This fall, it seemed like the whole country was excited about America's national parks. Much of that had to do with Ken Burns’s new documentary, and (we’d like to think) some cool Sierra Club projects too.
The Replacements: The St. Louis Zoo installed electronic polar bears as stand-ins for deceased bears. The zoo's last living polar bear suffered from cancer and was euthanized this spring. Inhabitots and Huffington Post
Literary Offsets: A San Francisco bookstore is donating 100 percent of the sales proceeds from Sarah Palin's book Going Rogue: An American Life to the Alaska Wildlife Federation. Ecorazzi
Portrait of the Artist: Jeanne-Claude, collaborator with husband Christo, died in New York City. The art duo produced large-scale environmental installations including The Gates in Central Park. Treehugger and Philadelphia Inquirer
Whodunit? Researchers studying ancient lake deposits have ruled out habitat loss due to climate change and asteroid impact as the cause for the extinction of woolly mammoths. The possibility that humans hunted the large animals into oblivion is still under consideration. Los Angeles Times and New York Times
Chatter: Thousands of emails and documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia were stolen by a hacker and posted online. The content of the emails has stirred controversy, and global warming skeptics claim that the correspondence shows collusion and data manipulation. Wired and Examiner
Watch out office workers... Recyclops is on the loose! The character Dwight Schrute from NBC's The Officeis part futuristic robot, part green crusader in tonight's green-themed episode. Fans of the show know that Dwight runs a small beet farm, so he's already scoring points when it comes to local foods. But tonight's episode takes it to a whole new level -- a level we don't recommend when you're trying to green your own office.
It's green week on NBC, part of its parent company Universal's "Green is Universal" campaign. Many of NBC's shows are getting out the green message, but we're not sure any of them can match the hilarity of Recyclops.
Escape to the movies with one of our Movie Review Friday selections. Each week we review a film with an environmental theme that's currently in theaters or available on DVD. Seen a good eco-flick lately? Send us a short review and look for it in the next Movie Review Friday.
In his 1963 book, Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak used fewer than 350 words to tell the story of a unruly little boy who discovers an imaginary, monster-filled kingdom. Spike Jonze's intimate film is darker and more complex, but the spellbinding adaptation preserves the lean force of the slim text.
Sprawling landscapes and intricately sculpted forts create a hypnotic and otherworldly setting where Max, the newly crowned king of the wild things, leads a group of motley monsters on a spree of vandalism and roughhousing that ultimately fails to cure his loneliness. Max has inherited a world of unlimited possibilities, yet the tenor of relationships in the kingdom can be best described by a monster named KW: "I'll eat you up, I love you so."
Trees, rocks, snow, and dirt bear the brunt of the movie's violence, but the characters' emotional hunger claims victims among the monsters as well. Max's ultimate (and rather abrupt) decision to return home to his family is, in some ways, an admission of failure: He realizes he isn't fit to be king.
Jonze's compassionate treatment of these hopeful, reckless characters resonates beyond the theater. Like Max's kingdom, Earth's shrinking forests, polluted oceans, and soot-filled skies prove that humans can be beastly. But unlike Max, we can't sail home to our mothers. This wild world is all we have; now we must learn how best to love it.
To celebrate the 40th season of the popular children's show Sesame Street, the Muppets are going green. This season's premiere will launch a two-year curriculum called "My World is Green and Growing," an environmental initiative that will feature segments like the above video, in which Michelle Obama helps Elmo, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street gang plant a vegetable garden. The series will also teach children about animal habitats, hibernation, migration, and the scientific method. But don't expect a Muppet version of An Inconvenient Truth: "Global warming and deforestation--those are really adult concepts, and it's just too scary for children," Sesame Workshop's Rosemarie Truglio told National Geographic News. Instead, the show's producers hope that children who develop positive feelings about the environment at a young age will grow up to be advocates for the earth. Truglio explained that "when you love something, you want to take care of it."
Ever dreamed of chatting it up with Stephen Colbert? Or, dare we say it, Oprah herself? (We know you have, don’t deny it.) These and other celebrity “dates” and items are up for bidding at the sixth annual Chevy Chase Green School Auction. The proceeds benefit GREEN Community Schools, a program that creates partnerships between schools and communities to help both work toward sustainability.
The bids for some of the celebrity meetings are in the thousands-of-dollars range, but there are less expensive lots, such as a signed T-shirt from Paul Rudd, a signed book from Jimmy Carter, a suit and sunglasses worn by Paul Shaffer on The Late Show, and VIP tickets to The Daily Show. It all goes to a good, green cause, so check out the list of available lots and bid on them here.
Celebrities, politicians, activists, and everyday people are joining together in an online forum promoting clean energy. Repower America, a green-energy campaign started by Al Gore, has launched an online wall for pictures, videos, and comments about climate change. The wall is a joint effort between the Alliance for Climate Protection and the Climate Protection Action Fund.
To see people's postings, just click on a box and the content will load. To upload your own content, click on "Add Your Voice," then add a video or photo along with your thoughts about global warming.
As more people reach out through social networking profiles and on-line dating sites, clichéd interests like "moonlit walks on the beach" don't make the grade anymore. For green types, a combination of eco-cred and creativity is key. Comedian Josh Rachlis created the above video to win the attention of An Inconvenient Truth producer Laurie David. Since he's a staunch environmentalist with a few traits in common with Laurie's ex-husband, Larry David, Rachlis thinks he's got a shot. We're not sure if Laurie will be wooed, but Rachlis has attracted a few other fans: Ecorazzi praised an earlier proposal to Laurie and Recycled Bride gave his rap video major props.
Sex sells. While people all over the world last Saturday submitted photos of themselves spreading the word during 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action, a handful of fashion models drew attention to the cause in their own way: by taking off their clothes.
At the beginning of this video, the models are dressed in heavy layers to represent 387 parts per million, the current harmful level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. How on earth do we possibly escape the life-altering effects of this warmer climate and get down to the ideal limit of 350 ppm? The models creatively demonstrate the importance of reaching this goal by undressing to almost the bare minimum as the numbers tick down.
The ad is certainly intriguing, but it raises some questions. The ladies are marketed as "supermodels" but it's unlikely that anyone reading this knows any of their names (post 'em in the space for comments if you do). Also, it occurs to us that the video almost encourages global warming; as it gets hotter, will hot girls be taking their clothes off more?
As we approach Copenhagen, innovative methods to convey messages about global warming are surely welcome. But while this video might leave some wanting to watch it again, that desire may not be out of concern for the environment.
Kelton's roots are in folk and her tunes have been played on FOX, NBC, and MTV's "Making the Band." After spending a year playing in Nashville, she's heading back into the recording studio.
"I eat mostly organic foods because I strive for optimal health and because I believe in clean farming processes that sustain a healthy Earth," she said. "To me, any product, action, or organization that is protecting the environment is important and should be supported."
