The USTA has placed recycling bins next to every trash can at the Open, along with reducing their energy use and increasing their use of organic, green food. They are presenting two environment-themed Open T-shirts, one a girly “Green Your Game” style designed by Venus Williams, the other a grey shirt that says “Save Our Planet–It’s the Only One with Tennis.”  They will also be piloting a compost program in their kitchens this year.

“The USTA remains committed to ensuring that the world’s highest annually attended event has as little environmental impact as possible without sacrificing the unique attributes that make the US Open the premier tennis event in the world,” said Lucy Garvin, President and Chairman of the Board, USTA.  “These expanded initiatives will help keep the USTA, the US Open and tennis fans worldwide at the forefront of the global effort to preserve the environment.”

You can find more info on the Open’s developments here.  While discussing green issues, Baldwin also told the New York Observer that plastic individual drinking bottles are verboten on the 30 Rock set.  Apparently they each have their own reusable containers and “drink out of a cooler.” I’d love to be a fly on the wall around that water cooler.

Photo of Baldwin at an NRDC event earlier this year by PR Photos.

- Alec Baldwin expressing his views on the Michael Vick case on the Huffington Post. Do you agree with Baldwin? Chime in and share your thoughts!

In the latest episode of NBC hit 30 Rock, Tracy Jordan replaces himself with a “White Whiskered Gibbon” to help prove a point.  A Gibbon is a member of the ape family and has no business in the entertainment world.

According to NoMoreMonkeyBusiness.com: 

“In order to force them to perform, trainers often beat young chimpanzees with their fists, clubs, or even broom handles. Shock devices may also be used. This systematic pattern of abuse and dominance causes the animals to be constantly anxious and fearful, always anticipating the next blow.” 

Learn more about why monkeys should never be used in entertainment at NoMoreMonkeyBusiness.com.

Check out the clip from 30 rock below.

In celebration of Earth Day, The Sak’s eco-extension, Sakroots, is hosting a celebrity bag auction supporting The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign. For each dollar contributed to the initiative, one tree will be planted. Starting on the 8th and running to the 22nd, a celebrity autographed sakroots Pax Eco Weekender will be up for grabs, signed by Robin Wright Penn, Rosie Perez, Blair Underwood, Justine Bateman, Jessica Alba, Alec Baldwin, Sandra Oh and Mena Suvari.

Sakroots Pax Eco Tote is made of a jute/cotton blend canvas and has 100% natural cotton handles. It features The Sak’s signature peace print symbolizing the brands’ “happy & free” philosophy with artwork created by Paris-born graffiti artist. To hit the auction, jump here!

Monday night the traffic was slow on Park Avenue in NYC as many celebs were getting out of their eco-friendly car services for the 11th annual NRDC “Forces for Nature” Benefit. Big names like Paul McCartney, Graydon Carter, Alec Baldwin, Diane Von Furstenberg, Seth Meyer, Matt Lauer, and many others were in attendance.

Designer, Stella McCartney and David Zaslav, CEO/President of Discovery Communications were honored for the work they do in helping to protect the environment and for being leaders in the environmental industry. Stella’s famous dad, Paul McCartney, said he was extremely proud of his daughter for holding on to her beliefs. “A love of nature has been instilled in [Stella] as she grew up,” he told WWDlifestyle “But I don’t want to take any credit. She’s a smart girl. When she came in to the fashion industry, she came in to Gucci, which is leather city. I was really wondering how long it would be before she’d have to cave in to the economic pressures, but she just hung in there.”

For more info on the event, check out WWDlifestyle’s coverage here.

Photos: Melissa Rosenberg

_

Liam Neeson

“As a horse lover and rider, I am deeply disturbed by the unnecessary and misguided political and extreme rhetoric against the horse-drawn carriage industry and feel obliged to counter this action.”

“The horse-drawn carriage business is an iconic part of this city, employing hundreds of dedicated, hard-working men and women, caring for well-bred, well-trained horses and attracting tourists to New York City for over 100 years.”

“As a proud New York resident, I have personally enjoyed the beauty of Central Park on a daily basis for many years, and these horses are an undeniable integral part of that experience. The notion that a well-nourished horse pulling a carriage through Central Park is considered cruelty may fit in with animal activists’ extremist view, but not with the rest of us. Surely we have a responsibility to protect commerce, especially one with such history, and one I truly feel helps define this city. May pragmatism prevail.”

Last June, Alec Baldwin hosted an event for PETA to help raise money and awareness on the issue. “I don’t have a problem with the carriage trade,” he said. “If they remove all the cars in Manhattan, and build a farm with an acre of land for each horse to graze, I will invest my own money. Passions run high in this issue… It’s loud and vulgar because they know they are wrong.”

What do you think? Should the carriage industry continue or is today’s city life too much of a stress for these animals?

– Actor Alec Baldwin in a hilarious and honest interview with The New Yorker titled “Why Me?”

Alec Baldwin always surprises me with his sheer level of coolness!! He’s an outspoken vegetarian, an environmental activist and now he’s lending his voice to a public service announcement that aims to help reduce homelessness in New York City.

In the PSA released by the Coalition for the Homeless — a charity blasting Bloomberg’s follow-through on a 2004 pledge to slash the number of homeless New Yorkers — Baldwin reminds us that, “over 40,000 New Yorkers will go to sleep homeless tonight.”

While the city Department of Homeless Services vows the homeless population in NYC is shrinking, the coalition disagrees and will televise the PSA on various networks to bring more attention to the problem.

It doesn’t look like the video has been released yet, but to check out more videos produced by the organization, visit coalitionforthehomeless.org. 

“Forced to spend their days breathing in exhaust fumes, walking on hard pavement, and risking their lives because of weather extremes and idiotic NYC drivers that somehow passed their driver’s tests, these horses are prevented from doing anything that is natural and important to them. Moss began to record the daily lives and living conditions of horses pulling carriages in and around Central Park after noticing the onslaught of recent injuries to horses in the carriage industry.”

Alec Baldwin insists he’s not interested in banning the trade, but he’d be willing to donate some good cash if the city would guarantee improved living conditions for the animals. “I don’t have a problem with the carriage trade. If they remove all the cars in Manhattan, and build a farm with an acre of land for each horse to graze, I will invest my own money. Passions run high in this issue… It’s loud and vulgar because they know they are wrong.”

That acre of land might be tough – but removing cars from Manhattan? No problem. Get that check ready, Alec.

Check out the official movie site for Blinders here.