Posts Tagged ‘Don Cheadle’

27 May

W.E.D. Raise Your Voice Not the Sea Level

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Environment. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

WED_2014_EN_LNow that summer has unofficially kicked off with Memorial Day, there’s another red-letter day to heed before we get to the Fourth of July. The warm weather canon of holidays now includes World Environment Day on June 5, and it is a big ol’ green ol’ deal. Earmarked by the United Nations as  a day to raise awareness of and action for the ecosystem, it has grown to be celebrated in over 100 nations.

In that good bumper-sticker-as-a-roadmap-for-life vein, this World Environment Day (W.E.D.), consider ways to “Think Globally. Act Locally.” The theme this year is all about islands–2014 is the “Year of the Small Island Developing States.” It is particularly poignant as a theme, since if the planet’s sea levels rise, just a bit, islands begin to be overcome by rising tides. The Maldives, for instance, are the most vulnerable nation, since many of that archipelago’s multi-island land masses are mere feet above sea level. Small islands are the canary in the coal mine for the rest of us–it isn’t a huge step from low-lying islands being swamped to our coastal cities flooding.

How will you make your voice heard for the environment this year? You can create and register an event in your community or look for people near you that are already planning action days: clean up campaigns, food waste reduction initiatives, walk-to-work days, plastic bans, art exhibits, tree-planting drives, concerts, dance recitals, recycling drives, social media campaigns, and different contests  — every action counts. Check out the website (www.unep.org/wedhome), you might be surprised at how many of your neighbors care as much as you do. Even celebrities are in on it. UNEP GOODWILL AMBASSADORS Giselle Bündchen, Don Cheadle, Ian Somerhalder, and Yaya Touré are leading big action challenges. So jump in, the water’s fine…so far…

31 Aug

George Clooney Challenges You, Me, and Hollywood

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Did you watch the Emmys? I missed them, sitting in a car on the way home from the airport, but I have always had a l0ve/hate relationship with awards shows. Hate the endless nature of the shows with brainless filler and even more brainless skits and poorly shot musical numbers. I do, however, kinda love the gathering of folks in an industry to which we tend to feel more connected than most. We feel like we know celebrities more than we actually do since we’ve seen them in our living rooms or blown up to 40 feet tall during intimate and vulnerable moments. Flip the coin again and I kinda hate rambling speeches and music playing people off before they’ve even begun to be gracious.

I was pretty darn pleased with George Clooney‘s speech at Sunday’s awards, that I just watched online this morning. When accepting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, the always inspiring Clooney (who created so much of our awareness–still too low–of the genocide in Darfur, also created Not On Our Watch with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub, and jumped in with his fame muscle power to initiate America: A Tribute to Heroes in the wake of 9/11, Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope in 2005, A Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and most recently, the Hope For Haiti Now telethon.

His speech was brief, irreverent, and inspiring…like the man. “It’s important to remember how much good can get done because we live in such strange times where bad behaviors suck up all the attention in the press and the people who really need the spotlight, the Haitians, the Sudanese, the people in the Gulf Coast… Pakistan, they can’t get any [press].

When the disaster happens, everybody wants to help, everybody in this room wants to help, everybody at home wants to help. The hard part is seven months later, five years later, when we’re on to a new story…honestly, we fail at that, most of the time. That’s the facts.

I fail at that.

So here’s hoping that some very bright person right here in the room or at home watching can help find a way to keep the spotlight burning on these heartbreaking situations that continue to be heartbreaking long after the cameras go away. That would be an impressive accomplishment. Thank you.”