Filed under: Movies, TV and Books , Activism

This was a big year for films with an eco-message, with ” Avatar ” at the top of the list. Even though the awards have been given out, and Avatar was passed over for the big nod, it’s still worth your time to check out the many eco-minded films that were nominated for an Academy Award this year.

Disney’s film “Up ” dealt with gentrification and urbanization. According to Grist , ” The Fantastic Mr. Fox “, nominated for Animated Feature Film and Music (Original Score) is an eco-film because of its anti-meat message. I say go see it because the scenes of the animals eating are the funniest thing on the big screen this year. Also: Clooney.

Treehugger did a great round up of the nominated documentaries, all of which have riveting stories and film-making, plus a wide variety of green perspectives:

” The Cove ” — a horrifying expose of the annual Japanese dolphin slaughter, see the trailer above. It won for reason!
” Food Inc .” — a scary (and maybe a little bit hopeful) look at where our food comes from, and how we can change the way we eat.
” The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers ” — in 1971 Daniel Ellsberg’s gave the New York Times a classified document about the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Politics have been different ever since.
” Burma VJ ” — In 2007 the people of Burma staged a series of anti-government protests, sometimes known as the “Saffron Revolution.” Information is tightly controlled by the government in this closed country, but journalists continue to struggle to share the story with the world. The secretly shot footage will give you chills.
” Which Way Home ” — unaccompanied children are often invisible victims of the immigration difficulties between the US and Mexico.

This should fill up your Netflix queue for the next couple of months! Oscar’s Nearly Green Year originally appeared on Green Daily on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds .   Permalink  |  Email this  |  Linking Blogs  |  Comments

More:
Oscar’s Nearly Green Year

Related Posts

• 5 Endangered Species and How You Can Help
• Turtles Can’t Find a Vacation Spot Anywhere
• Alaska sues in attempt to get polar bear off endangered species list

a

Oscar’s Nearly Green Year

Changes over a large area are often hard to see. This can be especially true when it comes to forests where incremental forest loss often goes unnoticed until it is too late. A new website and report by the World Resources Institute seek to change this and allow people to visualize the trends and drivers of change affecting southern forests.
read more

View original post here:
New Mapping Website Tracks Changes and Threats to Southern U.S. Forests

Related Posts

• 5 Endangered Species and How You Can Help
• Turtles Can’t Find a Vacation Spot Anywhere
• Alaska sues in attempt to get polar bear off endangered species list

a

New Mapping Website Tracks Changes and Threats to Southern U.S. Forests

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.—CMC Media Inc., publisher of the Green Building Journal and host of GreenBuildingPro.com, a social media community for green building professionals, has announced Green Building Expo 2010. The online conference and exposition, which will take place May 19 to 20, 2010, is available free to attendees anywhere Internet connectivity is available. According to Conservation International, online events can eliminate more than 300 tons of CO2 per 1000 attendees. Green Building Expo is a virtual conference and showcase with wide-ranging exhibits, conference sessions, panel discussions and keynote presentations by Jack Canfield, originator of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series and by the organic Architect, Eric Corey Freed, author of “Green Building for Dummies” and “Sustainable School Architecture.” Because of its online nature, people, who would never be able to participate in such an event, can participate at their leisure from the comfort of their home or office.

Read more:
Online Green Building Expo 2010 Set for May 19 to 20

Related Posts

• ASHRAE Opens Green Building Standard Committee to New Membership
• New Green Product Association Announces First Founding Members
• Top 5 Eco-Friendly Stars for 2010

a

Online Green Building Expo 2010 Set for May 19 to 20

Go here to read the rest:
LEED-Pursuing Hotel Rising Across from Denver Convention Center

Related Posts

• ASHRAE Opens Green Building Standard Committee to New Membership
• New Green Product Association Announces First Founding Members
• Top 5 Eco-Friendly Stars for 2010

a

LEED-Pursuing Hotel Rising Across from Denver Convention Center

Go here to read the rest:
Xylem Introduces BAMBU Bath Furniture Collection

Related Posts

• ASHRAE Opens Green Building Standard Committee to New Membership
• New Green Product Association Announces First Founding Members
• Top 5 Eco-Friendly Stars for 2010

a

Xylem Introduces BAMBU Bath Furniture Collection

Leilani Munter: Racer and Eco-Activist. Photo: Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Sure, everyone is complicated, in one way or another, but few people live a paradox as dramatic as Leilani Munter, race car driver (zomg, so energy-consuming-evil!) and eco-warrior (sound of tires squealing; what?!)

The 34-year-old Munter has been racing cars professionally since 2001, when she started with stock cars. She then became just the fourth woman to race in the Indy Pro Series. She’s making a career in a traditionally male industry, and carving a nice niche for herself.

There must be something in her nature that draws her to activism and challenging the stated order of things, because she is also a vocal advocate for all things green, a vegetarian, and has a degree in biology. She also adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs. Pretty cool way to put your actions — and money — where your mouth is!

Even though she hasn’t updated her blog, Carbon Free Girl , in a while, green topics actually make frequent appearances on her racing site, LeilaniMunter.com. She has sponsors like Eco Academy, a green job training academy that helps people learn to do “green collar” jobs. All of the ads on her site are for green products or services.

She’s also an ambassador for the National Wildlife Federation and is politically active in both climate change and clean energy legislation. It’s entirely possible you’ve read her green posts on the Huffington Post.

Oh, and her sister is married to Bob Weir, yes, that one, from the Grateful Dead , and she was a photo double for Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Yeah, she’s cool. I still have some issues with the idea of a “sport” dedicated to burning fossil fuel, but if she’s the future, then we have a reason to consider cars in general, and racing in particular, in a more nuanced light. Leilani Munter, Delightfully Green Paradox and Eco-Hero originally appeared on Green Daily on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds .   Permalink  |  Email this  |  Linking Blogs  |  Comments

Read more:
Leilani Munter, Delightfully Green Paradox and Eco-Hero

Related Posts

• Surfing Big Green Waves
• January Jones: Shark Protectress
• Clinton Global Initiative Starts Today

a

Leilani Munter, Delightfully Green Paradox and Eco-Hero

Continue here: Valley Forge Donates Sheeting to Haiti Earthquake Survivors

Related Posts

• ‘CRUDE’: A Documentary by Joe Berlinger
• Matt Damon and the Sahara Run
• FUEL - a film about oil

a

Valley Forge Donates Sheeting to Haiti Earthquake Survivors

Juicy, ripe tomatoes! Photo: Abid Katib/Getty Images

It’s election season again! That’s right, time to vote … for the sexiest vegetarian next door, that is!

PETA is all about the sexy superlatives, whether it’s vegetables, celebrities, or regular folk who live down the block, don’t eat meat, and are spinach-fueled sexual dynamos. Anyone can (and oh, they do ) enter by submitting a photo and then hoping the great unwashed masses of PETA followers vote for you.

The voting goes on between now and March 12th, and the prize includes a trip to Hawaii. There are already over 600 entries for the ladies, who have a leader board that runs the gamut from “giant silicon implants and tattoos” to “giant silicon implants without tattoos”. But the real race is happening with the sexiest meatless dudes next door .

The dudes show way more variety than the ladies, as exemplified by the current top four:

Emilio , of the “regular guy wearing a Vegan t-shirt type” — this category also includes a sleeveless t-shirt version — is in the lead with 2,340 votes. His stump speech: “Vegetarian for nine years, Vegan for two years, Activist for life.”
Tommy is clearly a self-hating vampire who found some kind of Red Bull vegetarian substitution. He’s got the artsy vote locked in with his black and white photo, but is currently running a distant second with 1,565. Tommy has “over a dozen pets” and there’s a serious implication that snakes, spiders or ferrets figure prominently in that menagerie.
For fans of “Jersey Shore,” we present Stephen, who is literally Oompaloompah orange (I hope all that self-tanner is cruelty-free) and is in third with 1,533 votes. Stevarino asks for your vote with: “I fist pump to animal rights.”
And then there is Cassio , representing for all of the guys who submitted a shirtless profile picture that looks like a still from a self-produced, low-budget erotic film. Apparently chest hair and beards sell, because he’s got 1,413 votes.

I really do encourage anyone feeling veg-curious to check out the other 180+ entries . It’s like a walk through your local natural food coop, with an extra serving of guys who wear vests.

Does this get your competitive juices flowing? It’s fast and easy to enter — just upload a photo on the PETA site. Remember to keep it clean, they do curate the pix before they’re posted, to protect the innocent from images of “meatless” sausage. Ahem .

And what if you are sexy, and dying to win a trip to Hawaii, but you’re not a vegetarian? PETA can fix that! Their (free!) vegetarian starter kit is prominently featured in the top navigation , right next to links for “Past Winners” and “Submit Your Photo”. It’s Time to Pick Your Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door originally appeared on Green Daily on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds .   Permalink  |  Email this  |  Linking Blogs  |  Comments

More here: It’s Time to Pick Your Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door

Related Posts

• No Related Post

a

It’s Time to Pick Your Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door

Filed under: Celebrities , Activism , Alternative Energy

Could Alec Baldwin play Al Gore? Photo: Dario Cantatore, Getty Images

You know who I think of when I think of nuclear power experts? Just about anyone besides Alec Baldwin.

Foolish me! It turns out that Jack Doneghy’s real life alter-ego is something of an expert on this controversial energy source.

Baldwin has been involved with anti-nuclear citizen groups since 1996, and he’s using his bully pulpit on the Huffington Post to air his educated and grave doubts about the safety, security and viability of nuclear.
Actually, he doesn’t have any doubts — he’s gravely certain that nuclear power is a filthy mistake that can only end badly. With descriptions of mismanaged plants, environment destroying by-products, and the costly, energy-intensive process required to make nuclear power, Baldwin creates a compelling argument that nuclear power is anything but green or eco-friendly.

In the posts, Baldwin also makes a couple of allusions to Stewart Brand, all but calling the Whole Earth catalog creator, and original Earth Day participant, a traitor to the cause.

Brand, who had been a life-long opponent of nuclear power, recently announced that he had switched sides, saying that when you consider the threat of climate change and the evils of burning coal, nuclear power is the obvious solution .

It’s clear that Brand’s about-face, plus the White House’s pledge of substantial tax dollars to support the next generation of nuclear power, has galvanized Baldwin to speak out. In addition to the two Huff Po posts he’s already written, he’s promising at least one more exploring the health hazards of nuclear power.

I’m hoping that Baldwin’s next trick is to star in a biopic of Alpha Green Al Gore . Would that be great casting or what? And in a hilarious bit of insider-joke casting, I also nominate Elizabeth Banks , who is currently guest-starring on 30 Rock as a super-conservative TV host and love interest to Jack Doneghy, to star as Tipper Gore.

If that doesn’t get people to watch a film about climate change (and possibly the evils of nuclear power) then nothing will! Alec Baldwin Schools Us on Nuclear Power originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds .   Permalink  |  Email this  |  Linking Blogs  |  Comments

Read the rest here:
Alec Baldwin Schools Us on Nuclear Power

Related Posts

• ‘CRUDE’: A Documentary by Joe Berlinger
• Matt Damon and the Sahara Run
• FUEL - a film about oil

a

Alec Baldwin Schools Us on Nuclear Power

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—NSF International announced that its new draft standard for Commercial Furnishing Fabrics (NSF Draft Standard 336) is now open for public comment. The Commercial Furnishing Fabrics standard is one of eight sustainability standards and certification programs NSF International has developed. These standards provide manufacturers an independent, third-party means of demonstrating their commitment to the environment and avoiding accusations of greenwashing. NSF International has also developed standards and certification programs for sustainable carpet, flooring, business and institutional furniture (BIFMA e3), and green chemicals. NSF Draft Standard 336 for Commercial Furnishing Fabrics provides pathways toward sustainability by establishing measurable criteria for multiple levels of achievement and performance.

Read more:
NSF Opens Comment Period for Furnishing Fabrics Sustainability Standard

Related Posts

• No Related Post

a

NSF Opens Comment Period for Furnishing Fabrics Sustainability Standard