David de Rothschild’s ‘Plastiki’ About to Set Sail

David de Rothschild and a crew of scientists will be traveling 12,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean on the Plastiki, a boat made entirely from plastic bottles and recycled waste products. The Plastiki will set sail in April and travel through the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, a mess of floating plastic twice the size of Texas located halfway between California and Hawaii.

From Green Upgrader:

“It is our aim to captivate, inspire and activate tomorrow’s environmental thinkers and doers to take positive action for our Planet and to be smart with waste, ultimately we hope to inspire people to rethink waste as a valuable resource. One person’s waste could be another person’s treasure.”

And how green is the boat? Their craft is a catamaran made from 20,000 plastic bottles injected with CO2 packed it into pontoons. The pontoons are strapped to a rigid plastic tube running the length of the hull, and they’ve assembled the whole thing without glues or resins, so when the trip is over, the entire boat is recyclable.

De Rothschild, who was EarthFirst’s #1 Hottest Guy in Green, is a British adventurer, environmental activist and founder of Adventure Ecology, an expedition and education group that raises awareness about climate change and environmental issues.

Check out the Adventure Ecology Plastiki website for more details.

Link [Green Upgrader] + [Adventure Ecology]

Sundance Channel Greenlights David de Rothschild Eco Series

You’ll soon be able to watch EarthFirst.com’s #1 Hottest Guy in Green, David de Rothschild, on the Sundance Channel! The network has greenlighted de Rothschild’s series, “Eco-Trip: The Real Cost of Living”.  The 8-part series will premiere in 2009, and will trace the origins and environmental impact of common everyday objects such as a cotton t-shirt or a gold ring.

Each 30-minute episode will trace the ‘eco-life’ of objects from cell phones to bottles of water from production to disposal, revealing the environmental, social and health effects along the way.  The series aims to educate viewers on the decisions they can make to live a greener lifestyle.  It reflects the Sundance Channel’s growing dedication to creating entertaining and enlightening eco-programming.  (You should be watching out, also, for Josh Dorfman’s television debut of The Lazy Environmentalist!)

As soon as we get the exact debut date for Eco-Trip: The Real Cost of Living, we’ll let you know so you can check it out!

Link [The Sundance Channel]

Young British Adventurer to Sail the Mississippi on Juice Carton Boat

Is it just me, or are there a lot of people deemed ‘British adventurers’ in the press? I rarely hear the term ‘American adventurer’, ‘Italian adventurer’ or, you know, ‘Kazakhstani adventurer’. Rhys Jones, a 22-year-old ‘British adventurer’ is set to sail the Mississippi River on a boat made of juice cartons. Jones is already known as being the youngest person ever to climb the world’s highest seven summits.

From Gizmodo:

Actually, the idea was conceived by his father after he received a book about origami. Naturally, his first thought was to build a 12-foot raft with a wooden cabin and a paper hull lined with juice cartons and sail 3,700 miles down one of the most treacherous rivers in the world.

As mentioned, the father and son team plan to set sail this weekend on what will undoubtedly be a 3-4 month trip down the river. In the end, Rhys and his father hope to recycle the boat and raise awareness about conserving the Earth’s natural resources. So remember kids, not recycling is bad, but risking your life for no apparent reason is still a-ok.

I want to go on an adventure with a British adventurer. Preferably, this one. So, David, if you need a crewmate, you know how to reach me.

Link [Gizmodo]
Photo credit: Metro.co.uk

David de Rothschild, EarthFirst.com’s #1 Hottest Guy in Green

Just as we did for Hottest Girl in Green, Summer Rayne Oaks, we’re posting a tribute to David de Rothschild, possibly the best looking environmentalist ever. Plus, he’s got a British accent. Who could resist?

Though his looks may be mighty drool-worthy, David is far from being just another pretty face and we want to help him get out his message of how important it is to start doing all we can to save the planet. I also wanted an excuse to post gratuitous photos of the young British adventurer. I just. Can’t. Help. Myself.

As we told you in EarthFirst.com’s Top 25 Hottest Guys in Green (#5-#1), David’s pet project is Adventure Ecology, a gateway for kids to learn about global environmental problems. As part of Adventure Ecology, David treks the world to highlight problems like pollution, deforestation and melting glaciers.

David, an heir to one of the world’s most famous banking fortunes, would never be content to just sit back and enjoy his wealth. He told Outside Online, “Some people will always make the assumption ‘There’s a rich guy, a Rothschild; he paid a guide, the world’s fucked, and who cares?’ But I could sit there and do nothing or use my name and do something.”

David is author of The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change. He also wrote the foreword for True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet, due out this September.

David was interviewed by Sprig about his book, his project ‘Adventure Ecology’ and what motivates him to put so much energy into the environment. Treehugger also interviewed David, getting details on what his life is like right now, how he offsets all that travel and his perception of the environmental movement right now.

You can also catch his Today Show interview where he gives his ‘9 quick and easy tips to save the planet’, taken from his book, The Global Warming Survival Handbook.

My favorite thing that’s ever been said about David, however, was when one interviewer called him ‘the real life Steve Zissou’. How awesome is that?