Get out those wallets and get ready to bid! Bette Midler is raising some serious green for the New York Restoration Project and wants you to get involved.

Famous folks like John Mayer, Daniel Craig, Richard Branson, Steve Carrell, and many more have donated celebrity experiences to the organization, which are currently being auctioned at  CharityFolks.com. The fundraiser boasts over 100 “once-in-a-lifetime” prize packages, including:

• Lunch with Richard Branson during a week-long getaway at Necker Island
• Meet Robin Williams with VIP tickets to his NYC stand-up show
• Walk-on Role & Lunch on Set of ”It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”
• Meet Cher with VIP tickets & backstage passes to her Las Vegas show

The auction is already up and running and lasts until November 13, 2009. Want a exclusive celebrity experience? Visit CharityFolks.com to bid on one of the awesome prize packages.

Remember a couple weeks back when celebs like Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, and others hooked up with Prince Charles for a video promoting Rainforest protection? Well, the Prince is back — this time with something a bit drier: Corporate Leaders! <Swoon>

Sure, these behemoths of the business world aren’t much to get excited over, but their companies certainly have an impact on our world — and getting them on-board to help promote Rainforest protection is a good move by Charles’ foundation. You’ll see Sir Richard Branson (Chairman of Virgin Group), Sir Howard Stringer (CEO of Sony), Justin King (CEO of Sainsbury’s), Steve Easterbrook (CEO of McDonalds UK) and Eric Schmidt (Chairman and CEO of Google) amongst others. Like before, they’ve all got a digital frog sitting close by. Check it out below:

Richard Branson

Said Branson,  “I have been asked by Mia to take over the fast starting next week, but I have also now asked Mia to stop and I am starting my three day fast today to continue to ask world leaders to take immediate action and demand that international aid is restored.”

“I’m honoured to be taking over the fast for the next three days from Mia Farrow in her courageous stance to support the people of Darfur.  Over a year and a half ago, I travelled to Darfur and was horrified by the stories that people of all ages shared with us. Young children had watched their entire family get killed and then had to survive on their own in unimaginable conditions. I was humbled and inspired by the courage of the Darfuri people and the commitment of the aid organisations that were working on the frontlines. Now, with 13 aid organisations expelled from the country, over 1m people are at grave risk. We cannot stand and watch as 1m people suffer. We all need to stand up and demand that international aid is restored and that the people of Darfur are protected and given the chance to live in peace.

“Please join us and get involved in supporting the people of Darfur by going to www.fastdarfur.org and taking action.”

Great work, Richard — and our best to Mia too as she recovers from this latest inspiring effort.

We love Twitter — not just because we get to communicate with people in 140 characters or less (Soon, everyone will speak this way too) but because it also gives us yet another insight into what some of our favorite green celebrities are up to. Of course, as some will point out, knowing exactly when someone is about to order a latte isn’t exactly riveting stuff, but for those that are already enjoying the Twitterverse, let us point you towards these five green celebrities we’re enjoying tweeting with.

1. Jason Mraz | twitter.com/jason_mraz
Our favorite raw foods musician Jason Mraz rocks out Twitter several times a day with everything happening while on tour. Our latest favorite insight? A brief video of the raw foods kitchen serving Mraz and Co. while on the road. Raw Food Chef & Resident “Joyologist” Tricia Huffman directs the creation of this yummy grub. Check it out here.

2. Soleil Moon Frye | twitter.com/moonfrye
The former Punky Brewster (we can’t help but mention it) is one solid green momma — with an eco-friendly baby shop in LA (and online) called The Little Seed. Frye is definitely a Twitter addict and streams out several tidbits a day. Our most recent favorite? “My daughter Poet just told me that she doesn’t like our wall paper paper. She wants us take it down + I’m actually considering it. She’s 3.”

3. Ed Begley Jr. | twitter.com/edbegleyjr
If you’re one of the few people actively stalking Ed Begley Jr, you’ll enjoy his Twitter feed — which pretty much let’s you know what events he’ll be at in the coming days. Sure, it’s pretty stale — but we have high hopes that he’ll soon start chatting about solar ovens, violent encounters with Bill Nye the Science Guy, and/or those semi-funny Dish TV ads I’m always seeing him in.

4. Richard Branson | twitter.com/richardbranson
The 58-year old billionaire is one of our greener capitalists — with several eco-initiatives and projects underway to help fight climate change and push us towards renewable technologies. Our favorite tweet so far? “Arianna Huffington and I chatting on Virgin America’s inaugural flight to OC. Have put my trousers back on.”

5. Moby | twitter.com/thelittleidiot
This groovy jam creator is also a hardcore vegan and animal rights activist. Needless to say, his Twitter snips are funny and bizarre — with everything from where he’s headed for some vegetarian chili to what the Empire State Building looks like covered in clouds. Our most recent favorite: “Last night I went to rev jens book party and saw a woman make paintings with her vagina. Also an all elf go-go dance troupe. I love rev jen.”

Did we miss anyone? (Al Gore doesn’t count.) Let us know below who you enjoy following and we’ll mention them in our second green celebrity twitter round-up! (Oh yea, and don’t forget to follow us!)

Rapper T-Pain bought an eco-friendly black-on-black Limited Edition Ford Flex from Maroone Ford of Miami. And who was at home eagerly awaiting his new earth-hugging purchase? Oh, just Beyonce.

While Isabel Lucas and Adrian Grenier are apparently splitsville following the Transformer 2 starlet’s unfortunate car ride with Shia LaBeouf, that hasn’t stopped the actress from caring about her causes. Supporting gal pal Hayden Panettiere, Lucas attended the Whaleman Foundation benefit alone.

Owen Holmes, bassist of the indie band Black Kids, hasn’t eaten meat since Thanksgiving 2004. “I just kind of weaned myself off dairy and eggs,” the cutie told Peta2. For more on his veggie goodness, watch his interview.

Richard Branson was listed as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful People, Forces and Trends influencing the meetings industry in 2008 by MeetingNews, most notably for his pledging $3 billion to fight global warming through his new investment unit, Virgin Fuels.

Tori Spelling loooves going green. She recently told Tasty Baby, “When we had babies we tried really hard to do the research on environmentally friendly products and switch over for their health. We have loved Going Green! And, whenever possible we make sure Liam eats organic. Its important to us.”

Last March, Richard Branson expanded his Carribean empire with the purchase of Mosquito Island — a 124-acre beauty just one mile off the coast of another Branson resort, Necker Island. At that time, Branson said that he intended for his latest purchase to “serve as an eco-friendly example to the rest of the resorts out there.”

Over one year later, Branson is putting those plans into action. “It is actually inexcusable for the Caribbean to need to use dirty fuels anymore when it has all these natural resources on its doorstep,” the 57-year-old entrepreneur told AP. Designs for Branson’s Mosquito resort call for 20 villas and a beachfront restaurant powered entirely by wind turbines and solar panels. During a recent tour, he also touted sustainable building designs to capture cool-thermal air flows (so as to eliminate a need for air conditioning), organic gardens for all food served, and biofueled beach buggies.

Currently, designs for the resort are being reviewed by the British Virgin Islands planning department — which so far, has been positive of the concept. In the meantime, Branson is also launching an eco-consulting group for the region called Virgin Green Owls. The firm will work to help other resorts and projects go carbon-neutral. “We’ve managed to prove on paper and now we’ll prove in reality that the Caribbean could run with the determination of governments on solar and wind,” Branson said.

via Mercury News

Robert Redford is a one green fella! And as the proverbial green police of everything entertainment, you better believe Ecorazzi is all up in his grill!

In the past we’ve brought you tales of Redford’s involvent in the Sundance Summit – A Mayors’ Gathering on Climate Protection and his partnership with Ed Begley Jr. to open a green dorm in Southern Cali.

Well now Redford is being honored with top billing on ProfessionalTravelGuide.com’s Top 5 Celebrity Retreats. The site called Redford’s retreat a “showcase for the eco-conscious traveller”, and put it above Richard Branson’s Necker Island paradise and Francise Ford Coppola’s Turtle Inn.

To find out who else made the cut and to read the full reviews, visit ProfessionalTravelGuide.com.

[UPDATE] Congrats to our winner, Raychelle!  

And now for something completely different…

Let’s have some fun playing with the traditional “Caption Contest” idea. Above is an image — give it some conversation. Something like:

“It was moments like this when Al Gore hated playing hot potato with Richard Branson.”

That’s weak, but I’m sure you can come up with something better! Winner gets a copy of The Green Book (details here). Go!

“Meanwhile, back in the staff room, Kenneth Richter, Friends of the Earth aviation campaigner, said: “Biofuels are a major distraction in the fight against climate change. There is mounting evidence that the carbon savings from biofuels are negligible. If Virgin was really serious about reducing the aviation industry’s impact on the environment it would support calls for aircraft emissions to be included in the climate change bill.”

I don’t know. Brason’s not trying to distract anyone from the big picture. If we can find alternatives to oil — in a sustainable fashion — that have any type of impact on carbon emissions, I’d call that a positive. Certainly, there should be emissions taxes on airplane flights, but to knock the actions of one person trying to make a difference is silly. Global Cool presented this great quote from Branson,

“Biofuel is not the answer. Wind power is not the answer. Wave power is not the answer. Natural gas is not the answer. Nuclear is not the answer. It will have to be a mix of the best solutions from all these areas that will win the battle to keep CO2 levels below those at which Gaia will strike back at some stage, and kill the problem – in this case us.”

And where was this quote pulled from? The Friends of the Earth website. Nice.

via global cool

The World, is located just off the coast of Dubai and was developed by state-owned developer, Nakheel. Although no official reports have been announced, it’s rumored that other celebrities such as David Beckham, Richard Branson and Rod Stewart have also purchased islands.  

Have no fear, the eco-aware power couple don’t plan on simply using the island for pina-colada, eighties themed reggae parties. Pitt and Jolie have both declared that they are going to use their new chunk of land to spotlight environmental issues and to promote a greener lifestyle.

Following in their famous footsteps, I too will be promoting a greener lifestyle by dreaming about purchasing my own island…where I WILL be having pina-colada, eighties themed reggae parties.