LOVE ANGELES PROJECT®

DiCaprio Brought Solar Power To ‘Inception’ Set

 Source: Ecorazzi - Back in May, we caught wind that Warner Bros was starting to use solar-powered generators to add a bit more green to film sets like Inception and other projects. Not surprisingly, is who pushed for that to happen.

“A lot of this movie (‘Inception’) was made with solar power,” Leonardo DiCaprio said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “It’s the first movie I got to do with solar power. I had a conversation about it with Alan Horn, who’s the head of Warner Bros. The generators that we had on the set were all powered by solar energy. It’s going to be a big conversion to do stuff like that every day, not just in making movies but everything in the world.”

Those generators Horn eventually settled on are made by Pure Power Distribution. As I mentioned in my previous post, such a rig not only tracks the position of the sun for optimal efficiency, but also outputs 600 Amps/72,000 watts of “pure sine wave power with no noise, and no emissions”. That’s enough to keep about a ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each day – along with the other 40 carcinogens found in diesel exhaust.

“We do a lot of things in the world that are wasteful,” Leo added. “We keep talking about this all the time. Hopefully, fingers crossed, with these small steps, we’ll make that transition on a much larger scale in the future.”

Adrian Grenier Spawning Bluefin Tuna Awareness Via New PSA (Video)

Source: Ecorazzi - Remember the days when tuna fish sandwiches were a simple yet reliable lunchbox staple, sharing neck-in-neck popularity with peanut butter and jelly on white? Somewhere along the line, America transitioned its appetite for the academic lunch hour brain food into a full throttle love affair for its sushi-fied incarnation with specialty restaurants quintupling from 1988 – 1998, contributing to the ultimate decline of an entire species.

Today, our global culture’s insatiable hunger for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (attributed to 40 years of overfishing) has been responsible for a population decline of 97%, which is hard to imagine given their hefty 1500 pound size. As if our appetite for the highly sought after protein source weren’t enough of a threat to its existence, bluefin tuna typically spawn throughout the spring and summer months in the Gulf of Mexico, which as everyone knows, spells doom for the species now that it is tainted with oil. In fact, scientists estimate that billions upon billions of bluefin larvae were likely in the gulf at the time that the Deepwater Horizon spill first occurred and though they have a strong sense of smell (and can probably detect oil), their Gulf spawning instinct is probably stronger.

Entourage star Adrian Grenier – a longtime proponent of various ecological causes – has just filmed a public service announcement for Oceana entitled Going Fast which sheds light on the plight of bluefin tuna. Citing his refusal to “sit back idly while this amazing predator is being pushed to the brink of extinction”, the 34 year old acknowledges that “fishing bluefin at alarming rates” has resulted in a critical time for them that we must address through real world action.

There is a ray of hope for the fish since the Center For Biological Diversity filed a request for endangered species status back in May, but the process will likely take years of analysis and consideration before a final decision is reached. In the meantime, actors such as Grenier using their high profile status to educate the public on environmental concerns such as this is one step in the right direction. Learn more about what you can personally do to help imperiled marine species such as bluefin tuna via Oceana’s website.

Sperm Whales Fight Global Warming

Source: Ecorazzi - Commercial whaling is at the forefront of our thoughts due to the possible reversal of the moratorium on whale hunting at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting this month. Looking past the inhumane slaughter of innocent animals, another ding against industrial whaling has been revealed thanks to a study published in the British biological science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the study led by Australian biologists shows that Southern Ocean sperm whales are a key component in the fight against global warming. While it was previously believed that whales contributed to climate change due to the carbon dioxide which is released when they exhale, new data shows a bigger picture, one that includes the feces of the giant marine mammals.

Through fecal fertilization—which can be simply explained as whales pooping, the waste contains iron, the iron is used by marine plants near the ocean’s surface, and thanks to photosynthesis those plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere—the Southern Ocean sperm whales are, in a roundabout way, removing an estimated 400,000 metric tons of CO2 each year.

If we look at the numbers, the whales in the southern waters are said to release 200,000 metric tons of CO2 through respiration while their fecal fertilization removes 400,000 metric tons of CO2, leaving us with the overall elimination of 200,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. That 200,000 metric tons is equivalent to 41,841 passenger cars, according to the EPA.

An important note included in the study points out that prior to industrial whaling, those numbers could be multiplied by 10.

The report reminds us that, when left alone, everything on this planet works in an incredible synchronized system. When humans get involved—say through the mass slaughter of whales—things go awry and the system is thrown out of balance. One has to wonder where we would be with our climate change worries if we left the whales alone in the first place.

The fate of all whales will be determined through votes next week at the IWC’s annual meeting in Agadir, Morocco.

New Jackson Family Performing Arts Complex

Source: ecorazzi - With the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s untimely death right around the corner, whether you were a fan or not, it’s still hard to believe that his candle has truly burned out.

On June 25th, fans will be able to access the Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s cemetery grounds where the King of Pop was laid to rest along with other fellow entertainment icons like Nat King Cole, John Ritter, Sammy Davis Jr., David Carradine, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, George Burns, Ed McMahon, Walt Disney, and Jean Harlow – the only hitch is that they won’t be allowed anywhere near his actual mausoleum.

In the meantime, the music legend’s father, Joe Jackson, revealed that a $300 million Gary, Indiana-based Jackson Family Performing Arts Center and Museum is in phase one of construction and following its estimated 3-5 year completion, additional global satellites will be built.

Sited on 300 acres of land, the arts center will document the rags-to-riches story of the Jackson family and feature every conceivable entertainment facility including on-site transportation, accommodations, housing, a conference center, television studio, concert hall, movie theater, nightclub, retail shops/restaurants and even an eco-friendly golf course.

If you consider all of the water and chemicals typically used to keep turf alive and kicking, the seemingly innocuous pastime of putting a few balls ends up being an eco no-no.

Hopefully, the Jackson family will emulate what Justin Timberlake did with his Audubon-certified Mirimichi course by sticking with native grasses, using organic fertilizers and rallying around the good old fashioned yet effective practice of tackling weeds with a little elbow grease!

Robert Redford Says Oil Spill Should ‘Wake Us Up’

Source: ecorazzi.com -  Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has released a video featuring actor, director, and environmentalist Robert Redford about the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster called “The Fix.”

Redford, an NRDC trustee for more than thirty years, encourages Americans to move toward clean energy. He says, “The economic consequences are going to spread over the whole country but maybe we need it to be that bad to wake us up and put pressure on these companies and the government.”

During the five minute video, Redford reflects on his time as a youth when he worked in the oil fields and he reveals his frustration when energy companies claim to be conversationalists. The actor also talks about the devastation that occurred from past oil spills including the Exxon Valdez disaster.

The 73 year old says that despite the disaster we will continue hearing that offshore drilling is necessary—bringing energy and creating jobs—“but it’s not the truth.”

“I think the oil spill is going to at least help us get to the truth and then what? I think it’s time for American people to take charge of their own livelihood and say let’s stop this, let’s move to a clean energy policy which is available to us.”

Individuals are encouraged to tell their senators to pass energy legislation that will prevent future oil spills by sending a letter from the NRDC website.

“If there’s a lesson in all of this, it’s that we have to get off of our dependence on oil,” says Redford.

Olivia Munn Disappointed In President Obama

Source: ecorazzi - 'Attack of the Show' co-host Olivia Munn recently spoke with Pop Tarts about her disappointment in President Obama’s decision not to pursue the legalization of gay marriage and her role in PETA’s “Boycott the Circus” campaign.

Munn told Pop Tarts, “It’s ridiculous and I’m really upset that Obama, as a black man, and all the things that African Americans have gone through after being oppressed, has said ‘you’re less than’ and cannot stand up and say marriage is a union between two individuals who love each other.” The Iron Man 2 actress believes that everyone should have the ability to exercise the same rights.

The 29 year old, who is not only passionate about gay rights but also animal rights, wanted to address her PETA circus ad, clearing up the rumors which claim she was nude during the photo shoot.

“I actually didn’t get naked,” said Munn. “I haven’t gotten naked ever. I was wearing a tank top and boy shorts but I am comfortable with it appearing that way. There is nothing wrong with the naked body, but I wasn’t naked on the set. I wouldn’t be comfortable.”

The 29 year old is currently working on a story which shares humorous accounts of her life in Hollywood including tidbits from housesitting for her first agent to meeting “douchey people” in L.A.

New Zealand Treehouse Wins Webby Award

Source: ecorazzi - An onion-shaped treehouse built in the forests north of Auckland, New Zealand has come away a surprise winner in the 2010 Webby Awards.

The Yellow Tree House campaign for Yellow (formerly Yellow Pages) won for the Telecommunications section of the Webbys. The unique campaign challenged amateur entrepreneurs to build a restaurant 30ft up in a redwood tree using only the resources found in the Yellow directory listing. The winner was “an accordion player” named Tracey.

The architecturally beautiful treehouse was completed in 66 days, employing more than 60 businesses. More than 2000 people dined at the treetop restaurant during the month it was open. It also received worldwide media attention and mentions on more than 10,000 websites. “We’re absolutely thrilled,” said Kellie Nathan, Yellow’s Marketing Director, about the Webby. “It’s completed a full year of awards for the Tree House campaign and I think in particular the Webby Award focuses on the website.”

“We had a lot of blog comments and a lot of engagement by people across the country and internationally who were following that campaign, and so I think the website design was a key element in why we won.”

To check out the site, jump here. According to the New Zealand site TechDay, the owner of the land where the tree house was built is now seeking resource consent to use it for private and corporate functions.

Sting And Trudie Styler Talk Rainforest And Eco-Living

Source: ecorazzi - 21 years ago, how many people were actually aware of what was and continues to go down in the Brazilian rainforest? Exactly!  Most of us had no clue about the sheer destruction caused by deforestation because it wasn’t occurring in our backyard and the media rarely educated us.

In 1989, Sting and his wife Trudie Styler first learned about this important issue and decided to take action. The couple was so moved by the plight of indigenous tribes that they established the Rainforest Foundation in an effort to raise funds to enable indigenous Kayapo Indian tribes to map and protect their territories and obtain basic human rights and legal protection from big industry.

One of the main ways that Trudie and Sting continue to achieve the financing goals for their foundation is by holding a yearly Rainforest Benefit Concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, which this time around featured musical performances from Lady Gaga, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Debbie Harry, Nile Rogers, Shirley Bassey…and naturally, the former Police front man himself.

Ms. Styler recently sat down with Katie Couric and said that although they’ve managed to raise close to $30 million to date, sadly it isn’t enough to protect tribes from the destruction triggered when huge corporations like Chevron stake their claim.  Still, Trudie feels proud that she and her husband are making a concerted and consistent effort to make a tangible difference, not only by running their charity, but by taking other steps to offset their acknowledged “massive carbon footprints.”

2010 Cannes Film Festival Going Green Thanks to Nature

Source: Ecorazzi - Back then, the screenwriter’s strike ended up turning the usually star-studded event into nothing more than a role-call list of winners for a 30-minute NBC special. This year’s Cannes Film Festival is facing an even more formidable party-crasher: Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

According to reports, the volcano is working on producing a new round of plane-grounding ash that’s already forced France’s Nice airport to cancel some flights. From the LA Times, Canceled flights could mean that participants in the world’s largest film festival would arrive days late, or scrap their plans altogether, leading to a potential dearth of media and stars in a festival typically littered with them.

In other words, this year’s Cannes Film Festival just might have a lower environmental footprint than usual — which, as we’ve covered before, has often been a tough thing for organizers to pull off.

‘CRUDE’ Director Told To Cough Up Footage

Source: Ecorazzi - Just in case you’re not already familiar with award winning documentarian Joe Berlinger’s much buzzed about film CRUDE, it explores what to date has been the absolute largest landmark eco-lawsuit in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle at $27 billion between 30,000 native rainforest inhabitants and America’s oil conglomerate Chevron (which at the time of filming was known as Texaco).

Acquiring video footage that detailed both sides of the case throughout a three year period, Berlinger was able to highlight what happens when the never ending quest for oil blinds corporations (and oftentimes even renders them apathetic) to the human and environmental casualties left in their wake.

The Ecuadorian plaintiffs accused Chevron of destroying their stomping grounds by systematically polluting and contaminating multiple ecosystems for 30 years during their exploration of Lago Agrio oil field  (and even dumping billions of gallons of oil-polluted water back into the rainforest), triggering a comprehensive array of health ailments among the rainforest’s residents including birth defects, assorted cancers and leukemia.

Chevron had an entirely different perspective, insisting that they were not responsible for the contamination and claiming that a bribery scheme was being engaged to take advantage of their financial position.

Even though the documentary had its day in the theatres back in 2009, the dust hasn’t settled because Berlinger has now been ordered by a federal judge to furnish Chevron with 600+ hours of raw video footage that the oil giant intends to use in the hope of “pursuing an international treaty arbitration related to the lawsuit” and to potentially get the litigation dismissed.

Leilani Munter Helps Clean Up Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Source: Ecorazzi - Earlier this month, Ecorazzi told you that eco race car driver Leilani Munter offered some sustainable eating advice as part of the Athletes Go Green campaign - an initiative to unite players, fans and teams in an effort to paint the sports world green in the days leading up to Earth Day.

Keeping up with her environmental advocacy, the sports star recently announced that she is heading to New Orleans to help clean up the massive oil spill that has devastated the Golf Coast.

“I am headed to New Orleans in the morning to volunteer to help clean up the oil spill,” said Munter on her website. “Likely I will end up working with the wildlife since I have a background in wildlife rescue from college.”

Leilani continues, “This spill is on track to become the largest man made environmental disaster in history. The oil is gushing out at 200,000 gallons per day, nearly 10 times what they had originally estimated and it’s seems to be increasing in flow. It is a mile below the surface and they don’t know how to stop it, it could be leaking for months.”

Iron Man Loves Mercedes' New Hybrid

Source: Ecorazzi - Well, that’s the impression were getting anyways from a new PR release focusing on the brand’s acceptance by Hollywood celebrities.

And why not?

With the Toyota Prius getting bad press recently - and more luxury car makers finally offering green models — the stage is wide open to capture a spot in some actor or actresses 8-car garage. Mercedes counts Sarah Jessica Parker, Liv Tyler, Rosario Dawson, Christina Applegate, Molly Sims, Giles Marini, Felicity Huffman, Gerard Butler and Robert Downey Jr. as fans of their 2010 S400 hybrid luxury sedan. And yes, it’s safe to assume these celebs were given early access to the cars — much like Toyota did back in the day with the Prius.

In Robert Downey Jr’s case, the automaker provided him (pictured above) with a hybrid sedan when off-camera while shooting his upcoming film Due Date.

Check out the full release after the fold.

DiCaprio, Norton Visit Galapagos For Mission Blue Voyage

Source: Ecorazzi - In 2009, oceanographer Sylvia Earle won the TED Prize — earning her the chance to have one wish realized that could help change the world. She chose to focus, naturally, on the oceans; urging for the creation and management of essential marine protected areas. She coined them “Hope Spots” and, through education and support, hoped to see a global network of such areas created.

TED took the first step to realizing Earle’s wish this week with “The Mission Blue Voyage” to the Galapagos Islands. In partnership with National Geographic, the trip featured over 100 esteemed guests and twenty-five inspiring speakers. It also had quite the gathering of eco-conscious celebrities. Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Glenn Close, Damien Rice, Daryl Hannah and Chevy Chase to name a few. According to updates on Twitter and Facebook, the 6-day event achieved its mission of inspiring collaboration and getting powerful people behind new conservation initiatives.

One such example came from the Vice President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, who met privately with celebs like Norton and DiCaprio and received backing for a conservation plan to protect the Ecuadorian Amazon from oil extraction. According to AFP, the “Yasuni-ITT initiative” would prevent more than 850 million barrels of oil from being extracted from the Amazon Yasuni park — and conceivably create a viable carbon trading industry in the process. It’s estimated that not drilling would save 410 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

If oil extraction was allowed, a spill would be devastating. One hectare of land in Yasuni has the highest estimated diversity per unit area in the world for any plant or animal group.

According to Vice-President Moreno, Leonardo DiCaprio is willing to personally visit Yasuni and get involved in the campaign. “All who were present yesterday, besides supporting Galapagos want to be part of Yasuni,” said another official.

For more on the Mission Blue project, check out the official site here.

Lexus Wants Every Hybrid Driver To Feel Like Jason Bourne

Source: ecorazzi - Remember those BMW short films featuring Clive Owen back in the early ’00s? If not, they’re infomercials worth checking out as each was directed by some pretty famous people like Guy Ritchie and Ang Lee and delivered solid action on the small screen.

Anyways, as Autobloggreen points out, it appears that Lexus is tearing a page out of BMW’s book with its new “Dark Side” of green trailer. The film will reportedly be released on May 13th — and involve the automaker’s newest green model, the CT200h. From the site:

The plot is that some opposition group is trying to swipe hybrid technology. The CT200h needs to make it to Los Angeles before dawn. Tony is the crack wheelman, you’re the navigator who’s tasked with also keeping our boy Tony from avoiding sloppiness. Go.

Check out the trailer:

Pierce Brosnan To Narrate Disneynature "Oceans"

Source: ecorazzi - Just when we thought we’d never hear a foreign accent narrate an American nature documentary, along comes word that Pierce Brosnan will provide the narration for Disneynature’s new OCEANS.

The film, which hits theaters on Earth Day April 22nd, is a follow-up to last year’s highly successful EARTH film — which was narrated by James Earl Jones. In a release, Disney alludes that it chose Brosnan because of his commitment to ocean initiatives and organizations like Sea Shepherd, California Coastal Protection Network, Ocean Futures Society, Oceana and Waterkeeper Alliance, among others.

It was also announced that the film will once again be a fundraiser of sorts — using opening weekend ticket sales to determine a donation to The Nature Conservancy to save coral reefs. The program is being called “See OCEANS, Save Oceans.” For every person that sees the film, $.20 cents will be donated — with a minimum of $100,000 for the initiative. If OCEANS does as well as EARTH’s opening weekend, that would equal roughly $250,000 for TNC.