this is what concerns me:

I guess I’m not the only one annoyed by Adrian Grenier. It seems Hollywood is mounting a multi-pronged anti-green campaign at this very moment…

“Lionsgate has acquired worldwide rights to ‘Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty,’ a spec script by first-time screenwriter Adam Sachs,” who writes for the Harvard Lampoon. The film follows “a lonely reporter and an outspoken teen” through their awkward friendship, at the end of which the teen becomes a hero by standing up to the SHAC “terrorists” to save an animal testing lab. (Because, yes, don’t worry, Sachs specifically assures us they’ll be depicted as “terrorists.” What are they teaching the kids up at Harvard these days?)

Next up is another comedy featuring some of my favorite “terrorists”: Mike Judge’s new animated series for ABC, “The Goodes,” about a family of vegans who mean well but fall into a lot of the usual guilt-laden traps. Of course the frustrating thing is that vegans are a perfect target for great, slightly nuanced comedy (Judge, of course, being known for his nuance…). To be fair, I don’t think he means to villainize veganism with the show — just trivialize it.

But any publicity is good publicity…? Veganism is going mainstream!! Never thought I’d say it, but, um, thanks, Oprah.

Sure, they’re a little too surprised (”10 million Americans!”, “The food is quite good, actually!”, “cut more CO2 than buying a Prius!!”), and yes, we can all thank Oprah, but props to the CNN bookers for going to the source for amazing vegan cuisine, Chef Matteo. (Yes, I’m a hypocrite, but I’m even kind of glad they didn’t mention that stuff costs like $50.)

I was a little more skeptical about the second segment, but that newscaster has such a crush on Russell Simmons, I bet she’ll go veg before the week is out. Don’t underestimate the influential power of cute vegans. (I should put that on the “vegan sex and relationship” survey I got yesterday…)

(via Food Fight)

A few days ago I added a ton of new feeds to my reader, one of which was Grist. I used to browse Grist for SuperVegan story ideas and the like, and it’s pretty informative and well-written and etc. but I always found their submissions guidelines page to be far wittier than any of the copy they pump out each day. They self-identify as “gloom and doom with a sense of humor.” I mean… I guess it’s true (kind of sometimes). There’s just no bite.

I mentioned Adrian Grenier’s upcoming project, The Green Life, back in January, but the latest scoop is that the show — billed as a makeover series wherein Grenier and “his entourage” help everyday folk go green — has been renamed Alter Eco and will premiere in June.According to LAist, one of the first renovations on the show will be the Tokio Lounge, which is being transformed into Ecco, “Hollywood’s first ecofriendly lounge.”

Expected to open in July, the new lounge will feature an organic menu, eco-friendly cement (waste materials added to pack cement), an LED lighting system, waterless urinals and air pressure toilets. Power for the club will be supplied by the LA DWP’s Green Power resources.

The first full Alter Eco episode will premiere on Planet Green Monday, June 9, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). But you can catch a sneak peek on Planet Green’s launch night June 4 at 10 p.m.

I understand the need for celebrity coverage and page views… But the blogger can’t even crack one little joke about Grenier being famous for playing an empty-headed symbol of bicoastal excess — and that this show will copy that structure, following Adrian and his three friends around L.A.? This guy made out with Paris Hilton for Christ’s sake!

Is there no refuge from this greenwashed reblogged press release crap? Or is everyone genuinely this excited about Adrian Grenier introducing denim insulation and LED lighting to good, dumb cable-watching Americans? Is this the inescapable price we pay for trying to make people care about things: must use pretty faces and familiar names? But do we also have to take them seriously??

This clearly raises many terrible rhetorical questions. And I was having such a nice afternoon!