Earlier this year, Ecorazzi reported that Leno had started a segment on his show called the Green Car Challenge, where celebrities take turns racing around a homemade track in a specially prepared Ford Focus-based battery car. While racing, the famous contestants face a variety of challenges, including cut-outs of Al Gore and Ed Begley Jr.

About his inspiration to start the challenge, Leno told Starpulse.com:

“Whenever I would drive a green car, like an electric car, when I drove it to the show, the female guests would go, ‘What is that? Does that not use gas?’ And a lot of times, without sounding sexist, the guys are interested in cars, the women could care less. But this is something where the women will go, ‘Hey, how does that work?’ And they’re really interested.”

So how does Sheryl Crow do? You’ll have to watch the video below to find out!

This year’s “Green Week” on NBC is turning out to be its best ever — with green themes on shows like The Office, 30 Rock, Community, and now this genius eco-jam medley from Jimmy Fallon.

Seriously, it’s no easy task to come up with something entertaining and environmentally-themed — but Fallon’s 4-minute guitar jam hits it on all levels. Not to mention the guy can actually sing and play.

Prepare to rock out to green versions of Amy Winehouse (”They tried to make me buy a hybrid…”), Justin Timberlake (”I’m bringing bottles back…”), and Jay-Z (”Check out these new floors…”) among others.

Jane Goodall is one of my all-time favorite people! A tireless advocate for compassion, Jane has proudly earned her title as “UN Messenger of Peace.”

Goodall recently appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to discuss her lifetime of work. In the interview, she talks about the dangers of keeping wild animals as pets, saying:

“The full range of chimp emotion is the same as ours. It’s exactly the same. They have a dark side, they have a bright side. But I’ve worked with chimpanzees in the wild for nearly 50 years, they don’t bite off our faces. They’re not meant to be in homes — they’re wild animals.”

Amen!

Goodall also discusses her organization, Roots and Shoots, which engages and inspires young people to work for human, environmental and animal issues. I mean can she get any cooler? Check out the video out below the fold to hear more of what Jane has to say!

Leave it to Audi’s marketing division to come up with a green commercial that also manages to insult anyone using alternative transportation.

Ride the bus? You suck. Ride a bike? You suck harder. Ride a Segway through a busy city walkway? Ok, they have a point there.

Oh yea, and for anyone using a biodiesel vehicle, prepare to get passed by some smug asshole in a diesel Audi. There, don’t you feel better about their environmental message? Check it out below:

H/T Chris Baskind

As part of NBC’s “Green Week” from their Green is Universal initiative, The Office is tackling the subject of recycling. Needless to say, Dwight Shrute takes things to the extreme.

At least I know what I want to be for Halloween next year.

Planet Green has picked up a pitch for a reality show called Beekman Farm. The show is described by Variety as having “a modern-day ‘Green Acres’ spin about two New York City expatriates who head upstate to run a farm…and seek to develop a line of organic products for their company under the Beekman 1802 brand.”

According to Variety, Beekman Farm will “mix rural business and irreverence” in its focus on Josh Kilmer-Purcell, an ad exec, drag queen and author and his partner Brent Ridge, a doctor who has served as VP for healthy living for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

For the record, I read about these guys quite a while back in Vanity Fair and, to the magazine’s credit, Kilmer-Purcell’s drag queendom was not used as a selling point.  It sounds a bit from the treatment in Variety that the company, Beekman 1802, and its organic product line are being built from scratch for this TV show which is absolutely not the case. The couple have been living and working on the farm and building the brand since 2007.

According to their website, “Beekman 1802 is committed to environmental sustainability,  supporting local micro-economies, and developing debt-free business models.” Although the products are not vegan, I have a feeling that these guys are pretty right-on. They note that the farm “is dedicated to raising animals using the most comfortable and humane farming and husbandry practices possible. The Beekman goats, which provide milk for our soap and cheeses, graze freely on the pastures and range in number from fifty to over one hundred depending on the season.”

Good intentions aside at Planet Green though, seems to me like they’ve got a more flamboyant “gay goat farmer” angle in mind. “Their eccentric, extended friends and family dynamic reveals to viewers that trying to live the simple life isn’t so simple after all,” said Planet Green honcho Laura Michalchyshyn.

I still think I kind of want to watch this.

NBC’s Green Week is kicking off this Sunday and we’ve got a few scoops on what’s in store for two of our favorite shows.

Even our super (not) secret sources at GE have only been told so much about plot lines for The Office but here’s what we’ve got: “Dwight Schrute from The Office gets into a green character, assuming the role of ‘Recyclops.’” Nothing could go wrong there…

The folks behind 30 Rock, however, are a little more forthcoming. In the upcoming ep, Jack gets the word from above that TGS needs to reduce it carbon footprint by 5%. Jack’s solution? Give the job to Kenneth The Page. We also got word that Al Gore will make his second cameo on the show. He almost pulled off a self referential joke a couple years back, let’s see if he can do better this time around.

For the record, 30 Rock is one of the greener shows at NBC Universal. In addition to their standard recycling efforts, the show has removed water bottles and has instead installed water filters. Their caterer also uses compostable products, and the offices have switched to chemical-free cleaning products. They also rent hybrids for both talent and crew. As if I didn’t love 30 Rock enough.

Check out the shows and let us know what you think of their approach to environmentalism. It takes all kinds…

- Gwyneth Paltrow discussing her love of the Sundance Channel’s “Green Porno.” Earlier this year, Ecorazzi gave you the 4-1-1 on Rossellini’s kinda creepy/kinda cool show. What do you think? Is “Green Porno” your cup of tea? Chime in and let us know!

via: vegetarianstar.com

NBC’s “Green is Universal” initiative is kicking off its third-annual “Green Week” of environmentally-themed programming starting this Sunday! Color me surprised that this campaign is still alive and kicking three years after its launch.

The centerpiece of this year’s “Green Week” is the “Green Counts Here” campaign, a cross-platform initiative that invites NBC Universal audiences to make green count, by pledging to make small green changes in their daily lives. The sum of these pledges will illustrate to consumers the collective impact of their environmentally friendly actions.

Shows receiving the greening treatment this year include Heroes, The Biggest Loser, Community, The Office (Yes!) and 30 Rock (Yes! Yes!). The Jay Leno Show will feature Ed Begley, Jr. in the “Green Car Challenge,” as well as a green-themed “Jaywalking” segment and a green comedy piece with correspondent Brian Unger.

Of course, Green Week doesn’t just effect NBC’s programming, but all the networks under its NBCU brands. MSNBC will speak with Jeff Corwin on the release of his new book “100 Heartbeats”, The Weather Channel will air segments on climate change (giving John Coleman additional heart attacks in the process), Bravo will re-air environmentally themed episodes of shows like Top Chef, and even Martha Stewart will get in the spirit highlighting “green tips and gardening techniques that highlight the importance of cultivation and conservation.”

Get ready for the green peacock. Green Week runs November 15-22nd.