A few serious Hollywood A-listers are helping to honor Deepak Chopra and Arianna Huffington at Oceana’s 2009 Partners Awards Gala on November 20th.

The 2009 Oceana Partners Award Gala honors those individuals who have made outstanding contributions through their personal commitment to the cause of protecting and conserving the environment. We likey!

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart will host the special evening with stars like Morgan Freeman, Jeff Goldblum, Trudie Styler, Sting, Robert Redford, Ron Howard, Ted Danson and Sam Waterson slated to attend.

The event will take place at the private residence of Keri Selig and Keith Addis in Los Angeles, CA. To find out more, visit PartnersAward.org!

“These are magical places that I have explored with my family. But I have also seen far too many wildlands lost forever. Places I viewed as symbols of this so-called Promised Land have disappeared into clear cuts, drilling fields, and open-pit mines. What do our children inherit from this irretrievable loss? Pictures of how it used to be?”

– Robert Redford in a new article for The Huffington Post outlining why he believes we needs a bold new vision in preserving the wilderness of America.

Called “Sundance in New Mexico”, the project will see Redford’s Sundance Institute in Utah work with the Department of Cultural Affairs and the New Mexico Film Office to develop programs in film, arts and the environment. From the article,

“Redford said he was disappointed in the failure of two of his earlier ventures, a project 30 years ago to get movie cameras into the hands of Indian children and a more recent dream to make a series of New Mexico-based films from the books of mystery writer Tony Hillerman. “Sundance in New Mexico” is a new opportunity to work in that vein, he said.

‘It has a lot to do with the changes in the world around us, the fact that there’s change that’s in the air right now … and the positive has to do with arts and culture,’ he said.”

The new collaboration will kick-off this weekend — witha  series of talks and events. After that, it’s expected the project will “evolve” into additional opportunities for aspiring filmmakers; with the construction of “eco-lodges” for those in residence also on the table.

To learn more, jump here.

Hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and taking place at the Beverly Wilshire on April 25th, the event will be attended by both Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio; among other celebrities, activists, and supporters. Maroon 5 will supply the live music and Rosanna Arquette will DJ the after-party. A short film featuring DiCaprio and Redford that outlines the accomplishments of NRDC’s Southern California office will also be shown.

“You can be tough doing bad things, and tough doing good things. NRDC, in my opinion, is tough doing good things,” Redford said in a statement. DiCaprio, also a trustee, called NRDC “probably the most effective environmental organization in the world. It is willing to take on major corporations and the government itself to hold them accountable for the environmental policy that’s out there,” he said in a statement.

Source: LA Times

Robert Redford

“I believe that the citizens of Napa Valley, from American Canyon to Calistoga care about preserving our beautiful agricultural and rural heritage,” Redford said in a prepared statement. “That is why I am happy to join the Advisory Council of Save Rural Angwin in its efforts to preserve this naturally carved land-basin from development.”

Redford will also be honored by Duke University this week or lifetime achievement in the arts. Duke’s LEAF award recognizes artists who promote environmental awareness and stewardship. To learn more about his fight to save rural Angwin, visit their official (and in badly need of some polish) website here.

–Robert Redford writing in a new piece for the Huffington Post titled “Balancing Renewable Energy Projects & Public Lands Stewardship“

Robert Redford headlining PSAs for the first-ever NBA Green Week? What we figured might be another April Fools joke is actually the real deal — and ambitious at that.

The National Basketball Association, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, will unleash its inaugural NBA Green Week 2009 will tip off tomorrow (April 2nd) and running through April 10. Besides the PSAs from Redford, the NBA will also launch a new micro-site with green tips for fans and inteviews with players. From the article,

As part of NBA Green Week 2009, adidas will outfit all players with 100 percent organic cotton adidas shooting shirts featuring the NBA Green logo. The Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Bobcats, and the Chicago Bulls will wear green-colored uniforms and socks made from 45 percent organic cotton during select home games throughout the week to raise additional environmental awareness. NBA.com will also host an online auction of Spalding basketballs, made from 40 percent recycled materials and autographed by NBA players. The auction will tip off on April 2 and continue through April 16, with all proceeds benefiting the NRDC.

In addition, the NRDC will work with all teams to reduce energy use and waste at all offices, arenas, and events. The NBA Store in New York City will host “Recycling Dreams,” a footwear drive to collect gently worn athletic shoes. Customers who bring in shoes will receive a 20 percent discount on their purchase of new athletic shoes. All donated footwear will go to Hoops 4 Hope, a global not-for-profit organization that supports youth development throughout southern Africa with programs that teach life skills through the game of basketball. There will also be more products using recycled and organic materials on sale at participating sports stores around the country.

Not bad, right? Kudos to the NRDC for doing a lot of the grunt work here. Check out the full press release here.

Robert Redford is no stranger to recognition for his environmental activism — and the actor can look forward to one more accolade when he receives the first ever Duke LEAF Award on April 18 at Duke University. Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment established the annual award this year to honor artists whose work inspires environmental awareness and stewardship in others. From the release,

Redford was selected by the executive committee of the Nicholas School’s Board of Visitors “for his unique and central role as an artist, his moving portrayal of the natural world as an integral character in his films, and his strong and effective environmental advocacy.” He will be presented the award in a public ceremony at Page Auditorium during Duke Alumni Reunion Weekend.

While at Duke, Redford will meet with students and faculty members, and tour environmental research facilities at the Nicholas School.

“I am honored to be in the company of a school which has as its mission to train leaders of consequence for a sustainable future,” Redford said. “Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment has a particularly unique creative and innovative bent to it, which makes it all the more meaningful to me.”

Redford’s most recent victory on behalf of the environment came in early January when he — along with other environmental organizations — successfully lobbied the Obama administration to overturn a last-minute Bush effort to lease oil and gas drilling rights near national parks and monuments. We congratulate him on this latest honor! (Look for a live stream of the awards ceremony on April 18th here.)

Last year’s Sundance Festival saw the complimentary hand-out of more than 50,000 single-serve bottles of water. That waste is just a drop in the bucket of the 38 billion plastic water bottles thrown away each year by Americans. Festival organizers, however, wanted to reduce this impact and for 2009 have teamed up with FilterForGood — which encourages filtered tap water over the bottled variety.

“Sundance Institute is committed to reducing our environmental impact during the festival and throughout the year,” said Jill Miller, Managing Director of The Sundance Institute. “Thanks to Brita and Nalgene, we will reduce the need for 50,000 bottles of water at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and we hope to be completely bottled water-free in 2010.”

Robert Redford backed up that commitment yesterday by appearing at a press conference table with filtered water pitchers and reusable FilterForGood Nalgene bottles.

Beyond Sundance, the initiative has also made an impact in television — with NBC’s reality show The Biggest Loser cutting out 64,000 water bottles over two seasons by switching to filtered tap and reusable bottles. “The FilterForGood campaign not only benefits the environment by reducing plastic bottle waste and resource consumption, but it also saves money by cutting out the expense of bottled water,” said Drew McGowan, Brita Senior Group Manager. “From homes to film sets and festivals, leveraging this eco-friendly initiative could help groups stay within budget, especially during tough economic times.”

That last bit certainly makes sense — bottled water is such a silly luxury item that people should cut it from their budget entirely. Companies like Brita and organizations like UNICEF’s Tap Project have a great opportunity to educate on the cost savings of drinking tap or filtered water.

To find out more, visit the FilterForGood campaign here.

“They complained that the filmmaker’s anti-drilling stance could lead to higher energy prices for inner-city residents, forcing them to accept a lower standard of living. The clergymen prayed for Redford ‘to see the light’ and linked his environmental activism with racism. ‘The high energy prices we’re going to see this winter are essentially discriminatory,’ said Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. of the Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., chairman of the High-Impact Leadership Coalition, a petroleum industry advocate.”

It’s important to read that last bit carefully. Yes, the man leading the protest is the head an oil industry funded group. In other words, he’s a puppet for the drilling companies.

In response, Redford said his stance against drilling near national parks and monuments has nothing to do with the cost of home heating. “The fact is, the oil and gas industry already has more leases than it knows what to do with,” he added.

Just another sad and stupid attempt by the oil industry to discredit an activist. The racism charge is just another indication of how desperate they’re becoming now that the political climate is about to change drastically for them. Hooray for next Tuesday!

via Salt Lake City Tribune

Thanks to Shea for the tip!