People & Media...

Much for the same reason I turn off the radio when Chowder Head from Boston calls in to a sports talk show to weigh with his take on why the Red Sox are winning, I tune out most actors and pop stars when they start talking about anything other than their art or craft. Fine, you starred as half man, half human in a $150 billion summer blockbuster, but I seriously could care less who you think would make a great president.

However, I will pause to listen when they use their star power to promote a worthy cause, whether it actually means something to them or not. In Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen's The Green Book: The everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time is a great collection of interviews and stories from celebrities who are going green and living to tell about it. Stars such as Ellen DeGeneres, Robert Redford, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Martha Stewart, Tyra Banks, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tiki Barber, Owen Wilson, and Justin Timberlake all weigh in on the subject of green living. It's full of practical tips and fun insights into the stars' lives.

Here's a glimpse into Cameron Diaz's green upbringing:

“My grandmother raised her own livestock in her backyard, her own vegetables in her backyard. And it was just here in the Valley next to Glendale, next to where the California Pizza Kitchen is right now. It was a different era and a different mentality. She raised her first four children there.

“I watched my grandmother reuse tinfoil and plastic bags. And when she was finished with a loaf of bread, she kept that plastic bag and she would use it for something else. She would make soap out of the fat drippings off of the meet she cooked. Nothing went to waste. Everything was reused and recycled. So I had that as an example.

“I don’t think that example exists for the generation right now. My grandmother lived a true sustainable existence. Everything she took from the land, she put back. Everything that she put back, she would take out again. It was a continuous cycle. And I witnessed that, and I was influenced a lot by that. My mother was influenced by that, and she passed it on to me. We need to be the examples now.”