Casey Affleck, Ben's hotter younger brother who is about to appear in the film Oceans 13, tells fans why he shuns meat and why he chooses not to support an "industry that makes unhealthy products by torturing animals."
Above is the original ad which will not air on network television. PETA and Casey have been forced to create a toned-down version of the PSA that the networks will agree to air. Why pussyfoot around it? You might as well know where your food comes from.
Everyone today is talking about Carbon Footprints: how to reduce them, how to offset them, and how to calculate them. Making things energy efficient is a top priority for everyone from Rupert Murdoch to former President, Bill Clinton.
The William J. Clinton Foundation has developed a plan that brings together a coalition of 16 of the world's biggest cities, five banks, and various companies and groups that have pledged to invest a ton of money into buildings that need to be made more energy efficient.
"If all buildings were as efficient as they could be, we'd be saving an enormous amount of energy and significantly reducing carbon emissions."
For more information about the Clinton's Extreme Makeover - Green Edition, please click here.
Last week, Rebecca from ecorazzi told you that Guster would be headlining this year’s Earthfest in Boston, brought to you on the Hatch Shell on May 26th. For those of you who have been listening to Guster ever since they got their start at Tufts University just outside the city, this is a major homecoming!
Fellow ecorazzi contributor, Nina Braten and I plan to spend the day at Earthfest and will have a ton more to report back. It seems as though Guster is sharing the bill with some other amazing acts, including KT Tunstall, Mat Kearney, the John Butler Trio, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, and last, but certainly not least, Vega4.
Vega4, who’s 4 members come from wildly different backgrounds and musical tastes, hail from London, where they met some years ago and built a bond based on their shared interests in music. They’re also sponsoring an awesome contest on YouTube where they’re asking folks to use their song, Life is Beautiful as the soundtrack to their own green music video.
From the guys in Vega 4: “We suggested to our record label that they should sponsor a Life is Beautiful contest to inspire everybody to try and make a difference. We know that many of you are creative people, and with that in mind, we’d love to see what you can do. Use Life is Beautiful as the soundtrack to your videos and slideshows and upload them to the Vega4 group on youtube.com. We’ll watch all the videos and slideshows and decide which one we like the best. The winner will win two tickets to the Live Earth show at Giant’s Stadium this summer.” Here is my favorite from the group…
All you aspiring green music video directors, GET GOIN! Click here for more information on how to submit your own! And for more information about Earthfest, please visit Earthfest.com.
On the eve of Earth Day, Laurie David and Sheryl Crow decided to take their case of Global Warming to the top. While at the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night, the two were introduced to Karl Rove. What transpired was nothing less than lunacy and venom from the White House adviser. I present to you a snippet of David’s account in her own words,
“We asked Mr. Rove if he would consider taking a fresh look at the science of global warming. Much to our dismay, he immediately got combative. And it went downhill from there. We reminded the senior White House advisor that the US leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country.
We felt compelled to remind him that the research is done and the results are in (http://www.ipcc.ch/). Mr. Rove exploded with even more venom. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Mr. Rove launched into a series of illogical arguments regarding China not doing enough thus neither should we. (Since when do we follow China’s lead?)
In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, ‘Don’t touch me.’ How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unphased, Sheryl abruptly responded, ‘You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.’ Karl then quipped, ‘I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.’ To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, ‘We are the American people.’”
What a pompous ass. Instead of an intelligent conversation, we found an individual suddenly stuck in a corner having to answer some hard questions. Poor little Rove. His manners and “representation” are about as good as his rapping.
Whole Foods is asking you to participate in their Whole Earth Weigh-in: 30 Way in 30 Days. It’s all part of Earth month and they want you to measure and reduce that carbon footprint of yours. In fact, they’ve even asked some celebs what they think about the program.
Lauren Bush wants in, also saying, “The thing I always try to do beyond recycling when I can, and also turn of the water and lights when I’m not using them. But the biggest thing, which is now becoming more accessible in food and in other industries, is to buy green and become a conscious consumer!”
Sandra Bernhard looked through all of the 30 eco-tips (pdf) that Whole Foods recommends and chose her fave. It’s #19, Switch to Organics.
Finally, Vanessa Carlton pulled out all of the stops and offered up tips of her own! Saying:
I always turn lights off when I leave a room.
Unplug chargers when not using them.
When possible I bring a cloth bag to the grocery store.
Also, take the subway!!!! It’s quicker than a cab and you’ll sit there knowing you are saving our planet little by little.
If you get espresso to go, always forgo the top and paper ring. If you add those up everyday you end up saving sooo much paper.
In general I try to buy paper products that look brownish and hearty. Like oatmeal. Crisp white paper is a thing of the past.
Whole foods is my food haven. I always buy organic. They carry great cleaning products too. I trust their sources totally.
I wouldn't trust Vanessa Carlton's grammer skills, but whatever. Everyone can't be green and smart.
Been awhile since we dropped by the Worn Again site, so we missed their foray into leather, or E-leather as they call it. We are told that it’s fabricated from the leather shavings which normally make up 30% of a tannery’s waste. Normally it gets landfilled, but Worn Again found a supplier who interlinks the fibres of these shavings, without reverting to adhesives, to make a shoe grade reconstituted leather that is sold by the roll. Apparently this allows for less cutting wastage (~5%) when compared to traditional hides (18-40%). And what’s more the production process is almost a closed loop, retaining 95% of its process water and even feeding its energy needs with converted waste. E-leather is found in the Womble sneaker, seen above, which also reuses t-shirts and jeans, together with a recycled rubber for the sole. ::Worn Again.
Don't wait for Britney Spears to pick up a pair. Be an evolutionary groundbreaker yourself. You'll be amazed at how quickly your friends catch on.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and his family are currently in New Orleans volunteering for Habitat For Humanity. They’re even blogging about their work on GreenDay.net!
Penelope Cruz and Halle Berry are the latest celebrities who are thinking of adopting. Halle’s spoken out against Angelina Jolie’s adoption preferences though, and is planning to adopt an American child. She says, “There are lots of children that need a home in America. I feel we have forgotten about our own kids. With Brad and Angelina it’s whatever works for them.”
Matthew Bellamy, frontman of English rock band Muse, expressed some reservations about Live Earth recently. He points out that it would really defeat the event’s purpose if the performers and celebrities will fly in on private jets. Don’t worry about it, Matt. Hopefully, the organizers have already considered that detail.
Stars in Nigeria made an appearance as contestants in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The theme for the episode was “Give Your Part To Charity” and the participants all raised enough to give back to Hope Foundation, among other causes.
Kylie Minogue is the current face of H&M’s latest beachwear collection called ‘H&M Loves Kylie,’ appearing in a series of ads for the clothing group. This particular summer campaign is also aiming to do some good. Ten percent of its earnings will go to WaterAid.
“WaterAid has a long and valued relationship with H&M and is delighted to be involved with the ‘H&M loves Kylie’ line. The money raised from this will make a tremendous difference to the lives of people in the countries where we work. Every £15 raised is enough to help one person gain access to a sustainable supply of clean water, adequate sanitation and basic hygiene education,” says WaterAid’s Chief Executive, Barbara Frost.
The prices for the 15-piece collection is presently given in pounds, but Paul Hetherington of WaterAid informs us that the swimwear line is being released in H&M stores around the world. The photos from campaign all look very bright and since it’s throwing its support behind WaterAid, we’re hoping the collection does really well.
Green is totally the new black! Everywhere I turn nowadays, there's a green this or a green that. Just yesterday I wrote about Leo on the cover of Vanity Fair's Green issue, and then there's Fortune magazine's Green issue and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover of Outside magazine for their Green issue. Phew!
When it comes to learning more & doing more to make your life greener and getting ready for Earth Day, the choices you make in the food you eat every day can make a tremendous impact. There are lots of food choices that you can make that are better than pesticide-laden conventional, hormone-injected factory-farmed food; today we'll concentrate on a few of the benefits and strategies for eating local.
1) Why eat local? TreeHuggerpartnered up with EarthTalk to explain the ins and outs of the environmental benefits of eating local. 2) Here are 10 more reasons to eat local along with a handy PDF for easy printing and distribution. 3) Local Harvest is one of the most comprehensive, complete resources for find local food near you. 4) One of the difficulties of eating local is dealing with the changing seasons (and generally smaller harvests in winter) but it's possible to eat local all year 'round. 5) Among its many benefits, local food is more nutritious, even in the winter. 6) Local food is becoming big enough that it was even featured on the cover of Time magazine. 7) If finding time to get to the farmer's market each week proves difficult, joining a community supported agriculture (CSA) co-op like this one is a good alternative. 8) Eating local food can seem restrictive in terms of ingredients, but there are good examples of local food menus that can make a seemingly small amount of choices go further.
To learn more about making Earth Day-friendly food choices, check out our How to Green Your Meals guide and stay tuned for more tips as the big day approaches.
After receiving some criticism for not including Leonardo DiCaprio in their last Green issue, Vanity Fair decided to feature the high-profile environmental advocate front and center in the current issue. Who knew a gig on Growing Pains would pay off this big?
The cover page of the magazine will show DiCaprio with a polar bear cub, Knut, who will be digitally added to the actor's snap. The three-and-a-half month old bear's snaps were clicked by photographer Annie Liebovitz at the Berlin Zoo in Germany. Vanity Fair's special issue aims at encouraging readers to take needful steps to ward off ecological problems.
They say you can't shop your way to a cleaner, healthier environment. I say whateva, chumps -- I've got a green mall to get to, organic T's to ogle, and a credit card burning a hole in my pocket.
A T-shirt that feels good to wear that you can also feel good about? That's what more than 500 Gap stores in North America are now offering with organic cotton T-shirts for men. The shirts were introduced in response to growing customer demand and as part of the company’s commitment to finding innovative, socially responsible ways to make its products.
In order to preserve the natural colors and qualities of the organic cotton fiber, Gap’s organic cotton T-shirts have not been chemically dyed or bleached. Each shirt includes a hangtag that indicates it is made with “100 percent organic cotton.” Certified organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that are harmful to the environment. The T-shirts come in three styles – crew-neck, v-neck and tank – and retail for $16.50.
Everyone today is talking about 
