Favourite Green Person of the Week: Kevin Richardson

The Lion Whisperer

I'm pretty sure you all know by now the deep love I have for the beautiful lions. That is why, this week's favourite green person is someone I not only admire, but also someone I am extremely jealous of. Kevin Richardson, the lion whisperer and the man that is able to tame the king of the jungle and befriend an entire pride of this wild animal, is this week's Favourite Green Person.

Richardson is a self-taught animal behaviourist whose interest in all types of creatures large and small began from the early age of 3. He has broken the norm when it comes to the human-wild animal relationship. Instead of using chains and sticks to tame them, Richardson’s weapons of choice are love, understanding and trust in order to form personal bonds with lions. For the lions to accept him as one of their own, Kevin has a unique technique of analysing their individual personalities to know what makes each of them happy, upset or irritated.

With his unique relationship with these large predators, Richardson started making documentaries and commercials while working at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. After being discovered by award winning documentary maker Michael Rosenberg, Kevin rose to fame with documentaries such as ‘Dangerous Companions’ and shows like ‘Growing Up Hyena’. He has also been involved in many conservation and research projects in the Okavango Delta and Lydenberg area which resulted in the production of another documentary on the black leopard called ‘In Search of a Legend’.

With the growth of his animal filming/documentary career, Kevin moved with the animals he works with into a large farm located 50-60km North of Johannesburg known as the Kingdom of the White Lion. He lives directly opposite the property where the animals are kept, and this allows him to work with them on a daily basis. There, Kevin worked on the dramatic film feature called White Lion. The film was released on the 19th of February 2010 in South Africa and documents the life of Letsatsi, a young white lion who despite the many challenges, lives to become the glorious adult white lion that he was always meant to be.



Richardson represents the importance of always treating animals with love and care, no matter their size or nature. I truly admire him for his ability to tame the beast and capture his heart. I would LOVE to walk in his shoes for a day: mingle with the royalty of the Animal Kingdom and have the opportunity to hug the mighty lion and stare him fearlessly right in the eyes, up close and personal.

For more information, take a look at Kevin's website or follow him on Twitter and show him some love! :)

Anoud x


Images: lionwhisperer.co.za, childrenofthesun-hess.blogspot.com

Favourite Green Person of the Week

Jillian Granz

Well since the Academy Awards is soon approaching, I thought this post is appropriate!

This week's FGP is not a celebrity nor someone familiar to you all, but she really did earn this spot. I'm talking about Jillian Granz, the first winner of the 2010 Red Carpet Green Dress Contest, which is a contest started by Suzy Amis Cameron, wife of director James Cameron. The contest requires designers to create a gown made from natural, organic, or recycled fabrics. Granz won with her proposal of a zero-waste gown made from Ahmisa silk which is 'derived from cocoons without killing the silkworms inside.' The dress (pictures below) is beautiful and appropriately blue, as Suzy wore it while accompanying her husband to the 2010 Oscars where Avatar won three Oscars. Jillian is a fashion student at Michigan State University and was just 21 when she designed the fabulous dress, wow!

P.S. Check out 'Red Carpet Green Dress' here.

Excited to see this year's winner!

Anoud x

Images: redcarpetgreendress.com, capitalgainsmedia.com, nowmagazine.co.uk, blisstree.com

Favourite Green Person of the Week

Natalie Portman

This week's Favourite Green Person is none other than the beautiful Natalie Portman. She's been all over the place lately with her stunning performance in Black Swan which earned her a Golden Globe win for Best Actress, and of course her recent pregnancy and engagement to Benjamin Millepied.

Well what most of you may not know is that Natalie Portman was named Most Eco Friendly Celebrity a few years ago, and she sure lives up to it! In 2008, the actress designed her own vegan creulty-free line of shoes for Té Casan with one hundred percent of the proceeds going to The Nature Conservancy. Her other eco efforts include helping save the gorillas in Rwanda, becoming the face of a low-energy light bulb company, along with being actively involved in groups like Global Green.

So have you guys watched Black Swan yet? If not then be sure you do; it's a very beautifully twisted and unique movie. Natalie's performance in it is just amazing, she is certainly talented and definitely earned that Golden Globe. I'm sure she will also be picking up an Oscar very soon :)

xo,

Anoud



images: justjared.com, popsugar.co.uk

Favourite Green Person of the Week

Leonardo DiCaprio

He is an amazing actor and a committed environmentalist!

DiCaprio has his own foundation, 'The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation', which is dedicated to supporting efforts to secure a sustainable future for the planet and all of its inhabitants.

Leo also started the 'Save Tigers Now' campaign alongside the World Wildlife Fund to shed light on the very few Tigers left in the world and the reasons behind this and on what can be done to double their numbers and save this beautiful animal. Being a big Tiger fan myself, I have been going on and on about the Tiger cause ever since I found out how serious this is... Only about 3,000 Tigers are left in the world and if action is not taken soon then our children and the future genration will only be hearing of Tigers and the sad story of their extinction due to our selfishness. How can we allow this to happen? Thankfully the 2010 Tiger Summit that was held in St. Petersburg in November proved to be very successful by raising a total of about $127 million in new funding to support the cause. DiCaprio alone donated $1 million to stop Tiger poaching after already helping WWF raise $20 million earlier in the year.

Need more reasons to love DiCaprio? Well check out how GREEN the actor is:

1) He opts for commercial flights rather than private jets which use more fuel.

2) He proudly drives a hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, and bikes as well.

3) His house has solar panels.

4) He co-wrote, co-produced and narrated the documentary 'The 11th Hour' about the environment.

5) He bought an island in Belize where he plans to build an eco-friendly resort.

6) He influened Tag Heuer in going green and investing in solar powered watches.

7) He teamed up with Tag Heuer again to promote the fully electric Tesla Roadster Car.

Watch DiCaprio's short movie entitled 'Global Warming' here. Trust me you need to watch this! And also his other short movie entitled 'Water Planet' here.

Also check out his website here.

Seriously, what an amazing individual! Absolutely love and respect him.


xoxo,

Anoud


Sources and images from leonardodicaprio.org, treehugger.com, watchtime.com, inoutstar.com, huffingtonpost.com, examiner.com, ecorazzi.com

Favourite Green Person of the Week

EDWARD NORTON 

This week's Favourite Green Person is the talented two-time Oscar nominee Ed Norton, who is known for his roles in movies such as Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, and The Illusionist.

Not only is he gorgeous and born on the same day as I am, but Edward Norton is also an amazing environmental and social activist, and that is why I absolutely adore and appreciate him. I love celebrities that use their star status and fortune to promote and advocate certain issues, which in Edward Norton's case is preserving the environment.

Despite having a busy career as an actor and filmmaker, his achievements and contributions to the environment are never ending. Throughout the years, Norton has raised over $750,000 for the Massai Wilderness Conservation Trust, which promotes wildlife conservation in the African region. He has also created the 'Solar Neighbors Program' alongside BP Solar to help provide solar panels to low income families.


Check out this video below, where Norton warns against the hazards of plastic bags:





In July of this year, Edward Norton was designated by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, as UN Goodwill Ambassador for biodiversity.
 
Ban Ki-Moon justified his decision by explaining that,"Edward Norton has brought global star power to global issues. His efforts to preserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem integrity in East Africa have been truly impressive."

Norton hopes that his new role inspires young people to adopt the challenge of environmental protection. "Environmental conservation, climate change, biodiversity are very much the issues that will define my generation", Norton explained.

Please check out his website for more info on his projects and achievements: http://www.crowdrise.com/edwardnorton


Another reason to love him? Well I absolutely love Norton's choice of characters. He is known to play characters who have duel personalities, or ones who are troubled but intelligent. What a genius ♥

Wish more celebrities were like Edward Norton; the world needs more individuals like him. A hero indeed!


xoxo,


Anoud ♥


sources and images: news.cn, fanpop.com, valeriewriter.com, new.xinhauanet.com, knowledge.allianz.com, greatgreenidea.com

Favourite Green Person of the Week

This feature will be a weekly regular post in which we introduce to you a favourite green individual of ours.

This week, the person is Yann Arthus Bertrand, a French photographer, journalist, and environmentalist. Bertrand is best known for his beautiful aerial photography.

After a growing interest in conserving the environment and controlling climate change, Bertrand founded the Action Carbone, a non-profit program whose slogan is "Calculate, reduce and offset your CO2 emissions".

His interest started after finding out the negative impact that his helicopter travels had on the environment.  And now, Bertrand, to compensate for this, finances organisations and causes that promote renewable energies and encourage reforestation in aims of reducing the impact of climate change.




Below are a few of Green Eve's favourite Bertrand aerial photography:

Bertrand's aerial photo of New Caledonia, France

Aerial image of Los Angeles.

Another Bertrand photo of New York from top.

Bertrand also developed an interest in the photography of animals, especially cats and dogs, alongside their owners.

Notice the resemblance?

Not only is his work beautiful and captivating, but what makes it even more meaningful and awe-inspiring is the eco-conscious person behind the lens!

If only we all had a little of Mr. Bertrand in us!


With love,

Green Eve!

P.S: Don't be mean, think green ;)


Information and photo credits: yannarthusbertrand.org and www.actioncarbone.org