President Clinton
and Paige Donner, Founder
Greening Hollywood
at Jet Hangar 25 in Burbank.
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Greening Hollywood: At the Apex of Politics and EntertainmentGriffin Schake operates at the
apex of politics and entertainment and counts First Lady Maria
Shriver's Women's Conference and Live Earth as two of their accounts.
Griffin was 19 years old when he first went to work on Capitol Hill
under President Clinton's press secretary Dee Dee Meyers. This Hope,
Arkansas native has since crafted a career out of his "campaign style
approach to communication."
Paige Donner: Tell us about your campaign-style approach to communication.
Chad Griffin: "I'm a product of campaigns. I started with
Clinton's first campaign, '91-92. That's what I know. So when we do a
project, whether it's a philanthropic issue for a client or it's a
major global campaign like Live Earth we approach it as a campaign.
With a campaign you have a specific goal with a set date when you win
or lose.
"That's how we try to structure everything we do. What are the
clients' goals and what do we have to do between now and that date to
accomplish those goals? So whether it's an individual in the
entertainment industry who cares about a particular issue and wants to
accomplish something... early childhood education, renewable energy,
stem cell research, or gay marriage... that's the way we approach it."
D: Do you recall a difficult moment in the West Wing?
CG: "I remember on my first day, I was 19 and I was in the West Wing Press Office and the phone rang and it was a NY Times
reporter -- this was actually the day of the inauguration -- and they
asked for DeeDee Meyers who was my boss and the President's press
secretary and wanted a comment on some World Health issue. And I said,
which was the truth, my mistake, 'Unfortunately right now no one's
available for comment because people are still moving into their
offices and we don't even know what our own phone numbers are.' And so,
this particular reporter, in the next day's issue of the NY Times,
which was the inauguration issue, says in the big article on world
health, 'White House spokesperson Chad Griffin said no one was
available due to the fact they were still moving into their offices.'
Luckily I learned my lesson on day one, so I didn't make such mistakes
again. But it's something I'll never forget my entire career.
"In retrospect I would have said, any time you're talking to a
reporter, you're on the record and I should've just taken a message and
had someone return the call. It was a lesson at 19 and I don't think
I've made such a mistake with reporters again."
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Greening Hollywood: Walking With the Dolphins,
My Motive to Think Green
Guess what? Hollywood hipsters say
"Green" is "Cool!"
Ever since former political pariah Al Gore
won his Oscar for his
environmental doc,
the rest of Hollywood appears to have
clambered
aboard the train headed to
coolsville. Or should I say clambered
aboard
the proverbial bicycle...
Well, maybe not bicycle, this is LA
after all,
but at least crowded into the Prius.
Hollywood loves a winner and this glorified
high school campus of
hipsters has
decided that our planet's environment
is not just
attention-worthy but that Green
is Cool, and, even better, Green is
Green.
It's important to remember that "ecos"
means "home" in its original Greek
and that the real
impetus behind the
environmental movement and its
"green initiatives"
is simply that we
gladly take care of what we love,
don't we? And we love our home,
Planet Earth? Well, don't we?!
Inarguably, today's Hollywood
hipsters' reigning King and
Queen of
Green, Pitt and Jolie,
are, thankfully, two people who
lead with their
heads and their
hearts and don't really pay much
attention to the flava
of the day.
These two are trendsetters in many
areas and, praise
Heaven, they've
chosen to put their celebrity-muscle
behind taking care
of planet Earth.
Here in Los Angeles in 2007,
I count myself among
the
blessed for the simple fact that
I live within walking distance
of
the ocean. Whenever I feel
the needful urge to commune
with nature, I
have simply to
step outside where I can smell
the salt air, hear the
ocean surf
and, on frequent occasions such
as this morning, watch the
cove's
resident pod of dolphins feast on
their meal of fish and frolic
right
on the surfline. They come so
close to shore! Their dorsal fins
skim the ocean's surface. I don't
have a dog to walk, but I do get
to
walk with the dolphins. Those
are magical moments, gifted by nature.
Mountains, deserts, oceans -
whatever revs your engines or
flies
your kite, wherever you live,
just getting out there in IT is
reminder
enough of how good
IT is. Reminding ourselves how
good it is makes
these greening
tasks effortless: use only 100%
post consumer recycled
paper,
replace incandescent light bulbs
with compact fluorescent bulbs
(CFLs), buy organic food, recycle,
buy only recycled products, use
biodegradable products, re-use
water bottles, re-use plastic bags,
use
transportation fueled by
bio-diesel or hybrid energy sources,
invest in
carbon offsets
(Bonneville or CarbonFund.org),
plant trees (Tree
People), take a
peek at FixThePlanet.com for
more good ideas.
Cradle 2 Cradle is a book the
Jolie-Pitt camp recommends.
It's all about sustainable living.
The book's pages are printed on
a
100% recyclable plastics
derivative product that is completely
re-processable.
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| Governator Schwarzenegger Gets Green On Energy
"Tailpipes We Won"
Governor Schwarzenegger welcomed in the new, and environmentally more responsible fuel tailpipe emissions standards earlier this year after its historical EPA pass.
The new standard will require automakers to cut tailpipe emissions by 30% by 2016. The fuel efficiency standard, currently at 27.5 MPG, will rise to 35 MPG by 2016. The automakers benefit because the new rule gives them flexibility in ways they achieve the fuel efficiency requirements. Plus, there will only be one national standard, rather than a state by state mash up of varying standards.
There has been much written and reported about the global warming effects of tailpipe emissions, but here we are going to focus on the health effects of tailpipe emissions, namely the illnesses caused by Particulate Matter found in tailpipe emissions.
Particulate Matter (PM) is rampant in tailpipe emissions. Terry Tamminen, special adviser to Gov. Schwarzenegger, describes in his Lives Per Gallon the Particulate Matter found in tailpipe emissions, "...these particles are so fine that they bypass vehicle air filtration systems and the natural defense mechanisms of the lungs, penetrating right into the bloodstream and ultimately destroying individual human cells."
In 1996 when then USEPA administrator Carol Browner tightened the limits on ozone and particulate matter found in tailpipe emissions she stated that implementation of the new rules would "prevent 20,000 premature deaths, 9,000 hospital admissions, 60,000 cases of bronchitis and 250,000 asthma cases every year."
Particulate matter accounts for 90% of the health care costs attributable to motor vehicle pollution, states Tamminen in Lives Per Gallon. "A large portion of petroleum-related health-care costs are due to respiratory illnesses.
"Such diseases and illnesses are caused or made worse by airborne particulate matter, which in total is responsible for an estimated 9,300 deaths, 16,000 hospital visits, 600,000 asthma attacks, and 5 million lost work days each year in California," he writes in his 2007 book.
"These 9,300 deaths are almost four times more than the number of homicide victims annually and well over six times the number of people who die of AIDS each year in California."
For more reporting on the California's recent victories on the limiting of Fuel Tailpipe Emissions Standards, please go to:
CNBC
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| Rosario Dawson "Eco-ista" |
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Greening Hollywood: Rosario Takes Home EMA’s Futures Award
Best host of the Environmental Media Association's Awards night goes to Jeffrey Tambor who joked after introducing both Toyota, title sponsors of the evening and Tiffany & Co., EMA Corporate Responsibility Award Recipient...
“…and what they forgot to mention is that we're all going home with a Lexus hybrid...," and a bit later, "...and what Mike Kowalski Tiffany's CEO] forgot to mention is that we're all going home with Tiffany jewels in our gift bags..."
Disappointingly, none of the NFL Eagles, also EMA Awards recipients, were offered up either...
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Greening Hollywood: Hollywood's Hot Green Moms
Hot Green Hollywood Mom Jenny McCarthy
Generation Rescue is an international movement of scientists,
physicians and parent-volunteers researching the causes and treatments
for autism and mentoring thousands of families in recovering their
children from autism. www.generationrescue.org
Jenny McCarthy wrote a book called Mother Warriors that chronicles her experience with her child's autism and the cure she found.
GH: How can you fit being green into a busy "mommy" schedule?
Jenny McCarthy: The one thing you can do is just
switch your grocery store. If you went to Whole Foods, 75% of your
choices are going to be green, because you're going to be buying
organic, you're going to be buying non-toxic cleaning products there
which I'm a firm believer of...
People say to me, 'Well, it costs extra. We can't really afford it.'
But I say yeah, well, it's amazing how you're able to afford your
Starbuck's every day, and all these other extras that if you just
managed your budget you would absolutely be able to shop at Whole Foods
and become a Green Mom.
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Alex Loorz & Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
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Greening Hollywood: Empowering Youth to Cool the Earth
When 5,000 kids ages 12-21 turned out for Saturday's Environmental
Youth Conference staged at the Los Angeles Convention Center, they got
a sweet surprise as celebrities like Will.i.am, Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) and Tyrese (Transformers) took the stage to share a few words with the kids.
Not only did the kids show up at the newly LEED certified Los Angeles
Convention Center at 8 a.m. on a non-school day, but so did 14 year old
Alec Loorz who is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth protege, Tyler Williams (Everybody Hates Chris), David Henry (Wizards of Waverly Place), and many others, as well as Mayor Villaraigosa and DPW Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz.
Tyrese shared with the crowd of kids some advice that Will Smith had
given him, "You can tell how far your life and career will go by the
five people you spend most of your time with. Surround yourself with a
circle of five good people." The conference theme was, Get Your Green
On.
At this "by youth, for the youth conference" which is also the
world's largest environmental youth conference, Will.i.am said, "The
most powerful people in the room today are you guys out there. The
promises politicians make are nothing if you guys don't force them to
execute those policies. It's important you realize how powerful you
are." Black-Eyed Peas band mate Taboo added, "Let's do this!"
The youthful attendees also had opportunities to meet "green"
professionals such as water quality experts, scientists and experts
such as tree surgeons who could advise on green industry careers. There
were also two bio-diesel converted cars from MTV's Pimp My Ride.
Particularly popular exhibits included the tree giveaway -- each kid
went home with a plant-able tree (if they chose), and the interactive
exhibit that had kids making a paper crane (as in origami) and placing
it in a reconstructed, miniature L.A. River replica which was made out
of reclaimed toys and other materials. Other popular pit stops were
Recycle Bank's hat with ears giveaway which handed out over 700 Fox
Studios donated hats in the first half hour of the conference. Global
Inheritance's bicycle-powered cell phone battery rechargers also made
for an entertaining, interactive stop.
Alec Loorz addressed the crowd and confessed that when he first
applied for Al Gore's presentation training, he was rejected. He went
on to say that that didn't stop him and when he finally got to meet
Gore, he convinced him to let him do the training and that's how he
became the youngest "An Inconvenient Truth" presenter. He said he's
given the presentation about 40 times so far and each time he tailors
it to his audience.
Be sure to check out Alec Loorz's new website: kids-vs-global-warming.com, and click on solutions, "Empowering Youth to Cool the Earth."
Read More Here
And Here
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