Green Daily

Have you always dreamed of costarring in a film or video with an animated partner, like Paula Abdul and that dancing cat in "Opposites Attract"? And do you have a message for the world about saving the rainforest? If so, The Prince's Rainforest can help you achieve both of these dreams.

HRH Charles, the Prince of Wales, created The Prince's Rainforest Project to simply raise awareness of the connection between deforestation and climate change. The campaign has a frog mascot who appeared in a video with Prince Charles, as well as Princes William and Harry, Daniel Craig, Pele, Harrison Ford, and perhaps inevitably, Robin Williams.

One of the coolest things about the campaign is that you can make your own video, with the frog, urging world leaders to take bold action to address climate change at Copenhagen. It's hard to imagine that world leaders haven't heard this message yet, with all of the activism going on practically every day, but if anything will catch the attention of the last few resisters, I'm betting the frog is it.

You already know Edward Norton is a darn cool guy. After all, who else could have made "The Hulk" even greener? But now, he's doing more than just speaking out. He's even going beyond putting his money where his mouth is. Norton is running a marathon!

Though he might have occasional super powers on-screen, it turns out that, when it comes to running, he's just like everybody else and is experiencing common running ailments. But there's no way he'll quit -- he's running for a cause.

Norton is running the New York Marathon to benefit Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, an organization that seeks to protect the ecosystem in the area with which he became acquainted with 10 years ago on a trip to Kenya. His 30-person team is an eclectic mix of celebrities (Alanis Morrisette, David Blaine) and Maasai warriors (some of whom are still deciding whether to run in shoes or sandals.

To learn more about the cause and Norton's commitment to the race, check out the exclusive interview at AOL Health!

Shark conservation is an urgent issue. Last month during "Shark Week" I mentioned the efforts of the Ocean Conservancy and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to support the Shark Conservation Act of 2009.

Oceana is another organization working hard to save sharks. They're also supporting the legislation and working with "Mad Men's" January Jones, one of the faces of a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of protecting and restoring the shark populations.

January's catch phrase is "We should be afraid for sharks, not of them." To prove her point, she and Oceana made a PSA of her swimming with sharks.

Sometimes it's easy to forget just what a dirty, messy, polluting process it is to get crude oil out of the ground so we can turn it into fuel. That's because most of the pollution takes place "somewhere else" -- in another country, in another part of the world.

The indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon don't have that luxury. As we see in "CRUDE", a new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the rainforest where they live has been polluted across an area the size of Rhode Island in an effort to extract black gold. It's an environmental disaster referred to in the film as being thirty times more devastating than the Exxon Valdez spill.

"CRUDE" is the story of the $27 billion-dollar, multi-year environmental lawsuit brought against Texaco -- now owned by Chevron -- on behalf of 30,000 rainforest dwellers. Berlinger shows both sides of the story, which is by turns sad, outrageous and inspiring, but never preachy. The filmmaker leaves conclusions up to you.

It's a big week in New York City! Yesterday we had Hugh Jackman kicking off Climate Week NY°C. Today marks the start of the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting, which will focus on urgent global issues. Finance and climate will be at the top of the focus list, which also includes education and health.

The meeting is a who's-who of global leaders. President Obama is addressing the opening session, and more than 60 current and former Heads of State will attend alongside Hilary Clinton, Kofi Annan and Al Gore. The CEOs of major corporations like General Electric, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, and JP Morgan Chase will also be there.

And what green-global-minded gathering is complete without celebrities like Demi Moore, Matt Damon and Barbra Streisand? Oddly enough, Pam Anderson and PETA are not on the invitee list, but you know Angelina Jolie totally plans to crash -- she wouldn't miss an event like this!

The UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) is less than three months away. This week in New York City, government and business leaders from around the world are gathering for meetings and events to demonstrate their support for strong action on climate change at COP15: Climate Week NY°C.

2008 Sexiest Man Alive and Global Ambassador for humanitarian organization World Vision Hugh Jackman will be in attendance to kick off Climate Week NY°C and "speak on behalf of the billion people in developing countries who will be the hardest hit by changing weather patterns, by the droughts and floods that destroy their crops and threaten their food security."

I think seeing Hugh Jackman is reason enough to show up, but for the more strictly climate-issue-minded, there will be a dizzying array of NY°C events from which to choose, including:

Summer is over, vacations finished, and it's back to the daily drudgery of working long weeks -- but PETA has a little something special to get your weekend off to a bangin' start: Pam Anderson as a sexy TSA agent!

Yeah. Like at the airport! Only instead of keeping people from sneaking on bombs, or box cutters, Pammie keeps them from bringing fur or leather on board.

The campaign is called "Cruelty Doesn't Fly", and wow, it took some serious nerve to launch it so close to the anniversary of September 11th. But PETA is nothing if not shockingly inappropriate -- hey, they're trying to save bunnies! And goats! This is frickin' serious, folks.

Patrick Swayze died today at the age of 57 after a 20 month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Maybe you knew him best as the misunderstood dancer Johnny Castle in "Dirty Dancing." Or perhaps your favorite memories of him are from the amazing fight scenes in "Road House." We all have our favorite Swayze moments, and it's with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to the screen icon and one-time "Sexiest Man Alive".

Not only did he have a major impact on cinema, but he was a conservationist as well. While filming "King Solomon's Mines" in South Africa, he was moved by the people and animals in the African bush.

"Out of this experience was born an idea for a global conservation documentary series that is turning huge," Swayze told the LA Times in 2004. "I've got some of the leading paleoanthropological scientists in the world coming on my team, and award-winning wildlife documentarians."

Calling all people who like wine, clean beaches and live music, and can get to Asbury Park, NJ: Saturday, August 29 is your lucky day.

Barefoot Wines and Surfrider Foundation have been working together for three years, sponsoring beach clean ups that are followed by thank you concerts for the volunteers. This summer alone they've held 25 clean up/concert combos!

On August 29th, they're teaming up to host the biggest and best of the cleanup and concert combos, which will also be a celebration of the Surfrider Foundation's 25th anniversary. The Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Concert at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, will be a major party!

By now you've heard that the Philadelphia Eagles signed convicted dog-fighter Michael Vick, prompting a frisson of protester energy to pulse through the Internet. Most common were vows to protest at every Eagles game, as if that would actually change anything.

Yahoo sports blogger MJD at Shutdown Corner did an interesting post, basically telling protesters just that: You can't make Eagles fans turn against the team, and it's the wrong place to put your energy anyway. His extremely relevant point is that protesting games doesn't draw any attention to the evils of dogfighting, which is the goal, right?

Sure, use Michael Vick to get the issue in front of people, but don't make the NFL your battleground. Because when it comes to football vs. anything else, even hideous animal abuse, fans will pick football every time. You can find it wrong or disgusting, but it's simple fact. At least as long as the team is having a winning season.*

(Photo by Getty Images)

Yesterday saw a lot of outrage and disbelief that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally reinstated convicted dog abuser Michael Vick. This means he can practice through the pre-season with teams, and even play by the sixth game of the season, although (so far) no one has extended an invitation to him. It's also being perceived as a subtle and public act of forgiveness for something that most of us find unforgivable. And that's pretty upsetting.

In addition to financing the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting ring, Vick was also sickeningly -- and personally -- cruel to the animals in his care. He served two years in prison, lost all of his endorsement deals, and was suspended indefinitely from the NFL.

Vick is a gifted athlete, but for most of us, participating in dogfighting is a deal-breaker. It automatically and forever makes you a sicko, and trying to make money off of it makes you a sociopath. It's not a sport, and there is absolutely no way to put a good spin on it.

(Photo by Geoff Burke, Getty Images)

There's a new eco-friendly beer on tap in The Great Lakes State, and the brewmeister is none other than terminally shirtless rap/rock/country crooner Kid Rock. Apparently, Mr. Rock has been carefully perfecting this beer's flavor for the past year and now it's ready for mass consumption. Here's how Kid Rock describes the beer to the Detroit Free Press:

""American-style lager ... easy to drink without an aftertaste... I'm American, that's what I like to drink, and from looking around the parking lot before my shows, I know that's what my fans drink,"

Thoughtfully dubbed "American Badass Beer," the brew was unveiled at two of Kid Rock's concerts in Detroit last week and is now available statewide in Michigan. American Badass Beer (I'm already getting really annoyed with that title) will be available nationwide over the next year.

If you were getting excited about the prospect that Kid Rock might hang up the microphone and work full time at the brewery, sorry, no such luck. The Michigan Brewing Company is undertaking the production duties, which is also the reason it qualifies as a green beer. The Michigan Brewing Company, like a few other major green breweries, produces its own power from biodiesel generators.

In fact, nearby MSU students are unwittingly aiding Kid Rock's efforts to market his poorly-named green brew. Fryer grease from their cafeterias is powering the aforementioned generators. If the food at Michigan State's cafeterias is anything like the ones at my school, there should be grease aplenty. There was probably enough grease pumping out of our cafeterias to power the entire campus.

I'd warn other green brewers like New Belgium and Sierra Nevada to watch out, but I don't think American Badass Beer is really targeting their demographic. Something about the name and the beer's celebrity spokesman leads me to think that ABB will not be a favorite among the Prius-driving public.

We've been relatively (some would say blissfully) free of Michael Jackson coverage around here, but I can't resist the opportunity to mention the wonderful work done by the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida. Bubbles the Chimp, who traveled the world with Michael for several years, and learned to moonwalk, is a resident of the Center, and is living out his showbiz retirement in cucumber- and banana-noshing comfort.

Along with Bubbles, 14 orangutans and 27 other chimps enjoy the safety and tranquility of the 100+ acre sanctuary in central Florida. There are different habitats, sleeping areas, and a very cool elevated "tunnel and chute" system that lets the curious chimps and orangs safely wander through the sanctuary's wooded areas.

Some people (like the stupid, ignorant Kardashians) think it's cute and funny to play with baby apes. But as we saw with the Travis the chimp tragedy in Connecticut, cute baby apes grow into strong adults who can't be controlled in domestic settings. However, once they've lived with humans, these chimps and orangs also don't have the skills to live in the wild. Most post-showbiz and abandoned-pet apes wind up in circuses ... or worse.

This was a pretty exciting week for me. I got a "personalized" email from Alpha Green Al Gore, asking me to support Repower America's efforts to convince Congress to pass aggressive climate legislation. I think he's the greatest! (And I hope/believe he's secretly doing something to get Laura Ling and Euna Lee released from that North Korean labor camp.)

You may remember Al's awesome speech to the Daughters of the American Revolution, when he challenged America to get 100% of our power from clean energy sources within 10 years. Repower America is the organization that grew in response to that challenge, with over 2 million members across the country.

The video above is the latest ad from Repower America, and it's just plain-talking awesomeness. The totally crusty, hardworking, traditional-seeming gentleman who stars in it hits all of the high points -- like how we're "held hostage by foreign oil" and "borrowing money to buy oil from dictators who don't like us" and "burning it in ways that kill God's green earth" -- using language that makes these ideas accessible and palatable to non-bleeding heart liberals. You know, like the majority of the country.