- John Salley speaking to congress about the importance of vegetarian foods. Salley was joined on Capital Hill by Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich and representatives from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2009, which regulates the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, will come up for congressional review next year. Here’s hoping that congress make smart choices!

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!

The 2009 Oceana Partners Award Gala honors those individuals who have made outstanding contributions through their personal commitment to the cause of protecting and conserving the environment. We likey!

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart will host the special evening with stars like Morgan Freeman, Jeff Goldblum, Trudie Styler, Sting, Robert Redford, Ron Howard, Ted Danson and Sam Waterson slated to attend.

The event will take place at the private residence of Keri Selig and Keith Addis in Los Angeles, CA. To find out more, visit PartnersAward.org!

-Sarah Palin sharing thoughts about veganism in her new book. I mean are you really surprised? This is the woman who pay people to shoot animals from planes. And we know she couldn’t care less about the environment (read: “Drill, baby, drill”), so we’re pretty sure she’s never even considered how animal production affects the planet. Oh, Sarah…you make my head hurt.

-Author Jonathan Safran Foer discussing fishery science and the environment in an interview on the Huffington Post. He speaks the truth, people. Our fisheries are fried and it’s time we chill out on all the ridiculous sushi action. To read the whole interview, visit HuffingtonPost.com!

In April, Grenier attended the Clinton Foundation’s Millennium Network in Los Angeles–a gathering of more than 600 service-minded young professionals from all over the world who came together to address the most pressing issues of our time.

Adrian recently recorded a PSA for the Clinton Foundation to encourage young people to get more involved. In the video, he says:

“At the event, President Clinton asked us to be the “How Generation”–to help come up with the answers to the big questions of our time. How do you fight HIV/AIDS in Africa? How do you put a stop to Climate Change? How can we ensure that children live happy, healthy lives?”

Wanna know what else Clintons said? Check out the video below and visit ClintonFoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved!

-Actor Brian Cox discussing easy ways to get green at Global Green’s Sustainable Design Awards. Click here to check out our full-coverage of the event!

True Blood’s

Moyer recently sat down with the New Zealand Herald to talk about his new network mini-series Ice — which takes place in the year 2020 as the world is being ravaged by the effects of climate change and the dawn of a new ice age. Picture New York City being threatened by massive icebergs and you get the picture. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Has playing this part altered your views of climate change at all?
I’ve been aware of it for quite a long time. Once you’ve got children you start thinking about what they’re going to live with, and their children once you’ve gone, and so I suppose, if anything, it’s just cemented my views in looking after everything.

In what ways do you look after the earth then? Do you recycle?
Yeah, I’m pretty obsessive about it actually and I have been for quite a while in a very boring way. I think what we need to do is be more exciting about our recycling because I think everyone thinks of it as a chore instead of something that is possibly saving the world.

For True Blood fans, you’ll be happy to hear that Moyer leaves for the States this week to start filming the third season of the hit HBO series. Check out the full interview here.

I’ll give you twenty dollars if you can tell me what’s better than a room full of super cool people celebrating compassionate fashion.

Last night, I headed down to the Bowery Hotel in NYC to celebrate the Cool vs.Cruel Fashion Competion — an annual event put on by The Humane Society of the United States and The Art Institutes that challenges students to reinterpret the works of high-end luxury designers using cruelty-free fabrics.

Three winning garments were on display, each showcasing the creativity and talent of the contestants. But the big winner of the evening was Ingrid Bergstrom-Kendrick who got first place for a piece inspired by Michael Kors’ 2009 Fall collection.

Of course a slew of famous-famous were in attendance, including: Nigel Barker, Victoria Bartlett, Samantha Ronson, and many more. We also chatted with HSUS President Wayne Pacelle, talked fashion with the Olsenhaus and Vaute Couture gang and compared notes with our pals from Treehugger.com and TheDiscerningBrute.com.

During his speech, HSUS President Wayne Pacelle said, “Tonight we are focused on ending the fur trade. We are showing a way to be warm and fashionable without hurting animals.” And show they did! By the end of the evening, it was clear to everyone that no truly fashionable person would ever wear fur!

To find out more about this important campaign, visit CoolvsCruel.org. And for goodness sake, make sure that during this (and every) winter season you stay far, far away from fur!

Ps. I’ve started Tweeting live from events. Follow me on Twitter @mparrishdudell