Last night was the EMAs (pronounced “emmas”, in case you didn’t know), the annual awards gala thrown by the Environmental Media Association in celebration and recognition of those working in film and TV production who are supporting and promoting the green cause both behind the scenes and on camera. Sir Richard Branson and Jason Mraz were both honored last night along with 2012 producers Centropolis Entertainment and National Geographic’s Explorers in Residence Derreck and Beverly Joubert.

Presenters for the evening included Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Kathryn Morris, Ginnifer Goodwin, Olivia Wilde, Alanis Morrisette, Ed Begley Jr., Blythe Danner, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, Dana Delaney, Emily Vancamp as well as Dianna Agron and Kevin McHale from ‘Glee’. Razzi heroes Louie and Vicki Psihoyos also made it back from the controversial screening of their film The Cove in Japan for the event.

Amy Smart and Simon Baker presenting.

It was a pretty lavish shindig with vendors and screens lining New York Street on the Paramount Studios backlot. Tables were lit with faux votive candles, no paper plates in sight as well as eco-luxury gifts and a variety of gourmet and organic foods available all across the outdoor event.

Toyota and Lexus hosted the eco-luxury lounges.

The very excellent Melinda McGraw, from Mad Men and Hank, was on hand and we chatted a bit about how much there is to learn from pioneers like Ed Begley Jr. as well as what she’s been noticing changing on sets in the last ten years. McGraw pointed out that while many scripts are emailed these days it’s still hard to conserve paper with so many changing scripts drafts. Her pet peeve on set? The air conditioning on sound stages. “It does not need to be that cold,” she said. She also noted that she was decked out in all vintage for the evening.

I also caught up with the very talented actress and EMA board member Frances Fisher to talk about on-set habits. She said that because of the largess and temporary nature of film sets it’s hard to know what the better options are for something like craft services flatware. “What’s the impact of disposable plates versus the water used in washing all of these dishes?” It feels like there’s still a lot of assessment to be done on set.

Bill Nye The Science Guy and Ed Begley Jr. both agree that getting out of our cars is the single biggest thing that we can do to help the environment. Nye, back at the EMAs after a few years away, also said that he rides his bike everywhere much to the amusement of his friends. He also has a powerful solar set up at his house which allows him to sell electricity back into the grid.

Derreck and Beverly Joubert, National Geographic’s current Explorers in Residence (definitley in the running for ‘best job ever’) also launched the Big Cat Initiative last night which aims to protect the world’s big cats, starting on their home continent, Africa, but also spanning the world, bringing together governments and NGOs to save these rapidly vanishing creatures.

Along with honorees Branson and Mraz, winners for the evening included Better Off Ted, Brothers & Sisters, The Cove, Food Inc., Disneynature EARTH, The Lazy Environmentalist and Biz Kid$.

Highlights of the evening included a sneak peek at the upcoming 2012, Alanis working her way through Jason Mraz’s extensive list of eco-accomplishments and Cedric the Entertainer’s attempt to get the crowd to relax. I can also say that I hope that Blythe Danner and Sir Richard’s broken limbs heal quickly. What troopers!

Check out this exclusive clip of Jason Mraz performing “I’m Yours”.

Backed by inspiring music, Harrison Ford is supporting and voicing a new campaign called “Team Earth”. The 67-year-old actor is a long-time conservationist and last summer, at the height of the Indiana Jones 4 media blitz, waxed a portion of his chest to highlight deforestation. For this new effort, Ford is once more promoting preservation of the forests by partnering this campaign with Prince Charles’ Rainforest Project.

“Saving the planet won’t be easy — and it’s certainly not something you can do alone,” he writes. “That’s why I need your help — and that’s why I’ve joined teamearth.com. We all know that our planet is at a critical juncture: and humanity needs a healthy planet to survive.”

Check out the video below, or visit the official site here to join up!

Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Pele, Robin Williams, Prince William, Prince Harry, the Dalai Lama and others have teamed up with Prince Charles on a new video promoting conservation of the Rainforests. The 90-second clip features all of the participants standing next to — or holding — a computer-animated frog. “Our aim, with your help, is to build an online community to call, from the bottom up, for urgent action to protect the rainforests, without which we will most certainly lose the battle against catastrophic climate change,” Prince Charles said. Check out the official site here — and watch the video below:

You see, Calista Flockhart is set to host the 37th Annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner benefiting Peace Over Violence on Friday November 7th. It’s no surprise that Flockhart is hosting, as she’s the National Spokesperson for the organization that recognizes people who work to build a world of healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence.

The event will include a cocktail reception, silent auction, dinner and awards ceremony and feature stars like Harrison Ford, Bo Derek, Jane Seymour, James Keach and many others. Furthermore, guests are being asked to bring old cell phones to help the Verizon Wireless Hopeline program, which works to help stop domestic violence.

To find more about this super snazzy event, visit PeaceOverViolence.org!

via: looktothestars.org

Impressive. Check it out below — and don’t forge to make some time for next Tuesday, November 4th to vote!

Oceana protects the world’s oceans and receives mondo celebrity support for their work. An impressive list of eco-stars were flown to the party in helicopters from L.A.! Crikey!

Celebrities who showed up were Ted Danson, Diane Lane, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Beau Bridges, and Sam Waterson (also honored). Oceana paid $1,000 to purchase carbon credits to offset the party’s carbon emissions.

Global warming is hitting our oceans hard, and it seems the media often forgets to mention our troubled salty waters. I’m glad Oceana is out there working it and raising awareness.

via: ocregister.com

The folks over at BigThink recently conducted an interview with Harrison Ford about his work at Harvard scientist E.O. Wilson’s Biodiversity Foundation. The organization works to preserve biological diversity in the living environment through innovative business and educational strategies.

There are a great range of questions here, with everything from “Is Indiana Jones an environmentalist hero?” to “How has your love of nature influenced your acting?”. Here’s his response to the latter:

“I think the basis of acting is empathy. Knowing how other people feel. Certainly, one of the important judgments you can make about a person is how they fit into their environment, into the world that they live in. Specifically, whether they’re a positive force or a negative force.”

“I’ve always loved the quiet and the solace of nature. I’ve been fascinated by the complication of nature. In a way, I found that although I was raised without a formal religion, I found an ethical reality in nature — and the preservation of it. And I think that informs me in every way.”

One of the best aspects of these videos is how raw and thoughtful Ford’s answers are. There isn’t any interviewer — just Harrison and a camera. Check out the answer to the Indiana Jones question after the jump. For the rest of the great interview segments, check out the BigThink site here.

Re: Is Indiana Jones an environmentalist hero?

Harrison Ford surprised schoolchildren on a trip to Washington’s National Zoo, by appearing with members from the World Bank to officially launch a new global effort to save tigers from extinction. The 65-year-old star has been ramping up his philanthropic efforts — mainly we suspect due to the spotlight of the latest Indiana Jones movie shining brightly on him.

The campaign, which also has the support of celebrities like Bo Derek and Robert Duvall, will highlight how deforestation, development and illegal poaching are having a devastating impact on tiger populations across Asia. “I am concerned about the future of the entire animal community and human community as well,” Ford said. “The focus on tigers today is a critical opportunity to talk about tigers and talk about the communities in the places in which they live and the others who share that environment – humans included.”

Most recently, Ford participated in some new 30-second PSA’s for the organization WildAid urging people not to purchase or support illegal animal skins or poached products from abroad. “No thanks, just send me a postcard,” he says in the videos.

Check out a video of Ford speaking at the Zoo yesterday below. To find out more on the initiative, jump here.

Photo credit: AFP: Karen Bleier

The Indiana Jones star has joined forces with the U.S. State Department and the organization WildAid to draw attention to the campaign — and to encourage people not to buy endangered animal products when visiting overseas. “No thanks, just send me a postcard,” he quips.  From the site,

“More than 30 U.S.embassies in all regions of the world will showcase the PSAs in a global launch beginning June 5, World Environment Day. The ads will also be broadcast globally on television and cable stations.”

In all, Ford recorded three 30-second spots. You can have a look at all of them by visiting the WildAid site here.

How many different ways can we show Harrison Ford getting his chest waxed? Well, the media is making it easy for us — especially with Access Hollywood crashing the party a couple weeks ago.

Anyways, apparently Ford did the stunt to create a new PSA for Conservation International (of which he is Vice-Chairman). This one is definitely the best we’ve seen — with a little Pearl Jam added to the mix. Also, check out the behind-scenes-video here for a few extra laughs. Ford initially called the idea “insane.”

Jump here to view the PSA!