Last night: The Oscars. Even if you are not a fan...you know the hype on the 79th annual 'best-in-film' awards showcase. Of course, the perception, the reality and the impact of the Oscars can be debated from now until next year, but the reality is the show IS a showcase and not just for fashion and film. Many of the celebrities -- aware of the sheer number of eyes glued to the screen -- also make subtle and not so subtle statements and this year the common theme was it's cool to be green.
For that reason, I offer a breakdown of the pioneer celebrities. The veterans of principled living in a glamorous industry (both Oscar-inspired and other).
ROBERT REDFORD: 30 years on board of Natural Resources Defense Council, founder of Sundance Preserve, winner of 1993 Earth Day award, 1987 United Nations Global 500 award. In April 2007, launches weekly three-hour slot called "The Green," dedicated entirely to the environment, on his Sundance TV channel.
LEONARDO DICAPRIO: started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to promote environmental issues, drives a hybrid car, currently writing and producing a feature length documentary on global warming called "11th Hour."
BRAD PITT: co-creator of design competition to build 20 affordable, reduced energy, environmentally friendly homes in New Orleans.
STING: founder in 1989 of Rainforest Foundation to protect rain forests and their indigenous peoples.
HARRISON FORD: vice chairman of Conservation International, has a Central American ant named after him, won the Global Environmental Citizen Award in 2002.
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND: offsets CO2 emissions produced by their multi-city tours by funding projects such as tree plantings and wind turbine construction.
AL GORE: former U.S. vice president whose climate change documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" was Oscar-nominated, also nominated for 2007 Nobel Peace prize.
PIERCE BROSNAN: focuses on marine mammal and wetland protection, headlined Natural Resources Defense Council campaign against effects of Navy sonar on whales, awarded 1997 Green Cross International Environmental Leadership Award.
CATE BLANCHETT: plans to equip Sydney Theater Company building with solar panels, rainwater collection systems to make it completely eco-friendly. Sydney home is fully powered by solar energy, donates to Forest Guardians.
EDWARD NORTON: launched the BP Solar Neighbors Program in 2003 which matches each celebrity purchase of a solar energy home system with a solar installation in a low-income family home in Los Angeles.
DARYL HANNAH: arrested in June 2006 for staging a 23-day tree sit-in during a bid to preserve an urban community garden in Los Angeles, traveled across America in 2005 in a biofuel car, home is entirely off-grid.
RICHARD BRANSON: Virgin Group chairman, a former global warming skeptic, who in September 2006 pledged to spend all profits from his airline and rail businesses (estimated $3 billion over 10 years) on investments in biofuel research and projects to tackle emissions.
ALANIS MORISSETTE: given 2003 Environmental Media Association Missions in Music Award; campaigns against oil drilling in Alaska; has solar panels on home.
KT TUNSTALL: ran her US tour bus on biodiesel fuel, performed at eco-friendly "Golden Green" at the 2007 Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles.
JOSH HARTNETT, ORLANDO BLOOM, MAROON 5, KT TUNSTALL: promoting 2007 Global Cool initiative to cut carbon emissions by encouraging people to turn off TVs, mobile-phone chargers and other energy-draining gadgets.
JAMIE OLIVER: celebrity chef, plans to power his Cornwall, England, restaurant by wind turbines.
NEIL YOUNG: 2004 North American tour fueled entirely with biodiesel.
WILLIE NELSON: singer, co-partner in the Willie Nelson Biodiesel Company.
BARENAKED LADIES: run their tour buses and trucks on biodiesel fuel.
Not to be left out are the celebrities that opt for hybrid cars (rather than gas-guzzling limos or hummers): Alanis Morissette, Bill Maher, Billy Joel, Cameron Diaz, Carole King, Charlize Theron, Danny DeVito, David Duchovny, Jackson Browne, Julia Roberts Kirsten Dunst, Larry David, Patricia Arquette, Ted Danson, Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson.
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1 comment:
Great, praise those where praise is due but your inclusion of so many well meaning 'stars' whose have gone the whole hog to convert to biofuel neglects the issues that surround the use of food stuffs for fuel see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5369284.stm for a brief overview of the problems. I'm sure that you can find many more supporting articles that discuss the long-term chaos that a significant change to biofuel will entail. Anyway, keep up the good work, great site.
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