ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

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

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

Barack Obama Discusses The Dangers Of Modern Factory Agriculture

Filed under: green and famous — parrish @ 11:53 am

Granted I was only born during Reagan’s presidency, but it’s hard for me to recall hearing a president discuss modern agriculture (see also: factory farming) in any sort of productive way. 

President Elect Barack Obama recently chatted with New York Times contributer Joe Klein about food policy and the dangers of our current system. Obama said: 

“I was just reading an article in The New York Times by Michael Pollan about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it’s creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they’re contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs.”

I just love that Obama is publicly acknowledging that factory farming contributes more to global warming than all our methods of transportation combined! What do you think about Obama’s point of view? Is he on the right track? Chime in and share your thoughts! 

via: blogs.tnr.com

November 17th 2008

Celebrity Chef Paula Deen Delivers 25,000 Pounds Of Meat To Food Bank

Filed under: food & drink, green and famous, not green — parrish @ 11:33 am

Paula Deen — the Food Network star who serves up dinner with a side of angioplasty — recently traveled to Washington D.C. to team up with Smithfield Foods and donate 25,000 pounds of ham to the Capital Area Food Bank.

If you’re not familiar with Smithfield Foods, they are the largest pork manufacturer in the world and kill almost 30 million pigs each year. According to PETA, “Smithfield plays with pigs’ genetics and pumps the animals so full of drugs that most of Smithfield’s pigs are very sick, many can barely walk, and about one in five die before they can be sent to slaughter.”

About the donation, Paula said: “Listen to this. Do you know how long that 25,000 pounds of food is going to last? You know hunger is a constant thing.”

But here’s the thing: what Deen doesn’t realize is that supporting companies like Smithfield is actually counter-productive to ending world hunger.  It’s been estimated that if Americans reduce the amount of meat consumption by just 10%, it would free up enough land to grow 12 million tons of grain -enough to save the millions of children and adults starving to death on our planet each year.

So while we appreciate the fact that Paula wanted to help feed the hungry, sometimes it’s more than the thought that counts — especially when the thought involves 25,000 pounds of environmentally-destructive food.

via: news8.net

November 15th 2008

Leonardo DiCaprio Admits He’s A Total Eco-Geek

Filed under: green and famous, interviews, newspaper — michael @ 9:44 pm

The UK Times Online has scored another great interview — this time with Leonardo DiCaprio. The recently-turned-34 year old actor chats up his excitement about Barack Obama’s win, his roots as an actor, and his love for animals. Here are some highlight:

On Barack Obama winning the 2008 Presidential election:

“That was a present and a celebration all rolled into one,†he says, explaining that he has met the president-elect. “I feel proud to be an American again. He has more charisma than any actor I’ve ever met and he also cares about the environment.â€

On his love of green technology:

“I am an eco-geek and like to endorse new technology,†says DiCaprio. “We have to find an alternative to fuel which is going to run out. It is only a matter of time. Thinking about the future got me started in the first place.†As well as his Toyota Prius, his latest car is equally in tune with the times - a BMW H7, which runs on hydrogen.

On his love for watching animals in the wild:

“I am regularly able to escape to watch wildlife in Africa and South America,†he says. “Looking at lions, elephants and zebras in the wild is a passion. When watching whales, it brings it home what a wonderful world it is out there. I’ve had pet dogs, frogs and even a lizard. Animals have always been a big passion for me and I remember, at one stage, wanting to be a travel agent so I could get out in the world.â€

Check out the rest of the great interview here — including a look at what’s currently playing in DiCaprio’s DVD and CD player.

November 15th 2008

Razzi Snap: KT Tunstall Joins Campaign To Fight Homelessness

Filed under: film-tv, food & drink, green and famous, movies, music — michael @ 3:47 pm

Singer KT Tunstall has joined a Scottish campaign to eradicate homelessness by 2012. Launched by charity Shelter Scotland, the initiative is asking people to name which song reminds them of home. KT chose “Getting Some Fun Out of Life” by Billie Holiday. The top two choices so far are Dougie MacLean’s Caledonia and 500 miles by The Proclaimers. Anyone else find that Proclaimers song now reminding them of The Office? [Read more...]

Organizers for the Jane Goodall Institue Awards ceremony last week probably should have paid closer attention to the type of vehicle actor Pierce Brosnan arrived in. After all, the former James Bond was being honored that night for his commitment to environmental education — so why have him arrive in a Lincoln Town Car Limo? For his part, Brosnan says he drives a hydrogen-powered BMW H7 at home — but couldn’t anyone have borrowed a Prius or something for the event? [Read more...]

In a recent interview, Ellen Degeneres what her favorite part of Las Vegas is. Her response? “Well, the buffet…I’m vegan so I’ll just have salad,” she joked. “But still, it’s still a bargain.” [Read more...]

The new green-themed Bond flick, Quantum of Solace raked in an impressive $27 million on its opening day on Friday. For comparison, 2006’s Casino Royale only managed $14 million. Eco-villains are truly in vogue. [Read more...]

November 14th 2008

The Green Quote: Dennis Kucinich On Global Warming and Diet

Filed under: food & drink, green and famous — parrish @ 11:46 am

“I don’t think there’s anything that’s taboo in terms of talking about global warming. People need to be aware of the implications of the food that we eat and also of how the food is raised. Having said that, I have never been in the position because of my own choices that I insist that anyone else has to eat that way.”

- Dennis Kucinich discussing global warming and how it relates to what we eat. As many of you know, Dennis is basically a super-awesome dude and we totally think he’s on to something! To read the rest of the interview, visit VegNews.com!

November 13th 2008

Famous Olympic Wrestler Sushil Kumar Promotes Vegetarian Lifestyle With PETA

Filed under: green and famous — parrish @ 3:21 pm

For those out there who think that vegetarianism is for skinny hipsters with smelly hair, Sushil Kumar just might beat you up! And who is Sushil Kumar? Only an Olympic bronze winner wrester, people!

Kumar is teaming up with PETA to promote the vegetarian lifestyle and propagate the cause of animal protection. Sushil said, “I am a vegetarian myself and I want to send out this message to everyone that vegetarians are powerful, they have the stamina. Look at me, I defeated non-vegetarians from America and Kazakhstan in the Olympics. So, you can see that vegetarians have a lot of strength.â€

You need only look at famous vegan athletes like Kumar, NFL star Tony Gonzalez or Ultimate Fighting Champion Mac Danzig to realize that vegetarianism packs a serious punch!

If you want to find out more about how to bulk up on a vegetarian diet, visit veganbodybuilding.com!

November 13th 2008

HSUS’s Goes Cruel Vs. Cool With Nigel Barker, Agyness Deyn And More

Filed under: events, events: nyc, fashion, green and famous — parrish @ 11:51 am

What did you do last night? Oh really, yeah that sounds cool. Me? Oh, I just partied hard with some amazing fur-free friends from the HSUS for their fourth annual Cruel Vs. Cool Ceremony – an event celebrating compassionate fashion and general fur-free awesomeness.

Wearing my proud NO FUR pin, I navigated through the crowd of beautiful people and munched on some delicious vegan hors d’oeuvers while listening to the DJ talents of super-model extraordinaire, Agyness Deyn. Dear Agyness, will you marry me?

Because gawking is creepy, I took a break from staring at Ms. Deyn and chatted it up with New York City’s very own discerning brute, Joshua Katcher and vegan shoe designer to the stars – Elizabeth Olsen. Olsen is the next big thing in vegan shoes and you’re gonna be hearing a lot more about her on Ecorazzi very soon.

Chatting all things vegan can make a boy thirsty, so I headed to the bar where I ran into the talented crew from SuperVegan.com and promised, promised, promised to attend one of their Vegan Drinks events before the year was over! We also gave love to some of our friends from the Farm Sanctuary and dished about their SUPER EXCITING winter event coming up in just a few weeks (more on that later today). Before the evening was over we made sure to say hello to America’s Next Top Activist, Nigel Barker, who’s screening of A Sealed Fate we’ll be attending next week! You guys have to check that out! Finally, I made a quick call to Chloe Jo, the General of Girlie Girl Army ,and gossiped about the whole Maggie Gyllenhaal fur controversy. Oh, jeez!

I’m don’t mean to be cheesy here (because we all know cheese ain’t vegan), but I gotta a little vaclempt being around so many compassionate people who had all come together for something truly important – a commitment to fur-free fashion.

If you still think fur is cool, check out the HSUS’s fur-free website and learn why wearing fur is never, ever, ever, ever, ever okay! Happy winter, everyone!

November 12th 2008

The Green Quote: Chrissie Hynde Won’t Share Catering With Meat-Eaters

Filed under: food & drink, green and famous — parrish @ 11:37 am

“I would love to headline something, ’cause then I don’t have to share the catering with meat eaters. I love working with other bands, and I certainly don’t mind supporting another band. I don’t have to be the headliner; that’s never been an issue for me at all. I’m just more concerned about sharing the catering.”

- Chrissie Hynde tells Billboard.com all about her meat-eaters dilemma. Are you a veggie who has a meat-eating spouse, roommate, or partner with whom you must share omnivorous sustenance? Chime in and tell us how you deal with it. Perhaps we can give Chrissie some tips!

via: 411mania.com