Green Options

From lubricants to condoms to things that go “bzzzz,” Planet Green has the lowdown…

Have you seen the Planet Green program Greensburg? The program follows the town of Greensburg, Kansas as they rebuild, in a very green way, after a tornado in May 2007 ripped through the town and devastated it. Nearly the entire community was destroyed.

Sunchips is helping the town of Greensburg to rebuild. Their first initiative was to donate $1 million to help build a solar-powered business incubator. It will eventually house 10 local businesses and help Greensburg residents return to their homes (many of them newly replaced).

Now Sunchips is taking another step to help Greensburg. When the tornado hit, it didn’t just destroy homes. It also destroyed the tree canopy in Greensburg. So a Facebook application was created called SunChips Greensburg widget that will allow Facebook users to add the widget to their profiles. For each widget that is added, SunChips will donate $1 towards replanting the tree canopy in Greensburg. The goal is to raise $50,000.

It’s not that unusual for entrepreneurs to incite change. One might say it’s expected. Highlighting the drive toward green is Discovery Channels new Planet Green. The all green network features a variety of shows, but it’s interesting to note how many of them feature ecopreneurs.

This month marks the debut of Planet Green, Discovery’s new all-green network, which is rolling out the green carpet for heavy Hollywood hitters like Leonardo DiCaprio, Adrian Grenier and Tommy Lee. But the real stars of Planet Green are the entrepreneurs featured in many of its programs and whose creativity and energy are a big part of the green movement’s success.

Where else would you find Jessica Alba’s baby, Angelina Jolie’s movie, Emeril Lagasse’s TV show, and Ed Begley Jr.’s book in one blog post?! Read on after the jump for more on the latest “HollyGreen, CA” news:

“Hellboy II” Gets a TerraPass

The 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival announced that it is implementing numerous changes to produce an eco-friendly, “green” Festival this year, as part of a company-wide greening initiative by Film Independent – the non-profit filmmakers organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as the Spirit Awards.

The Festival has partnered with NBC-Universal, which is a green company, on both Opening Night (Thursday, June 19) and Closing Night (Sunday, June 29) of the Festival. The Opening Night premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Wanted” (starring Angelina Jolie), as well as the Closing Night premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” will be produced in an eco-friendly fashion.

Greens come in way more than one shade, so the folks at the Discovery Channel and TreeHugger are hoping to reach as many of them as they can through a new partner-based, 24/7 network dubbed Planet Green.

Calling itself the “first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network,” Planet Green launches Wednesday, June 4. The synergy of the TV/Internet partnership promises to deliver a greater range and depth of green information than either medium could provide on its own, according to Eileen O’Neill, president and general manager of the Planet Green network.