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April 2nd 2008

The Green Quote: Kelly Rowland Sends Her Apologies To Planet Earth

Filed under: cars-houses, travel — michael @ 12:15 pm

“I prefer a big truck like a Range Rover. I drive one when I’m at home. I’m totally a Texas girl at heart. Put me in a cowboy hat behind the wheel of a massive truck and I’m happy. Driving a truck has been my dream since I was a little girl. My car’s like a baby, it means everything to me. I think about her every day. My sister’s hugely into environmental stuff, and she gives me a lot of heartache about it. She’s got a Lexus Hybrid car but that thing doesn’t look fun. When Range Rover makes a hybrid I’ll go green. Until then, my apologies to Planet Earth.”

— Singer Kelly Rowland on why going green doesn’t look like “any fun”

March 31st 2008

Airline Places Advertisement Seeking Actors To Fill Seats

Filed under: cars-houses, transport, travel — michael @ 9:34 am

Here’s some odd news to kick off your Monday. Apparently, an airline in the UK called Flybe advertised for actors to masquerade as passengers to avoid a more than $500,000 penalty fine for having too many empty seats. Wow. They even put on extra flights, offered free trips and put its own staff on stand-by to fly in the event that seats were not filled. Why the desperation? From the article,

“The terms of the deal stated Norwich Airport would charge Flybe £280,000 if it did not fly 15,000 passengers on the Norwich to Dublin route during 2007-2008. The airline was 172 passengers short by the deadline, prompting the unusual move to commandeer actors.”

It’s rather hilarious that they advertised for actors — I mean, really, what does it take to come across as a passenger on an airline? Can you imagine putting that down on your resume? “Character, Seat2B, Norwich to Dublin, Flybe Airlines”.

And yes, the environmental impact of flying needlessly did bring the matter to the attention of various green groups. Said Airport director, Richard Jenner, ‘It doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the agreement. But more than anything our concerns are about the unnecessary impact on the environment. We try here to justify the impact we have on the environment. One of the reasons we like to have Flybe here is that they say they are also concerned about the environment.”

As a result, Flybe does plan to offset the additional carbon emissions. The ridicule, however, will take a bit longer to deflect.

via marie claire

March 29th 2008

Miley Cyrus Gets A Smart Fortwo Convertible!

Filed under: cars-houses, travel — michael @ 10:13 am

Miley Cyrus (aka, Hannah Montana, shhh…) is apparently going to be hitting the streets of LA in her very own convertible smart Fortwo car. Since she’s currently still only 15, we’re not sure if this will be her main vehicle come sweet 16 or simply something for promotional use. After all, it does have “Miley - Girls Night Out” painted on the side — which would basically give a clear signal to paparazzi to “Look over here!” 

Either way, the smart is a great car for parking in some tight spaces and even better for mileage — at about 40+ mpg. Rock on Miley! For more on the little smart, check out the official site here.

March 25th 2008

Clooney and Zellweger Arrive By Train For Leatherheads Premiere

Filed under: cars-houses, film-tv, movies, travel — michael @ 8:59 am

Before the good times of traffic jams, smog, and GEICO, Americans relied on mass transportation — specifically trains –  to travel around the country. Yesterday, George Clooney and Renee Zellweger paid tribute to that tradition by participating in a promotional whistle-stop train tour for their new movie, Leatherheads. Both stars wore period clothing to reflect the movie’s 1920s setting. Besides their stop in Maysville, Ky., near Clooney’s hometown — they also have plans to hit Salisbury, N.C., and Greenville, S.C for additional premieres. For more, jump here.

Photo credit: Jim Mone, AP

March 24th 2008

Courtney Love Goes From LA To The UK

Filed under: travel — parrish @ 10:49 am

Courtney Love wants out of L.A!!The ex- Hole singer is fed up with all the pollution in Los Angeles and plans on escaping to a cleaner land. And where might this utopia of cleanliness be? The U.K, of course!!! Courtney insists that Britain is a much healthier place to bring up her daughter, and rumor has it she’s recently been on the prowl for a new home.

She says, “I am fed up with Los Angeles. It’s dirty and full of crazy people. I want a complete lifestyle change. People criticize Britain but it is still a cleaner, safer place to live than Hollywood. I don’t want to live in the city. I love the greenery and the freshness of the countryside. It is just a healthier place for me to be. I’ve been house-hunting seriously and I’ll know as soon as I find the perfect place.”

So to everyone in the U.K, allow me to Paul Revere for a moment: The Americans are coming! The Americans are coming! Hide your stereo, lock up your medicine cabinet and chain your teenage boys to their beds….COURTNEY LOVE IS ON HER WAY!

thanks: starpulse.com

March 12th 2008

Semi-Confirmed Owners List For Tesla Roadster Adds Brad Pitt, Anthony Kiedis

Filed under: cars-houses, green and famous, travel — michael @ 9:19 am

Now that the Tesla Roadster is actually starting to trickle on to roads around America, speculation is heating up as to who’s on the list — and when they’re getting their car. We already know George Clooney, Matt Damon, Michael “Flea” Balzary, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will.i.am, and Aaron Wills are signed up and paid. We also know that Leonardo DiCaprio is in the hunt as well. Beyond the above, however, we’re forced to rely upon some excellent web-digging by Tesla enthusiasts for names and orders.

Over on the site TeslaMotorClub, a growing list of politicans, artists, musicians, and wealthy folk is starting to take shape. Some new additions that we were previously unaware of include Brad Pitt, Dennis Haysbert, and Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Anthony Kiedis. Also interesting to note on the list are those involved with green documentaries — from Chris Paine, Director of Who Killed The Electric Car to Scott Burns, Producer of An Inconvenient Truth.

Obviously, we’ll know more in the coming months, but it’s a good bet that the latter half of 2008 will be a feast for Tesla spying as famous folk hit the roads — and premieres — in their shiny green cars. Check out the Top 20 semi-confirmed, with sources below the fold. For the full list — and some great discussion on the roadster — check out TeslaMotorClub.

Read the rest of this entry »

March 4th 2008

Jordan Buys A Jet And Joins The Mile High Club

Filed under: not green, transport, travel — parrish @ 9:47 am

It’s been reported that Jordan (real name: Katie Price) is going through the final steps to purchase her very own Hawker 900 plane for roughly $8.9 million dollars. Yowzers! The British model/business woman plans to paint the plane completely pink and bling it out with matching pink upholstery. Oh yeah, and she plans on learning to pilot it as well!

Her decision to buy the sky came shortly after totaling up her family’s travel plans and then proceeding to choke on her tea (I just assume the Brits are constantly drinking tea)! The bill for herself, her husband, their three children and the kids’ nannies came to a whopping $297,000 dollars a year. That’s a lot of frigin travel!

Jordan and her husband have a home in Cyprus and a source said : “She has three round trips planned to Australia. The cost of taking the family abroad this year looked ridiculous.”

Even though Jordan plans to rent the plane out when she isn’t using it, buying an entire Hawker 900 jet for one family is absolutely horrible for the environment.  So BOOOOOO Jordan on helping to ruin our planet!

Are you a flighty traveler? If so, visit Co2balance.com and learn how you can help offset your carbon emissions. And yes Jordan…that means YOU!

February 28th 2008

Edward Norton Gets The Keys To His Own BMW Hydrogen 7

Filed under: cars-houses, transport, travel — michael @ 9:41 am

The latest celebrity to join Will Ferrell, Jay Leno, Jeremy Piven and others in test-leasing a BMW Hydrogen 7 vehicle is actor Edward Norton. While famous folk like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Cameron Diaz might have these vehicles drop them off at special events, the above select group actually get to use the cars for their everyday activities. It’s all part of BMW’s “Pioneer Program” to put the vehicle in the hands of high-profile individuals and record feedback for future improvements. From the release,

“While the BMW Hydrogen 7 is not for sale, it is considered to be a milestone in bringing forward hydrogen as the sustainable fuel for individual transportation. Running in hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 essentially emits nothing but water vapor, representing a major step in reducing harmful CO2 emissions. It is not a concept car, but a production model vehicle that has successfully completed the entire Product Development Process.”

Norton is a fitting choice to evaluate this clean technology, since he’s also one of the founders of the Solar Neighbors Program; which aims to get photovoltaic panels onto low-income homes in Los Angeles. Most recently, he hooked up with Will Ferrell to donate a solar system to a supportive housing unit for the chronically homeless.

We hope he enjoys his new green wheels!

February 27th 2008

Stars Of Hannah Montana, High School Musical Think Green

Filed under: cars-houses, travel — michael @ 2:07 pm

As Parrish wrote last week, Chevy decided to throw a bash down at Disney Studios called “Chevy Rocks The Future” to get kids involved in learning about green living — oh yea, and also prep them to crave a GM vehicle by the time Sweet 16 rolls around. But corporate cynicism aside, it looks like everyone had a great time at this event. In attendance were various stars from High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Bratz, and Desperate Housewives (one of these things is not like the others) — as well as Luke Perry, Kathy Ireland, Wayne Brady, and of course, The Jonas Brothers. Check out the video below for all the action you can handle from the event:

February 26th 2008

Friends Of The Earth Not Very Friendly Towards Richard Branson’s Biofuel Plane

Filed under: cars-houses, transport, travel — michael @ 11:05 am

While the rest of the world was intrigued by Sir Richard Branson’s announcement of the first biofuel flight for a 747 jet, the organization Friends of the Earth was miffed by the idea. Apparently, they feel such advances as biofuel flights are a distraction from the main issues of climate-change. They have a right to be suspicious — after all, of the four engines used to power the 747, only one has a biofuel mixture — a 20% blend of coconut and babassu palm oil. But are they being too critical? Branson’s argument is that while it may be a small step, it nonetheless is something positive for the aviation industry. FOE isn’t buying it. From the article,

“Meanwhile, back in the staff room, Kenneth Richter, Friends of the Earth aviation campaigner, said: “Biofuels are a major distraction in the fight against climate change. There is mounting evidence that the carbon savings from biofuels are negligible. If Virgin was really serious about reducing the aviation industry’s impact on the environment it would support calls for aircraft emissions to be included in the climate change bill.”

I don’t know. Brason’s not trying to distract anyone from the big picture. If we can find alternatives to oil — in a sustainable fashion — that have any type of impact on carbon emissions, I’d call that a positive. Certainly, there should be emissions taxes on airplane flights, but to knock the actions of one person trying to make a difference is silly. Global Cool presented this great quote from Branson,

“Biofuel is not the answer. Wind power is not the answer. Wave power is not the answer. Natural gas is not the answer. Nuclear is not the answer. It will have to be a mix of the best solutions from all these areas that will win the battle to keep CO2 levels below those at which Gaia will strike back at some stage, and kill the problem - in this case us.”

And where was this quote pulled from? The Friends of the Earth website. Nice.

via global cool