November 14th 2006
Hollywood’s New Role: Pollution Producer
Filed under: movies — rebecca @ 10:57 am
Looks like this is the week for scientific studies to tell us stuff that seems pretty obvious. It is nice to have assumptions verified, however. Today UCLA released findings of a two-year study on air pollution. Turns out that the film & television industry is the biggest air-polluter in LA’s five county region.
Where’s the pollution coming from? Anywhere from special effects explosions to idling generators and vehicles.
As part of the study, several interviews were conducted within the “Hollywood” industry. Some studios have recycling and green building programs, however it seems to be the exception, not the rule. There is still a lot of headway that needs to be made.
Want this story to end on a happy note? The Day After Tomorrow paid $200 grand to plant trees to offset the estimated 10,000 tons of carbon they created through filming. The Matrix Reloaded & Matrix Revolutions arranged for almost 100% of set materials to be recycled or reused.
Finally, Syriana & An Inconvenient Truth worked with Participant Productions to help them offset their emissions. And what a cool company they are:
Whether it is a feature film, documentary or other form of media, Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that also create awareness of the real issues that shape our lives. We seek to entertain our audiences first, then to invite them to participate in making a difference next. Participant believes that people are basically good and that everyone deserves the chance to be a participant!
So it seems that Hollywood is looking to offset what they do, instead of change the way they make movies. Does that make sense? Offsetting is definitely better than polluting and walking away. Could Hollywood find a way to make an exciting action movie without creating so many emissions and waste? I wonder…
Via - IHT
It would be a cool marketing tool as well to have some kind of “OffSet” logo appear before a film whose emissions have been paid for. I hope we start to see more studios embrace the green label for film.
Hollywoods New Role: Pollution Producer…
Looks like this is the week for scientific studies to tell us stuff that seems pretty obvious. It is nice to have assumptions verified, however. Today UCLA released findings of a two-year study on air pollution. Turns out that the film & television ind…
As an idea to the previous post.
The Environment was not hurt in the making of this film?
FYI - Warner Bros actually has an amazing environmental affairs program. They’ve been industry leaders for over a decade. Not sure if they’re doing carbon offsets yet, but they may be a great start to get this going in the entertainment industry.
[...] Ecorazzi: There was an article about how Hollywood films are causing a good deal of LA’s pollution. I noticed that the production of Living with Ed was very green — using hybrid vehicles, recycling materials used during filming, shooting with solar-powered television cameras, etc. Are there any changes on Hollywood sets that you’ve noticed with regards to recycling, or off-setting films? Have you personally mentioned anything? [...]
[...] footprint and the enormous amount of waste generated by the film industry. In late 2006, UCLA released a study that showed Hollywood was the largest air-polluter in LA’s five county region. From that paper alone, hundreds of [...]