"How do we make this little planet of ours a big star?" asks actress Cameron Diaz in the cover story of Marie Claire's July issue. "The planet needs a publicist."

And this bubbly blonde is just the gal for the job. She's long been an environmental activist -- running around with an MTV video crew for her 2005 show Trippin', which took her to exotic locales all over the world -- but it wasn't until she attended the TED conference recently that she really felt the push to do something a bit more serious.

These days, she's doing a lot of press for her new film My Sister's Keeper, but she also happens to be the star of a much smaller production. She's been filming a documentary about our relationship with the planet, traveling to less-than-exotic locales across the country to talk to regular folk about the toxins in their air and water -- and what they're willing to do about it.

Check out this short video about her journey:

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Leonardo DiCaprio
Once "king of the world," this star often flies commercially and drives himself around in a hybrid Toyota Prius. In 1998, he started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to promote environmental causes. More recently, he's been working on 11th Hour, an environmental documentary featuring interviews with global green leaders.

Cameron Diaz
This bombshell ain't trippin' (though that was the name of her eco-themed MTV show). The avid surfer drives a hybrid car, got trained to give Al Gore's climate presentation, and helped make the big announcement about Live Earth.

Robert Redford
The Sundance Kid has campaigned for Utah wilderness, promoted solar energy, convinced mayors to tackle climate change, and served 30 years on the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council. In April, he launched a weekly three-hour slot of eco-programming on his Sundance TV channel.

Cate Blanchett
Take notes on this scandal: Recently part of an ad campaign promoting Sydney's Earth Hour blackout, Cate Blanchett and her playwright hubby have converted their own home to solar power. As co-artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company, the duo also plans to green that venture and hopes to power an entire theater season off-grid.

George Clooney
This leading man not only earned an Oscar last year but also a prime spot on the cover of Vanity Fair's first green issue. In association with his award-winning role in Syriana, Clooney launched Oil Change, a campaign to say good night and good luck to America's dependence on oil. And to drive the point home, he's frequently seen out and about with his eco-friendly Tango electric car.

Ed Begley Jr.
We're Ed over heels for this electric-car-driving, solar-powered-home-owning star. He's got his own brand of eco-cleaners (Begley's Best), a reality show that puts a domestic spin on green issues (Living with Ed), and a morning routine that involves powering his toaster with a stationary bike.

Edward Norton
The eco-commitment of this Hollywood heavyweight is no illusion. Norton used his star power to help launch BP's Solar Neighbors Program, which gets solar panels onto low-income homes in L.A., and he hosted an award-winning, four-part National Geographic TV special about the unnerving effects of global environmental problems.

Daryl Hannah
Arrested last year for staging a 23-day tree-sit in a bid to save L.A.'s South Central Farm, an urban community garden, this steel magnolia is a longtime environmentalist who drives a biodiesel car and runs her green home on solar power. Hannah has also recently made a splash online with the eco-video blog dh love life.

Amitabh Bachchan
Concerned about his native India's vulnerability to climate change, this top Bollywood star helped launch a partnership between Global Cool and the International Indian Film Academy to use the power of cinema to build awareness of the issue.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus
She may be starring in The New Adventures of Old Christine, but being a devout environmentalist is nothing new for Louis-Dreyfus. Her solar-powered home is a showcase of green design and energy efficiency, and she's long been active with organizations like Heal the Bay, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Trust for Public Land.

Pierce Brosnan
The world is enough for this 007, who focuses his activism on the planet -- marine mammals and wetland protection in particular. Brosnan -- who was named "Best-Dressed Environmentalist" in 2004 and serves on the board of the Environmental Media Association -- has long fought for dolphin-safe tuna rules and protested the U.S. Navy's widespread use of sonar, which can harm whales and other cetaceans.

Rosario Dawson
Though she's soon to reprise her Sin City role, Dawson's environmental involvement leans more toward the virtuous. In 2005, she brought her star power to a U.N. summit on preserving the environment and ending poverty, and, more recently, she's dialed up her work with Global Cool's mobile texting campaign, which steers money to clean energy and energy-reduction projects.

Will Ferrell
He got guffaws during his blaze of glory on TBS's "Earth to America!" eco-comedy special, but this funnyman's commitment to the environment is no laughing matter. He's an active supporter of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and, though it may sound stranger than fiction, he'll soon be driving his electric car into the driveway of an eco-friendly home.

Tom Hanks
An avid supporter and volunteer for The Nature Conservancy, this Forrest had the gumption to order the very first eBox electric car, delivered earlier this year. And Hanks often goes the extra green mile to make mention of his environmental leanings when he makes major TV appearances.

Brad Pitt
Twice named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine, Pitt isn't just a pretty face. A major architecture buff, he's been hot on the trail of the emerging green-building movement, helping with efforts to rebuild New Orleans in an eco-friendly way, narrating a sustainable design TV series, and supporting Ed Norton's Solar Neighbors Program.

Photo: Kevin Mazur / WireImage

Julia Roberts
This pretty woman was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair's green issue last year -- and for good reason: She's a spokesperson for Earth BioFuels and frequently talks up green issues on Oprah and other TV shows. Plus, the Erin Brockovich star will soon be playing another green activist, wildlife conservationist Joan Root, who was shot and killed in 2006.

Photo: PBS

Matt Damon
The talented Mr. Damon has been a good shepherd for the earth, narrating the documentary Running the Sahara and participating in the related awareness campaign about the water crisis in Africa. Damon also narrated the Journey to Planet Earth series on PBS.

Photo: Leon Bennett / WireImage

Alicia Silverstone
A longtime vegetarian -- and PETA's "Sexiest Female Vegetarian" in 2004 -- this blonde bombshell certainly isn't clueless about real environmental commitment. Silverstone is quick to talk the green talk in interviews, but she also walks the walk in her own green home, complete with solar panels and a table made from the flooring of an old bowling alley.

Photo: Vera Anderson / WireImage

Matt Dillon
There's something about Matt Dillon: He recently teamed up with Global Green USA and Yahoo! to announce a "Greenest City in America" challenge as part of the web engine's new "Be a Better Planet" program, which urges Americans to take action against climate change.

Photo: John Sciulli / WireImage.com

Charlize Theron
This South African beauty is no monster when it comes to green issues. She's traveled in eco-style to the Oscars and teamed up with a number of other celebs to fight the installation of LNG terminals off the coast of Malibu, Calif.

Sarah van Schagen contributed to this list.

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Re: It's Official: He Rocks

Dear Editor:

So Cameron Diaz is more luscious as a blonde than a brunette? Since when does Grist publish this type of sexist garbage and then not remove it from its website, despite the protests of readers?

Our family has supported Grist in the past but will no longer do so. From now on, I'll rely on environmental news sources that don't denigrate women.

Courtenay Dusenbury

Atlanta, Ga.

Re: It's Official: He Rocks

Dear Editor:

"[S]lightly less luscious now that she's a brunette"? Treating women like sex objects is wrong. I am a woman who reads your column every week, and I am sick of seeing articles, especially in Grist List, that glorify the objectification of women. If next week's column doesn't contain a humongous apology and a vow to never again publish such sexist material, I quit reading your list. I don't suffer sexist pigs.

Sara Jund

Re: It's Official: He Rocks

Dear Editor:

Hey, your blonde vs. brunette Cameron Diaz comment is out of place here. I'm a brunette, myself, you see, and though I don't lack for comments that I look like Sonia Braga -- another brunette -- even by personal friends of hers, and therefore am not coming from a place of insecurity, there are many other brunettes out there who might well be offended and alienated, for their own reasons. The loyalty of Grist readers who might help make a difference in this world is, I think, more important to maintain than indulging in such divisive and self-indulgent comments.

Marcela Cruz

Editor's Note: The author of the piece in question is a total babe brunette herself, and intended only to note that Diaz -- like most people -- looks better with her natural hair color. So don't go getting all hysterical.

Re: It's Official: He Rocks

Dear Editor:

Live8 was a scam. So [are these Live Earth concerts]. Rich people make themselves richer, pretending to care. Famous people make themselves famouser by pretending to care. And a bunch of overfed middle-class gluttons get to see another concert, pretending to care. And still nothing changes. Give me a break. Now that it's hip to "care" about climate change, every Tom, Dick, and Harry can drive their car to these electrified shows. For what? Grist was once funny, even incisively witty (although never very deep). Now, you're becoming part of the problem. Can someone please tell me why this is environmental news? Or why Grist editors waste their time promoting it? Seriously? Is there a carefully observant mind in residence over there in your Seattle hip shop? Or is everyone of you vying for top billing on the "too cool to be careful/thoughtful/helpful" slate?

Ick, ugh, puh-lease! Open them eyes, stop surfing the web, and get back to the earth.

EcoReason

Re: Darjeeling Companion

Dear Editor:

I think you're mistaken about microwaved tea losing its heat faster than water heated in other ways. There's no physical reason why the molecular excitation caused by microwaves would be any different from that caused by a flame or electric element. Heat's heat, in other words.

The reason it may seem like microwaved foods and tea don't keep their heat is that they're not evenly heated. If you taste a cup of tea right after you take it out of the microwave, you're tasting the hottest part, but it'll even out quickly to a cooler temperature.

Solid or semi-solid foods have to sit for a while for the temperature to equalize after they've been heated in a microwave. That's why microwaved food in an insulated container doesn't seem to stay warm as long.

Virginia Downs

Lubbock, Texas

Re: Darjeeling Companion

Dear Editor:

Umbra, I'm usually a fan of your well-informed responses, but your comment that, "in my opinion, microwaved water doesn't hold heat long enough to make decent tea" just doesn't hold water. The heat capacity of water is unrelated to the method used to heat it; water of a certain temperature doesn't "care" how it got there.

I challenge you to a blindfold taste test of tea made with water heated in the microwave vs. water heated in an electric kettle.

The microwave is clearly the most efficient method to heat water for any purpose. Not to mention that an electric kettle is an appliance that is only good for one purpose (heating water) while a microwave can serve many functions (heating anything) making it superior from the manufacturing and durable goods standpoint as well.

river2sea72

Re: Swedening the Pot

Dear Editor:

While I applaud IKEA's wonderful environmental initiatives, please remember the human cost of keeping prices so low. Over half of Ikea's products are manufactured in developing countries, where workers are not (or are barely) paid a livable wage, are required to work overtime for little or no extra pay, and are prevented from engaging in collective bargaining.

Erin

Re: What's Good for the Goose

Dear Editor:

Sorry, folks, but David Feld was way off base with his comments. First, there are a number of species of Canada geese. The one Mr. Feld refers to is the giant Canada goose, which is non-migratory and almost became extinct by the middle of the last century. Wildlife biologists in several states decided to introduce resident populations on a broader scale and thus reduce the possibilities of the entire species dying out if something catastrophic happened to the remaining population found only in Missouri.

Over the decades following the initial transplant effort, the population expanded, then exploded. Remember, this species was never migratory -- they've always nested and remained in one place. At first the geese were relocated around various lakes that also served as wildlife areas. Then, over the years, as the population grew, the birds spread out to colonize places offering food, nesting habitat, and safety. Unfortunately for the geese, these were water features at golf courses, city parks, and other small lakes within urban areas.

Today the once-endangered giant Canada goose is a fixture in a number of communities, and often cursed by city dwellers who despise the mess they make around their tidy city lakes. Most criticize the amount of goose poop, especially golfers who don't want it on their shoes and (golf) balls. As you might imagine, there is no natural predation in cities to keep numbers in check, and as it stands, the geese may soon outnumber the golfers.

Basically, the saga of the giant Canada goose is simply one of a biological effort to save a diminishing species that succeeded all too well. To date, some states now allow hunting seasons, but that doesn't make much of an impact around the country club. I have them on a pond near my urban residence, and find they're a beautiful addition to the neighborhood. As for goose poop, I long ago learned how to keep my shoes clean.

Gary Lantz

Norman, Okla.

Re: We're Just a Lincoln Your Chain

Dear Editor:

I absolutely love your style of punnery and humor! What prompted me to write this was "Barack in the saddle" on Feb. 16. You guys are great -- keep up the great work.

Joyce Jordan-Peek

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All signs on Capitol Hill point to a royally depressing Earth Day 2005 (that would be next Friday): inertia on global warming, revival of the industry-friendly energy bill, a widely reviled plan to address mercury pollution, the looming prospect of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And though it's the 35th anniversary of the first Earth Day, D.C.-based environmental groups don't seem to have plans for splashy protests or pep rallies to mark the occasion.

Matt Damon.

Photo: PBS.

Could it be that an infusion of star power from Hollywood is the best hope for pumping new life into the environmental movement? A coterie of A-listers, including actress Cameron Diaz, actor Matt Damon, and TV producer Laurie David, are spearheading planet-positive media projects just in time for the big green holiday.

On April 11 and 18, Damon is hosting Journey to Planet Earth, a PBS documentary series about the defining environmental problems of the 21st century -- population explosion, resource scarcity, global warming, and the like -- complete with a Bourne Identity-esque soundtrack and Hollywood special effects. On April 20 and 27, Ed Norton will narrate Strange Days on Planet Earth, a four-hour National Geographic special also airing on PBS that will examine modern environmental blights ranging from invasive insects that devour buildings to globe-trotting dust storms to the perplexing phenomenon of hermaphroditic frogs.

The filmmakers behind the projects see Damon and Norton not just as hotties who can attract younger viewers to PBS, but as representatives of a more energized and persuasive generation of activists. "It's time for a new environmental movement," said Marilyn Weiner, producer of Journey to Planet Earth. "Lawmakers are falling down on the job, there's a major inspiration deficit in the public. [The movement] needs new people, new spokespersons, new methods of educating, fresh ad campaigns. We need urgency and celebration. We need drama that resonates with people and reminds them why they care."

Edward Norton.

Photo: WGBH.

Then again, Damon and Norton are both Ivy League-educated and approach their subject matter with a sober, semi-academic tone that may still appeal largely to the white, bookish, bourgeois constituency of environmental groups. For hipsters, hip-hop aficionados, and, well, the vast majority of young Americans, thank god there's Cameron Diaz. Her new eco-themed MTV series Trippin' is breezy and irreverent -- some might say a touch clueless -- and that may give it a leg up with a generation that is to cluelessness as a fish is to water.

Airing on Monday nights (the third of 10 episodes ran this week), Trippin' is equal parts Animal Planet, The Real World, and Dude, Where's My Car? It's based on a simple premise: Diaz takes a gaggle of show-biz pals to biologically rich hotspots around the globe where environmental experts guide them as they ogle Mother Nature and the exotic (read: poor) villagers who live therein, whilst attempting extreme adventures in the elements, such as surfing in Costa Rica, riding elephants in Nepal, sand-boarding in Chile, and trying to find two-way pager reception in the remote wilds of Yellowstone.

The show bucks the stereotypes associated with devotees of the natural world -- serious, self-righteous white folks. A glance at the roster of Diaz's adventuresome guests -- hip-hop artists DMX and Redman, country rocker Kid Rock, Latina actress Eva Mendes, surf king Kelly Slater, and skater bad boy Eric Koston, to name a few -- confirms that the show is attempting a radical makeover of the pasty eco-nerd identity. For that, Diaz deserves props from every greenie in the nation.

"We were well aware that doing a show about the environment would have narrow appeal to MTV viewers, so we had to approach it with a cast as diverse as possible, one that would have the broadest appeal," Trippin' co-producer Elizabeth Rogers told Muckraker. "The hip-hop community has a loud and powerful voice in that audience, so Cameron made a big effort to make those artists a part of the adventure." Rogers and Diaz contemplated several outlets for the show, including ESPN, but decided that the MTV audience "is the most diverse and dynamic and has the most potential power to effect change," said Rogers.

Cameron Diaz and a Nepalese elephant.

Photo: MTV.

Though Diaz and the show's producers are serious enough in their environmental commitment to have gone "climate neutral" -- they've purchased carbon credits to offset pollution from the energy used in creating the show -- Diaz was adamant that Trippin' not come off as preachy. "We didn't want to turn people off with a we-know-best attitude," said Rogers. "We knew that what we could bring to this show wasn't expertise. Our expertise was just our enthusiasm, really, and love for the wilderness. That's why Cameron makes it clear that she's seeking out experts, and learning along the way, just like everybody else."

Rogers makes no apologies that Trippin' is entertaining first, educational second. "Our intention was to make it fun enough that by the end you don't realize that you got something out of it," she said. "Like it or not, that's what kids want these days. I don't think most people working on environmental messaging get that."

Shocking as this revelation may be to devotees of Greenwire and Roll Call, it ain't news to television producer Laurie David, who is currently working on two TV specials on the environment and global warming, to air on HBO and TBS in the next year. The latter will include comedy bits from Diaz, Ben Stiller, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Will Farrell, and Jack Black.

David is also trying to marry entertainment with politics by orchestrating a year-long "virtual march on Washington" via the website StopGlobalWarming.org. The aim is to attract at least a million marchers by Earth Day 2006 and thereby demonstrate to the powers in D.C. that the tides have turned and Americans want their leaders to take the threat of climate change seriously.

The central visual on the site will be a map of the United States that animates with Flash sequences as marchers virtually journey to dozens of spots around the country that are exhibiting symptoms of global warming. They'll "visit" disappearing glaciers in Montana, damaged coral reefs in Florida, and towns in Alaska forced to relocate due to their melting surroundings. Sprinkled in amongst the gloomy destinations will be some inspirational stops -- to zero-energy buildings, hybrid-car factories, fuel-cell laboratories, and the Indy 500 in Indiana, where all the race cars are being converted to run on biofuels. High-tech graphics will help marchers connect the ambiguous concept of global warming to real people and places. "We want to create an ongoing narrative that captures emotion and real life," said Jonah Peretti, director of R&D at Eyebeam, a firm working to develop the site.

"Climate change is the ultimate civil-rights issue, and we need [to evoke] as much emotional resonance as the civil-rights movement to tackle it," said David. "I want this to bring together Republicans, Democrats, soccer moms, college kids, jocks, religious people, northerners, southerners. Everybody." To that end, the project will highlight the ties between global warming and other defining issues of our times: national security, public health, and economic development.

Democratic firebrand Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will play the role of "the first marcher" and send out a clarion call via email exhorting others to join. David is meeting with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) this week in an effort to persuade him to be among the pioneering Republican marchers.

Leaders in the Green Group -- a coalition of 20-plus top U.S. environmental organizations -- have agreed to join the march and promote it among their constituencies. Indeed, the ultimate achievement of the project might be to help fuse the disparate efforts of national environmental groups related to climate change; as it is, they've each been taking separate stabs at addressing the problem rather than acting as a collective force.

Hollywood's attempts at straightforward politicking in 2004 were less than fruitful, but now its Earth Day efforts are returning it to a milieu where it has no equal: entertainment. Whether hordes of Americans hit the virtual streets or tune in to Trippin' or Strange Days on Planet Earth remains to be seen, but assuming the laws of American pop culture hold true, here's a prediction: If you Diaz it, they will come.

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What formative experiences led to movie star and galactic hottie Cameron Diaz's commitment to the environment? "Nothing, dude. Life! Life!" We couldn't have said it better. Or hotter. Diaz will be bringing her commitment to a new MTV series called Trippin', debuting tonight, in which she travels around the world to ecological hotspots, toting an entourage of fish-out-of-water celebrities. On upcoming episodes, rapper DMX will go camping in Yellowstone and Diaz boy toy Justin Timberlake will demonstrate his beat-boxing skills to Masai tribe members in Kenya. My god, our brains might explode with the sheer meta-meta-meta-ironic glory of it all! Diaz is not the only celeb trippin' on the environment. Actors Ed Norton and Matt Damon will each provide narration for upcoming green-themed PBS series. And just yesterday, action movie star -- and, wait, this just in ... we're told he's also governor of California! -- Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to demonstrate the wonders of photovoltaic solar panels. Truly, we live in interesting times.

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Some stars toned down the glitz at last night's Academy Awards ceremony in acknowledgement of the war in Iraq, while others toned down their energy consumption, arriving at the event in gas-electric hybrid cars instead of gas-guzzling stretch limos. Actress Cameron Diaz was chauffeured to the Oscars in her own Toyota Prius. "I drive it every day," she told reporters. Harrison Ford, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Robin Williams also made the trip in Priuses, courtesy of Global Green USA.

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Toyota Prius owners -- celebs and regular folks alike -- are doing more than saving money at the gas pump and curbing greenhouse-gas emissions: They're also making a political statement, thumbing their noses at Saddam Hussein, oil barons, and SUV owners everywhere. Wyatt Earp, a descendant of the legendary gunslinger, has purchased four hybrid-electric Prius sedans for the sheriff's office in Marion County, Fla., where he works as fleet manager. "This is a technology that will take us out of our dependence on foreign oil," Earp says. On the opposite coast, actress Cameron Diaz is one of a growing cohort of stars who's taken to tooling around Hollywood in high eco-style. "I can milk 40 to 45 [miles per gallon] out of the Prius, if I'm driving like a good girl," she says. And talent agent Ariel Emanuel had foreign policy on the brain when he traded in his Ferrari for a Prius. "Every time I get into it, I feel like I'm demonstrating my point of view on national security," Emanuel says. "Fifteen of the 19 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. I refuse to give them more money."

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