Whaaa? Naomi Campbell Honored for Renewable Energy Activism
May 6, 2008
April Fool’s Day is long over, so there doesn’t seem to be a good explanation for this. Have we somehow entered an alternate reality in which Paris Hilton is the Secretary of State, Britney Spears has become head of the Midwest Conservative Moms Association and Colin Farrell is a priest? Ecorazzi reports that temperamental British model Naomi Campbell, who’s best known for hurling objects at her assistants, has been given an award for supposed achievements in renewable energy activism.
Ecorazzi has it:
Apparently, a fresh new organization that’s literally nowhere to be found online beyond their website, organized the gala at the United Nations last Friday. Called the International Renewable Energy Organization (IREO), their Diamond Awards for Renewable Energy event was meant as an introduction to the new org and an opportunity to honor those making strides in alternative energy.
Leonardo DiCaprio was listed as an attendee on the invite, but apparently he caught wind of the shady intentions of the honors and jumped ship. Other celebrities like Heidi Klum and Patrick Dempsey did manage to show, but we’re not sure exactly why. Joining Campbell in the honors was Petra Nemcová - but at least this is one famous fashion model that has actually helped address the issue of renewables.
The only thing we can remember Campbell doing is picking up trash as part of her community service (for assaulting an assistant), making plans to develop a casino and hotel on a coastal sanctuary for turtles in Kenya, and wearing animal fur and skins for nearly every photo opportunity. What a brilliant choice!
Seems like IREO is just fishing for publicity by inviting any celebrities that might be likely to show up. Not a great way to start an organization, especially if they want to be taken seriously.
Link [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Isabella Rossellini in a Green Porno? Yep, But it’s Not What You Think
May 6, 2008
If you’ve got fetishes for voluptuous Italian actresses and – um – animal sex, Isabella Rossellini’s latest project is right up your very weird alley. The renowned beauty has teamed up with the Sundance Channel to produce a series of short films entitled ‘Green Porno’, and sadly for most of her fans it doesn’t involve anything most normal people would find sexy.
Ecorazzi has it:
In Green Porno Rossellini dresses in a series of different costumes and impersonates various small creatures getting their groove on. I know it’s a lot to take in so let’s talk through it for a sec. So picture Rossellini…ok got it? Now picture Rossellini flapping her “wings” in…say a bee costume. Now picture Rossellini flapping her “wings” in a bee costume and mating with a cardboard cut out of another bee while her son and his friends play background male bees in the “hive”. No, I’m serious!
Rossellini isn’t just the star – she conceived, scripted and directed the films as well. She said that she’s always had a big interest in animals and thinks that since people are interested in sex, they’ll be interested in the sex lives of bugs. The films are so tame, according to her, that she feels it’s perfectly okay for her son and his friends to star as some of the bees.
Well, she was in Blue Velvet. Costumed animal sex in a series of films entitled ‘Green Porno’ seems like it could very well have come from the mind of David Lynch, so, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.
Photo credit: Sundance Channel
National Geographic, Stephen Colbert Among 2008 Webby Awards Winners
May 6, 2008
“Respected… Trustworthy… Smooth. There’s only one word to describe it: Trustigious.” Stephen Colbert will undoubtedly be making an extra fist-pumping self congratulatory jog around the studio on the set of his Comedy Central show tonight after winning Webby Person of the Year. From The Huffington Post:
As host of cable television’s “The Colbert Report,” Colbert has managed to persuade fans to inject his version of reality into the user-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia while getting Web sites to add enough references to him that a Google search for “greatest living American” at one point brought his Colbert Nation Web site to the top.
In naming him Webby Person of the Year, judges recognized his online fan base and credited him with raising more than $250,000 online for an education charity.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Colbert spoke of how instantly he gets feedback from his audience online:
“The Web is essentially improvisational. … The Internet is the shortest, hardest wall against which your voice will echo back,” Colbert said. “It’s a big place, but, boy, you get an echo back really fast.”
National Geographic Online won the Magazine and People’s Choice categories.
Other winners included Stephen Gondry for encouraging people to remake their favorite films in honor of his movie ‘Be Kind Rewind’, will.i.am for his ‘Yes We Can’ video supporting presidential candidate Barack Obama and The Onion for all around awesomeness.
Link [Huffington Post] + [Webby Awards]
Photo credit: AP Photo/Jason DeCrow
Simon I-Could-Give-A-Shit Cowell Tops List of Celebrity Polluters
May 5, 2008
Appalling and horrendous: not just the singing on American Idol (who watches that these days?) but also host Simon Cowell’s dirty habits that have made him the top celebrity polluter. Simon’s average carbon emissions are 457g/km.
Known for flying around in a private jet, he has said that he prefers to travel that way because, as the Guardian quotes him, “the champagne’s better and you can smoke, which is a rare pleasure these days at $36,000 feet”.
The rest of the list is, in descending order, Jay Kay (this guy has enough money to be a top polluter?), David Beckham (no surprise there), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean? WTF!) and 50 Cent (again, no surprise). Bentleys, Hummers, Rolls Royce Phantoms and Ferraris are among the many vehicles they own. Apparently, one or two mega-expensive luxury cars isn’t enough for one person – they each own an average of four.
Surprisingly, 4 out of 5 of them are Brits, not Americans. I wouldn’t have pegged that! Americans are far more renowned for over-consumption of just about everything, so it seems natural that American celebrities would top the smog-peddler list. Learn something new every day! Time to step up the green education, Great Britain, you’re not looking too good.
Link [Ecorazzi] + [The Guardian]
Photo credit: FOX
Following Celebrity Gossip Isn’t a Dirty Secret if You’re Getting it from Ecorazzi.com
May 2, 2008
I have a dirty little secret (yeah, another one). After hearing a comment by my beloved Tina Fey about the humor on Dlisted.com, I visited and have been hooked ever since. The hilarious and unabashedly offensive commentary can be a refreshing, albeit lowbrow distraction from the gloom and doom of the news that I take in on a daily basis. I must say, though, considering that the posts focus on meaningless celebrity goings-on rather than anything I could call an important issue, it’s not something I can really be proud of reading despite the fantastically funny writing (sorry Michael K).
Ecorazzi.com offers a fabulous alternative for anyone into snarky celebrity news. It focuses on the good habits of celebs rather than their possible STDs, hookups and lawsuits. Read about what celebrities are doing for the environment from driving hybrids to coming out with their own eco-friendly fashion lines, and possibly feel inspired to follow their good habits yourself.
Michael D’Estries, founder of Ecorazzi and an EarthFirst contributor, explains the motivation for running the site:
Celebrity gossip and news is a hot industry in today’s social market. People the world-over are fascinated with their favorite stars: what they are doing, wearing, and driving…and especially who they’re dating. We often overlook, however, how some people are using their fame as a vehicle to highlight and educate on issues important to them.
Ecorazzi exists to help celebrities further their good messages – and to offer the general public a way to follow their favorite celebs and perhaps learn something at the same time. We cover environmental, humanitarian, and animal rights issues as they relate to those in the spotlight. In the spirit of fair play, we’re quick to point how who’s slacking and who’s deserving of recognition.
So if you’re secretly into hearing about what celebs are up to and can’t be seen flipping through a tabloid in the grocery store checkout line, head over to Ecorazzi.com and get your fix, guilt-free.
Eco Celebrity Babies: Setting a Good Example with Earth-Friendly Choices
May 2, 2008
Okay, so the celebrity baby stalking trend is kind of disturbing. Following what adult celebrities do is one thing – it’s human nature, I guess, to follow the example of people in the spotlight, especially those revered as being prettier, richer and more talented than the rest of us. However, their children didn’t ask to be in the public eye and the focus on them, particularly by people who are a little obsessive about it, is just plain creepy.
It’s not all bad, though. Celebs that live a green lifestyle and advocate eco-friendly products and practices in rearing their children set a good example for gossip hounds. Since so many people want to do what they do, seeing them take part in things that are good for the earth is refreshing and positive.
Celebrity gossip sites like Ecorazzi and Celebrity Baby Blog have been highlighting some of the things famous parents are doing to make their children’s lives more earth-friendly. Some of them include a huge increase in the endorsement (or at least acknowledgment) of breastfeeding, babywearing, organic food, cloth diapering, natural toys and choosing organic clothing. Many green baby boutiques have recently gotten a boost from photos taken of celebrities using their goods. It can only be a good thing for the world, as parents mimic the choices of their rich and famous counterparts.
Photo credit: The Little Seed
We Enjoy Modern Carbon-Emitting Life, and Poor Kids Around the World Pay the Price
May 2, 2008
The rich developed world has yet to reign in the habits that are contributing to global warming, and guess who’s paying the price: the world’s poorest children. As wealthy businesspeople, tycoons, celebrities and other privileged people enjoy large gas-guzzling vehicles, trips on private jets and other non-sustainable penchants, children across the globe are seeing their futures grow more dismal as each day passes.
From Reuters:
The UNICEF report “Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility” measured action on targets set in the Millennium Development Goals to halve child poverty by 2015. It found failure on counts from health to survival, education and sex equality.
“It is clear that a failure to address climate change is a failure to protect children,” said UNICEF UK director David Bull. “Those who have contributed least to climate change — the world’s poorest children — are suffering the most.”
The report said climate change could add 40,000-160,000 extra child deaths a year in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa through lower economic growth.
Of course, the richest of the rich aren’t the only ones to blame – we as a society are. The western civilized world continues to flourish at the expense of those less fortunate. The United States and China are at the top of the list, producing far more carbon emissions than other countries and showing no real signs of stopping. While the U.S. is starting to take measures that may help decrease carbon output in the future, China has yet to address the problem, and recent reports show that it’s only going to get worse.
Some of the great times that lie ahead for the poor include climate-change worsened malaria, less food and water to go around and an increase in natural disasters. Naturally, these things will affect the entire world, but as always, the poor will bear the brunt of it, being unable to properly prepare and react.
Since most Americans avoid world news and turn the channel when those Sally Struthers ‘feed the children’ commercials come on, it’s doubtful that this prediction will do any good toward reigning in the excessive lifestyle that has helped create this mess.
Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
‘Green’ Celebs Sting & Trudi Admit They’re Not Doing So Great on the Carbon Footprint Front
May 1, 2008
Environmental experts recently rated Sting’s band, The Police, as the ‘dirtiest in the world’ based on the amount of pollution they generated on their most recent world tour. Yet, Sting and his wife, Trudi Styler, are vocal advocates of awareness about climate change and CO2 emissions. Hypocrites much? Yep, and they admit it, which is the refreshing part. While some celebrities would try to explain it all away, this couple says they know they’re a part of the problem.
Ecorazzi has it:
“Miss Styler tried to shift a little of the blame on to her musician husband, who is 56. ‘When it comes to the carbon footprint, Sting puts his hand up immediately and says ‘I’m a musician and I have a huge carbon-footprint’, she said. She then asked: ‘Are we being hypocritical?’ before seeming to answer the question herself. ‘He has a 750-person crew to bring around the world and it is a difficult challenge. I would like to think that we both work pretty hard for the rights of indigenous people and for the rights of conservation of the Amazon rainforest, but we do need to get around. It’s a difficult one.’”
Styler herself often flies around in private jets and helicopters, and is known for one incident in which she flew a private chef 100 miles just to make her a bowl of pasta.
Michael at Ecorazzi made a good point when he noted that Sting and Trudi would be better off sticking to charitable contributions than preaching about sustainability, since saying one thing and doing another isn’t going to get them any brownie points. My question is, why not cut back? No doubt, with the amount of money these two have, they could afford to make some big changes. While it’s great that they’re willing to admit to their flaws, the pasta incident alone shows they have a long way to go before they could ever be considered ‘green’ role models.
Link [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Lindsay Lohan Lending Her Name to Eco Fashion, Hopefully Getting Some Underwear in the Deal
April 30, 2008
Lindsay Lohan for eco fashion? Hmm. Hopefully the company she’s working with will donate a few pairs of organic cotton panties, cause lord knows she needs something. Sure, she could afford mountains of panties, but a little encouragement wouldn’t hurt.
Ecorazzi has it:
Lindsay Lohan has agreed to become the face of “Visa Swap” — a pop-up shop of sorts happening this summer in London’s Convent Gardens. The whole idea is to get people to bring their old used clothing to the swap in return for Visa points (based on the value of their swag). A few weeks later, people can then return to trade their points in for others’ second-hand items. Any of the clothing that fails to sell will be donated to TRAID, a British organization that raises money to support communities in developing countries by recycling clothing through its network of stores.
Some might say that Lindsay Lohan putting her name on eco-friendly fashion will get more younger kids interested in the concept, but doesn’t that also give kids a mixed message? They see her simply putting her name on something, perhaps appearing at an event or two, and that’s pretty much the limit of her ‘eco consciousness’. Ecorazzi deems it a paycheck rather than anything of substance, and I agree. So, what’s the point?
Link [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Radiohead Says, We’re Not Blowing Green Smoke Up Your Ass
April 29, 2008
Celebrities aren’t generally known for being environmentally friendly, and even the ones who try to put out that image are usually flying luxuriously in private jets with huge entourages. Practicing what they preach really isn’t all that common. Radiohead, however, is showing that they’re more than just talk: they refused to fly from England to the U.S. for a gig on Conan, and luckily the studio accommodated them.
Ecorazzi has it:
Conan O’Brien invited the group to play on his show last night, but Thom Yorke and the gang decided the planet would be better off if they didn’t all get on a plane and fly across the Atlantic for the gig. So instead, they decided to compromise by jamming via satellite — something that aligned perfectly for NBC’s Green Is Universal initiative happening all this week.
Good for NBC for playing along and greenlighting the satellite idea, but ‘Green Week’ shouldn’t be the only time it happens. Let’s hope we see more of this sort of thing in the future, year-round. There’s no reason why bands – or any celebs, for that matter – need to be physically present for performances or interviews, and they can save an incredible amount of pollution that way. Radiohead’s move, for example, saved the equivalent to driving a car for an entire year.
Link [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Flickr user nsanch
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