Archive for Oceana

Aug
02

Celebrity Green Achievers

Posted by: Planet Forward | Comments (0)

Hello and welcome back to the Planet Forward blog on this beautiful summer day here in Toronto. I recently came across an article in The Daily Green that highlighted the eco-achievements of 14 celebrities and what they have done to earn that moniker and thought we’d share a few of them here in case you missed it. We’re going to skip remarking on their looks and the like and just concentrate on how they walk the talk in their personal lives and spread green awareness.

Green celebrity Leo DiCaprio on bike

Green celebrity Leo DiCaprio on bike image courtesy of igossip.com

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo drives a hybrid car, had solar panels installed on his home and rather than taking private planes (which many celebrities opt for to preserve their privacy), he flies commercial. He also wrote, produced and narrated the eco-documentary The 11th Hour and started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation which encourages eco-friendly initiatives.

Rachel McAdams

Fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams applies green sensibilities to every area of her everyday life including her consumption of consumer goods, supporting tree planting organizations, switching her house to green power and unplugging anything with a plug. She also launched a website with two friends called Green Is Sexy which provides green tips that can be applied to everyday life.

Ted Danson

Ted has quietly been green for the past 2 decades through his support of Oceana, a nonprofit which fights pollution in oceans. He took that a step further and began his own nonprofit – American Oceans Campaign which has since merged with Oceana.

Alicia Silverstone

Alicia is a staunch Vegan (she authored the cookbook The Kind Diet) and lives in an eco-friendly house complete with veggie garden. She even created her own line of natural cosmetics.

Green celebrity Woody Harrelson

Green celebrity Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson

Woody is a strict environmentalist and raw vegan and has been long before most knew to care. In 2009 he received an honorary degree from York University for his contributions to environmentalism and sustainability. He also ran the eco-friendly Website Voice Yourself for almost 10 years and once climbed the Golden Gate Bridge to protest a lumber company who was logging ancient redwood trees shutting down traffic for more than 6 hours.

Darryl Hannah

Hannah really does live a green life in her solar-powered home with graywater system and driving a call that runs on biodiesel. Even when she has to travel she makes sure she buys carbon offset credits. To get a better idea of serious Darryl takes being green and caring for the planet, check out her website dh love life.

Ed Begley Jr.

I think Ed is one of the more known green celebs who has been choosing eco-options going back to the 1970’s when he drove an electric car. Ed is also a longtime vegan who lives in a house powered by both wind and solar complete with a bicycle pedal-powered toaster. He is also associated with many environmental groups and hosts the Planet Green show Living With Ed.

Adrian Grenier

Adrian might be known for being self-indulgent Vinnie Chase on Entourage but in real-life his solar-panelled Brooklyn home uses insulation from recycled jeans and boasts many other green attributes. He also hosts the Planet Green production Alter Eco which shows viewers the changes they can make to go green. In the latest Entourage season premier, he even worked in a green reference when too many people driving too many cars showed up to pick him up. Hopefully we’ll see a greener Vinnie this season.

You can read the full The Daily Green list here and thanks for stopping by.

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I can’t really comment on the Yankees post yesterday, I also won’t hijack the post tonight and ask that you visit this page to see a real sporting wonder. I’m here to write the latest Green Gazette and I must confess I’m pleased the Yankees won the rounders “world” series, it certainly makes for a happier Planet (Forward) around these parts. I’ve got a few enjoyable eco-friendly bits of information to share so lets get cracking!

green_computing_iconFirst up, The Washington Post provides a well written article focusing on how to further green up your computer. The emphasis with computers (and many other products) is how eco-friendly they are but we tend to make those considerations when we purchase something brand new. The article makes for good reading as it shows how additional software and hardware can help in a number of ways also. Naturally reducing power consumption is at the heart of most ideas about making computing more green. Within the article a link to this list exists which is one of the most informative aspects – especially this:

Product: Encore Electronics Thin Client
Price: $110
How it saves: Reduce the power you use while computing by having multiple workers share a PC or server’s computing power. One PC can power about 10 Thin Clients; one server can power about 30. A Thin Client uses only 5 watts to 10 watts a year, whereas a desktop uses about 350 watts.

Check out the remainder of the items on the list also, if you own a business you might be very impressed at the difference that you can make.

Here’s a story that I found quite inspiring, especially when I’m behind someone who drives a vehicle that gets <20MPG  and feels that asking their school class to reduce paper consumption by 3% is going to clear the conscience. Walking the talk doesn’t always happen as often as it bike-coastshould and this is sadly sometimes the case with businesses that profess to be green. This story introduces you to a list of entrepreneurs who run green businesses who happen to be attending the Opportunity Green conference in Los Angeles this weekend. The 12 individuals concerned are from the bay area (incidentally the conference looks brilliant) who elected to cycle – that’s bicycle – from San Francisco down to Los Angeles for the conference. That’s 5 days in the saddle, 90 miles per day, not to be sneezed at! The event was titled the Tour de OG and this page explains why this was done, what was involved and who was prepared to burn those calf muscles and ride all the way down the California coast. I’ve made that journey a number of times by car (it’s beautiful) and I envy them having been able to see that lovely coastline at just 15mph on a touring bicycle. (I’m not crazy I used to tour cycle as a teenager) The individuals who took part deserve applause and so do their companies; their profiles are also on the link I provided – some great ideas are in there.

A lot of people don’t pay enough attention to their underwear and they really should. Not wanting to go into to much detail but I’ve seen

Eco friendly undies (men's available also!)

Eco friendly undies (men's available also!)

….oh I better stop there. I’m writing about underwear for a reason of course as I want to turn your attention to Pact Organization. Pact are an interesting company and here’s a brief summary of what they are all about. They do of course sell underwear, really nice underwear but of course there is more to it than that. PACT’s motto is CHANGE STARTS WITH YOUR UNDERWEAR. The purchase of PACT underwear is participation in a social movement: when you buy PACT underwear, you are supporting and encouraging organic cotton farmers, responsible labor practices, and businesses that form partnerships with nonprofit organizations dedicated to positive change in our world. In addition to the ethical supply practices they also donate 10% of all profits to one your choice of causes they are affiliated with. Namely Forest Ethics, Oceana or 826 National – each worthy of your time. Buy some nice fresh stylish underwear – make a difference and see what happens!

Back soon…

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