Yesterday morning Jessica Biel, Pete Wentz and Alexandra Cousteau announced  that they would be participating in Live Earth’s Run for Water – a global solutions-based initiative that will feature a series of 6km runs/walks (the average distance children and women walk to access water) to shed light on the global water crisis.

The Run For Water “will bring people together around the world, raising awareness about the sources and consequences of the water crisis, locally and globally,” said Alexandra Cousteau.

The event will kick off Earth Week on April 18, 2010 and will include six kilometer races, concerts, and water-saving related activities to be held in cities around the world, including Buenos Aires, Singapore, Cape Town, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mexico City, New York, and Rio de Janeiro.

Oddly, the event is being sponsored by Dow Chemical Company — the company responsible for the 1984 Bhopal, India disaster where some 15,000 people died when a company pesticide tank leaked. In June, 27 members of Congress wrote Dow, requesting they clean up the Bhopal water and soil, and to “immediately” meet survivors’ demands for medical and economic rehabilitation. Is this just a clever PR move or is Dow trying to take steps in the right direction? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Check out the video below to learn more about the campaign.

Pete Wentz and the guys from Fall Out Boy have joined Brad Pitt and Stephen Spielberg in making a big-time donation to opposing Proposition 8. The initiative, which will appear on the California state ballot during the November election, seeks to overturn an earlier ruling legalizing gay marriage. The rockers donated $50,000 to the organization “Vote No For Prop 8“.

Earlier last week, Pete Wentz blogged on the topic saying,

“There are a lot of causes out there — a lot of ‘good’ fights to be fought. I think proposition 8 is pretty lame — as many others do too. It’s fucking lame.”

Well said, Pete. Well said.

via: perezhilton.com

[UPDATE] We received an email from DoSomething — which helped craft the above message — and they dropped some addition info saying, “I wanted to let you know that the call-out for the PSA is that this month DoSomething.org is giving out 10 $500 for youth-led projects focused around the environment.  They’re available to US and Canadian citizens who are 25 and under.  All the information is available here and here“

The Fall Out Boy bassist has revealed that the diamond engagement ring he placed on Ashlee’s finger earlier this month is not what is often called a “blood diamond”, but instead has conflict-free origins.

Conflict diamonds are often mined in war zones under human rights violating conditions, most often in Africa, and sold to finance insurgency and warlord activity.

Wentz also sported a tee emblazoned with “Coltan is a conflict diamond!” to this week’s 2008 NME Awards, where he talked about his views on the dirty sparklers. “It’s something I care about,” he told People magazine.

Coltan is a metallic ore often associated with it’s exportation which is used to finance war in the Congo, where it is mined. Coltan is used in consumer electronics, such as cell phones and computers.

The couple will reportedly tie the knot in Southern California next month.

Kelli Shields is an Ecorazzi contributor and the Major Gifts Associate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Chiseling a place for themselves in the Guinness Book of World Records, rock group Fall Out Boy plans to become the first band ever to play all seven continents in less than nine months. Led by singer Pete Wentz Patrick Stump, the group will jump on board a private jet in southern Chile for a 90-minute flight to Antarctica, set up in a gymnasium located on a research facility, and rock out for the assembled team of scientists. We predict crowd surfing and gratuitous nudity during the entire jam session. From the article,

“Fall Out Boy began their multi-continental trek last summer with a gig in Johannesburg, South Africa, followed by Europe, Asia, Australia and North America last fall. They’ll play a concert in Santiago, Chile, on March 23, taking care of South America. And then there’s the Antarctica show, which will take place on the Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, a Chilean research base located on the Fildes Peninsula of King George Island. The Frei base is situated near Russian, Chinese and Czech research facilities, and scientists from those facilities will also be attending the FOB concert — which, according to Crush, will feature the band plugging into the gymnasium’s PA system — adding a whole new level of absurdity to the scenario.”

I love it. The group will also be teaming up with Greenpeace to raise awareness of Global Warming — and a film crew will be on hand to document the experience. Of course, FOB isn’t the only group grooving in colder climates. Earlier this year, 30 Seconds to Mars performed less than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland. They also created a short film with the NRDC to highlight climate change, as well as organizing a green website for information about current environmental issues. Kudos to both groups for making the effort.

On Saturday, March 29th at 8pm, millions of people, buildings and landmarks around the world will turn off their lights for one hour – otherwise know as “Earth Hour“. The effort is meant to show that the world can come together to make a difference in the fight against climate change. From the Sears Tower to the Golden Gate Bridge to the Sydney Opera House, familiar landmarks in some way will be going dark to show support. There’s even word that The Weather Channel HQ in Atlanta will be turning off all non-essential lighting on their building as well as promoting Earth Hour on their program Forecast Earth. Who wants to bet former founder John Coleman is going to lose it?

Obviously, we’ve got some great star power behind this event as well. Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy, actresses Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman, Dolly Parton, Blake Lewis, Menudo, Lonestar, and many others. In Canada Nelly Furtado is even giving a free concert. To date, 25 cities around the globe have been designated by World Wildlife Fund as official Earth Hour flagship cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco in the United States.

To see how you can participate — though we bet you’ve got that figured out — check out the official Earth Hour site and sign up to pledge your support!

[UPDATE] Looks like Jeremy Piven had lent his voice for a new video for the campaign. Check it out below.