It's not often you hear of a violent assault over a recycling matter, but hold onto your organic, fair trade, hand-crocheted wool hat, because today you shall.

Danny John-Jules, the TV and film actor best known for playing The Cat on the cult hit 1990s BBC sci-fi sitcom "The Red Dwarf," had a bad morning back in February. Many of us have gotten a little carried away with what we toss into the bin in sometimes-vain hopes that it can be recycled, and we've all had our recycling left at the curb a time or two, unclaimed by collectors. But when a father and son team of recycling collectors refused to empty John-Jules' bin because it held a non-recyclable Styrofoam container, the TV star laid the smack down. And this week, the judges laid down the law in their response.

Posted by Colleen Kane on Oct 27, 2008 at 9:49 AM
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Environmentalists aren't necessarily all flower-loving hippies, but I'd be lying if I said this recent news item doesn't give me a case of the warm-and-fuzzies. Jade Jagger, fashion designer and daughter of Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, designed the interiors for 58 eco-homes in the Cotswalds. But when a rare orchid was discovered growing on the site of the planned development by Lake Longdoles, the development's location had to be shifted.  

The orchid, Epipactis phyllanthes, or Green-flowered Helleborine, was described as "nationally scarce" by Ben Pollard, the development's landscape and ecology manager. The plant would have been easy to miss, as it's on the short side and mostly green, but now a fence is protecting the 20 or so found specimens. There's now talk of turning the surrounding area into a nature trail, so the story keeps getting greener.

Posted by Colleen Kane on Oct 20, 2008 at 11:05 AM
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Sixties screen siren-turned- animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has opened her famous mouth (which now sports a suspiciously plump upper lip) to join in the outcry against Sarah Palin.

Bardot wrote an attention-grabbing open letter directed at Palin, calling the Republican vice presidential candidate "disconcertingly stupid" as well as a "disgrace to women."

Posted by Colleen Kane on Oct 10, 2008 at 12:39 PM
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Two British musicians have spoken out on the state and fate of the planet this week with decidedly different takes. I’ll start with the mocking point-of-view from the ever-outspoken Noel Gallagher of Oasis because, let’s face it, it’s more fun to read.

“Global problems are very easily solved by rockstars, aren’t they,” Gallagher said in an interview with the Herald Sun.

“Starving people in Africa, let’s do a gig, that’ll sort it out. There’s war on the streets of Baghdad, let’s do a gig. Global warming and carbon emissions – let’s have a concert. It’s f---ing bullsh--.

Posted by Colleen Kane on Oct 3, 2008 at 12:34 PM
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A week after Al Gore’s recent call for alternative fuel research and development, Robert Redford has called out President George Bush for failing to do just that. The action from the 72-year-old actor and NDRC trustee is timed to discourage Congress from opening up American shorelines to drilling (Bush has already approved it), which will not solve our dependency on foreign oil because, as he notes, the country only contains 3 percent of the global supply of petroleum.

“Many of our fellow Americans now choose between buying gas to get to work and buying food to feed their families. Meanwhile, President Bush is trading on that desperation to peddle a lie: that sacrificing our coastlines and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Big Oil will solve our problems at the pump,” said Redford in a feature on NRDC's website. 

Posted by Colleen Kane on Sep 26, 2008 at 11:06 AM
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