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July 2nd 2009

Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Intros News Green Duplex Designs

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:42 am

Make It Right, the green building foundation started by actor Brad Pitt, has released 14 new designs that will be among the 150 houses reconstructed in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Up to now, the homes on site have been single-family residences only — but Make It Right Director Tom Darden knew that residents were interested in duplex designs as well. “Before the storm, there were a number of duplexes and doubles in the neighborhood,” he said. “Families who want to come back to the Lower 9th have been asking us to build them so extended families can live together. And duplexes are right in keeping with Make It Right’s mission: They allow more people to live together with less impact on the environment and are more cost-effective to build.”

14 firms submittted designs for eco-efficient homes — with 8 of those being new participants in Make It Right’s green rebuilding mission. To view all of the new designs, jump here.

June 23rd 2009

Jesse James’ Hydrogen-Powered World Speed Record Challenged

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:17 am

Jesse James, famous for his West Coast Choppers business and actress wife Sandra Bullock, is being challenged over recent reports that he successfully broke the world landspeed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle.

The 40-year-old has been preparing for the attempt for over a year now — and on June 16th blazed across El Mirage Dry Lake Bed at 199.7 mph, breaking the previous record held by BMW of 186.52 mph. The stunt was taped as part of the season finale for his television show Jesse James is a Dead Man.

Not so fast, says landspeed historian Louise Ann Noeth. According to a press release issues through her company, Landspeed Productions, the “claim is without merit since the activities were conducted without benefit of any motorsports sanctioning authority. The vehicle was neither inspected, nor certified and all the timing personnel were on the James TV payroll.”

Read the rest of this entry »

June 19th 2009

The Green Picture: Elle Macpherson Promotes Biking, Rides Away With My Heart

Filed under: campaigns, cars-houses, green and famous, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:17 am

As mentioned earlier, model Elle Macpherson joined Olympic Gold Medalist Victoria Pendleton and TV presenter Gethin Jones on Tuesday in London to help launch Sky’s campaign to get people back on their bikes; through a summer of free “Skyride” cycling events. The 45-year-old said at the event, “There’s going to be this huge community, this surge of people riding their bikes and hopefully rediscovering a very simple pleasure. You don’t have to be an Olympic champion to cycle. Get out there and enjoy the environment and enjoy being with the family.”

More pics of Elle and Co. at the event below:

June 17th 2009

Elle Macpherson’s Two-Wheel Push, Colin Firth’s Bamboo Bike

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:45 am

There’s biking news coming out of London today — so, let’s roll.

Elle Macpherson is getting behind a new campaign to encourage the British public to get on their bikes and start pedaling. The model is being joined by Olympic champion cyclist Victoria Pendleton and television presenter Gethin Jones in getting the word out. Macpherson, 45, who lives in London’s Notting Hill, said: “There’s going to be this huge community, this surge of people riding their bikes and hopefully rediscovering a very simple pleasure. You don’t have to be an Olympic champion to cycle. Get out there and enjoy the environment and enjoy being with the family.”

Colin Firth’s Eco Store in Cheswick is getting a lot of attention lately because of the nearly $5K bamboo bike they’re selling. The organic, biodegradable bike is considered by many to be the “greenest” thing on two wheels. Of course, it definitely has a round-the-world footprint to offset. From the article,

“The frame of the Calfee, which will set you back at least £3,000, is made from stems hand-picked in the remote mountains of Taiwan’s Yushan national park, home to wildlife such as the Formosan black bear and rock monkey. The bamboo is shipped - not flown - to California, where stems are smoked and heat-treated to prevent splitting, and assembled into a frame, the pieces connected with lugs made of hemp fibre. They are then coated in a satin polyurethane sealant. The finished product is transported to Chiswick, where it is being sold in the Eco Age shop owned by actor Colin Firth, his Italian wife Livia Giuggioli, and her brother Nicola.”

The end result is a bike made from 60% sustainable materials. The people that harvest the bamboo for the frame are also involved in a social project “helping local people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.” Five of the bikes have been sold in Britain so far. More info on the bike can be found here.

June 12th 2009

The Green Picture: George Clooney Hits Italy On A Vespa

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 9:57 am

George Clooney took his fuel-efficient Vespa Scarabeo around Lake Como, Italy yesterday — only to get pulled over by police. Instead of a ticket, however, the cops only wanted his autograph and a photo-op. The life of a celebrity must truly border on the surreal sometimes. Check out TMZ for more images.

Photo credit: Revista Quem

June 11th 2009

Jason Mraz Breaks Ground On His New Solar Array

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses, music — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 11:34 am

During the American Idol finale, Jason Mraz revealed backstage that he was getting ready to power his farm with new solar array. Now, the wordplay singer has posted a photo on his blog showing the groundbreaking of the new install. He writes,

“This week on the farm we broke ground on our new sun system. We’re going solar! In just a few days, an array of shiny collectors will mark a celebrated site among the oil green avocado trees. Our system will allow us to run both the house and studio on sun power alone, even on cloudy days, eliminating yet another consuming property from the power grid.”

“With the sun estimated to burn another 5 billion years, I’m stoked about my energy independence. In addition to having a 0.00 electric bill, my solar system will at times send energy back into the grid, reducing the amount of coal or nuclear energy required to keep Southern California illuminated. (The meter on the house actually runs backward when this happens.) San Diego isn’t yet paying for the energy I have to share, but there is a possibility of donating the excess energy to other households.”

We’re stoked for Jason too — and look forward to additional photos of his progress! Check out his blogging goodness here.

June 9th 2009

Matthew Modine Loves Biking, But Refuses To Wear A Helmet

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 9:43 am

We’ve profiled Matthew Modine many times here on the razz for his pro-biking initiatives and efforts. Since relocating to NYC in the 80s, the actor has used a bike as his primary transportation; finding no need to compete with the multitude of cars filling the streets.

There’s an interesting quirk, however, to Modine’s love of biking — he doesn’t wear a helmet. In a new interview with New York Magazine, the 50-year-old says he doesn’t wear one, because he doesn’t assume he’s going to get hurt. Right — because I wear a seatbelt with every intention of getting in an accident. From the article,

“I get shit for that a lot of times,” he says—not least from the League of American Bicyclists. Modine says they wouldn’t link to a short film he had made for his Bicycle for a Day website because he’s not helmeted. “Should we wear helmets when we walk down the sidewalk?” Then his logic gets really shaky: “I think that people that wear helmets, cars are a little more aggressive with them.” He mentions the late Natasha Richardson, who died in March after a skiing accident: “She was a great friend of mine. She barely banged her head and it cost her her life.” Yes, and she wasn’t wearing a helmet. Doesn’t that give him pause? “I think it gave us all pause. Think how many times you’ve banged your head in your lifetime.”

Part of me can understand where Modine is coming from — growing up, I never had a helmet either while biking. It takes a bit of a transition period to getting in the habit of wearing one, but I value my head too much not to. It just doesn’t seem worth it to fly around the chaotic streets of NYC without one. How about you? Are you helmet — or old school?

Check out the rest of his interview here.

[UPDATE: For another take on the bike helmet debate -- check out Copenhagenize's well-written article. And for the record, I do not own a pitchfork.]

June 2nd 2009

Laurie David’s Wetlands Mishap In Photos

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 10:25 am

New information has surfaced regarding Laurie David’s “Oops I Did It Again” wetlands violation at her Martha’s Vineyard manse. As we previously wrote, the environmental activist was cited again for violating the state Wetlands Protection Act while building a tennis court. Our theory that David probably wasn’t aware of the violation turned out to be correct — as the contractor in charge of the construction took the blame. “She’s obviously a very busy person and she trusted the contractor,” said David’s contractor Bart Thorpe told the Martha’s Vineyard Gazette. “And I inadvertently made a mistake. It’s something she had no knowledge of and had nothing to do with, and it’s a minor thing.”

That “minor thing” ended up costing David $900 in fines — $300/day until a restoration plan was submitted. In the latest incident, boards and rocks were laid over wetlands to create a road enabling heavy equipment to get to the site of the tennis court.

Said Jacqueline Mendez-Diez, a neighbor of David’s, “This latest infraction came to light when a former David employee reported the violations to the town’s Conservation Officer. Otherwise, because it is such a secluded area, no one would know about it. Historically, Laurie David’s violations of the WPA have come to light in precisely this manner of a former employee finally coming forward to report illegal wetlands abuses.”

Photos courtesy of Mendez-Diaz

May 28th 2009

Jason Mraz: “Everything In My Home Runs On Solar Energy”

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses, music — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 11:20 am

We already knew Jason Mraz was a green guy at heart, but now the singer has revealed that his pad grooves to the same tune. The wordplay raw vegan was interviewed by MNN’s Gerri Miller during the American Idol finale and talked up the eco-renovations he recently added to his home.

“I became environmentally aware when I bought a house and had my own patch of earth to care for,” Mraz said. “I started to notice the trash and the amount of waste and the energy I was consuming. This year I went full out and went solar — everything runs on solar energy. We feel that our little piece of the earth is well and if that can rub off on my neighbor or people who ask me about it, great.”

We’re not absolutely sure if Mraz’s home is off-grid, but it appears that whatever array he’s rocking is definitely more than enough. According to Miller, the guy also composts — so for those that continue to worship at the alter of Mraz, your adoration is not undeserved.

Image credit: PR Photos

May 21st 2009

Deja Vu: Letterman Does Lame Electrocution Joke With Chevy Volt

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — Michael Andre d'Estries @ 11:57 am

We had high hopes that David Letterman would not grip the steering wheel of the concept Chevy Volt all-electric vehicle and pretend to be electrocuted. The Late Night host did a similar stunt a few weeks back with the Tesla Roadster and it was less than funny. Unfortunately, with GM’s Bob Lutz standing by, Letterman did just that as he was shown the car last night on the show. All I can say is, thank God for Jay Leno.

That aside, it was good to see Lutz giving Letterman some good facts on the Volt — something the host failed at badly while bashing the car on the earlier program. The only real bummer is that we probably won’t get a crack at actually owning one until early 2012. Check out the video below:

via autobloggreen