30 Heroes Fighting to Save Our Oceans

Olympic swimmer and California native Aaron Peirsol knows about water. That’s why Peirsol teamed with the oceanic conservation organization Oceana for the “Race for the Oceans” forum that encourages swimmers and swimming fans to become involved in ocean conservation.

Adrian Grenier, whose acting work includes films such as “The Devil Wears Prada” and the hit cable series “Entourage,” is passionate about protecting the ocean. He created the foundation Lonely Whale that looks to preserve the oceans through three pillars of influence: vital education, impact campaigns, and scalable solutions. Grenier has been involved in the campaign Strawless in Seattle that seeks to remove the use of plastic straws.

Once something piques her interest, Karlie Kloss goes all in. When the supermodel got interested in tech, she founded Kode with Klossy, a program that provides girls with scholarships to coding camp. Her love of baking led to creating a line of desserts. And as an ambassador for Adidas’ Run for the Oceans, Kloss helped raise millions by supporting and encouraging fan participation in the different events.

Growing up in Northern California, Kate Walsh was never far from the ocean, and had she not chosen acting for a career, she might have been a marine biologist. The star of the TV drama “Private Practice” spends her free time advocating for ocean preservation. Walsh swam with sea turtles off the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2009 and appeared in an Oceana public service announcement about the threats to those sea creatures. Other issues Walsh is passionate about are the dangers of offshore drilling and protecting the barrier reefs.

Rock star Sting isn’t afraid to raise his voice in support of something he believes in. He put his famous vocal chops to good use at an exclusive concert in support of Oceana’s Save the Ocean, Feed the World campaign. Oceana posits that with the right policies in place, a fully productive ocean could provide a meal a day for a billion people forever. Sting’s fund-raising gig featured an array of his greatest hits and generated $750,000 for oceanic conservation. Sounds like a good time was had by all.