As many other green sites are noting today, New York City’s newest park is celebrating its grand opening today. But this isn’t your normal piece of green set aside for public use — the High Line Park is actually set in the sky on top of the bones of an abandoned old rail line. What was once thought an impossible task has become a reality as the old rail line, when fully completely transformed, will end up being a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park; running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. Right now, Section 1, which runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, is available to the public.

Naturally, many green-conscious celebrities flocked to help support the project over the past five years including Edward Norton Steve Carell, Kevin Bacon, Harvey Keitel, Glenn Close and designer Diane von Furstenberg.

If you’re in NYC, consider stopping by the park for the grand opening and taking in some of the beautiful designs courtesy of landscape architects James Corner Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

For a map of the project — including access points, jump here. Inhabitat has some fantastic images as well of the project over the years. The official site can be found here.

Julia Roberts is continuning the interview circuit for her new film with Clive Owen, Duplicity, and along the way we’re learning a bit more about her new green home in Malibu. “We use a lot of solar power,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “It’s not a 100-percent green house but I’d say that all the materials that were in the house before went to Habitat for Humanity.” Nice way to recycle! [Read more...]

A walk-on role in the new Steve Carell/Tina Fey flick, Date Night, brought in a reported $14,000 for charity. The online charity auction site CharityFolks.com hosted the fundraiser, with money raised going towards the community focused organizations DreamYard and The Urban Ecology Institute. Who wouldn’t want to meet Liz Lemon or Michael Scott?

The Sundance Channel will premiere season two of Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno shorts online starting April 1st. Expect even more bizarre costumes and reenactments of the sex lives of various creatures. Other Web titles include Yung Yeti, a series of green-themed animated shorts by Cole Gerst; H2.0, an alternative, artistic look at the importance of water; and EcoHeros, which features interviews with inspirational people within the eco-friendly movement.

Earlier this year I declared that The Office had officially become my all-time favorite show…maybe ever! Could it be Steve Carell’s hystericalness? Possibly? Could it be my addiction to Angela Kinsey’s web videos? Perhaps? Is it because I have like the HUGEST crush ever on Jenna Fischer? Yeah, that might have something to do with it! But still, the point is that The Office is fantastic and now I have another reason to love it!

Last night, Michael (played by Steve Carell) bought a fur coat at Burlington Coat Factory and revealed: “You should know that some people think it’s cool to throw buckets of fake blood on you as you are walking out of Burlington Coat Factory.”

Now if you think this episode was pro-fur, THINK AGAIN! The coat they used in production was totally faux and original Office star Ricky Gervais has worked hard with PETA to publicly speak out against fur! Burlington Coat Factory, however, isn’t off the hook!

Burlington still sells fur and eagerly supports this super cruel industry. GROSS! So follow our lead and stay out of Burlington Coat Factory until they refuse to sell fur. Cause fur, ya’ll…it just AIN’T COOL!

Piaggio Group’s Vespa scooter brand is going product placement crazy as they participate in a cross-promotional arrangement with Subway and the upcoming film Get Smart. In Get Smart Steve Carell hightails it around in a Vespa LX 150 scooter.

Paolo Timoni, president/CEO of New York-based Piaggio Group Americas, says: “The LX 150 is the meat of our product range. It’s perfect for city riding but it can also ride on-highway. In the movie, it is used as an alternative form of transportation–the main actor uses it to go from place A to place B.”

Ok, blah, blah, blah! Enough with the cross-promotional, product range, corporate marketing mumbo jumbo. Here are facts kids: a Vespa is awesome, not because Steve Carell drives it (although Steve IS incredibly cool), or because they’re teaming up with a skeezy sandwich chain that makes mediocre processed food. No, Vespas are cool because they get between 70 and 90 miles per gallon and that makes Mama Earth a whole lot happier.

The scooter company has been wise about marketing the eco-coolness of their product and launched Vespanomics two yeas ago to educate the public on their fuel-efficient and traffic-jam-relieving qualities.

So I say go see Get Smart because Steve Carell’s a genius, and go buy a Vespa because it’s way better than a car, but maybe go somewhere besides Subway for lunch because lets be honest…

If you want to find out how you can win a free Vespa and some other cool products, visit VespaUSA.com

After an only mildly successful stint as the host of the Oscars, Stewart is putting on his master of ceremonies hat (it’s blue with feathers) once again for the second Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit for Autism Education.

The celebrity infused fundraiser will help raise money for schools and educational programs for autistic children and adults. The last benefit was held in October of 2006 and raised more than $2.6 billion. THAT IS NOT A TYPO PEOPLE!!! 2.6 BILLION!!!!! [Ed note: Actually, that is a typo. $2.6 billion? The sourced article was a bit too generous, though we'd love to believe it true. Actual amount was $2.5 million.]

This year the Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit for Autism Education will take place on April 13th at the Beacon Theater in New York and will also air live on Comedy Central at 8 pm EST. You can expect performances by Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Sarah Silverman and Amy Poehler. And appearances by Jonah Hill, Matthew Broderick, Kevin James, Rosie O’Donnell and Susie Essman.

Can’t afford to attend the event live (like me)? Don’t have cable (like me)? No worries! This year you can download the show on iTunes and xBox Live Marketplace for $1.99…with all of the proceeds going to charity, of course.

To find out more about Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit for Autism Education visit ComedyCentral.com. Break a leg, Jon!