Yesterday, Giselle and her family stopped by to ride, “In support of the Agua Limpa Project which was started by my father and provides clean drinking water to people in regions of Brazil,” she said.  The model went on to say that when her family watches this year’s New Year’s Even celebration in Times Square, they will know they helped create the light.

Other celebs who have pedaled for 2-0-0-9 include Liza Minnelli, Katie Couric, Nick Lachey, Leona Lewis, Brandy, Sean Paul, Lady GaGa, Ne-Yo and Natasha Bedingfield, as well as “Project Runway” winner Christian Siriano.

We said goodbye to Paul Newman, who passed away at the age of 83 on Saturday. (The above photo is of Newman and Mario Andretti in 2004.)

If forced to go on an all-liquid blood diet, a revealing 38% of you would choose to drain humans over forest critters or artificial sources. Of course, we suspect our wording of “Republican humans” probably had more to do with it.

The Leo Rumor Mill went into overdrive. Not only is DiCaprio potentially hooking up with Matthew Modine and Ed Begley Jr. on a green conference for Hollywood, but he may also follow up to his documentary The 11th Hour with a new eco-film. His rumored partner? None other business mogul T. Boone Pickens.

Britney Spears encouraged folks to buy a semi-nude painting of herself for charity, while Philip Seymour Hoffman decided that the best way to bike is while smoking.

The battle against Armani’s broken promise to PETA and decision to include fur in his fall collection heated up. The animal rights org added Gillian Anderson to the team and sent a letter to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes urging them not to dress Suri in Armani’s dead animal skins.

Stephen Spielberg joined Brad Pitt in donating $100K to fight Proposition 8; which seeks to ban gay marriage in California and overturn the earlier Supreme Court ruling.

87% of you agreed that there is no place for fur in sustainable fashion — or anywhere for that matter. The vote came in response to a Japanese designer who dubbed her fall collection of fur-trimmed capes and boleros as “Eco Harmony”. Eek!

Robert De Niro’s popular sushi restaurant Nobu decided to give people the option of ordering endangered fish — rather than just remove it from the menu.

Heather Mills quieted critics (for now) by spending time cooking up a vegan BBQ for kids and donating $1 million in veggie food products to the children of Hunts Point in the South Bronx.

Photo credit: Trevor Kent/INFGoff.com

Just when you thought that the Olympics couldn’t handle any more controversies, here comes one that we can all get behind. Despite security concerns, US Swimmer Amanda Beard debuted her brand new PETA ad at the Athlete’s Village in Beijing. 

“I have seen a lot of the videos, and (it) brings me to tears,” the four-time Olympian was quoted saying in a PETA statement. “What (some people) think is pretty is actually something that’s very gruesome and gross.” 

The photo was scheduled to be unveiled at an indoor press conference but officials feared for Beard’s safety. Undaunted, she just took the whole thing outside.

I’d be happy to tell you more about her anti-fur resume, but you’re probably just looking at the picture anyway, Check out her website, amandabeard.net, for her thoughts and a link to an animal rights petition.

via WSJ

In case you missed it, earlier this week Ecorazzi announced that we would be taking part in the Sierra Club’s (our charity of the month) Lightbulbs To Leadership campaign. As part of the campaign, the Sierra Club was asking people to hold dinner parties on July 17th to “speak up for bold, urgent, and serious action on global warming.”

Well July 17th was last night and Ecorazzi totally represented! Not only were hundreds (about 300 to be exact) of people hosting dinner parties for a great cause, but we all joined a conference call at 7:30 and listened to some fascinating speakers talk about the perils global warming.

Right now I’m away from NYC in Tampa (my hometown) for a little rest and relaxation, and so I used the opportunity to get together with some of my favorite down south friends for a night of delicious vegan food and global warming chit chat.

My friends Amanda and John wanted to exercise their vegan cooking skills and made a super delicious stuffed mushroom for the entree. We also noshed on crisp salad, fresh baked bread, rice pilaf and delicious wine. I was planning on preparing a batch of my famous peanut butter chocolate, coconut rice krispy treats, but I ended up getting locked out of my house and car for about an hour and a half (long story) and so dessert was put on hold. Thank you locksmith for getting me back in!

Rice krispy treats aside, the party was a success and not only did I get to spend time with a few of my favorite people who I rarely get to see, but I also had the chance to participate in a great campaign with a goggle of like-minded people all around the country. So a big thanks to the Sierra Club for all their hard work and to all you guys who helped take part in the event.  Check out some pictures from my party below. Isn’t Maddy the most adorable six-year-old EVER?!

Interesting news from the toxic chemical/environmental charity front (there’s a sentence you never thought you’d read, huh?):  The Clorox Co. recently struck a partnership with Ecorazzi-featured charity the Sierra Club, in which the eco group has agreed to promote a Clorox line of environmentally-friendly products in exchange for a share in the profits.  However, now some members of the group are crying foul, and officers in northern Michigan have even quit over the deal.

“They sold their soul to the highest bidder,” said Monica Evans, who helped reactivate the club’s nine-county Traverse Group in 2000.  Evans and the Traverse Group’s other five executive committee members resigned in May, recently making the decision public.  “The Sierra Club has been fighting against Clorox for decades, trying to get them to be responsible,” Evans said.  “Now we’re partners with them? It doesn’t make any sense.”

The deal has sparked hot debate among the Sierra Club’s members, who balk at the idea of a profitable partnership with a company named one of the “dangerous dozen” chemical companies by the Public Interest Research Group in 2004.  PIRG contended in the report that Clorox’s handling of chemicals at U.S. production facilities left some 14 million people vulnerable to contamination in the case of an accidental release.

Clorox’s line, called Green Works, is its first new product line in 20 years, and contains no phosphorus or bleach, instead using natural cleansers and ingredients like coconut and lemon oils to clean the bathroom, kitchen, glass, and other surfaces.  The bottles are recyclable and will bear the Sierra Club logo.

So on the one hand, you’ve got progressive green consumerism, and a big company taking steps towards sustainability, which could encourage other companies and consumers to do the same; on the other hand, you’ve got the Sierra Club taking money from a corporation that uses toxic chemicals in some of its products.  I tend to be wary of corporate sponsorship of supposedly grassroots organizations, but to be honest, the Green Works product line sounds pretty rad.  Dilemma or no-brainer?

In conjunction with their third-annual Green Issue, Elle magazine has partnered with global warming activist Laurie David to launch a series of 14 limited-edition Sigg bottles. Each one-of-a-kind bottle has been fashioned by some of the world’s most creative designers, and feature the designer’s characteristic styles that we love – Anna Sui’s signature Dolly Girl and Kenneth Cole’s freehand text designs, as well as others from Zac Posen, Savannah and Sienna Miller’s line Twenty 8 Twelve, and Diane von Furstenberg, , just to name a few.

You can view all 14 designs now at elle.com, but you’d better keep an eye on your favorites! The bottles will be auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting StopGlobalWarming.org, starting April 14 at 7:00 p.m., so you’ll have a chance to get your fashionable little hands on one of these designer bottles yourself!

Kelli Shields is the Major Gifts Associate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

E: Tell us about The Hollywood Office of the Human Society of the United States.
HSUS: We originally started as the ArkTrust and merged with HSUS in 2002. We are devoted to raising public awareness of animal issues by encouraging and honoring the major news and entertainment media. We believe that media is an extremely influential forum to inform, provoke and compel individuals to think differently about a whole range of social issues and educate about animal cruelty.

E: Tell us about the Genesis Awards.
HSUS: Animal advocate and actress Gretchen Wyler started the Genesis Awards in 1986. She came up with the idea because she strongly believed in rewarding members of the media who spotlight animal issues, thus increasing public awareness and compassion toward animals. The first event took place as a luncheon at the Bel Age Hotel drawing only 140 attendees and quickly grew into a large gala at the Beverly Hills Hilton with over 800 people. Wyler wanted to really honor the animal activism that really started the trend of animal activism in the 60s from starlets of that time period including Doris Day and Brigitte Bardot. In fact, there are now two awards – the Doris Day Music Award and the Brigitte Bardot International Award that are both highlighted during the gala.

E: What role do the celebrities play in the Genesis Awards?
HSUS: The actual awards are given to members of major media who include animal issues and raise public understanding of animal issues. The celebrities actually present the awards, however we just announced a new award in honor of Gretchen Wyler which was created specifically to a celebrity. Paul McCartney received the first award in honor for the work he has done for raising awareness against the slaughter of seals in Canada and his full body of work in animal rights over the past forty years.

E: Not to name drop, BUT, who are some of your regulars that take part in the Genesis Awards?
HSUS: We are so fortunate to have a number of celebrities who continue to support the work we do and help to raise awareness around specific issues at infinite levels. Some of our friends include: Bill Maher, Wendy Malick, James Cromwell, Alicia Silverstone, Sean Astin, Amy Smart, Emily and Zooey Deschanel, Daryl Hannah and many more.

E: Tell us about the Animal Content in Entertainment Program (ACE).
HSUS: The goal of this program is to work with filmmakers, producers and distributors to develop and support the inclusion of animal topics in feature films, television programming and documentaries. This is where media truly has the power to change minds and influence behavior. We work with them at a creative level to assure that they accurately portray animal issues in principal or secondary dramatic or comedic story lines. We also offer a grant program called SilverDocs in partnership with AFI/Discovery Channel Film Festival, which we hope will encourage animal issues as a rich and growing source of narrative and factual material.

E: Any upcoming storylines we should be aware of?
HSUS: Morgan Spurlock of 30 days did an episode where he paired an animal activist with a non-animal activist and Emily Deschanel recently featured animal cruelty in an episode of Bones.

E: What are some recent campaigns you have taken part in?
HSUS: We recently launched Puppy Mill Awareness Week with support from Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nathan Lane, Patricia Arquette, and Molly Shannon. Our goal is to help educate people that there are different ways to find pets other than puppy mills which is actually where many of the puppies in pet stores come from.

Another big event is when Wolfgang Puck recently announcing his commitment to come up with mandates that would end animal cruelty including no caged crates for veal, no battery caged chickens, and amazingly NO FOIE GRAS. This will make a huge impact.

Russell Simmons also recently came out with an anti-dog fighting PSA.

All of these campaigns are raising awareness and helping people to make the anti-animal cruelty choice.

E: What do you feel are some of the most influential entertainment pieces that have helped to raise animal awareness?
HSUS: Bee Movie is an amazing recent example which really highlights factory farming but in a very light hearted way. Babe of course helped to put a face on pork for children and adults. Charlotte’s Web, Finding Nemo, Free Willy, and many documentaries narrated by celebrities like the PBS Nature Series have been very influential.

E: What are some ways that people can stay up to date on new shows or get involved?
HSUS: We have a “One To Watch” section of our website where people can sign–up and receive updates. And of course you will find multiple ways to get involved through donations, getting involved in campaigns, and writing letters to legislators through the Humane Society Website.

E: Lastly, we couldn’t help but notice that when Bob Barker (famed animal advocate) retired from The Price Is Right, that Drew Carey continued to pass along his message of “keep your animals spayed and neutered,” did you have any influence on that?
HSUS: (laughter) No we did not, but what a great tribute to Bob Barker and proof that the mass media have the power to spotlight animal issues to vast audiences—literally at the speed of light.