Aside from all the glam, glitz and rather pointless fascination with what cloths people wore, a more important show was going on behind the scenes at this years Oscars. This year the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, decided to purchase green tags to offset the environmental impact of the event. They purchased the tags from Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF)
The combined purchase of 178 Green Tags supports the generation of 178,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity from clean, renewable energy projects, enough to power sixteen average U.S. homes for a full year. By supporting this much carbon-free energy, the Academy Awards avoids nearly 250,000 pounds of climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Academy’s commitment to addressing the environmental impacts of the Oscars ceremony reflects the increasing attention to the risks of climate disruption within the arts and entertainment industry,” said Tom Starrs, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer. “We commend the Academy for its leadership on this issue, and are honored that they chose to support the Foundation and its Green Tag programs for this purpose.”
The greening of the Oscars ceremony was coordinated by Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “There is no longer any serious debate about the human contribution to global warming,” Hershkowitz said. “Now it’s time to take action. The Academy’s purchase of Green Tags for Oscar-related events increases public awareness of the opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of our energy usage, particularly with respect to carbon dioxide, the leading source of global warming pollution.”
Read more info on how the oscars went green here.
Another Kind of Green Oscar!
Oceana awarded another kind of Green Oscar to Masters of Making Mercury in our Environment – yes, MOMMIEs. Mercury poses its greatest risk to children and often even before they are born. That’s why Oceana has recognized major mercury emitters – chlorine factories that continue to use mercury polluting technology even though 90% of the industry has already switched to mercury free technology. The award – a life-sized gold statue of a pregnant mommie – is definitely worth checking out here!