By Simmone Shah

Copyright time

“Time is running out. Our window of opportunity is narrow. I believe there are true limits to the resources of our planet, but there is no limit to the human imagination and our capacity to solve the biggest challenges of our time,” he wrote.

In Utah, where he resided for most of his life, he successfully campaigned against a six-lane highway that was proposed to run through a canyon, as well as a proposed coal-fired power plant. He co-founded the Redford Foundation in 2006, which aimed to support environmental impact filmmaking and served as a trustee for the NRDC for three decades. In 2009, he testified in front of the House Natural Resources Committee on America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, which called for the protection of Utah’s wild lands.

While Redford might have shied away from calling himself an activist, he was fiercely dedicated to pushing for a world that was habitable for all. “Unless we move quickly away from fossil fuels, we’re going to destroy the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the health of our children, grandchildren, and future generations,” he told the United Nations during a 2015 event. “No country can solve this crisis alone. We’ve just got to do more.”