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November 18th 2008

Environmental Media Awards: The Good, The Bad, And The WTF

Tracy Metro reports from inside the 2008 EMAs.

Filed under: events: la, honors — tracy @ 3:29 pm

Pulling up to the Environmental Media Association Awards and seeing a separate valet lane, exclusively for hybrids (love that), told me the night was going to be environmentally sound… or so I thought.

Here’s the good, the bad and the “you’ve-got-be-be-kidding-me†of the night.

The good:

Allow me to start with all of the A list celebs in attendance! Oh yeah, that part was better than merely good; that part was GREAT! We saw the Tiffany blinged out Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the lithe Maria Bello, the EMA Futures Award winning Rosario Dawson… oh, the list goes on and on – Lance Bass (FYI, it’s OK to vote YES for him on Dancing with the Stars), Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, Sharon Lawrence, Amy Smart, Wilmer Valderrama, Jamie King, et al! But, of all the celebs in attendance, this Razz writer favors Jeffrey Tambor who emceed the night. He was utterly charming with his spot-on sense of humor that played to the very liberal crowd (read: Obama-ites).

In addition to loving the hybrid valet sitch, most of celebs arrived eco-style, in a hybrid car provided by the Econation car service. Shout out to Ben Bloch, the managing partner!

Also good was the food! There were some delish dishes provided by a few local joints such as 8 oz which served up organic mini-burgers (OK, so I ate 2 of them!), Campanile brought their root veggies while Akasha got us in the mood for Thanksgiving with a classic T-Day dinner plate. Not sure how I missed some of my fav spots (Real Food Daily and Jar), so I’ll just blame it on my second mini-burger (who knew how filling they could be?).

Another best part of the night was the silent auction! Who doesn’t love to buy crap you don’t need especially when the economy is in the crapper?! Listen, I never met a silent auction I didn’t love and I’ve got to say that this one was loaded with goodies. Did you see that killer Pasquini espresso maker? My friends, making coffee at home = less gas going to the Coffee Bean, no use of paper cups at said Coffee Bean, all while you control the free trade beans! Don’t underestimate how green that espresso maker really is!

Click here to continue reading about the not-so-good parts of the evening…

November 18th 2008

Dr. Phil Teams Up With The American Red Cross For Holiday Card Campaign

Filed under: green and famous — parrish @ 12:03 pm

I’m not sure if I’d ever choose Dr. Phil as my therapist, but I totally think he’s on to something with this new PSA! 

The good doctor is teaming up with the The American Red Cross to collect holiday mail for the troops stationed abroad. In the video Dr. Phil says, ” You can bring joy to the lives of American service men and women this holiday season simply by signing your name.”

Through the campaign the Red Cross is hoping to collect one million cards, but to do that they need your help! Check out the video below and then visit RedCross.org for more information!

November 18th 2008

Anderson Cooper and CNN Search For Humanitarian Heroes

Filed under: film-tv, television — parrish @ 11:53 am

As much as we adore famous faces here at Ecorazzi, we also know that it doesn’t take a movie contract and an entourage to be a star! There are incredible people doing awesome deeds all around the world and Anderson Cooper and CCN will honor them this week with CNN Heroes – An All-Star Tribute.

This past February, CNN launched its search to find the most outstanding humanitarian and received 3,700 nominations from 75 countries! Since then, philanthropic leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Magic Johnson, George Lopez, and Queen Rania Al Abdullah have narrowed down the search to 10 finalists.  We’d like to congratulate the following people on all their great work: 

Tad Agoglia,Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Carolyn LeCroy,  Anne Mahlum, Liz McCartney, Phymean Noun, David Puckett, Maria Ruiz, Marie Da Silva and Viola Vaughn.

The final winner will be chosen by the public and voting starts tomorrow! To read more about these remarkable people and cast your vote, visit cnn.com/heroes!

via: looktothestars.org

November 18th 2008

Shannon Elizabeth Is An Animal Avenger

Filed under: animals — parrish @ 11:21 am

Everyone loves a superhero, right? Well Shannon Elizabeth, best known for her role as Nadia, a sexy foreign-exchange student in the film American Pie, has shown her superhero powers by starting a non-profit animal rescue organization, called Animal Avengers.

The Animal Avengers rescue homeless animals, pay for veterinary care, plus find foster and adoptive homes for animals. Because they are a no-kill organization, AA is dedicated to finding a home for every single animal they rescue. WOW! 

To help fund the organization, Shannon sells autographed photos and official Animal Avengers gear. She even raised $50,000 for the group by participating in a celebrity poker match. 

If you’d like to get some fancy-pants Avenger gear and help support a great group, visit AnimalAvengers.com and get ready to put on your best superhero face. 

via: greendaily.com

photo credit: prphoto.com

November 18th 2008

The Green Quote: Rise Against Band Members Talk About Veganism

Filed under: food & drink, interviews, magazines — parrish @ 10:37 am

“In the last few years it’s gotten so that every restaurant you go to has a veggie burger or a veggie whatever, but yeah, people still think you’re weird. You don’t eat cheeseburgers, what the hell is wrong with you? So yeah, I think the only misunderstanding is how easy it is to be vegetarian and how healthy it is and how some people just don’t want to eat flesh. And the whole animal rights thing too. The way that burger ends up on your plate is pretty ugly. That burger may look fine on your plate, but if you go back and look where it came from, it’s disgusting, I think, really. A lot of people that are die-hard meat eaters think it’s crazy, but those are also people I think who are also good at turning a blind eye to where their food came from. I can’t really do that. I have to know what I’m eating, know what I’m wearing. That’s just my personality type. People can say what they want, but meat’s also awful for the environment. It’s a greater cause of emissions than cars.”

- Rise Against discussing veganism in an interview with Recoil magazine. To read the whole interview, check out their website!

photo credit: prphoto.com

November 18th 2008

James Bond Star Daniel Craig Has Bacon Flown To Italy

Filed under: food & drink, not green — parrish @ 10:30 am

It’s one thing to like bacon, but it’s quite another to LIKE bacon. Case in point, a one Mr. Daniel Craig (aka James Bond) requested that British bacon be flown to him in Italy while shooting Quantum of Solace. 

Besides contributing to the reckless slaughter of animals, Craig is totally pissing off mother earth. Seriously? Flying in bacon from England? 

After hearing the news, the UK chapter of PETA decided to send the 007 star a treat of their own – veggie bacon! On their website, PETA says: “To be a hero on and off screen, we think Mr Bond should save animals’ lives and give the veggie variety of bacon a go! What’s more, he might not be aware that eating meat can make you sluggish in the bedroom: because meat can contribute to clogsing the arteries to all of a person’s organs, it can lead to a higher risk of heart disease, strokes and even impotence – a problem unlikely to affect the fictional James Bond.”

While we definitely would rather see Craig eating the fake stuff, flying in products from Britain to Italy seems mighty wasteful. What do you think Ecorazzi readers? Is it worth the CO2 emissions to prove a point? Chime in and share your thoughts!

photo credit: prphoto.com

November 18th 2008

DiCaprio Doesn’t Want To Come Across As Patronizing On The Environment

Filed under: green and famous — michael @ 12:13 am

As you can tell from the below quote, Leonardo DiCaprio is growing a bit wary of coming across as “preachy” on the environment. You can almost hear his frustration in trying to find a balance.

“Yes, I have solar panels and all that sort of stuff,” he told the UK Independent. “However, the more I learn about the subject matter, I also realise that people find it sort of patronising. They feel like they’re being told what to do when somebody like me talks about the fact I have solar panels. Not everybody can get solar panels and not everyone can drive a hybrid car. And, to me, it’s not about putting blame on anyone or telling anyone how to live. It’s just about saying, ‘Let’s all be aware of these issues’, so the next time we buy something we realise where that product comes from or how that company does business. It’s just a publicity game for the environment at the end of the day.”

Well said. Check out the rest of the interview here.

November 17th 2008

Knight Rider’s KITT To Get A Green Upgrade

Filed under: film-tv, television — michael @ 11:00 pm

Knight Rider, the modern bastardization of the beloved 80’s David Hasselhoff series, is going green for NBC’s “Green Is Universal” week. We already know that the current KITT (voiced by none other than Val Kilmer) sports some solar panels and is based on the Ford Mustang. Beyond that, producers were rather vague as to any of the “fuel-efficient” qualities the next-generation vehicle could boast. This was pretty disappointing — especially when the 80’s car used liquid hydrogen in a turbine engine that got 100 MPG. Seriously. Wikipedia doesn’t lie.

It looks like Wednesday night, however, we might see a new fuel-efficient KITT hit the road. Here’s the preview from NBC:

Might we see another hydrogen-powered KITT? How about we drop the Mustang and go with an all-electric Fisker Karma?

November 17th 2008

Cusack And Harrelson’s 2012 Flick Gets A Trailer

Filed under: film-tv, movies — michael @ 8:05 pm

The apocalyptic movie 2012 — starring John Cusack and Woody Harrelson — has just received its first trailer. Based on this early impression, it looks a little bit like eco-disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow; which I guess makes sense since Roland Emmerich is the director behind both films.

“I play a guy who’s been talking for a long time, the whole world thinks he’s crazy,†Harrelson said earlier this year of his character. “But he’s been talking that there’s gonna be hell to pay for what’s been going on ecologically and everything.â€

Other actors due to star in 2012 include Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, and Chin Han. Check it out below:

November 17th 2008

The Green Picture: Lauren Bush Rocks FEED Bag At Book Launch Event

Filed under: thegreenpicture — parrish @ 1:31 pm

Eco-gal Lauren Bush is shown here holding her now famous FEED bag at the book launch for Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference – a book written by Kenneth Cole consisting of 86 essays and conversations by individuals who have been inspired to do their part to effect meaningful social change. Get your copy of Awearness today!

photo credit: prphoto