In a spoof on the classic Super Mario Bros series, PETA has made Pamela Anderson the princess in distress; kidnapped by the evil Ronald McDonald who plans on making her a part of his “unhappy meals”. The flash game is all part of the animal rights organization’s campaign to urge McDonald’s to use a less cruel slaughter method for its chickens. From their site,

“In 2000, following the launch of PETA’s (original) McCruelty campaign, McDonald’s made some basic animal welfare improvements. Since that time, the company has refused to eliminate the worst abuses that its chickens suffer, including abuses during slaughter. This cruelty could be illegal if dogs or cats—or even pigs or cows—were the victims.”

Check out the Super Chick Sisters game below!

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Captain Planet — and if the below video tells us anything, it’s that time and the environment have not been kind to the eco-superhero. In fact, he’s downright pissed that all the BS he went though in defending the Earth from various polluting bad guys in the early 90s hasn’t amounted to much more than a stomach full of plastic.

In this clip, we see what happens when Captain Planet goes to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. Needless to say, it ain’t pretty.

“The current acidification level hasn’t been seen for at least 800,000 years, and acidification is coming on 100 times faster than at any point for hundreds of thousands for years. The levels are alarming. The rate of change makes them even scarier, because it so restricts the ability of sea creatures to adapt.

In contrast to the debate that continues about the causal relationship between this or that weather event and human activity, there is no debate about the source of ocean acidification. The change in the chemistry of the ocean is a man-made event, plain and simple, and the consequences of its continuing rise in acidity will belong squarely to us.

It will make for some uncomfortable moments around the dinner table when our children and grandchildren ask, ‘What did you do in the [climate] war, Daddy?’ If we don’t recognize the ocean’s warning, the first cataclysm from man-made carbon dioxide emissions that will get our attention will be the collapse of the oceans.”

Check out the full article on CNN here.

There be strange things going on with the Earthrace website, and Captain Pete Bethune has a pretty good idea who might be responsible. “Our website got taken out three times and it has never been hacked in five years,” the skipper told The Age. “That all happened in the last month. I don’t have the evidence it was the Japanese but I am highly, highly suspicious. They are well resourced and it would not surprise me.”

Apparently, as a result of the attack, the Earthrace website was down for a week (um, why?) and some malicious code was inserted. While the drama surrounding Sea Shepherd, the Japanese, and their efforts to our-duel each other is certainly enough to spawn suspicion over anything out of the ordinary, this could also be the work of some spammers. Content Management Systems, like the one Earthrace.net uses, are often vulnerable to security risks and holes just like the rest of the web. It wouldn’t surprise me if Earthrace’s (now called the Sea Shepherd Ady Gil) growing popularity has made it a target.

Of course, Japanese hackers working night and day to bring down the Earthrace website just sounds better.

via TheAge

Wednesday night’s airing of the latest South Park episode Whale Whores created quite the conversation in our early morning recap. While some praised the message of the show, others felt that it went a little too far in playing Wack-A-Mole with Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson.

Not one to shy away from controversy, Watson stopped by the comments to share his feelings on the show — and explain why South Park’s exposure was worth the satirical abuse. In his own words,

I have to say that being lampooned on South Park is hardly something to complain about. They spelt Sea Shepherd right and they brought the issue of the dolphin and whale slaughter by the Japanese to a very large audience. I could not really care less how I was portrayed personally, I’m in good company along with Tom Cruise and Sean Penn.”

It’s a tough situation we are in. We can’t hurt the whalers and we have to stay within the boundaries of the law in opposing illegal whaling operations. If that makes us pussies so be it, it’s better than being portrayed as killers. The point however that was missed is that we have cut the Japanese kill quotas in half over the last three years and cost them their profits. Our objective is to bankrupt them and we are doing just that.

South Park has however linked Japan to the horrific and senseless slaughter of dolphins and whales and all in all that’s a damn good message in our opinion.

What the Whale Whores episode also achieved was to highlight just how successful Whale Wars has been as a television show and how Sea Shepherd is out on the high seas actually trying to do something about the problem.

Captain Paul Watson
Captain – The Steve Irwin

One of the new features we enabled for Ecorazzi 3.0 was avatars in the comments — or little picture boxes to add a bit of personal flair to postings.The default box is a pink flower on green, which can be a bit overwhelming when the comments really light up. Since people have been asking how they can add their own pictures, we thought a little step-by-step would be handy. This whole process will take roughly 3 minutes — an eternity in the blogosphere –  so I understand if we continue to see a deluge of pink flowers in the comments.

Step One: Sign Up With Gravatar

Super easy — and all they need is an email address. Gravatar is the universal avatar supplier for sites that tie in pictures with their comments. Simply go to their sign up page, drop in your email, and confirm that you truly are a real person. Then, just select a username, password, etc.

Step Two: Add The Email Address You Use With Ecorazzi

This step is important. If you did not already use the same email address you use when adding comments on the Razz, add it to your account by clicking on “Add a new email” at the top of your Gravatar account. Otherwise, proceed to the final step!

Step Three: Add A Photo

Just like with Twitter, go ahead and upload the image you would like to use to represent you. You can crop once the image is uploaded.

That’s it — you’re done! In a few minutes, your avatar will show up next to any comment you’ve ever posted on Ecorazzi tied to that email address. If you post comments elsewhere using the same email address, and that site has avatars activated, a similar result will occur. Have fun!

Are you a passionate green blogger looking for tips to expand your readership — or someone that might be interested in getting involved? Rachel Sarnoff, the driving force behind the stylish EcoStiletto.com, has organized a Green Blogger Convention to take place in Los Angeles on November 6th from 9am-12pm. More than an opportunity to network, there will also be some wonderful green products to sample — from sustainable beauty treatments from Steam Salon to mini-makeovers from Terra Firma Cosmetics.

This big highlight will be a panel from 10am-11:30 discussing “the past, present and future of green blogging”. Speakers include Kim Barnouin, (co-author of New York Times Bestseller Skinny Bitch and founder of HealthyBitchDaily.com), Starre Vartan, (environmental journalist, editor and publisher of Eco-Chick.com), Jen Boulden, (co-founder of IdealBite.com), Jane Buckingham (trend forecaster and president of Trendera.com), “Green LA Girl” Siel Ju, Lauren Selman, founder & producer of Reel Green Media & “Sustainable Sirens”, and Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, founder & editor of EcoStiletto.com.

After the panel, a “Vegan Fashion Show” featuring sustainable designs from ecoSkin, Doie, Deborah Lindquist, Stewart + Brown and Wasteland.

Want to attend? Hit up the registration site here before space runs out!

Today is Blog Action Day 2009 — and the topic that has more than 9,000 blogs in 150 countries with more than 12 million readers buzzing is climate change. The goal is to help facilitate discussion on the issue and get the world ready for the incredibly important Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December. It is there that world leaders hope to come to an agreement on a new climate treaty as a successor to the Kyoto protocol.

Obviously, our focus is on those in the entertainment industry helping to draw attention to this historic event. With that in mind, we’ve put together those individuals or groups recently involved in pushing for tough greenhouse gas emissions limits — and for a successful outcome in Copenhagen. Check it out below the fold:

1. Cate Blanchett

Blanchett has been involved in promoting tough environmental policies down under in Australia for many years now. Most recently, she appeared in Copenhagen in May of this year at the World Business Summit on Climate Change. The actress addressed business leaders, urging them to decrease their carbon emissions and increase sustainable practices. “Political failure at Copenhagen in December is quite simply unacceptable and this powerful room must play a major role in preventing this failure,” she said. “Australia’s best climate scientists have been warning us that we’ll face many more catastrophic fire days in south-east Australia unless the world acts to dramatically cut greenhouse pollution.” [Read more...]

2. Sting

Though Sting’s personal carbon footprint regularly comes under scrutiny, the famous singer is backing Prince Charles’ Rainforests Project — which seeks to limit deforestation and buy the world time to move to a low-carbon economy. Ahead of the Copenhagen Talks, Sting has lent his iconic “Message in a Bottle” song to the campaign — sending a different kind of SOS to the world. [Watch/Read more...]

3. Hugh Jackman

We knew Hugh Jackman was into green filmmaking, but 2008’s World’s Sexiest Man Alive, surprised even us by opening up NYC Climate Week and urging support for a strong treaty in Copenhagen. “I hope to be a voice for the billion people in developing countries who will be the hardest hit by changing weather patterns, by the droughts and floods that destroy their crops and threaten their food security,” Jackman said in a statement. “Climate Week NYC provides an ideal forum to help underscore the urgency for world leaders to secure and fund an ambitious global climate change deal in Copenhagen that is effective, fair and binding.” [Watch/Read more...]

4. Duran Duran, Milla Jovovich, Melanie Laurent, Others | “Beds Are Burning” Remake Climate Song

As part of the International “TckTckTck” Climate Change Campaign, many celebrities, politicians, and old-school bands came together to record a cover of the classic ’80s hit “Bed are Burning”. The effort, which now includes a petition with over 2 million signatures, is a direct challenge to the nations involved in the Copenhagen talks to come to a fair and binding deal.

5. Don Cheadle

As part of the UN-led 2009 Seal The Deal! campaign, Don Cheadle appears in a series of PSAs urging action this December in Copenhagen. The effort, like those above, is meant to galvanize and rally support for strong action. The official website also includes a petition to sign to present to leaders. [Watch...]

Project Green Search, the online campaign that’s looking for the next green “it girl”, is now open for voting and looking for your input. The top 10 contestants will be selected by guest judges (with input by the public taken into account) and will be flown to Los Angeles for the finals; which will include an eco-fashion shoot featuring clothing and accessories from some of the highest-profile green designers in the industry.

The winner, if not already represented, will receive a modeling contract, a compilation of professional images for her portfolio taken by Courtney Dailey, eco-fashion wardrobe with designs from Deborah Lindquist, Loomstate, Peligrosa, Rain Tees, Mountains of the Moon, Hess Natur, Stewart+Brown, Charmone Shoes, Smart Glass McFlashpants, Emily Katz, EcoSkin, Lavuk Green, California Rising and more; an organic & natural beauty care shopping spree at Future Natural, a gift basket of cosmetics from Josie Maran Cosmetics, cover shots and interior spreads in several print and online magazines including Organic Spa Magazine, Coco Eco Magazine, Peppermint Magazine, and others. Our winner will receive extensive exposure and support in gaining modeling, host, spokesperson or brand representative work with eco-fashion houses, green products lines, organic cosmetic companies, and more through LOHAS.

Sounds like an incredible opportunity. To vote for your favorite, jump here!

We mentioned last week that Alicia Silverstone would be launching a website to go along with her new book The Kind Diet, but it seems as though the plans are a bit more ambitious than that.

Called The Kind Life, the actress created the website as an “interactive extension” of her healthy living book — sharing tips on everything from fashion and beauty, to simple ways to help the planet. “I will be posting tons of photos, blogs, and videos detailing all of the things in my life that have helped me to be as kind to the planet as possible,” she writes. “My friends, colleagues, and medical professionals will also post information on the site. My goal here is to share everything that I have learned on my journey with all of you, and I want you all to share your experiences with me.”

That last sentence is what separates this site from Gwyneth Paltrow’s similar, yet one-way street GOOP. Whereas both dish on what makes them happy — and offer advice from friends and experts in various fields, Silverstone wants to hear from you on what defines your happiness.. “Just send me a message and I will do my best to help,” she offers. “The Kind Life is a place where we can all support each other on this passage to healthier and happier living.”

To that end, the site, while still under development, features a social networking backend that will power the community Silverstone is hoping will thrive. There’s also a forum with categories for food, fashion, flirters (um, dating?), and oddly, superheroes.

Want to take a peek and be one of the first to sign up? Jump to The Kind Life website here.