In times of crisis, we as citizens expect our public figures and elected leaders to take the reigns on repair efforts and charitable acts. 

Fair enough.

Today, however, the rich and famous have been included in that list and aside from looking beautiful, churning out hit summer anthems and making blockbuster movies, celebrities have now acquired the heavy burden of saving the world too. 

I mean, if Beyoncé can't do it, nobody can...right? 

Whether the crisis consists of hurricanes blistering through the middle of the country or seismic natural disasters crippling impoverished nations, it is a sensible fact that those with power and influence have the unique platform to help others and restore the common good. 

Though the expectations for politicians are obvious, modern-day celebrities have more and more walked the line in terms of positively affecting social restoration, which is a good thing. 

In January, the most recent example of celebrity good deeds happened when Hollywood superstars like Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Jay-Z and Bono banded together to conduct a 2-hour telethon special called "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief." Their efforts generated millions of relief dollars for victims of the earthquake. Similar acts were also taken in 2005 after the destructive effects of Hurricane Katrina, which the Haiti fundraiser was modeled after.

But now with the biggest domestic oil spill in our nation's history currently muddling up the Gulf, celebrity saints are being summoned once again to help fix this "environmental disaster." 

A poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post found that Americans believe the oil spill response rate to be even worse than the embarrassing responsive measures taken for Katrina. With beaches soiled, wildlife and Gulf residents devastated and fisheries permanently fouled, the clean-up brigade could use a few pop princesses and A-list leading men right about now. 

But the celebs are noticeably absent.

Aside from a few empty tweets expressing their condolences, the celebrity world for the most part has barely acknowledged the spill, which has lasted for more than 50 days. In the case of Haiti, dial-in donations and iTunes album sales allowed stars to raise a record-breaking $58 million in a single night, with millions more in the weeks following. 

A rare act of reported fundraising efforts comes from actor Edward Norton, who has set up an online social media platform for donators. John Legend, Lenny Kravitz , Mos Def and Ani DiFranco raised more than $300,000 in Gulf aid during a benefit concert and Stephen Colbert donated $100,000 through his new charity, Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund. But with Hollywood finally starting to trickle in for Gulf aid weeks too late, is it wrong to want, or even expect, more? 

The demands and expectations are completely warranted. 

Sure, cleaning up an oil-stained Gulf is certainly not in the job description of a socialite, but the ability and talents of celebrities to bring awareness and mobilize common people is unmatched. It would be a waste not to elicit their help. 

While the assistance has been relatively sluggish so far, it would be wrong to assume Hollywood just doesn't care about the spill as much. Long gone is the mistruth that unless a PR opportunity is attached, there is no point or expectation for celebrities to be socially and politically entangled. They are making strides. To rationalize the lack of star power surrounding the spill could very well just be the fact that significant loss of human life hasn't occurred with this disaster (like Haiti or Katrina). In all honesty, it's been a mishandled corporate nightmare that exploded onto the national scene. 

Though this may be true, oil spill recovery is still a pressing concern, just not in the same way other tragedies and natural disasters have been. However, because the situation is of environmental capacity, this is a brand new opportunity for celebrities to gain more legitimacy as social advocates. Fighting for this cause will only raise the possibilities of what celebrities can do for the country across a variety of issues, even when the loss of human life hasn't occurred. 

Currently, Actor Kevin Costner is setting a prime example. Whether or not legislators side with him, Costner bravely testified before Wednesday's House committee hearing on Science and Technology to offer oil clean-up solutions, including a recommendation to use oil filtering machinery he has personally financed. This is the kind of activism celebrities are not only capable of (as evidenced by Bono, Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman and more), but are also now encouraged to continue more regularly.   

So when it comes to acts of charity and global relief, what are the limitations of famous faces?

Plain and simple, celebrities are ordained cultural icons with a bounty of ties, opportunities and resources to do good, both politically and socially. If they want to fill those roles as advocates, ambassadors, volunteers, whatever--there are no limits.