I've been reading a lot about Hollywood actors becoming green but seeing Leonardo di Caprio seems real, as he was already interested in issues of water supplies and global warming. Having already produced smaller films about these topics, "The 11th Hour", released today in the US, is one of his bigger documentaries - and may just be a masterpiece. Following "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore Leonardo di Caprio goes even further than his predecessor by emphasizing that a change is still possible. Leonardo worked for a few years with the film crew, and interviewed experts about the state of the planet.
Over fifty of the world's most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai were involved in this documentary. “The 11th Hour" documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans' habitats are all addressed, and their causes rooted in human activity. The combination of these crises calls into question the very future, not of the planet but of
humanity, say the synopsis of the movie on the website.I look forward seeing this documentary!
Foto: 2007 Eleventeen Productions, LLC wippub.warnerbros.com

Have you ever checked how insulated your house is? Well maybe you should! In an attempt for a more ambitious energy program German Federal Minister of Environment
Sigmar Gabriel suggested enforcing a new law that allows renters a rent reduction if their apartment does not hold up to environmental standards.

"Don't waste your money. Dress your house warmly", the ad of the Federal Ministry of Environment says“We waste too much energy. We got to change that”, Mr. Gabriel said to Braunschweiger Zeitung. According to the minister renters should be able to refuse handing over their money if landlords are unwilling to renew heating installation or replace single glazing.
The German Magazine Wirtschaftswoche said there are about 2,4 million households that are in need of modernization. Mr. Gabriel’s suggestions will be up for debate in late August when the German government appoints a new climate protection program.
Oh, and just because Germany has this new idea, does not mean the rest are exempt. Chancellor Merkel set the agenda for other politicians by announcing to reduce the energy consumption of Germany by 20 percent until 2020. And since its election time in the United States and the United Kingdom, environmental questions will come to the fore.

In the US after all the House of Representatives has past a bill for the advancement of environmentally friendly forms of energy. Until 2015, energy groups will have to obtain 15 percent of their energy from wind or solar or other renewable energy sources. Proponents of this new law say its arrangements will lower CO2 emissions by about 500 million tonnes per year. The law will also decrease the subsidies for the oil industry by 16 billion dollars in order to invest this money into renewable energy research. President Bush is not very fond of the project and has announced his resistance.

Find more in the Financial Times Deutschland

Anna Netrebko had her breakthrough as an opera singer in 1995 at the San Francisco Opera. She started her formation in Russia, in the city of St. Petersburg where she won the Glinka Award for singers in 1994.

 

After the San Francisco debut she became known on all major opera stages in the world, amongst them the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Wiener Staatsoper.

 

At the moment Anna Netrebko is doing a concert tour through Germany and Austria. A month ago she decided to become a testimonial for the BMW Hydrogen 7 - and this though she owns no driving license. We met her during her tour asking why she is engaging in environmental matters and when she is finally going to do her license.

 

 

How is your tournee going?Our concerts in Germany are very successful and are mostly sold out. I have even had some trouble getting tickets for family and friends!!! (Laughs). The audiences have been wonderful, and they are very passionate about classical music. Many of them wait hours before and after the concert to get autographs.

What made you decide to drive with a Hydrogen 7 vehicle?

As an opera singer, I have engagements around the world. Therefore, clean air and clean energy are important issues for me. When I learned that I could ride in the first Hydrogen 7 vehicle (and it is a very cool and comfortable car!), I knew that this was important and something I wanted to do.

You do not have a driving license yourself – you however have the full driving pleasure?I have wanted to learn to drive for a very long time. I simply need to find the right time and place to make my license. This new BMW has motivated me to make this happen sooner! It certainly hasn't stopped me from asking my driver if I can drive the powerful and clean Hydrogen 7 by myself!How do you see the BMW vision of a zero emission water vapor vehicle concept?BMW has made a very strong statement to the world by creating this incredible car. We cannot make a conversion to all Hydrogen in a very short time, so this is the perfect place to begin. The Hydrogen 7 will be the leader that will bring this issue to all other car companies as well as all developed countries as we try to make our world a safer and healthier place to live.

How do you see the “new green” movement?It is very important that more and more influential people like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, or key players of the entertainment business like Angelina Jolie engage in a better environment for the future. The politicians alone are not able to handle all the sustainability issues of our planet.

Many actors, artists etc. are going green and promote green technologies or sustainable products. Can artists influence the public opinion by doing so?It is one thing to appreciate the work and the performance of an Artist. But what is as important, is to know, if and how an Artist engages himself socially and for the environment. Only if both criteria fit together organically, at least I can really appreciate an Artist personally. Artists have the ability to reach a large public, and I believe it is our responsibility to adopt important causes so that we can use our influence in the most positive way.

What do you personally do to lead a sustainable lifestyle?To be open - to me it is important to make one step after another and to learn more and more on how I can do my part for a greener future. I might not exchange a relaxing hot bath tub after a strenuous perfomance against a cold shower. But more and more hotels
heat this water with solar energy. Another example: I prefer to drive with close to zero emission with my BMW to my show in the next city, where I perfom. Even if a flight would be more time saving.

Living in the US, Austria and Russia: How do people in these different countries see issues of the environment?In Europe and in the US more and more people are very environmentally conscious. In Russia, we have a long way to go to bring these issues before the public. However, the vast majority of Russians live a simpler, 'greener' lifestyle simply due to their lack of financial resources.
Interview: Alex Goerlach
Fotos: BMW pressclub

Italo Calvino’s “The Baron in the Trees" (Il Barone rampante) takes place in the times of Voltaire when not only a lot of ideas were being discovered in the new age but also a lot of trees. In 1767, the 12-year-old Baron Cosimo Piavosco di Rondo refused to eat the snails he had been served at table and, in an Italian snit (nowadays we call it a temper tantrum), took to the trees. He spent the rest of his considerably long life up there!Seeing Ingo Frost up in a tree, talking about his vision of WikiWoods, he reminds me quite strongly of Cosimo, who talked to the people that climbed up to him.

Ingo Frost in a treeIngo is convinced that his and his friends’ new initiative will be the incentive for Berliners to take a stance for the forests that surround the three million strong capital of Germany. “We combat climate change by planting the trees that bind the CO2 from the atmosphere”, he says. Especially in urban surroundings, the a slow yet sustainable reduction of CO2 emissions will have an impact in many years to come. Just as Baron Cosimo found an infinite number of trees in his park, so the WikiWoods community has established a virtual garden paradise of the same kind. Ingo and his friends will host “tree giving” in Berlin and will invite others to do the same all over the planet. The philosophy of WikiWoods is to act locally and to get together virtually by exchanging experiences and thoughts about the tree planting projects. By collaboratively expanding and contributing, WikiWoods will grow in the same way as Wikipedia has (the online encyclopedia where the name is borrowed from).The interview that follows is a result of our friendly tree-chat.
How did you come up with the idea for WikiWoods?The Internet is the perfect medium to bring people together and to enable self organization. That's what I learned from Wikipedia. But the activities of volunteers are not limited to the Internet: You can initialize cooperation to solve real world problems, such as climate change.How is WikiWoods going to work?WikiWoods will be an international platform to bring the different groups together to rebuild natural and sustainable forests - volunteers who plant the trees, experts who help with their knowledge and experience and of course partners who support us with money.Are there not enough offsetting programs that are quite similar to WikiWoods? What is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) anyway?Our USP is: We use the Internet because we know there are enough people who are willing to do something against climate change. We can reach them and bring them together, so that they have everything to build their own projects within WikiWoods. We are open for any co-operation with existing initiatives and organizations.Are the people in Berlin receptive to sustainability issues?It's amazing how many people react positively when I talk about WikiWoods and it is even more fascinating to see how many people are working already voluntarily with these issues.If someone flies a lot during the year – can he buy trees at WikiWoods or is it just for organizations and institutions?We don't actually sell certificates like Atmosfair. We just rebuild natural resources that assist in the carbon conditions for the public.How do you select the places you plant trees? Do you guys have any partners in industry or politics?

We want to ensure sustainability by special mechanisms: At the beginning we buy the places together with environmental organizations that can ensure that the forest is protected. At the moment we do not yet have any big partners in industry or politics.