ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

June 17th 2007

A Party With A Conscience: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller Groove

Filed under: events: uk, festivals — michael @ 11:30 am

This update on the O2 Wireless Festival comes to us from our newest contributor, BlueFin.

Though it’s been raining on and off, stars continue to gather to watch bands performing in Hyde Park, London at the O2 Wireless Festival. Rumor has it that Sienna Miller bumped into her famous ex while watching the White Stripes open the music festival. Judging from the picture she didn’t seem too bothered seeing Jude. Perhaps she’s learned a thing or two watching Hollywood’s A-Listers, Diaz and Justin handle their post break up friendship around the globe. Like everyone else, Sienna paid 20 pence extra for beer at the bars around the festival to encourage people to hold onto their cups for recycling. Festival goers are also being persuaded to recycle their waste in different recycling bins available and jump on public transport to reduce the festival’s carbon footprint. Glad to hear someone in PR is thinking about global warming. I’d be glad to pay 20 pence extra. Wouldn’t you?

June 12th 2007

Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell Gets Uber Green with Friends of the Earth

Filed under: events: uk, green and famous, music — rebecca @ 1:34 pm

Once Razorlight finished recording in a solar studio, lead singer Johnny Borrell decided to spend the day with Friends of the Earth. On June 7, he hung out all day and was treated to a top-of-the-line green experience.

He test-drove a Vectrix electric scooter - the first of its kind in the world. The high performance Vectrix scooter has a top speed of 62 mph and zero emissions.

Johnny also recorded an exclusive new song, “Funeral Blues”, for Friends of the Earth at the UK’s only solar powered recording studio. Studio A at The Premises in Hoxton, East London is powered by 18 solar panels. (Download it free.)

Finally, Borrell prepared lunch with TV chef, Oliver Rowe at his restaurant, Konstam. Oliver sources most of the food used in the restaurant from within greater London - cutting down on food miles.

But Johnny was all over town that day, you say. What about emissions? How sweet is this? Transport through the city was provided by Transport for London’s diesel-electric hybrid double-decker bus and an Ecoigo hybrid taxi. The bus is a world first and emits up to 40 per cent less carbon dioxide than its diesel counterparts.

All of this is being done for a reason, however. It’s part of the larger campaign to get a tough climate law into the UK law books and it needs the support of as many people as possible. Johnny said, “Working with Friends of the Earth on The Big Ask climate campaign has made me realise that climate change is a problem we can solve. The solutions to climate change exist - from solar power to electric bikes and locally sourced food - we just aren’t making the most out of them. That’s why I support The Big Ask, Friends of the Earth’s campaign for a strong climate change law. A strong law will make sure the Government does all it can to help these solutions flourish.”

Make sure you stop by and check out Friends of the Earth. It’s worth it.

A special thanks to Lynds Maiden of Wales for contributing this post. Find out how you can contribute to Ecorazzi.

June 5th 2007

Alan Cumming to Host HIV/AIDS Gala

Filed under: events: uk, green and famous — nina @ 4:11 pm

According to Pink News, Alan Cumming will be hosting a charity gala performance of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America on on July 4th, in support of the British National AIDS Trust. All the proceeds will be donated to raising awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention. Angels in America, first performed in 1990, is set in the 80s in New York City, and tells gripping stories about AIDS, sexuality, religion and love.

Alan Cumming says: “Unfortunately HIV-related stigma and discrimination is still with us today, fifteen years after this play was written, and I am pleased to help increase public awareness of this issue by supporting this event.”

Sadly, this is true. And though I am also a big fan of Alan Cumming and Tony Kushner, I can’t help but wonder if there aren’t newer, more relevant plays circulating today that have can offer new insights or awareness. Perhaps there are still some untold stories out there.

For further information on the Angels in America charity gala performance, please visit the National AIDS Trust.

May 31st 2007

Glastonbury Music Festival Sings A Green Tune

Filed under: events: uk, festivals, music — michael @ 11:44 am

This post was submitted by new contributor, Chris Brooke. If you’re interested in writing for Ecorazzi, drop us a line!

With this year’s line-up, promised to be the best ever, tickets to Glastonbury have sold like hot-cakes. This year however, the festival famous for its classic rock, huge bands and vast quantities of mud, is doing its bit against global warming.

The 137,000 strong crowd of festival-goers will be given a an “I count” wristband, whose aim is to encourage people to take 16 simple steps to reduce their carbon footprint. The campaign is supported by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition of over 50 organizations, as well as the three main causes - Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid. Festival organiser, Michael Eavis said “this year we’ve put a lot of effort into focusing on climate change and the environment.” He hopes that Glastonbury will rally 100,000 more supporters to the cause.

Unofficial rumours state that Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Bjork and Paul Weller are among the performers due to take the stage in late June. An official line-up is to be announced by NME  on the 1st June. Let’s hope Winehouse takes part in the recycling efforts. So far, her record ain’t so hot.

More news on the “I count” campaign can be found at http://www.icount.org

May 25th 2007

New Eco-Friendly Wax Figure Of Prince Charles Unveiled

Filed under: events: uk, fashion, green and famous, politics — michael @ 1:13 pm

You know “going green” is reaching a fever pitch when even the wax representations of eco-friendly individuals reflect their personal values. So is the case with Prince Charles, whose wax figure at Madame Tussauds received a new green makeover and was unveiled this past Wednesday. From the article,

“To create its first “green” figure, workers recycled wax from a 1989 figure of the Prince of Wales and updated it with 82 pounds of organic beeswax, 55 pounds of clay and fiberglass. Artists used organic pigments to color the skin.

Sculptors worked only with their hands and in daylight to cut down on electricity usage. Workers rode bicycles to attend planning meetings during the four-month project.

The remaining carbon the process generated was to be offset by the planting of three trees in Cornwall.”

The cost of constructing the figure — at nearly $289,000 — remains in line with the average for the museum. I know, I can’t believe it’s so affordable either…

Congrats to Madame Tussauds on the effort! While I doubt there will be as much emphasis placed on greening future scary realistic wax figures, I’m hopeful that some of the practices will rub off. For your next statue, Charles, I’d work on that double-chin.

via Ecotality

May 17th 2007

Madonna Pens New Song For Live Earth! Download Now!

Filed under: events: uk, music — michael @ 11:52 am

Get those lighters ready. Madonna has recorded a new song called “Hey You” for the upcoming Live Earth concert series on July 7th. As a part of a special limited time offer, MSN is allowing the song to be downloaded for free from their official Live Earth site. For the next 7 days, MSN will donate 25 cents for each of the first 1 million downloads. All money collected will be donated to The Alliance For Climate Protection. Why are they being so generous?

Honestly, the song is weak. It starts off nice, but quickly turns into a station changer with syncopation madness and confusing lyrics. Madonna sings “First love yourself, then you can save someone else, if you can change someone else, then you have saved someone else, but you must first love yourself.” Right. But, in the middle of the song she says, “Hey you, first love yourself or if you can’t try to love someone else.” Wait a minute? What am I supposed to do? I thought I could only move on if I loved myself first?

It’s catchy — it will be used as an anthem for certain aspects of the show — but much like the Greenpeace “Go Green” song, don’t expect this one to get much play time.

You can download Madonna’s new song here!

Thanks to Linton for the tip!

May 14th 2007

Celebs Turn Up For Children’s Charity Event

Filed under: campaigns, donations, events: uk — lynn @ 2:25 pm

Absolute Return For Kids, or Ark, recently held a charity dinner and auction and raised the biggest amount ever earned from this annual event: £28 million. It attracted the attention of celebrities like Elizabeth Hurley, Jemima Khan, Bob Geldof, and even Bill Clinton.

Tickets for the event cost £10,000 to £50,000. That was before anyone had even bought £10,000 raffle ticket. Each table had the chance to win a limited-edition diamond necklace of six five-carat diamonds and a further 130 single-cut diamonds set in 18-carat white gold. Guests ate carpaccio and tartare of Kobe beef with foie grass (sic).

Apart from the foie gras bit, we love it that celebrities support these events and are putting their money to good use.

May 10th 2007

Jodie Kidd: The Hot Green Goddess From Across The Pond

Filed under: events: uk, fashion, green and famous — michael @ 9:37 am

One of Britain’s former top supermodels, Jodie Kidd, has gone into “overdrive” since seeing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth last summer. As she recently told the magazine New Consumer,

“‘The environment is an issue close to my heart. I’m not stuck in the city where you’re cocooned, I’m out in the country so you see what’s going on.’ And she’s worried, to the point of rambling panic. ‘I’ve only had one frost this winter, and there are the flowers – I’ve had flowers shooting that really shouldn’t be.’

She takes her hat off to fellow stars, like Leonardo DiCaprio: ‘I think it’s wonderful that big names are bringing light to truths about what’s actually going on,’ she says of Leo’s Blood Diamond. She’s also got words of praise for fellow model Laura Bailey, who’s in the process of setting up an eco fashion label with Jemima Khan.”

Kidd was recently signed to represent the ‘Eco Elite’  range of appliances for LG. As the article points out, “The rather snazzy looking Steam Direct washing machine uses 35 per cent less water and 21 per cent less energy than traditional washers and it has been rated A++ for energy efficiency.” Groovy.

For more Kidd green goodness, hit New Consumer’s site.

May 3rd 2007

“Plastic Bag” Craze Inspires “I’m Not A Smug Twat” Version

Filed under: events: uk, fashion — michael @ 10:15 am

As we reported earlier, people are dishin’ negative reviews on the latest “eco-bag” craze with good intentions apparently overshadowed by the umbrella of “I’m Not A Plastic Bag”. While not created to stand as a symbol of everything green and holy, the Anna Handmarch tote has unfortunately fell victim to social consumerism and is now demanding poor souls to wait in line for hours. So, what to do? Well, how about make fun of the entire craze?

That’s exactly what one enterprising UK designer decided to do with her new “I’m Not A Smug Twat” take on the fashion phenomenon. From the article,

“‘I came up with the idea when I saw reports of people queuing at Sainsbury’s. I don’t understand why anyone would want to queue for hours just to get their hands on a bag. It seems crazy,’ said designer Marissa Vandersee.”

Her new bag is also more “local” than the original — making them herself and then selling them at London’s Brick Lane and Broadway market.

“‘They’re supposed to be ethical and yet it turns out they’re exploiting people. My bag might be a bit more expensive but the only cheap labour I’m exploiting is me.’ She added: ‘I also support local sourcing and production. My fabrics are sourced in Northern Ireland, England and Italy, while they are produced in London and Wales.’”

These are hilarious — though British humor is always more edgy than anything Americans could get away with on their bags. We’ll probably see some bland version that says something like, “I’m Not A Consumer” or something equally horrible. “Smug Twat” just hits it home like no other expression.

Hit Marissa’s site for more — and to order your own bag!

via Hippyshopper

April 11th 2007

Live Earth Ticket Details & Pre-Sale Info

Filed under: events: uk, music — rebecca @ 12:50 pm

I hope everyone is as excited about Live Earth as we are. We’ll be bringing you the details as we receive them. Here are some more details on how to get tickets for the USA & UK shows. All shows are happening on 7.7.07.

USA - Giants Stadium, NJ

Al Gore is offering up a limited number of advance tickets for members of AlGore.com. Sign up to be notified and get your hands on tickets before anyone else!

On April 16th at 10am EDT, the tickets go on sale to the public. They will be available from Live Nation online and Ticketmaster by phone at 212.307.7171.

No word on USA ticket prices yet, but it’s been said that the carbon offsets for this series of concerts is going to set organizers back $2 - 3 million.

UK - Wembley Stadium, London

Pre-registration & applications will be required for the UK Live Earth show. It’s quite the process, actually.

Pre-registration begins on Friday, April 13 at 12 noon GMT at livenation.co.uk/liveearth. The will continue through Monday, April 16 at 12 noon GMT.

Successful applicants will be notified by April 18 via text message (SMS). They’ll have until April 20 at 12 noon GMT to buy their tickets. All tickets will cost £55.

Other venues include Brazil: Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, South Africa: The Cradle of Human Kind, Maropeng near Johannesburg, Japan: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, China: (location TBD), Shanghai, and Australia: Aussie Stadium , Moore Park, Sydney. Once tickets are available for those events, we’ll let you know.

Good luck to everyone, including ourselves!