"We've gone deeper into our core mission, which is to create more connection and intimacy with human beings and nature," Grenier says. "For us, we really care about our audience and human beings, because better people make a better planet."
"We're really focusing on self-care. We see self-care as ocean care," he continues. "We're really doubling down on our people and looking to take care of them, especially in times of anxiety, particularly around the environment."
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Shawn Heinrichs/NowThis
The environmentalist notes that Lonely Whale is "looking to bridge the gap between our everyday lives and the big, beautiful, vast ocean that is sometimes out of sight and out of mind." He argues, "In our minds, [if] you can't connect, you can't care."
Grenier has long used his platform as a celebrity to advocate for climate issues. Over the years, he's supported several foundations and causes including Charity:Water and Global Wildlife Conservation. He was also named a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador in 2018.
Asked what fuels his passion for environmental activism, Grenier says it's a "creative impulse."
"One of our skills as human beings is to imagine and to reimagine what's possible in the world. We're in a really vital time of creation where we can actually cultivate and build a new society — a new world — that's more in harmony with our deeper values," he says. "The world that we know is possible because we can feel it in our hearts. That's what it is for me. I'm a creative person and I'm using my creative life force to hopefully do my part in building a more adjusting, peaceful world."
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First and foremost, Grenier says one way humans can help make the world a better place is to "take care of yourself."
"The earth needs your lifelong commitment to sustainability," he says. "If you burn out, if you shut down, if you overexert yourself or if you become overwhelmed by all of the myriad challenges in the world, then we don't get your support."
Action Planet premieres Thursday on discovery+.
