ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

August 27th 2008

Giveaway: LUNA Bar 4-Box Pack Of Yummy Goodness

Filed under: contests — michael @ 4:33 pm

I know we’re a little late in getting today’s giveaway out there, but I wanted to make sure y’all were good and hungry.

Courtesy of Clif Bar, we’ve got their awesome line of delicious snack bars made for women by women called LUNA. These bars are fantastic for knocking down a bout of hunger with a nutritious kick and feature organic and natural ingredients. Also, Luna supports a wide range of sustainable and charitable organizations, including the Breast Cancer Fund and the Safe Cosmetics Campaign.

What’s included? We’ve got four boxes (15 bars each) with such flavors as Berry Almond, Chocolate Rasberry, Nutz Over Chocolate, and Sunrise Vanilla Almond.

Feeling the hunger to win? Just leave a comment below professing your love for Luna and we’ll choose someone at random three days from now. Complete rules and giveaway details are available here.

Don’t forget! We’re still accepting entries for The Complete Line Of Jurlique’s Biodynamic Beauty Range
and the 360 Vodka Swag And A Green Journal From VerdePaperie.

August 27th 2008

John McCain Takes Out His Beef With Amtrak On The Environment

Filed under: not green, transport, travel — parrish @ 3:49 pm

A couple months ago, acting on secret Ecorazzi business, I attended a very exclusive green party here in New York City. The speaker of the evening basically told us that — without a doubt — the world is ending and our civilization is falling. Note to future speakers: world ending prophesies are a total buzz kill at parties, yo! We aren’t however without hope, he assured us. One thing that could make a solid impact on the environment is if we could revive our barely breathing rail system. I’ll tell you this: the speaker was NOT John McCain. See, Johnny Mac ain’t so fond of the old choo-choo business.

In Derrick Jackson’s recent piece in the Boston Globe, he points out that McCain has fought hard throughout his political career to essentially kill Amtrak anyway he can. It started first in 2000 when McCain was chairman of the Senate Science, Commerce and Transportation committee and cut $10 billion in capital funding for Amtrak. Flash forward to 2002 when McCain said that, “Amtrak should be restructured to eliminate its reliance on the American taxpayers and to allow for its privatization.”

When Bush’s fiscal 2006 budget did not include a subsidy for Amtrak and cut $250 million for railroad rehabilitation, McCain was quoted as saying, “I’m glad the president is coming over with a very austere budget.” And of course, on his website under “reforming our transportation sector,” he makes no mention of the evil railroad system.

Is McCain holding the country responsible for never getting that choo-choo train he asked Santa for as a child? Is Cindy afraid of conductor hats? I guess we’ll never know exactly why McCain thinks reviving the rail system is a dead issue, but like our current president (read: presiDON’T) it seems that McCain is already standing firm on his decisions…even if they’re the wrong ones.

Go check out the original article at the BostonGlobe.com.

August 27th 2008

London May Install Trash Bins Featuring Celebrity Voices

Oh, the possibilities...

Filed under: events: uk, green and famous — michael @ 2:59 pm

The next time you go to throw something out in London, don’t be surprised to hear Paris Hilton exclaim, “That’s hot.” The city is considering experimenting with trash bins featuring celebrity voices as a way to get more people to properly dispose of their garbage. Currently, Finland is utilizing the tech for their own public bins. According to one source, a detector in the bin will activate a loudspeaker every time rubbish is deposited and the celebrity voice recording will say: “It’s great that you care about the city. Cool isn’t it?”

Um, yea. And creepy too.

A spokeswoman for the Mayor of London said that he is very interested in innovative schemes “that will encourage Londoners to recycle their rubbish.” The bins in Helsinki are just another example that they think might work really well in the capital.

Right — now the only question is: Who do you think should be featured as one of the voices of trash? Better yet, let’s have a vote!

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August 27th 2008

Australia’s Latest Television Eco Drama Deemed Climate Porn

Filed under: film-tv, movies — michael @ 1:54 pm

We love porn just as much as the next gal or guy — and have a particular soft spot for that which bundles a Prius and Jessica Alba. News out of Australia, however, has got a new made-for-television event being labeled as “Climate Porn”. With a review like that folks, we just had to dig deeper.

Called Scorched (which hilariously reminds me of Tugg Speedman’s Scorcher VI), the film focuses on Sydney in the year 2012 suffering through 200 days of zero rainfall. According to the synopsis, the effects of climate change have created the conditions for a ring of bushfires that surround the city, but authorities don’t have enough water to put them out.

Anyways, despite it’s hyper-realism (with fake news broadcasts, supporting websites) and all-star cast, the show is being panned — mainly because none of what it represents could really ever happen. Hence, the label of “Climate Porn” — defined as “a thrilling spectacle but ultimately distances the public from the problem”. From the article,

“Climate porn is the latest manifestation of infotainment that flourishes in the no man’s land between fiction and nonfiction: dramas loosely based on factual events and the communication of often credible and important ideas and theories sexed up with an extra dose of dramatic licence.”

Some great examples of climate porn listed include The Day After Tomorrow and Soylent Green. We’ll also throw The Happening in there — though we still don’t trust sunflowers.

Hopefully, people will understand that Scorched is more entertainment than documentary — even if the point is to get people to think about resources and how precious they are. Worse comes to worse, Tugg Speedman is only a phone call away to lend a hand…

August 27th 2008

Our Daryl Hannah Radar Is Off The Charts In Denver

Filed under: campaigns — michael @ 11:52 am

Forget Obama, scratch Clinton, and hold off on Biden! This week’s real star popping up all over the Denver area is none other than Daryl Hannah.

Ever since we tagged the actress at a fundraiser for Australian Sugar Glider Squirrels, we’ve been able to keep tabs on her whereabouts — and with the Democratic National Convention in town, she’s out and about pumping the green agenda. So, what are some highlights?

According to Autobloggreen, Hannah will be making an appearance on an upcoming edition of The Daily Show — potentially tonight. Paul Scott from Plug-In America sent in a note saying that he worked with the crew to get Hannah for the interview and talk about electric vehicles. Unfortunately, she may not have come across that well. “I did catch Daryl reviewing her notes and offered some pointers on the eBox since she was more of a bio-diesel proponent and, to my knowledge, not well versed on EVs,” Scott said. “I’m glad it did since Wyatt asked several questions on the specifics of the car. There were a couple of answers that were, shall we say, less than correct, so I cringed, knowing what might be done in the Daily Show editing suite.”

I’m sure they’ll be kind. Heh heh.

Yesterday, Hannah made an appearance at the Denver Civic Center to speak on behalf of The Backbone Campaign, an organization that “promotes progressive change”. “You guys are our solution superheroes driven by passion and compassion and common sense,” Hannah said.

Earlier she also was present at the Greenfrontier Fest promoting the idea that Colorado can serve as the hub of a “New Energy Economy,” one built around wind turbines and solar panels. Reports indicate that she was one of the few to actually walk about the park facilities in nothing but bare feet. Groovy.

We’re not sure if there will yet be any changes in the speaker line-up for the DNC to get Hannah up on stage, but we’re holding out that it’s possible. At the very least, they could setup a screener for her latest flick, Shark Swarm.

August 27th 2008

Queen Wants Kate Middleton To Get Involved With Animal Rights

PETA is standing ready with a lettuce bikini and matching red pepper bottoms

Filed under: animals — michael @ 11:52 am

As far as Britain’s Royals are concerned, Kate Middleton is looking more and more like a shoe shoo-in as Prince William’s fiancé. It’s only a matter of time — and while the clock is ticking, the Queen would like Middleton to stop waiting for the proposal and actually do something with her life. Like, you know, get involved with a charity or something.

See, Middleton’s been out of work for quite some time — and besides her heavy social life — doesn’t have much on agenda. This, of course, worries the Queen mum as she’s concerned the public misgivings on Kate’s current lifestyle will reflect poorly on the family. She feels that animal rights or a children’s charity would provide a “safe” role that — and get this — would not draw comparisons to the late Princess Diana. Interesting.

Now obviously, Middleton would have a bit to clarify if she joined up with a group like PETA. Last year, the organization slammed her for participating in “blood sports” during an outing with Prince Charles to hunt deer. Still, PETA has also been know to give second chances, and I’m sure they would warmly embrace a change of heart from someone with as high a profile as Middleton.

As one article noted, animal charities may not be as “safe” as the Queen suggests — especially considering the rather risque photo shoots we’ve seen in the past. Perhaps the most humorous suggestion would be for Kate to join the UK Hamster Rescue organization. They’re so poor that they cannot even afford to be a registered charity — something a potential royal could most certainly help with.

Either way, the Queen Mother will be watching…

August 27th 2008

Sundance Channel Picks Up Sustainable Reality Television Show

Filed under: buildings and construction, film-tv, television — parrish @ 11:33 am

Ah, reality television! Some blast the genre as proof the end is near, while others swear by its rich, guilty goodness. Me, well I’m somewhere in the middle. In general I think it’s a dangerous thing, but there’s something to be said for its educational and sociological potential.

Consider for a moment the good that might come from a show like Architecture School– a new reality series on the Sundance Channel. Architecture School teams up twelve students from Tulane University with URBANbuild and Neighborhood Housing Services as they construct a low-cost sustainable home for a family returning to New Orleans.

The house they’ve dreamt up is a two-story, 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom house that features Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs. SIPs are constructed by sandwiching foam insulation between two structural skins and are not only cool sounding, but also durable, energy efficient, and cost-effective. According to the Structural Insulated Panel Association, “The average SIP home saves nineteen times the energy it took to make the EPS insulation in the first year of installation.” I’ll take two!

The show premiered on Wednesday August 20th and will continue running through October 2nd. So if you aren’t totally skeeved out by “reality” television, tune in tonight and watch what happens.

via: inhabit.com

August 27th 2008

The Green Quote: Daryl Hannah Redefines The American Dream

Filed under: events, green and famous — parrish @ 10:54 am

“People need to remake the American dream. The three Rs — recycle, reduce, reuse — can use two more: repair and reject.”

- Daryl Hannah speaking at the Green Fest in Colorado.

via: modegreen.com

August 27th 2008

Michael Bolton And Nicollette Sheridan Break Up, We Reminisce

Filed under: campaigns — michael @ 10:44 am

With news that Michael Bolton and Nicollette Sheridan have ended their engagement, we thought it only fitting to remember the good times — like when they both posed for a charity photo with Sheridan’s ass hanging out.

The proceeds for this ad campaign went directly to The Hole In The Wall Gang founded by Paul Newman.
Never before has the wording of a charity tied to such an image led to so many humorous jokes. We only hope those kids benefited greatly from Sheridan’s desire to show off her rear end.

We wish them both luck!

August 27th 2008

Pamela Anderson Gets Surprised By Chicken-Eating Reporter

Filed under: events, not green — parrish @ 10:43 am

Sometimes people suck! We were reminded of that yesterday with the whole anti-Obama electric car hoax, and today we are once again presented with human suckage with this story.

I write about Pamela Anderson a whole lot because I sincerely believe in her goal to bring animal issues to the mainstream. Pam has preached long and hard against the horrors of KFC and is constantly going above and beyond to help promote the vegetarian lifestyle. What could be greener than that?!

Anyway, our little Baywatch beauty found herself in a bit of pickle this week while in Australia promoting her new reality show Pam: Girl On The Loose. Here’s the deal: during a press conference an eager “reporter” approached Pam, pulled down his shorts and asked her to sign his red underwear. Ok, kinda creepy, but I ain’t mad at ya about it. Then, after Pam politely agreed to sign her name on the man’s underwear, the rude “reporter” pulled out a KFC chicken leg from his pants and began eating it. Pam was obviously unhappy and told her manager, “This is what happens. See, I create this image and this is what happens.”

Dude, seriously! I don’t get people! Hey if you don’t agree with Pam’s politics that’s totally cool…you go be you! BUT she isn’t hurting anybody so why be a frigin jerk about it. We here at Ecorazzi feel Pam’s pain and would like to offer our digital shoulder for her to cry on. Keep on rockin’ your stuff, Mrs. Anderson. We think you’re great!

via: I’mNotObsessed.com