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Laurie David, I Presume?

Laurie David is everywhere these days. And that’s not hyperbole. She’s omnipresent in the green world, from a huge profile in Vogue’s March “Power” issue, to Women’s Wear Daily, to another profile in Elle (which I’m guessing led to her guest-editing the upcoming May “Green” Elle, printed on 10% recyled stock).

Who is this eco-warrioress? A former talent coordinator for David Letterman, ex-comedy producer, and former vp of comedy devlopment for Fox, and current NRDC trustee, and oh-yeah, she’s married to Larry David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame.

She’s using her considerable Hollywood clout for the good of the greens. She’s begun the Virtual March on Washington to stop global warming, and got both Oprah and Fox News to do a show on the topic (not together! Though that’s a funny thought)

In March’s Vogue Laurie explains that her children were her impetus to get involved:”I say what the impact would be on my kids’ lives.”

On top of all this work, Laurie has been involved in getting three different enviro specials on the air.

As E/The Environmental Magazine summed up in a recent interview:

Today, if you haven’t seen an information-crammed environmental special produced by Laurie David, it’s because you aren’t paying attention. Her live Earth to America special featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Will Ferrell and many others. Her excellent and sober (no rock music, no celebrity voice overs) HBO documentary Too Hot Not to Handle will air on Earth Day, April 22 (7 p.m. Eastern Time, 8 p.m. Central). And Participant Productions’ An Inconvenient Truth, featuring former Vice President Al Gore talking about global warming, is coming soon to a theater near you.

But don’t let the big name-dropping fool you. From Newsweek’s “quote of the week” section, talking about Too Hot Not to Handle: “This isn’t about box office. None of us are going to make a dime. [What's at stake] is, you know, the planet.” I’m sure I’m not the only one who likes to read those kinds of quotes from someone with real influence.

I’ll leave you with these words from Laurie, from the E Magazine interview:

Scientists are the most cautious humans on the planet, and they are now all saying that they have underestimated everything. They are saying we now have less than 10 years to start slowing [global warming] down. Less than 10 years. If you need a better wakeup call then that, I don’t know what it is. And if they are saying less than 10 years, my feeling is that it’s probably five years.

children, comedy, earth day, Easter, Eco-Chick, Global Warming, Hollywood, interview, kids, magazine, Music, News, produce, spa, stop global warming, style, Vogue, women, wood

As Green As Green Can Be?

4 Comments

by Starre Vartan · 03/18/06

There has been debate here lately about whether we, as “Greenies” should buy anything at all. This is a long-standing issue in the environmental community: Should we shun all consumer products and grow our own food, make our own clothes and educate our own kids (the time that takes tends to limit your ability to do much else, I’ve found)?

Or should we engage in society as “regular” folks and try to change the system by supporting environmentally-friendly companies, products and services? I would guess that most Greenies do both, to varying degrees (since I live in the Northeast, I can only garden for part of the year anyway, for example).

I’ve always had trouble with the ‘back to the land’ approach as I see many (certainly not all!) communities that are set up that way as having traditional gender roles. I have little interest in cooking and even less in having babies, sewing my own clothes or spending all day canning food. I love the fact that I get paid for using my brain all day, writing, thinking, researching, asking questions, and interacting with all the other nerds that like that kind of work. At the same time, I realize my existence is predicated on people much poorer than myself doing all that hard (boring!) labor I don’t want to do. OR that some fossil-fueled machine has to do the work. So I try to buy Fair Trade and organic, and I clean my house myself, and I go to farmer’s markets and I grow my own summer veggies and I compost and I adopt rescued animals, and I try not to drive too much, and I recycle and reuse like crazy. How are we supposed to come up with solutions if we are laboring all day? I need time to think, dammit!

What about you? What do you do? What tradeoffs do you make, and why?

Animals, babies, clothes, community, Eco-Chick, Fair Trade, farm, Food, garden, kids, labor, Organic, recycle, reuse, skin, solutions, spa, style, summer

Ask Chicky: Clear Skies or Dirty Air?

1 Comment

by Starre Vartan · 03/06/06

Dear Chicky,

My boyfriend and I (we’re both in our early 30′s) have a bet: I say air quality is better than when we were kids, he says it’s worse. Who’s right?

–Itching to Be Right
Dear Itching,

Though it’s always fun to watch one half of a couple do the “I’m right and you’re wrong” dance, I’m sorry to report that nobody’s winning the bet on this one. You’re both right, depending on what kind of standard you’re using to judge air quality, and where you live.
Overall, air quality has improved in most parts of the United States, due to several decades of pollution rules and enforcement under the Clean Air Act. In the Southeastern parts of the country where population growth has exploded, there are higher levels of pollution than before (since housing wasn’t exactly planned around people riding their air-friendly bikes to work), but they’re still within the normal range on most days. Some cities, like Los Angeles, have made dramatic improvements in air quality, something that Angelenos notice when they step outside their doors and enjoy visible views. That’s the good news.