Pop Culture

Riverwired.com: Athletes Go Green

kbutler — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

So it is summer Olympics time and athletes are converging on Beijing. And with China shutting down factories and limiting cars in an effort for clean air, the environment has never been more at the forefront. So in honor of the earth-friendly efforts the world is putting forth, check out these athletes who are doing their part to make the world a little greener.

According to our friends at Grist.org, there are several athletes who deserve a hand in the air “woot woot!” And I’m going to lead with my hometown team, the Philadelphia Eagles, who basically kick Redskin/Cowboy/Any other random team that the Eagles play in the Superbowl which is the only time I really watch football anway. (And thanks to RiverWired reader Derek Mast for pointing out that the Eagles don't play the Redskins or Cowboys in the Superbowl because of some league sameness....am I still writing?)

First off, the Eagles launched a Go Green initiative in 2003. They’re planting trees all over Philly and recently started a recycling education program for their fans, They have also added their cleats to the Stop Global Warming Virtual March. Even the Eagles cheerleaders have gotten into the game, releasing an “eco-sexy” calendar printed on recyclable paper. The calendar has the cheerleaders in organic cotton bikinis and jewelry made from natural materials and recycled products. See girls, you can totally go green and still be hot.

Next we have Yao Ming, who has spoken out against the hunting of sharks for their apparently-delicious fins in his native China. He also did a PSA for WildAid about the illegal poaching of animals. Who knew the big bad b-ball player had such a sensitive side? Then there’s Kelly Slater, the eight time world surfing champion. He sponsors the Kelly Slater Competition to raise money for Reef Check, an organization that aids the ocean’s coral reefs. Tammy Van Wisse is a world-record-breaking marathon who spent more than three months in 2000 free styling the full length of the Murray River in Australia to generate funds and support for clean-up efforts. And finally, tennis legend Billie Jean King has put her name behind a green housing and fitness community to open in Palm Springs, California.

So props to these good, green atheletes!

Riverwired.com: Songwriters Commune With Nature, Produce Excellent Tracks

Marcus — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:06:14 -0400

You may have heard about Jack Johnson’s commendable effort to record his entire latest release on solar power earlier this year, or perhaps about how Linkin Park or Radiohead have incorporated green initiatives into their band business models. In addition to these progressive rockstars, though, another green trend is emerging in a handful of this year’s releases: the retreat to the natural world as a source for songwriting inspiration.

Throughout 2008, there has been a small, but significant, contingent of songwriters who have spent time alone in various isolated parts of the country, apparently utilizing the serenity that comes from a solitary commune with nature, in order to write material for their latest works. And the results are impressively good. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie went to Big Sur, California, while writing songs for his band’s new album, Narrow Stairs, and stayed in the same cabin where Jack Kerouac composed some of his most memorable prose. Justin Vernon, the force behind the critically-acclaimed Bon Iver, retreated to a cabin in Northwest Wisconsin to record his excellent debut, the beautiful, haunting For Emma, Forever Ago. Finally, Minnesota native and spiritual songsmith Mason Jennings headed to a cabin of his very own in a secluded corner of his home state to record an entire album, In the Ever, completely by himself and entirely on Garageband.

Listening to these three albums as a meditative, contemplative suite is indeed an eye-opening experience. Each work is incredibly personal and vulnerable, often painfully so, and the albums have an uncanny ability to meaningfully connect with the listener. Gibbard’s sweeping tenor is markedly resonant on the album’s opener, “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” in which he ponders his ongoing lack of fulfillment despite the successes he’s found. On For Emma, the longing and isolation in Justin Vernon’s voice is palpable, as if you can hear how removed from the world he is as he sings song after heartbreaking song about a relationship that went tragically awry. Finally, Mason Jennings offers what could be considered his most personal release to date, a thought-provoking examination of love, spirituality and mortality that is at turns as fragile and delicate as it is vivacious and fun.

All three works speak to the importance of personal reflection in quality songwriting, and are particularly intriguing in that these songwriters are able to achieve such profound results by temporarily leaving their urban environments and attempting to reach a part of themselves more accessible when immersed in the natural world. If this trend continues to gain popularity, we can perhaps look forward to more exceptional music in the months ahead. It seems, if you want to write a poignant ditty, all you have to do is pack up your guitar and head for the wilderness.

Riverwired.com: “WALL•E”: The Greatest Environmental Film… Ever?

Marcus — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:13:22 -0400

Once the opening strains of “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” from the Broadway musical “Hello, Dolly!” began at the start of the film, I knew that “WALL•E” was going to be an experience I wouldn’t soon forget. And I was not disappointed: what followed was a truly groundbreaking cinematic achievement, not just in the realm of computer-animated features, but in film, period. “WALL•E” writer/director Andrew Stanton, who dazzled audiences in 2003 with the impeccable “Finding Nemo,” has outdone himself, and in turn has provided us with one of the finest films likely to hit the screens this year.

But forget how visually dazzling the epic, dystopian version of the future that Stanton paints is. Forget how effectively the film is able to convey robot emotion through the use of minimal dialogue and two songs from a musical written over fifty years ago. Forget, even, that “WALL•E” is one of the most poignant, heart-warming, resonant love stories in recent memory. Even without these elements, “WALL•E” remains an important fable about the dangers our planet faces, and the potential catastrophic results in store if we don’t amend our ways.

The world that “WALL•E” is set in is a world in which humans have incorporated mass consumption so inextricably into their lives that the earth becomes completely submerged by garbage. Eventually, conditions get so dire that the entire human race leaves on massive, cruise-ship-esque space stations, only to let their bodies and minds deteriorate over generations as they rely on machines to do all their physical tasks and thinking for them. WALL•E himself is created for the purpose of helping to collect and aesthetically redistribute garbage but, as all humans abandon the planet, he soon becomes marginalized, a relic of a bygone era programmed to perform a service that is no longer needed in the absence of human life.

And yes, it’s certainly amusing to watch the humans in the film bumble around like disoriented infants, and the message is not exactly subtle, but that doesn’t make it any less timely or relevant. While it may be unlikely that Broadway-loving robots will become intergalactic heroes in the centuries ahead (then again, what do I know?), the finite, fragile portrayal of our planet and its resources is all too real. The fact that WALL•E’s resilient spirit and optimism are eventually what turn things around for him (not to mention all of mankind) is a testament to the fact that positive, proactive thinking about the state of our earth is the only way to go from here on out. Without giving away too much of the plot, let’s just say that WALL•E is instrumental in helping the humans he encounters to realize the joys and value of preserving the natural wonder of the earth, and his tenacity comes as a much-needed breath of fresh air. “WALL•E” shows us that, while we’re facing some challenging obstacles as a planet, it’s not time to throw in the towel yet.

In short, see the movie. Oh, and if you get a chance, check out “The Dark Knight.” It’s bad ass.

Related:

Check out RiverWired’s Top 10 Eco-Films

Riverwired.com: Top 10 Green Complaints about Hollywood

kbutler — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Hollywood has long been a supporter of green issues. But what happens when the entertainment industry falls short of eco-expectations?

TOP TEN GREEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT HOLLYWOOD

10. When an agent buys a Prius and nobody notices.

9. That Eric Bana and Christian Bale have yet to star in a movie that brings together essential green concepts like “shirtless,” “well-oiled,” and “loin-cloth.”

8. Callous producers who forced a certain 30-something skin-conscious female television writer to picket in ozone-depleted sunlight for three months in a row.

7. Why pay $15 to see tidal waves and earthquakes destroy the planet when you can watch The Weather Channel for free?

6. Melting glaciers aren’t that interesting – unless they’re shot on a digital hand-held crashing through the streets of Manhattan!

5. In Baywatch, no one ever seemed to be actually watching the Bay.

4. No Academy Award for greenest celebrity.

3. Actresses whose body parts aren’t organic.

2. That you can’t get green props for Botoxing. After all, it is an organic plague.

1. A rather inconvenient lack of sex and violence in An Inconvenient Truth.

Riverwired.com: Top 10 Lesser-Known Myths about Global Warming

kbutler — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Sure, there’s lots of finger pointing when it comes to who is to blame for global warming. Kyoto Protocol aside, there are whispers of other mysterious figures who may responsible for August arriving in May. (At least in Los Angeles, where the idea of “Hey, at least we don’t have humidity” is being swiftly losing ground to “When did the Mojave Desert expand into Santa Monica?”)

It’s a conspiracy by…

10. The fur industry to get animals to abandon their fur.

9. Bitter athletes who want to end Canadian dominance in hockey. Not so cool when you skate in slush, is it?

8. Evil supermodels sick of having to cover up in the winter.

7. Annoying guys who walk around saying “Hot enough for ya?”

6. Hollywood, who wants less money spent on heating oil and more money spent on blockbusters about the ravaging effects of global warming.

5. Pot smokers who want to see how high they can get off trapped greenhouse gases.

4. The pork industry, who wants to promote bacon by openly frying it on the sidewalk.

3. Failed plastic surgeons eager to see people’s faces melt off.

2. Icelandic folk sick of wearing Icelandic sweaters.

1. Real estate magnates who have already bought up the soon-to-be balmy south coast of Antarctica.

Want to learn more about global warming?

New Report: Doubts Grow About Global Warming

Send an Instant Message, Fight Global Warming

Top 10 Ways to Prevent Global Warming

Global Warming Cartoons

Jared Leto Pushes Back on Global Warming

Clean, Renewable Energy: The Answer to Global Warming

What You Eat Can Affect Global Warming, New Study Shows

Riverwired.com: Top 10 Green Things to Do While Stuck in Traffic

kbutler — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

If you live anywhere in the country where your closest neighbors don’t moo, odds are you deal with traffic. So next time you’re stuck on the freeways contemplating suicide or a move to Alaska, remember these options to pass the time.

TOP 10 GREEN THINGS TO DO WHILE STUCK IN TRAFFIC

10. Walk up to the guy in front of you and begin an interesting, innovative lecture on the positives of recycling.

9. Lay on your horn and scream out the window “Your emissions are killing me!” See if it helps get things moving.

8. Ask the person driving the vegetable oil-powered Mercedes if the smell makes her crave French fries. Then offer her French fries.

7. Hide under the open car windows of smokers. When they toss their cigarette butts out the window, throw them back.

6. Plow into a Yukon and see if it’s true that they "react" like a tank.

5. Collect road kill for tonight’s dinner. After all, it’s recyclable.

4. Harness a team of trusty street rats to the car. Explain to curious passer-bys that you’re just taking sustainable living to an awesome new level.

3. Ask the person next to you if this is the line for cheap gas.

2. Walk around asking hybrid car owners just how silent is their silent running.

1. Turn the car off, get out and push. You’ll get there faster anyway.

Riverwired.com: Top 10 Signs You’re Not Running a Green Campaign

kbutler — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In this workaday world, it’s hard to please all voters on all issues. And green candidates have their work cut out for them. The following is a tell-tale list of signs that might make green voters reconsider their options.

TOP TEN SIGNS YOU’RE NOT RUNNING A GREEN CAMPAIGN

10. Your slogan is: “Trees are lame.”

9. You’ve pledged a bigger, better, smokier Industrial Revolution for America.

8. Your only endorsement is from a former director of FEMA.

7. You say things like “We’re good. It’s not like there really is a Mother Earth.”

6. The only people who have heard of you live on Superfund sites.

5. You’ve made the Nature Conservancy very upset. And you don’t want to see the Nature Conservancy very upset.

4. You have to ask your spouse to stand beside you when 60 Minutes discovers a cache of whale oil, several endangered pandas, and billions of dollars from an oil company buried in your back yard.

3. In the debates, you ignored all questions with the words “save” “the” and “earth” in them.

2. Your campaign promises to show the positives of global warming. “After all, who really likes winter?”

1. Your plan for economic recovery makes people glow.

Want to learn more about Eco-Politics?

Check Out Obama’s Global Warming Plan

See What McCain Will Do About Climate Change

Hillary Clinton on the Environment

New Report: Doubts Grow About Global Warming

There’s More Than One Way to Hug a Tree

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall… Who’s the Greenest President of Them All?

Riverwired.com: Top 10 Signs You Don’t Have a Green Job

kbutler — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:04:58 -0400

Sure, it is a bad job market out there and some of us are eager for work. But if any of the following sound familiar to you, you might want to reconfigure the resume. Or call Greenpeace to see if they are hiring.

TOP TEN SIGNS YOU DON’T HAVE A GREEN JOB

10. You fall asleep on the job and people in hazmat suits wake you up.

9. Interviewer asks if you can type, get coffee, and resist toxic waste.

8. You’re paid in baby seal pelts.

7. You take a lot of “before” photographs that involved undeveloped land and happy, frolicking wildlife.

6. There’s a sign at the office that reads “EPA Superfund Site.”

5. You discover your boss can cough up tar, and he’s not a smoker.

4. You become convinced that the office plants are glaring at you.

3. Your job description includes the letters “FEMA.”

2. You’re required to screen all visitors for hidden cameras and 20/20's John Quinones.

1. At the end of the day, you glow.

Riverwired.com: Global Warming Cartoons

RiverWired.com — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Although global warming is no joke, it's sometimes nice to have some comic relief on the subject to put things in perspective. And with climate change getting so much attention in the media as of late, political cartoonists and satirists are naturally going to respond with their take on the subject. The following is a small sampling of the array of global warming-related cartoons out there. Enjoy.

Want to learn more about global warming?

Top 10 Lesser-Known Myths About Global Warming

New Report: Doubts Grow About Global Warming

Send an Instant Message, Fight Global Warming

Top 10 Ways to Prevent Global Warming

Jared Leto Pushes Back on Global Warming

Clean, Renewable Energy: The Answer to Global Warming

What You Eat Can Affect Global Warming, New Study Shows

Riverwired.com: Top 10 Ways to Prevent Global Warming

kbutler — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:13:58 -0400

By now, we all know that global warming could end us all. So what can one person do to save the earth?

TOP TEN WAYS TO PREVENT GLOBAL WARMING

10. Ask the public if they want the concept of “room temperature” to necessitate mandatory string bikinis – for all.

9. You enlist Morgan Freeman to miraculously empower Emperor Penguins to stage a military coup of Antarctica.

8. Reduce methane production by attempting to shame cattle about certain impolite emissions.

7. You lock the kings of oil and several polar bears in a room together and won’t let them out until some earth-positive decisions are made.

6. You reveal a mysterious study proving ice cold showers work better than Botox, thus motivating the city of Los Angeles to turn down its water heaters.

5. You reduce your phantom electricity use by staging an exorcism involving energy-efficient light bulbs and one mightily-annoyed chicken.

4. You motivate real estate magnates to take action by buying up all the future oceanfront property in Iowa.

3. Promise people that you will send all celebutantes straight to the center of the sun if they turn down their thermostats just one degree.

2. Ask people if they really want a world without snow. (Do not do so near or south of the equator.)

1. Point out that Canada will become a land super power. And can we really take that risk?

Want to learn more about global warming?

Top 10 Lesser-Known Myths About Global Warming

New Report: Doubts Grow About Global Warming

Send an Instant Message, Fight Global Warming

Global Warming Cartoons

Jared Leto Pushes Back on Global Warming

Clean, Renewable Energy: The Answer to Global Warming

What You Eat Can Affect Global Warming, New Study Shows