Monthly Archives: February 2012

Mardi Gras Beads: Good for the Party, Bad for the Environment

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We don’t want to rain on the parade of plastic beads that comes flying off floats and lands on the necks of drunken Mardi Gras revelers every February. Thankfully the LA Times does that for us. In their article, the Times notes that while the Mardi Gras tradition is a great celebration for the city of New Orleans, it also leaves behind quite a mess once it’s all said and done.

An estimated 25 million pounds of beads make their way (from China) to New Orleans every year. A small, and some might argue, futile, movement is making strides to try and deflect some of the environmental impact the beads have on the city. Continue reading →

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Film Biz Recycling Donates & Reuses Set Props & Materials

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Film Biz Recycling (FBR) is a New York City-based nonprofit dedicated to the creation of socially and environmentally responsible solutions from media industry waste. FBR was founded in 2008 by Eva Radke, a 15-year film veteran, in response to the needless disposal of perfectly re-useable raw and finished materials that were dumpstered and land-filled once productions wrapped.

Since it’s inception, Film Biz Recycling has diverted over 210 tons of materials from NYC films, television, music videos, TV commercials, events, Broadway, indies and student films. It’s a strict policy of FBR to re-distribute 60% or more of all donations to local charities. Currently, over 8 charities are continuous recipients of film industry furniture, books, clothing, art supplies, raw materials, linens, home goods, lighting — the list is endless.

These charities include: Blissful Bedrooms (a nonprofit that makes over the bedroom of disabled teens), Materials for the Arts (servicing theatre and public schools), Sean Casey Animal Shelter, Chips Food Pantry, Room to Grow (items for babies born into poverty) Hour Children, Housing Works, Build it Green, and CAMBA Women’s shelter.  In December, CAMBA recognized Film Biz Recycling at their Christmas Event honoring our dedication to the shelter. Each item we receive is evaluated and wherever that item can do the most good, that’s where it goes. Continue reading →

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Mehcad Brooks Digs in at Eliot Middle School Garden

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EMA Young Hollywood Board Member and Necessary Roughness star, Mehcad Brooks, along with the LA Conservation Corps, principal Peter Pannell and PUSD Superintendent Jon Gundry helped dedicate a school garden at Eliot Middle School on this rainy Wednesday afternoon.

Eliot Middle School is EMA’s 17th school garden and our largest to date, with nine drip irrigated planter beds and surrounding fruit trees. The garden was funded with a contribution from Sony Pictures and actress Cameron Diaz, who’s Bad Teacher filmed at the school.

EMA President Debbie Levin spoke about how gardens teach students about sustainability as well as healthy eating – lessons that can last a lifetime. The garden will also be used to provide hands-on science lessons for Eliot students. Continue reading →

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Justin Timberlake’s Golf Course Wins Environmental Award

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Justin Timberlake’s eco-friendly golf-course, Mirimichi, continues to reign in awards for its commitment to sustainability. EMA honored Timberlake last October at the 21st Annual Environmental Media Awards by presenting him with a Futures Award for his environmental achievements.

The Tennessee golf course has been named a Merit Winner of the 2011 Golf Digest / GCSAA Environmental Leaders in Golf Award.

Timberlake’s website notes that the award recognizes Mirimichi’s efforts in  areas of resource conservation, water quality management, integrated pest management, wildlife/habitat management, and education/outreach. In addition, these categories are judged on sustainability, criticality, originality, and technology implementation/use.

Nice work, JT!

 

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EMA Moderates The Sound of Social Change: Grammy Panel

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We were honored to be part of the second annual Sound of Social Change Grammy Panel this past weekend. Sponsored by Waste Management, the summit featured panelists discussing corporate responsibility in the field of sustainability, decreasing their impact on the environment, and how industry insiders can use their collective power to drive change in greening.

The panel was moderated by Greg Baldwin, executive director of Environmental Media Association, and featured Lewis Perkins, New House LLC sustainable strategist, and Wanda Williams, director of customer alliances and solutions for Waste Management.

The panelists included Bridgette Bell, global sustainability manager, Yum! Brands; William Brent, executive vice president, Weber Shandwick’s Cleantech; Jennifer Miller DuBuisson, associate manager of global sustainability, Mattel; Michael J. O’Brien, vice president of corporate and product placement, Hyundai; and Tim Sexton, co-founder of environmental policy business association E2. Continue reading →

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What the Frack is Fracking?

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By now, you’ve probably heard the word ‘fracking’ or rather, hydraulic fracturing, since it’s been in the news quite a bit these days. If you’re like most people, you have a shaky understanding of what fracking really is – or really no fracking clue what it is.

In a nutshell, hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside. The problem with fracking is that it has the potential to contaminate ground water, as well as add tons of pollutants to the air. Also, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that earthquakes induced by human activity (ahem, fracking) have been documented in the United States, Japan, and Canada. Continue reading →

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24 Hours to Stop the Pipeline

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Robert Redford has a favor to ask. He’d like you and a half a million other people to step up and help stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline by sending a message to Capitol Hill in the next 24 hours.

Redford writes on the Huffington Post that the “tar sands pipeline is not in the national interest. It’s that simple. And the United States Senate, officials of both parties, need to hear that message loud and clear and fast because some of them are threatening to push a bill as soon as Tuesday, to approve it.”

Furthermore, Redford adds that, “this struggle is about every parent’s fears for our children’s future. And this struggle is about every young person’s hope for their immediate future. It should be every parent’s worst nightmare that these people we sent to Washington to lead us into the future, will continue to embrace the flawed philosophical case for doing nothing.”

To send a message to your legislators, go to www.stoptar.org.


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