Sir Paul McCartney has teamed up with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist to urge people to become vegetarian to save the planet from the greenhouse gases created by rearing livestock. Seriously? Can Paul get any cooler? I really don’t think there’s anyway he can! 

In a letter to The Independent, Paul joins Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to prove just how eco-friendly vegetarianism is! In the letter, the duo states that becoming meat-free is  ”the single most effective act” anyone can take to lessen greenhouse gas emissions and points out that the livestock industry uses up increasingly scarce sources of fresh water and increases other forms of pollution through its need for agricultural chemical. 

“With growing awareness of … the need to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases, citizens across the world often ask what it is that they can do to mitigate emissions,” they say in their letter. “There are several reasons for a shift to a much lower input of meat in human diets if not complete vegetarianism … We are writing this letter not because vegetarianism is a fad or an emotional issue but because it is a very attractive option for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and stabilising the Earth’s climate and ensuring global food security.”

If you think Paul and Rajendra are off their rocker, let’s not forget that in 2005 the U.N released a report stating that, “raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.” Even Barack Obama recently acknowledged that the meat industry is an environmental disaster! 

As always, we’re so excited to see Paul continue to use his fame to promote the vegetarian diet and are even more excited to see the world finally embracing this deliciously sustainable diet! To read Paul and Rajendra’s entire letter, visit Independent.Co.UK!

On Barack Obama winning the 2008 Presidential election:

“That was a present and a celebration all rolled into one,” he says, explaining that he has met the president-elect. “I feel proud to be an American again. He has more charisma than any actor I’ve ever met and he also cares about the environment.”

On his love of green technology:

“I am an eco-geek and like to endorse new technology,” says DiCaprio. “We have to find an alternative to fuel which is going to run out. It is only a matter of time. Thinking about the future got me started in the first place.” As well as his Toyota Prius, his latest car is equally in tune with the times – a BMW H7, which runs on hydrogen.

On his love for watching animals in the wild:

“I am regularly able to escape to watch wildlife in Africa and South America,” he says. “Looking at lions, elephants and zebras in the wild is a passion. When watching whales, it brings it home what a wonderful world it is out there. I’ve had pet dogs, frogs and even a lizard. Animals have always been a big passion for me and I remember, at one stage, wanting to be a travel agent so I could get out in the world.”

Check out the rest of the great interview here — including a look at what’s currently playing in DiCaprio’s DVD and CD player.

In my opinion, Woody Harrelson is right up there with Ed Begley Jr. in terms of living a true, green Hollywood lifestyle. The UK Times recently caught up with the actor and discussed his love for the all-electric, dicontinued, Toyota RAV 4, his solar-powered community in Hawaii (which Owen Wilson will be moving to shortly), and the inspiration of his wife and children. Here are some highlights:

On electric transportation and the conspiracy to kill the tech back at the turn of the century:

That whole thing [with the film] Who Killed the Electric Car?’, it really is true,” claims Harrelson. “They did try to stamp it out in many ways . . . My RAV4 drives like a normal car. It goes 70mph. You could maybe get it up to 75mph. There are no drawbacks at all except that eventually you’re gonna have to plug it back in.”

On his Hawaiian, off-gird, eco-village community:

“Everybody in the neighborhood is on solar power,” he says. “People get the concept that it’s like a commune, but this was a neighborhood that’s been there long before I got there, and they just never wanted power lines.”

On the current political situation in the U.S.:

“I just find it hard to believe that there’s going to be any evolution of politics from within,” he says. “I just think the system is so corrupt. And now we’re still stuck in this Bush-like quagmire nightmare. I like [Barack] Obama. He seems a little outside the norm. But we’ll see what happens.”

For the rest of the interview, please head on over to the UK Times here.

via my face is on fire

Apparently winning the Tour de France seven times isn’t quite enough of an accomplishment for some people. It’s been revealed that in July, Lance Armstrong used 330,000 gallons of water at his home in Texas. That, according to The New York Times, is a shocking 38 times the amount a single household consumes during one summer.

Couple that with the dry spell Texas has been experiencing this season, and the amount is more than cringe worthy.

But as with every story, there’s always another side of the tale. Lance has been spending the majority of the summer between Colorado and California, and was reportedly unaware of his water usage. He’s been quoted as saying, “I’m a little shocked … There’s no justification for that much water.” Also adding, “I need to fix this.”

Yes, Lance, you most certainly do. Especially with more information being brought forward showing that since January of 2007, his home has used 158,000 gallons a month on average, having only recently shot up to take him to the head of the pack. But this time, the race he’s winning is for the title of “water-glutton”. Hopefully all this public attention on his high water usage will encourage Lance to cut back, and perhaps he can even inspire other celebs to do the same.

via: Green Daily

Counting down…

8. Bill Gates- While this guy does a lot for charity (which we love), it’s estimated that his global impact is 10,000 greater than the average person. WTF?

7. David and Victoria Beckham- We totally called this one! Last year, David flew more than 250,000 miles, is the owner of 15 cars and owns several homes. Add that all together, and he created about 18 times more carbon dioxide than the average person.

6. Madonna- Jeez! We called this one as well! Water bottles aside, in the past year she has created more than 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide!

5. John Travolta- John Travolta owns five planes, including a Boeing 707 complete with multiple dining rooms, and it’s estimated he has an annual carbon footprint that’s about 100 times more than the average person.

Hungry for more? To see the rest of the list scoot on over to chicagotribune.com. The remaining four might surprise you. I’ll give one clue — we DEFINITELY predicted number one!

“In 2004, Brad Pitt invited Bono to his home to address a group that included Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Julia Roberts, Justin Timberlake and the architect Frank Gehry. Bono offered a potent magic: you could write a kind of song, or make a kind of movie, that would save children in Africa. And there was Africa itself — the real thing, the continent of suffering and want, as against the glittering bubble of wealth and fame in which celebrities live. In 2005, Bono enlisted Hollywood’s leading figures in an advertising campaign to promote increases in development assistance for Africa.”

Those are some pretty powerful dinner parties. And then there’s the moment when George Clooney was asked to butter up first lady, Laura Bush, to help with aid in Africa. Clooney was overheard saying, “I just don’t feel it’s right for me to meet the first lady. I’ve been very critical of her husband in public; I think there’s something unmanly about meeting with his wife first.”

Check out the rest of the article here.

For those of you who get headaches perusing the Gray Lady’s picture-less editorial page, allow me to summarize: the article begins with explaining the ubiquitousness of bottled water in American culture these days, and goes on to state:

Americans are increasingly thirsty for what is billed as the healthiest, and often most expensive, water on the grocery shelf. But this country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet’s health.

Thank you for that insight, you well-respected mainstream publication, you! The article goes on to explain how choosing tap water over bottled water not only saves money, but helps reduce environmental impact.

Now, this is not breaking news to us here at ‘Razzi or to any of you dear green readers. But I think that it’s a big step for the Times to address the subject so matter-of-factly. After all, it’s one thing when Sarah Jessica Parker tells us to drink tap water…but it’s another when one of the nation’s most trusted news sources chimes in. So for now, it looks like our celebrity friends-of-designer-water such as Jennifer Aniston are outnumbered!

P.S. It’s after 11 p.m., sticky-humid and still almost 90 degrees here. I can’t say I blame the folks who to succumb to the occasional $1.00 bottle of water to prevent severe dehydration while traversing the avenues of this furnace we call New York City. But maybe they could refill those bottles throughout the day and even recycle them later….and maybe this article will convince a few folks to carry tap water from home in a safe and resusable container!

This week the Ottawa Citizen takes an in-depth (5 pages, seriously?) look at the issue with their main point being, “Celebrities are no smarter than the rest of us. So why do we take their advice?”

They interviewed some experts and here’s what one had to say: “Because they’re successful,” laughs Diane Pacom, a sociology professor at the University of Ottawa who studies youth and popular culture. “It’s as simple as that. Success in our society is measured by two things — money and visibility in the media. These people are exactly what we’d like to be, so their advice is much more important than anybody else’s around us.”

I have to say, however, that a celebrity like George Clooney bringing attention to the situation in Darfur, or Leonardo DiCaprio bringing light to the world of conflict diamonds, feels very different from Suzanne Somers recommending a medicine.

The article goes on to discuss how celebrities have used their “expertise” on certain issues to pull them out of a career or media slump.  Think: Angelina wearing Billy Bob’s blood and almost frenching her brother to the Angie everyone loves today.

I’d love to hear any reader thoughts on the topic of celebrity advice, benefits and negative aspects of being in the spotlight, and more.

Now, if I’d have known what a Page 3 girl is, I wouldn’t have been so surprised to see the picture that comes along with The Sun article. We Americans really are uptight about stuff like this, aren’t we?

Keeley gave very sexy global warming tips including turning off the lights during sex, cycling to up your sex appeal, and hand washing your organic undies. She also insists that her sexy photos are taken digital – no toxic chemicals to develop, you see.

Check out the whole article. Focus! It’s tough to get past that picture, but there are words there as well.