Tsk tsk! This has nothing to do with Hustler or hardcore! Get your mind out of the gutter and more into the art of…oh, bug sex.

The fabulous Isabella Rossellini hosts her second series of delightfully wacky short films about the sex lives of different insects and animals. Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of sexy nature – welcome to Green Porno. It sounds racy, but the clips are tame and respectful enough to educate children. Seriously.

And what exactly will you find in an episode of Green Porno? A whale with a 6-foot penis, an asexual starfish and a sadomasochistic, hermaphroditic snail. But the weird part is that Rossellini dresses up in kooky costumes and portrays the animals themselves. C’mon, you know you want to watch. And bring your sense of humor with you.

Find Green Porno on the Sundance Channel or watch the clips online.

Last month, Mike introduced us all to the Ditty Bops and their fabulous Grammy-nominated popup album. The Ditties have a deceptively innocent sound that combines gorgeous harmonies with a fierce environmental message. Their live shows are part kids’ variety show and part musical circus, mixing in genres as diverse as acoustic folk, bluegrass, and jazz. They’re both absolutely beautiful and hip, but devoid of any annoying hipster ennui. They have an inherent sweetness that makes them approachable. The shows are highly interactive pieces of art with puppets, story telling, costumes, props, and plenty of politics.

The title song of their new album, Summer Rains, has a lazy Hawaiian twang and notes as light as air, but the message is a heavy one about global warming. Their environmental cred is serious. The pair once toured the United States by bicycle and were instrumental in pushing San Francisco’s plastic bag ban. They married one another last fall. Congratulations Abby and Amanda! We recently we caught up with the Ditty duo and asked them a few questions about their music and their lives together.

Tell us how you went about concepting and designing the album and the process for actually getting it made.

We love popup books and wanted to make a popup CD. We thought since we are already producing this independent of a record label, and since most CD art bores us, and many people download songs from iTunes or illegally, we thought if we made some beautiful packaging art to go along with the music it would give people a good reason to buy it.

First we contacted a handful of paper engineers. There aren’t that many but we found someone in Los Angeles, Renee Jablo. We worked with her and our graphic designer, Rick Whitmore in designing the vision that we had. Finding green printers who can assemble popups is not easy.  But we did find someone to do it in California. It is much more expensive than doing it in China or Korea, which is where most popups are assembled, but it was important to us.

Who are your musical inspirations and why?

Abby: Inspiration changes for me moment to moment – the radical street art of Skateboarders, a book I pulled from the shelf at a new age bookstore, my childhood stuffed animals, the mystique of 1930s movie stars.

Things that were once inspiring can go flat. I think it’s wonderful and essential to really be honest about what excites you.

How long have you been playing music together and how did the partnership start?

We are lovers in life and life is our art project. 10 years ago our partnership began. We play music and create all sorts of spontaneous art in between.

What was your best gig ever?

Abby: The best gig ever was when I walked top-free for 5 miles through the streets of Los Angeles. It was truth to me. It was beautiful. I had enough of seeing men hiking my favorite trails on 95-degree days without shirts. One day I counted 12 shirtless men in one hour. That was it. I took my shirt off and walked. Amanda was with me and it was the best gig so far. It was also painfully revealing, not just in that my naked breasts were exposed to the world, that part was empowering beyond belief, but in the way our society says our women are free but we are chained. It was a transformative experience. I was singing and screaming life.

I’ve heard that you have lived in LA without a car. Can you give readers tips for getting around LA (or any city) without driving?

Amanda: We live in West Hollywood”¦centrally located, if you can say that about LA. We live in an area where there is a lot within walking distance so it is obviously a lot easier to get by without a car than for people who work far from their residence. We now have a car again. Abby was smacked by a car in November and broke her knee. She is walking again but we are not commuting as much by bicycle.

You turned your driveway into an edible garden. What’s growing there right now?

We have marjoram, thyme, rosemary, parsley, three kinds of sage, oregano, Swiss chard, baby lettuces, strawberries, edible flowers for garnishing salads, a tangerine tree that had five little fruits this winter, a lime tree that had one lime, and a lot of succulents.

Because I write about food and I know you think it’s important, I want to know what 3 edibles are always in your refrigerator.

We love yogurt. We always eat it. We were getting this really great raw goat yogurt from a raw foods club in Venice. Raw almond butter we love. We use it in desserts and also on celery as a snack. And we have sprouted toast with avocado. We always have a lot of people coming and going from our place and they love avocado on sprouted toast so we gotta have it for them.

Listen and buy here.

Images: Norman Jean Roy, Sachi Kato, courtesy of The Ditty Bops

It’s no surprise that Australian singer Missy Higgins made Billboard Magazine’s 2008 list of “top ten green artists”. An outspoken advocate of living a greener life, her tours are known to be as carbon neutral as possible. Her concerts are powered by green power, recycling facilities are always available, and she travels by hybrid car or bio diesel bus wherever possible.

Missy’s also an enthusiastic supporter of the Sierra Club 2% Solution Campaign which advocates that if everyone reduces their carbon output by 2% a year, there would be a 80% of all carbon emissions by 2050.

Now a poster child (pdf) for the Sierra Club’s 2% Solution Campaign, Missy is encouraging her fans to join in and become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. And to help them get started, she provides a list of quick and simple ways to decrease your carbon output. Plus, if you sign the Missy Pledge, you can also get a free download of the unreleased version of her hit single “˜Where I Stood.’

Camelot once ruled the Washington fashion scene, but the times they have changed.

While Jackie Kennedy wowed the throng in lavish couture gowns (such as the one depicted in the figurine above) and the signature Cassini pillbox hat, Michelle Obama will most likely not be following suit, even on Jan. 20th, Inauguration Day.

More the well put-together working mom than DAR dilettante, she opted for slim and tailored silhouettes on the campaign trail, wearing affordable J. Crew on talk shows and a lean, coral Maria Pinto sheath to visit the Bush White House. Even her red and black Narcisco Rodriguez dress (which got mixed reviews) was bold without being brazen. Like the rest of us, Michelle can have fun without breaking the bank. Hilary had fun, too, but her taste level was highly questionable, and Laura Bush just aged herself by playing it way too safe.

But like Hilary, Obama is a loyalist when it comes to buying American and supporting local designers (Pinto is from Chicago). She is said to be extremely sensitive to dressing in a way deemed suitable for the times. As historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony explained it to McClatchy News, first ladies have made statements about themselves and the times they live in throughout history, especially in the post-World War II era. “They are symbols of our country,” he says. “They reflect around the world an image of of our country.”

One such reflection is visible to Brendan Hurley, vice president of marketing for Goodwill stores. He told the Washington Times that thrift-shop merchants report far more customers are hunting for formal wear among the Goodwill’s vintage collection. He says the stores are “a great place to find very inexpensive yet beautiful vintage and contemporary high-end fashions for the inaugural festivities.”(That’s what we’ve been saying.)

Of course another reflection is our dash to go green, but it’s doubtful Obama will consider wearing a recycled gown such as the juicy number Nina Valenti produced for Soyeon Lee at Carnegie Hall…one composed of 6,000 misprinted drink pouches. Perhaps that will have to wait.

Meantime, the first lady in waiting has been reviewing various sketches by top designers (such as Mizrahi, below) which were featured in a Womens Wear Daily piece on What Should Obama wear. The article, written in December, opens with the question: “Who says these are bleak times?” It goes on to say how excited American designers are about this “big catch” and many cannot wait to dress the statuesque Michelle. They include Diane Von Fursterberg and Betsey Johnson (bottom) who might have some interesting gowns but the renderings of Michelle are far from flattering.

I think the designer that captures her best would have to be Lagerfeld (below), who provides a hybrid of Jackie and Hillary in a day and night look for the tailored and sophisticated Michelle. The gown and suit might smack of Chanel but I’ve found similar statements at Nordstrom Rack and even among the knitwear at J. Crew. And if I were lucky enough to attend the highly coveted inaugural ball, that’s exactly where I would be looking for a treasure.

If you believe everything you read in the papers, rock stars are a blot on the landscape. Penthouse suites covered in fresh-cut flowers, hotel walls drunkenly tunneled through with cheese knives, baths filled with champagne…no cliché left unturned in the search for an arresting headline. But what is the ecological footprint of the average musician (if there’s such a thing)?

Take all those strings – a fresh set on every instrument for every gig, I bet. And since they’re metal or nylon, what happens to them afterwards? An elegant eco-friendly answer: jewelry. What is a guitar string but a thread of superbly-engineered wire, ideal for making bracelets? Add the fact that said bracelet was once being strummed by the likes of John Mayer or Ben Harper…and you have a very attractive business model.

And by business I mean "charity". All of the profits from the Wear Your Music project go to charities chosen by the 150+ artists donating their strings – for example, a RelixBand bracelet made from John Mayer’s strings sold for $1,100, all of which went to the African Children’s Choir. If you like the idea but a thousand bucks makes you twitch, you’ll be happy to know that the bracelets usually start at $150, with the price (or rather donation) rising according to whether you want engravings, semi-precious stones or even a diamond to be part of the package.

So don’t believe the hype – popular musicians aren’t all about profligacy, excess and TVs tipped out the window. From sustainable instruments to donated strings, are we seeing signs that the rock & roll lifestyle is becoming (gasp) a responsible one?

Images: dpade1337 / Wear Your Music

I love those “aha!” moments, when I read or hear something that sums up my own thoughts and feelings and expresses them in a way I’d never have. The best are those piquant, pithy and precise quotes. These are some of my favorites:

Let’s start by getting down to the bones. “We are part of the Earth. We eat the Earth everyday! And of course the Earth will eat us too.” (Linda Buzzell-Saltzman)

A traditional women’s song states that “Everything changes, nothing’s changed.” But “Never fear chaos; it is the womb of infinite possibilities.” (Robert Wolff)

Those infinite possibilities are the innovations we’re developing in order to adapt to the potentially dramatic changes that are coming. And we have to share our ideas with each other because “What cannot be said, cannot be created by community.” (Terrence McKenna)

But keep your ego in check, because “Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.” (Dalai Lama)

After all, “If you want to change the way people respond to you, change the way you respond to people.”  (Timothy Leary)

And that advice goes for our leaders too. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower correctly stated “I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.”

Peace may be the brightest invention of all. “Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”  (Thomas Alva Edison)

In the wise words of one of my heroes: “World peace will never be stable until enough of us find inner peace to stabilize it.” (Peace Pilgrim)

Bringing it back full circle, and assuming you’re living a peaceful life, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”  (Margaret Atwood)

Image: meanest indian

Edgy met veggie on Project Runway as designers were presented with the opportunity of a planet’s lifetime: to create green cocktail dresses for their beautiful models. 

The new crop of Christian and Jeffrey wannabes cheered after Tim Gunn explained their new challenge of using "environmentally responsible textiles" in episode 502: The Grass is Always Greener. 

You can’t help but notice that the budding artists he addressed don’t exactly look like big hemp fans with their pale skin, tatooed arms and sculptured hair fashions that might have been executed on Bravo’s sister show, Shear Madness. Still, their enthusiastic response signaled they fully appreciate the toxin-free direction the show was taking.

I cheered too, like a fool, as I watched on the sofa in an old blue poly-nylon terry bathrobe at my mom’s house in L.A. I believe the robe belonged to one of my brothers. I was thrilled my favorite TV show gave the nod to eco-fashion by choosing sustainable material for a challenge. A tear might have even welled up. EcoSalon is really getting to me.

In the past, we’ve seen plenty of the "reuse" angle on Runway: plastic garbage bags and tablecloths this season. Levi 901 jeans and Hershey candy wrappers in past seasons. But this new twist had the models acting as the clients and strutting to the infamous Mood fabric house to shop for bamboo, hemp, and organic silks and satins.

The designers, who usually are in charge of the shopping, were worried sick the models weren’t up to the riggors of the task. Did they understand what constitutes green fabric? Could they count the yardage? Could they count?

The winner was a blonde with a blue mohawk named Suede, who produced an adorable party dress with a woven bodice of interlaced strips of red and white fabric and a drop-waist ballet skirt. Suede gushed that his fresh take gave a new spin to green-chic since not a lot of cool stuff has emerged in the category (he ought to read EcoSalon!).

His dress really wowed hard-sells Nina and Michael as well as celebrity guest judge, Natalie Portman, who introduced a vegan shoe line for Te Casan last February in New York. Natalie donates 5% of her profits to various charities. 

Sure, there always has to be a loser and fate would have it that 22-year-old Wesley from Massachusetts was "out" for his brown satin mini number. Eco satin like traditional satin is an unforgiving material which shows every clumsy tuck and stitch. Poor Wesley.

But I’m happy to report, none of the looks had that dowdy, homespun silhouette of early eco fashion, like the all-too-familiar boxy jackets with oversize buttons. I think it is also clear that young designers (including a friend of mine now at textile design school in Berkeley) are eager to get their hands on green fabrics, and I hope the world’s weavers meet the demand.

Kudos to Project Runway for going for the green garb. Some day, bombshell Heidi Klum can say auf wiedersehen to all those nasty chemicals from factory produced textiles allowing this three-dimensional art form to become truly pure.

Sara’s shameless plug: Hi, it’s your editor. De-lurk, dear reader, and leave this fabulous writer a comment. You can also share this post with friends ““ just click your favorite social bookmark listed below. New reader? Be sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter. You can also subscribe to any RSS feed your heart desires.

Now that the presidential race is off and running, it’s time to compare and contrast what the two White House kitchens might look like in the way of sustainable food sourcing. Take a little break from the political arguments about economics and Iraq and peek into the possible future White House kitchens.

First, a look at the two candidates’ food preferences:

Barack Obama seems to be a committed omnivore and will eat just about anything he’s served on the campaign trail. Given the choice, he leans toward grilled fish, vegetables like broccoli and spinach, and for snacks, he’ll go for organic Honest T Blackforest Berry, roasted almonds, and protein bars. At a stop in Washington, he hit a deli marketplace and excitedly sampled and purchased some fancy cheese and charcuterie. His favorite dish to cook is chili and he doesn’t like beets. He’s often seen carrying plastic water bottles but he redeemed himself somewhat with this comment: “we can’t drive our SUVS and eat as much as we want…and then just expect other countries are going to say ok.”

John McCain’s favorite foods are shrimp and pepperoni pizza. Required snacks on the campaign trail: Dunkin donuts and Coke. He likes to cook ribs and says he doesn’t “do well with vegetables.”

Clearly, Obama’s ahead of the game as far as enjoying vegetables, buying organic (at least sometimes) and eating a diet that’s good for his body. And personally, I’m encouraged by his obvious enjoyment of delicious food. But there’s always room for improvement:

Plastic water bottles: Lose that habit in favor of something reusable like the Kleen Kanteen.

Protein Bars: Switch from the chemically-processed, sugar-laden varieties to Clif Bars, an independently owned, environmentally responsible company that uses organic ingredients.

Almonds: Switch to pecans – the more local choice for D.C.

Vegetables: Make sure the White House chef maintains an organic kitchen garden.

Grilled fish: It’s good if it adheres to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Wallet Card for the DC area.

Chili: Use heirloom beans and grass fed beef, or go vegan.

I think McCain could branch out a little in his food preferences, but let’s work with what he’s got.

Vegetables: I have to confess I never liked broccoli until I joined a CSA and realized how good really fresh vegetables straight from the farm can be. Maybe if the chef maintains the aforementioned kitchen garden and starts him out on mild tasting lettuce, working up to potatoes, and maybe carrots, he’ll change his tune.

Shrimp: It’s okay as long as its wild American shrimp – the most environmentally-friendly option.

Pepperoni pizza: Again, moderation is a good thing and making sure the pepperoni is from responsibly raised animals would be a step in the right direction. And cooked tomato sauce is very good for you. Make sure the crust is whole grain and you’re good to go, Mac!

Snacks: Hopefully he’ll lose the Dunkin’ Donuts and Coke once the campaign is over – you’re not getting any younger, John. If he doesn’t eat vegetables, dried fruit might and roasted nuts provide some much-needed fiber.

Ribs: Great, if they’re from pasture-raised pigs.

The Greenest Fantasy Presidential Kitchen of All: Dennis Kucinich, a vegan! We’ve got a long way to go until November, but I think we can rule out Dennis.

Image: Recipe Tip

Sources:

New York Times

Washington Post

Fox News

Sara’s shameless plug: Hi, it’s your editor. De-lurk, dear reader, and leave this fabulous writer a comment. (We love chatting.) You can also share this post with friends ““ just click your favorite social bookmark listed below. New reader? Be sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter to win free eco goodies! You can also subscribe to any RSS feed your heart desires.

In the current economic climate of massive corporate lay-offs and gas prices nearing $5 a gallon, it would seem risky to open a posh green home design store peddling eco fireplaces ranging as high as $12,000. But Fred Segal is banking on its reputation as the hippest L.A. store around since 1976. If the brand could invent the first fashion jeans it can certainly market ultra cool fireplaces fueled by renewable green energy.

So two months ago, it boldly opened the doors of Fred Segal Green at the tony address of 500 Broadway in Santa Monica, where Segal opened its second fashion store years ago. The 1,200 square-foot green decor showroom featuring a stunning array of furnishings, accents and books, has already drawn in the celebrity crowd, including Robin Williams and Meryl Streep.

"David Caruso bought some recycled can top bags by Dalaleo for a friend," shares salesman Phillipe Dubois in a lovely French accent that must work quite well in the pristine, upscale setting. Dubois tells me the response has been excellent from not only the loyal Hollywood clientele that has been buying designer jeans and trendy frocks from Segal since 1976, but from all over the world since the Santa Monica retail mecca is already packed with summer tourists.

What will you find at the new, sustainable Segal’s? Those stylishly surreal felt rocks by Ronel Jordaan; The efficient and low carbon Ecosmart Fireplaces from Australia which run on denatured ethanol; Laptop bags by Monacca and throws and cushions by a variety of pure wool and cotton textile brands. Dubois adds there’s a great selection of architecture and design books, as well as fun toys for rich kids, I mean, for cute little green kids of all ages.

The store is currently designing its new web site but has one page up at fredsegalgreen.com. If you are visiting L.A. soon, you won’t want to miss this new eco haunt. (310) 395-5699.

And don’t feel bad if you don’t buy anything. According to Dubois, even Meryl was "just looking."

Image: Hello Dollface

Sara’s shameless plug: Hi, it’s your editor. De-lurk, dear reader, and leave this fabulous writer a comment. (We love chatting.) You can also share this post with friends ““ just click your favorite social bookmark listed below. New reader? Be sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter to win free eco goodies! You can also subscribe to any RSS feed your heart desires.

Could fashion save the planet? If it were up to Phillip Lim it could.

The savvy visionary, whose offbeat tailored pieces are peddled at speciality department stores and collected by Hollywood producers’ wives, looked to the North Pole this season for inspiration. He found it in the dwindling polar bear population. 

Lim says he was greatly moved by a National Geographic special on the Arctic which warned that polar ice caps are melting at a rate three times faster than they were five years ago. He decided then and there to reduce and recycle. The result is his new Go Green Go collection. I first learned of the line  while reading an Eco AID report in Elle Magazine. I stumbled upon a page featuring a drop-dead white Grecian tunic in the collection. It’s so gorgeous, I cut out the image for my daughter who had to make her own toga for 6th grade social studies. "Now, this," I told her, "is a toga!"

The tunic is one of 10 pieces in the organic line, which also includes pants, jackets and bib-front tanks, all lined in organic silk with Lim’s distinctive feminine touch. Lim told Elle he had been thinking about doing this collection for a while, then suddenly "it just felt right."The going green part involved avoiding harmful dyes on the sustainable cotton fabric he used. He also had each item washed with tennis balls to create a time- worn affect. Quite the Al Gore follower, Lim also has created a $20 canvas grocery tote, reading: "Smile, you have just reduced your carbon footprint." All of the money earned on the bags will go to Gore’s Climate Project.

Lim plans to greenify his men’s and children’s lines as well.

Image: The Fashion Spot

Sara’s shameless plug: Hi, it’s your editor. De-lurk, dear reader, and leave this fabulous writer a comment. (We love chatting.) You can also share this post with friends ““ just click your favorite social bookmark listed below. New reader? Be sure to sign up for the weekly newsletter to win free eco goodies! You can also subscribe to any RSS feed your heart desires.