ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

August 27th 2008

Diddy Flies Commercial? Say It Ain’t So!

Filed under: cars-houses, not green, travel, web — lindsey @ 10:10 am

Rapper/entrepreneur P Diddy had to give up his private jet due to high gas prices and is now flying commercial. You know, with the rest of us schlubs. And he’s so upset about it, he posted a video on YouTube - set to private now, of course.

According to The Telegraph, during the video blog / rant, Diddy issues a request to his “Saudi Arabian brothers and sisters and all my brothers and sisters from all the countries that have oil, if you could all please send me some oil for my jet I would truly appreciate it.” Diddy, estimated to be worth $346 million himself, lamented that a round trip from L.A. to New York twice a month now costs him somewhere between $200 to $250 thousand dollars. Here’s an idea, Diddy - get rid of the private jet all together!

Diddy also goes on to say, “But right now, can you believe it, I am actually flying commercial. That’s how high gas prices are ok, so I feel you.” It must be horrifying to Diddy that he has to travel with the rest of us poor peons, but he apparently survived.

Listen, Diddy, if it takes having to ground your private jet in order for you to realize that maybe, just maybe, we’re in a fuel crisis, you need to reevaluate your priorities in life. Now run along and go book your next flight, okay? Remember, it’s okay to fly coach.

via: Celebitchy

August 26th 2008

The Green Quote: Jay Leno Says Green Cars Will Create More American Brand Loyalty

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — michael @ 10:48 am

“The problem with what’s happened over the past few decades is that you have a whole generation of kids who have no brand loyalty. They’ve grown up on Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota. To lure them to the American brand, you’ve got to give them something exciting, something bold, something different. America does technology well, and I think this is how the companies will bring those buyers back. I think cars like the Chevy Volt, which is entirely battery-powered, or hydrogen cars from Chrysler, Ford, and G.M. will take off.”

– Comedian and car-enthusiast Jay Leno from an editorial he wrote for Portfolio Magazine.

August 26th 2008

The Green Picture: Jennifer Aniston Loves Her Range Rover SUV

Filed under: cars-houses, not green, travel — parrish @ 9:42 am

Jennifer Aniston is seen here driving a huge, gas-guzzling Range Rover SUV. Just to remind you, the Range Rover gets an embarrassingly low 12-mpg in the city and we think that totally sucks! Come on, Jen — ditch the big wheels and go hybrid already. Pretty please!!

For more pictures visit JustJared.com.

August 25th 2008

The Green Picture: My Mom Is An Eco-Celebrity Thanks To Solar Panels

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses, green and famous — parrish @ 1:24 pm

This is the best thing ever! So my mom just got solar panels installed on her roof from Standard Solar and the Washington Post put a picture of the house in the paper. I guess being green runs in the family! Way to be famous, mom!  

August 22nd 2008

Razzi Snap: Megan Fox To Buy A Tesla Electric Roadster

Filed under: donations, events, green and famous, transport — sara @ 5:12 pm

Megan Fox, the kick-ass heroine of Transformers, is going to get an electric car. “We still drive an SUV but we’re gonna get rid of it. Tesla’s coming with some of these little electric cars that I want to get as soon as they’re out,” she says.

Don’t you just love hemp? For, um, clothes and stuff, I mean. Reese Witherspoon does. She, along with Michelle Williams and Alanis Morissette, is a fan of Heather Heron’s line of organic European hemp bags.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning raised over $380,000 for at his annual PeyBack Bowl on Monday, with proceeds going to disadvantaged kids through his PeyBack Foundation (nice little word play there). Other celebs who got in on the knocking-of-the-pins included Colts player Reggie Wayne with the highest score, race drivers Scott Dixon and Sam Hornish Jr., and NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.

Is Nelson Mandela more inspiring than Angelina Jolie? Members of Christian Aid think so. When surveyed recently, they found people like Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to be more inspiring when it comes to changing the world than celebrities like Jolie and Bono. What do you think?

Polish weightlifter Symon Kolecki has shaved his head in solidarity with Tibetan monks. The athlete had his scalp shaved just before he received the Silver Medal in weightlifting.  “This haircut is from this morning. I can’t directly say why I did it. It’s connected with certain things that the Olympic Charter forbids. But I will say that it’s symbolic,” Kolecki said.

August 20th 2008

Jennifer Garner Caught Cruising In A BMW Hydrogen 7

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — michael @ 3:34 pm

We’ve seen her many times at the Farmer’s Market — but this is the first time we’ve spotted Jennifer Garner in a BMW Hydrogen 7.

Quite possibly the most visible next-gen car that celebrities have been adopting, the BMW Hydrogen 7 is part of a test run that serves to evaluate the technology through a limited-lease program. Mostly, BMW has been handing over the keys to people that can also shine the spotlight — folks like Will Ferrell, Cameron Diaz, Jason Bateman, Edward Norton, and others. Here’s what comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno said of the vehicle in his review,

“It makes plenty of power for its size; the only thing that has limited it is the choice of fuel. This is a flex-fuel vehicle. It runs on either hydrogen or petrol. If you run out of hydrogen you press a button and it goes to petrol. I’ve been running it on hydrogen just to see what it’s like. It stores the hydrogen at -253C. It’s kept extremely cold so that it becomes a liquid. The trick of course is keeping it cold. I’m told that the tanks are so well insulated that if you poured a cup of hot coffee into them in July, come November it would still be too hot to drink.”

via MyRide

August 20th 2008

Is James Bond Bringing Hydrogen Power To The Big Screen?

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — michael @ 3:01 pm

After Ford released some new photos of its Ford Ka — set to appear in the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace — Autobloggreen spied some interesting clues that might point to hydrogen playing a role in the film.

We reported last week that 007’s leading lady was set to appear in the Ka — and at that time, all that was revealed about the vehicle was its fuel-friendly mileage and size. However, with these new pics, we now see that the front of the gold-colored Ka is emblazoned with stickers proclaiming that it’s running on hydrogen. On the side are also little decals that say “Greener Planet”.

Our take? Since the bad guy in the film is supposedly an eco-entrepreneur with an evil agenda, we wouldn’t be surprised if this car is somehow connected to his empire. Perhaps Bond’s gal Camille (by actress Olga Kurylenko) works for the bad green guys — and as a result cruises around in a hydrogen-powered Ka.

We could speculate all day, but we’ll save you the pain. Take a look at additional shots of the Ka here.

via autobloggreen

August 20th 2008

Razzi Snap: Elizabeth Hurley Touches Tiny Lives

Filed under: campaigns, fashion, green and famous, transport — sara @ 9:16 am

Elizabeth Hurley’s new line of swimwear will be showcased at the Ladies Day at the Southampton Boat Show on September 18. Why is this a big deal, you may ask? Proceeds will going to Touching Tiny Lives, an organization that’s researching premature birth.

Coca-Cola’s going green? I really doubt it, but they seem to be making some efforts: they’re giving every athlete at the Olympics a t-shirt or visor made from cotton and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (yeah, the stuff their product comes in). These items are from their new “sustainable fashion” line, which, though I’m still skeptical, would be a really cool thing from them. Not to mention a good money move, right? Selling products, getting their containers recycled–then using them to sell yet another product?

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon is hosting a two-day celebrity charity event before Super Bowl XLIII at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club. The celebrity golf tournament (yep, another one!) will be benefiting the Wounded Warrior Battalion, the Lynda McMahon Ferguson Memorial Foundation for Literacy and the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund. Though the official list of star players hasn’t been announced, invites have been given to Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Brett Favre, and others.

Famous and fabulous eco designer Katherine Hamnett is saving the sea. Celeb fans of Hamnet, such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Naomi Campbell, might be interested in her new line of ethical-as-ever shirts associated with the Environmental Justice Foundation’s campagin against pirate fishing. “We get 98% of our oxygen from the sea; the sea is dying because of pollution and environmental degradation,” says Hamnett. For more details or to buy something from the collection click here.

August 19th 2008

James Cameron Grabs A Solar-Powered Taxi In Malibu

Filed under: cars-houses, transport — michael @ 11:17 am

James Cameron is a man who loves to embrace the future. He’s given us his take on the subject through such films like Terminator 2, Aliens, and the upcoming Avatar. So it’s not so surprising then to see him cruising around in a solar-powered taxi.

The famous director (who we should also mentioned embraced the past with Titanic), was spotted a couple weeks ago at the Malibu Arts Festival checking out and riding around in the Solartaxi; the first completely solar-powered car to drive around the world. As one would expect, this is an emissions-free vehicle that derives its power completely from the sun. It seats two, has three wheels and pulls a trailer covered in solar panels to charge the batteries in the front of the car. It has a top speed of about 50mph and can do roughly 100 miles on a six-hour charge. So far, the inventor, Louis Palmer, has taken the vehicle to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand and now North America.

Want solar on your car? Look for the 2010 Prius to sport some panels up top — though the best you’ll get from it is some air conditioning and juice for your gadgets. More info on the Solartaxi is available here.

Thanks to MyRide for the tip!

August 19th 2008

Brad Pitt Continues Narration Of Green Building Series For PBS

Filed under: buildings and construction, cars-houses, film-tv, television — michael @ 10:10 am

Last year, both Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman lent their narration to the popular second season of the PBS series e2 design (pronounced e-squared design). The show “explores attainable solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges, and tells compelling stories featuring new advances in sustainable living.”

Now, it’s just Pitt narrating the third season of e2 — and judging from his love of sustainable building and archeitecture, it’s probably something he finds quite rewarding to participate in. Not surprising, this season will also feature the work being done on the New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward to build a more sustainable community; through projects like Pitt’s Make It Right foundation and Global Green’s Holy Cross initiative.

Here’s a bit of what you’ll see in Season 3 of e2:

“Season 3 of e2 design comprises six episodes: a profile of Aga Khan’s Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, a 500-year-old dump-turned-”urban lung”; Canadian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons, who applies Nova Scotia’s design pragmatism to projects around the world; Melbourne’s transformation from a tired, vacant city into a thriving, sustainable metropolis; the inspired efforts of world-class architect Renzo Piano to integrate the natural world into his design for San Francisco’s elegant, environmentally responsive natural history museum; the efforts to rebuild New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward in a way that is environmentally, culturally and socially sustainable; and the visionary Amsterdam architects transforming recycled materials into modern design masterpieces.”

Look for the series to debut on PBS starting August 22nd. More details available here.