I know that America loves a celebrity marriage.  Based on recent news, it looks like there will soon be one to be excited about as more than just a union of pop culture royalty.  Justin Timberlake reportedly proposed to Jessica Biel while the two were in Montana during the holidays.  In addition to one half of the couple being a talented pop singer, the other an accomplished actress, and both of them being dead sexy, Timberlake and Biel are both well-known for their environmentalism.

In October, Justin Timberlake received the Futures Award at the Environmental Media Awards, in part for his efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of his concert tours.  In 2010, Jessica Biel made something of a pet cause of the global water crisis when she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro as part of the Summit on the Summit to raise both money and public awareness.

Usually, I would say that I could care less about who’s engaged to whom in Hollywood, but the wedding of these two might actually be worth following for anyone who’s interested environmentalism as well as celebrity culture.  It could be an opportunity both to celebrate green causes and to check the environmental credentials of the singer and actress.  It seems to me that if they are serious about raising awareness, the tabloid buzz that will certainly surround their wedding would be a chance for them to demonstrate that sustainability can be a part of every facet of a couple’s lifestyle.

I would feel dirty if I said I was looking forward to a celebrity wedding, but I am looking forward to a green wedding that will be subject to a good deal of media attention.  I hope that whoever plans the wedding has the same idea, because there are many ways in which it can be made greener than the average high-profile celebration.  Locally sourced food for the reception would be one way.  And if Timberlake is concerned with reducing his carbon footprint on tour, I hope he will recognize the need to do the same for his wedding, which will no doubt draw many guests and involve significant production and shipping for setup of the venue.

For the bride’s part, she could contribute to both the cause of carbon reduction and that of resource scarcity with the same gesture.  There are already bamboo wedding gowns, but to my knowledge there are none that are especially elaborate or are the work of a highly-regarded designer.  Jessica Biel could be the first to commission one.  I’d be hard pressed to think of a more beautiful woman to showcase the possibilities of viscose fabric, which is still so underutilized, but so environmentally sustainable.

I’m sure the couple will have a beautiful wedding no matter what.  But I don’t really care about the glamour of the event on its own, and I don’t understand why anybody else would.  Nonetheless, much of America will surely be watching.  But if this celebrity couple’s fairytale wedding says something about their lives together that goes beyond a show of wealth and fame, it may actually be something worth watching.

Timberlake-Biel Wedding: Green Hopes For A Green Wedding is a post from: Green Earth News

Modern Family kicked HBO off their Emmy pedestal; Jane Lynch announced her gay agenda (“check with Rachel Maddow about court time, take pick-up truck in for an oil change.  Never mind, I’ll do it myself.”) and behind the scenes, the Emmy Awards gave a prize to the environment as they chose to go green this year.

And we’re not talking the fashion on the red carpet (although critics may still be debating the merits of Olivia Munn’s strikingly green dress), rather the dedication of the Academy of Arts & Sciences to reduce the event’s carbon footprint. 

Green components of last night’s 2011 Emmys include:

The Red Carpet Itself – Made locally in the world’s only LEED-certified carpet factory, the carpet contained 50% recycled materials. 

Solar-powered – Giving the electricity grid a break on the big night, 250 locally manufactured solar panels fueled the energy-efficient LED and fluorescent lights used for the awards show.  According to FOX (producers of the show), the lights themselves used “only approximately 20% of the power traditionally used for red carpet arrivals.” 

Sharing the Green – Now that the show is over, the solar panels will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and the Ronald McDonald House for use in Los Angeles area homes.  Once installed, the solar panels are expected to offset approximately 45 tons of carbon dioxide yearly!

The Gift of Green – GBK, a luxury lifestyle gift lounge and special events company, along with TicTac mints honored the commitment to green by including handcrafted gifts from local artisans, custom branded solar universal phone chargers from BLENDR and a $1000 gift card to EcofirstArt.com for purchase of eco-friendly products. 

Fake is Great – And we’re not talking plastic surgery here!  Rather than bunches of fresh-cut flowers that would only be thrown away after last night’s event, the awards show was decorated with rented and reusable live plants. 

The Smallest Details – Away from the red carpet, other eco-friendly touches were in place.  Locally-sourced food was served, composting procedures were in place and bottles and other trash are being recycled. 

If only more stars had taken the time to wear green fabrics, such as organic bamboo clothing, to showcase their dedication to the environment!

Even so, many of the organizers are thrilled with what they hope will be the start of an eco-friendly trend for awards shows.  Says Brian Worley, the red carpet designer, “This year’s green efforts show you can throw really elegant events like the Emmys and still be green.”

Given the amount of waste produced by the entertainment industry each year (whether it’s a bad show or a ton of garbage), Worley added, “anything to help the environment is good, and better than not doing anything … If you can touch one person, you can make a difference.”

For more on eco-friendly living, visit Green Earth News’ Green Is Grand section!

Green With Emmy: Awards Show Reduces Carbon Footprint is a post from: Green Earth News

What gift do you give to the couple who has everything?  Well, apparently, you give trees.  Eco-friendly (and proud) parents Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy have requested that in lieu of products, friends and family should plant “celebration trees” to honor the birth of son Bingham.  Considering the ecological footprint left by the onslaught of diaper towers and baby gear, the trees are an excellent gift to both baby Bingham and Mother Earth. 

Not to criticize the new parent’s request but perhaps “celebration bamboo” would be a better gift!  After all, bamboo minimizes carbon dioxide and generates 35% more oxygen than an equivalent strand of trees.  And unlike trees that can take up to 70 years to reach maturity, bamboo grows up almost as fast as kids seem to and can be harvested for use within 4 years of planting!

In building an eco-friendly lifestyle for her little one, Hudson can take advantage of sustainable bamboo products (as can you!) by stocking up on organic baby clothing and organic baby blankets.  Bamboo fibers offer silky smooth products for delicate baby skin and absorbs moisture which comes in handy for tears and other, er, liquids that might need absorbed. 

Hudson is no stranger to eco-friendly living though and one can imagine that her nursery is already stocked with cloth diapers and chemical-free baby wipes.  Previously, Hudson joined other celeb parents to contribute to the book Healthy Child Healthy World and also developed her own line of natural hair-care products in partnership with her stylist David Babaii.  The products are paraben-free, packaged in containers that are made from 10% recycled plastic and contain ingredients ranging from white ginger to volcanic ash. 

But back to gift-giving and answer this question:  What do you give to the child who has it all?  Especially if that child is one of the members of the Jolie-Pitt clan!  Well, if you’re Brad or Angelina, you simply donate $2 million to a wildlife sanctuary in your child’s name.  In honor of their daughter Shiloh’s birth country, Namibia, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation awarded the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary that staggering amount to benefit the people and animals of the region. 

The Sanctuary is home to numerous animals that are either injured or orphaned.  While some can be rehabilitated and returned to the wild, many will stay on the Sanctuary their entire lives and require a great deal of care, food and attention.  The animal population at Naankuse includes 14 Wild Dog pups, an endangered animal in Namibia (there are roughly 250 living in the wild).

Even though you can’t give quite as big as these celebrities, consider their ideas for the next baby shower you attend.  An organic onesie, a donation in a child’s name and a beautiful bamboo plant can lead to a great start for a newborn as parents work together to make the earth a bit greener for their little one.

Kate Hudson’s Eco-Friendly Baby Request: Plant A Tree! is a post from: Green Earth News

Lindsay Lohan celebrates her 25^th birthday on Saturday.  Did everyone remember to send her a card?  Mine depicted a derailed locomotive surrounded by balloons and onlookers in party hats, and said “Happy Birthday to my favorite train wreck!”  She probably wasn’t at home to receive her well-wishes though, since her house arrest ended on Wednesday, allowing her to celebrate in true Lindsay Lohan style after thirty-five days of confinement, the last few of which were shielded by a rooftop bamboo fence from the prying eyes of paparazzi and passersby. 

I wonder if Lindsay feels she’ll still need that fence now.  Perhaps she’s not worried about being scolded by another judge for her next rooftop barbeque, since, for the moment anyway, she is no longer under court orders.  It’s a shame that she wasn’t able to plant live bamboo on her condo’s rooftop.  Given bamboo’s growth rate, with some species capable of growing more than three feet in a day, a stand of live bamboo would be a great privacy fence for someone like Lindsay Lohan, who is torn between the desire for public attention, and the need to avoid the consequences of getting it.  If she was feeling particularly outgoing, she could cut the bamboo down on Sunday, but possibly have a complete enclosure in place again on Friday.  She’d just have to moderate her behavior a little bit on the weekdays.  But I guess that’s kind of a tall order for Lindsay Lohan. 

Still, if she did cut down and regrew bamboo, I wonder what she would then do with the raw material.  It’s an excellent building material.  As I understand, Lindsay’s Venice Beach townhome is 3,000 square feet, and her bamboo fence surrounded the entire roof, so it would probably make a great liquor cabinet.  Alternatively, she could send away the raw bamboo to be processed for its viscose and turned into bamboo clothing or bamboo sheets.  I’m sure she needs lots of both.  Considering, for instance, that she fled straight to a club after being released from house arrest, and reportedly left drunk, simple probability suggests that from week to week she must spill alcohol on some proportion of her clothing.  Waking up in a cold sweat from withdrawal must cause a bit of wear to her bed sheets, as well.  So Lindsay might be happy with bamboo alternatives, as it is more moisture resistant than cotton and other fabrics.

Honestly, though, I wish that she could have planted live bamboo instead of erecting pre-cut fencing, and that she had done it earlier in the terms of the house arrest.  If her social life had paused for a moment, and she had had to stay behind that bamboo stand, practically watching it get taller by the hour, maybe her she would have taken it as a metaphor and let it teach her a lesson about the potential for personal growth.

Lindsay Lohan: Behind The Bamboo Fence is a post from: Green Earth News

Kung Fu Panda is back in the 2^nd film of the popular DreamWorks series and once again we get to follow the adventures of our favorite bamboo munching hero as he continues his quest to become a dragon warrior and (in this film) to find his birth parents so he can truly know who he is.  While the movie premiere was quite a hit with stars Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Dennis Haysbert and Lucy Liu taking their turns on the red carpet, earlier in the week stars turned out to walk a “bamboo” carpet if you will.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, was feted Monday night at the 15^th annual Global Conservation International dinner as a Global Conservation Hero.  Fittingly, “Kung Fu Panda 2” served as the theme for the celebration.  Why such a prestigious award for making a movie?  Well, DreamWorks’ dedication to the endangered Giant Panda goes beyond the pixels on the screen. 

In 2008, on the heels of the successful Kung Fu Panda film, DreamWorks made an investment in CI’s work in Sichuan, China, to help track, monitor and protect wild populations of endangered giant pandas.  The funding for the Three-Year Panda Survival Plan served the humans in the province as well by supporting the basic needs of the people after the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake. 

Katzenberg received the award from CI Vice-Chairmen Harrison Ford.  In accepting the award, he stated, “At DreamWorks Animation, we’ve become environmentally aware because we spend so much of our time trying to emulate nature.  We know how many pixels are needed to make fur look realistic because the real thing is at our disposal.”

He added, “It will always be a challenge to match the beauty and splendor of our natural planet. Because of so many Conservation International projects, we can be confident that we won’t have to glimpse this splendor through emulation.”

Pandas aren’t only stars on-screen.  Because they are universally loved and easily recognized, they have become a flagship species.  According to Dr. Lu Zhi, director of the Shanshui Center for Nature & Society and one of the world’s foremost panda experts, “They [pandas] are iconic, and they’ve come to represent all threatened species. Saving the panda tests our determination. If we can’t protect the panda, then what chance do all the other threatened species have?”

While the panda’s own reproductive process creates a challenge (the female ovulates only once a year), the loveable bears also contend with the destruction of their habitats and feeding grounds.  And not only does the deforestation affect the giant panda but it also contributes to climate change endangering us humans as well.  The focus on consequences of environmental destruction to both the human and animal population is what makes CI unique – it works to build the relationship between both worlds to create a stronger force in defending Mother Earth.

This focus is evident in the Three Year Survival Plan for the Giant Pandas.  According to their website:

“CI’s goal is nothing less than to halt the decline of the panda population, protect and revive the forests where they live, create mechanisms for local communities to support and benefit from conservation activities, and promote policy innovations by the Chinese government that provide better regulation of development and incentives for local protection.

Safeguarding the panda requires a comprehensive approach and a focused strategy for success. The CI plan for pandas involves the following efforts:

1. The Giant Panda Survival Plan – this comprehensive strategy consists of short- and long-term goals, reaching out as far as 200 years. Planned accomplishments include protecting 100 percent of known panda habitat, providing better protection programs to the reserves, developing at least 12 “conservation corridors” to connect habitats, and creating a comprehensive panda population monitoring plan.

2. The Panda Alliance – this impressive network of leading conservation groups, academics, government agencies, private corporations, and local communities will work to protect habitat, establish a panda guardian program, involve local communities, promote the benefits of panda conservation, and more. 

3. Key Policy Promotion – through a partnership with Peking University, CI will support the launching of a policy center to provide government and business leaders with science-based data to inform their decisions, produce solution-oriented policy research, and facilitate collaboration in conservation. 

4. Inspiring panda-lovers worldwide to take action – through effective working relationships with public and private-sector partners such as McDonald’s and DreamWorks, we’ll inform the public about the plight of the panda, and what they can do to help.

While the few pandas left in the world today face a challenging future, a renewed commitment to saving them provides new optimism. Through the combined efforts of government, science, corporations, and people who care, pandas can survive for future generations to enjoy.”

So get your popcorn buttered this weekend and enjoy the animated adventure and keep in mind that beyond the film, saving the giant panda can help save us all!

Kung Fu Panda 2: DreamWorks Champions Endangered Panda On And Off Screen! is a post from: Green Earth News

Last week, Oprah taped the finale of her talk show. “Thank you is not enough, but thank you,” she told 13,000 onlookers. “For your love and your support, thank you.” The show has run for twenty-five years, and changed the face of daytime television forever more.

Here’s a secret: I’m a man that loves Oprah. I’m not alone. Although her target demographic is undoubtedly female, men love Oprah as well. And what’s not to love? She’s a vibrant and completely unique force of nature. Winfrey doesn’t show any signs of slowing, however, having successfully launched her cable network: OWN, and officially confirming that she seeks to star on Broadway in the coming years.

Undoubtedly, however, it seems the Winfrey legacy most strongly resides in the show she has hosted for twenty-five years. It’s a diverse and complex one. Among the celebrity interviews, the scandalous moments, and laborious nods to makeovers and fashion, Winfrey has delivered more than her fair share of journalistic, hard-hitting moments. The ones I most admire her for are when she’s tackled the environment head on.

It’s the job of popular identities such as Winfrey to attempt to break down the complicated science behind such urgent matters as climate change and communicate them for the viewer at home. We all know how freakishly wrong this process usually goes, with facts becoming tainted by bias and unwarranted opinion. While Winfrey has declared herself as a ‘journalist’ on her show, she has often been more objective and genuine in her investigation than a lot of mainstream media.

Through the years, she’s paid homage to a variety of green topics, particularly on Earth Day. Al Gore is a regular guest. Her magazine features many discussions on environmental affairs. Her reveal of a floating garbage heap twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean caused headlines two years ago.  She has undoubtedly paid her dues to Mother Earth which she has occasionally been accused of wanting to take over.

Of course, one could argue that the millionaire’s use of private planes, and the tons of industrial waste produced by her empire far outweigh the good message she spreads. A valid point and one that Oprah has yet to answer to directly.   (Perhaps some carbon offsets are in order.)

Oprah regularly uses her magazine or outrageously popular ‘Favorite Things’ shows to promote green products. More than once she has identified fantastic bamboo products!  Regardless of her flaws, it’s obvious Ms. Winfrey means very well. And so, I join with the legion of fans around the world in returning her offer of thanks. With cultural leaders such as her, I think we are bound for a better world.

Oprah Loves Bamboo is a post from: Green Earth News

In a land of excess, it would be easy to indulge in whims rather than make serious environmental choices.  And many celebrity estates do boast excess with everything from golden toilets (not kidding!) to private landing strips but thankfully some celebs take their purchasing power seriously and have opted for sustainability, resource conservation and “green” products when designing their abodes.

Jessica Alba is one such celebrity.  Although a busy mom and mom-to-be, Alba stocks her linen closet with organic bedding made from bamboo including duvet covers, bamboo sheet sets and even bamboo towels!  And why not choose bamboo?  Not only is it a sustainable product, growing to maturity in a few short years, but it requires none of the pesticides, herbicides and additional irrigation necessary to grow cotton.  Alba isn’t sacrificing A-list perks by using bamboo either – viscose from bamboo is as smooth as silk for luxurious comfort and repeatedly outdoes cotton when it comes to fabric hand (softness).

One can only assume that Alba will choose the same eco-friendly options for her nursery as she does for her master suite.  An organic baby blanket, organic crib sheets and organic baby clothes are not only eco-chic but also thermo-regulating to help keep baby cold when it’s hot outside and hot when it’s cold outside (like that happens a lot in L.A.!).  The smoothness of viscose from bamboo also keeps any baby’s delicate skin free of irritation.

And while she hasn’t won an Oscar, Alba has the unique distinction of being the “greenest client,” of celebrity interior designer Kari Whitman who only decorates with eco-friendly stylings.  She routinely helps Alba salvage and restore vintage furnishing finds.  Says Whitman:  “”We were buying stuff off Craigslist and running down to the antique store. We were even finding stuff on the road that people were throwing away, and we’d take it home and redo it.”

A green lawn is also important to Alba in more ways than one – she chose waterless “grass” from Forever Lawn made from recycled tires.  Alongside that lawn is a saltwater pool, chosen so that when the pool is drained, no chemicals are released into the environment.

And with Alba in a delicate condition, non-toxic paints were used to decorate.  Actually, pregnant or not, who really want to breathe in harsh chemical fumes from regular paint?  Speaking of motherhood, Alba works hard to pass on the lessons of an eco-friendly lifestyle and environmental stewardship to her children, even asking for help via Twitter on how to make eco-friendly Easter baskets for her 2-year old daughter. 

Alba, routinely named to Hollywood best-dressed lists,  has even been known to rock a green outfit from time to time, choosing bamboo clothing for her stylish ways!

While you may not have the money to party like an A-lister, everyone has the option to make these “green” choices for their own homes.  Make sure to visit our Green Is Grand section for more tips on eco-friendly living!

Celebrity Bedrooms – Jessica Alba Goes Eco-Friendly with Bamboo! is a post from: Green Earth News

And the award for eco-friendliness goes to….well, a handful of people at the 2011 Academy Awards.  While it wasn’t commonplace, two top winners of the night chose to wear environmentally-responsible clothing to the glamorous awards show. 

Colin Firth, Oscar winner for Best Actor for The Kings Speech, chose Tom Ford as a designer and made sure that the materials used were “ethical materials.”  Ford reassured the actor that all the materials were sourced organically in Italy.  Meanwhile, Firth’s wife Livia made a green statement of her own by donning a dress made of recycled dresses.  Livia is no stranger to eco-friendly clothing or the red carpet and 2011 makes the 2^nd time she has chosen to wear a recycled gown.  Founder of the Fairtrade boutique Eco Age, she wore a stunning gown made from 11 different recycled garments.  In a sentimental touch (or perhaps as a good luck charm for her husband), all of the outfits used were from the era of The King’s Speech.

Meanwhile, Natalie Portman, who took home the Best Actress Award for Black Swan, donned a recycled dress of her own for the Vanity Fair pre-Oscar party.  Though she could certainly afford pricier designs, Portman opted for a 100 percent recycled polyester shift dress from the new H&M Conscious Collection.    

While we would have loved to see a star rocking some bamboo clothing on the red carpet (Versace does make a beautiful bamboo tuxedo!), we give a standing ovation to the Firth and Portman for showing the world that green can be glamorous.

Honorable mentions for the night goes to the Oscars telecast itself for its part in the Entertainment Greening Initiative.  Not only were stars delivered to the red carpet in hybrid and electric cars but the carpet itself was made from recycled plastic bottles! 

Other highlights of the Greening Initiative include:

• Much of the power and energy is renewable. Generators at the red carpet are powered by biodiesel fuel.
• High-quality recycled paper is the sustainable choice for many event materials including nomination ballots, programs, tickets and envelopes.
• A comprehensive recycling system for event waste includes composting food and kitchen waste.
• The Governor’s Ball features locally grown food and sustainable seafood (which is listed on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program). The menu is prepared by Beverly Hills’ chef Wolfgang Puck, who has been quoted as trying to “be good to our environment.”
• Even the 900+ production crew will use china, silverware and glassware. No paper plates heading to the dump from this show!

Environmental films even make an appearance at the Oscars occasionally from the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth to the 2011 nominated feature documentary Waste Land which follows artist Vik Muniz from his new home in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the location of the world’s largest garbage dump.  One screening of this trash-filled documentary will make all of us ditch our paper plates!

Visit Green Earth News Green Celebrities section to see how some stars use their power to send a powerful message!

Oscar Gold Equals Oscar Green: Top Winners Choose Eco-Friendly Clothing! is a post from: Green Earth News

Since the 1950’s, we have been intoxicated with man made products, especially when used in sports.  Graphite golf clubs and graphite-ceramic tennis rackets, plus the ever present plastics have become the backbone of equipment manufacturing.  So it is a radical break from this trend when bamboo becomes the material of choice for sportsmen. Today, more manufacturers are making bamboo a key element in the creation of sports equipment.

Bamboo’s flexibility and lightness lends itself well to the custom designs of surfboards. Bamboo is the ideal material for surfboards because the strength of bamboo is stronger than the materials it replaces. These boards are so lightweight that they provide greater aerial potential and deliver higher control and speed. Bamboo boards are very eco-friendly because they are hand shaped from non-toxic materials. All in all, bamboo surfboards deliver.

Keeping with the water theme, bamboo is making a comeback as the primary element in the production of fly fishing rods. Again, tensil strength and flexibility are keys to a quality rod. While it’s not graphite, bamboo is sturdier and less expensive. And fly rods can run a hefty price. Whether the trout know the difference is still uncertain, but the feel and exactness of the bamboo fly rod is not. When your out there doing a little fly fishing, you might want to keep your feet warm with bamboo socks, which are super absorbent.

Back on land, surfboards have been replaced by skateboards, but bamboo still belongs.  Since bamboo is ready to harvest after 3-5 years, it makes bamboo a positive raw material for skateboards. Check out Daryl Hannah’s bamboo and hemp skateboard at the left. More and more, boards sport bamboo decks. To keep with the theme of bamboo sports equipment, you might consider sporting bamboo clothes since they work especially well under sweaty conditions.  For that matter, after a long day of surfing or skateboarding, sink into super soft bamboo sheets!

When you hear “On Deck” you might think of a cruise, but for Dustin Satloff, “On Deck” is all about baseball. And baseball is all about bamboo.  A former baseball player, Dustin Satloff currently runs a company that creates bamboo baseball bats called Sat Bats.

The bamboo used for bats is noted for its strength.  Fact is, bamboo is stronger than steel.  Take a back seat to that Mr. Ash.  And why we’re at it, ash takes 40 years or more before it is ready for harvesting while bamboo is ready for cutting after five years.

While the gentlemen’s game turned from bamboo shafts back in the forties, sports never turns away from the past.  In the old days, club shafts were made of bamboo.  Again these were replaced by high-tech materials.

Today high tech IS bamboo, and putters, skateboards, surfboards, fishing rods, baseball bats, and a growing arrangement of sports equipment are being made of bamboo once again.

Sports Equipment Made of Stellar Bamboo is a post from: Green Earth News

We couldn’t have a site extolling the virtues of bamboo without sharing information about its most famous admirer, the giant panda. The giant panda is a bear, and like its more ferocious cousins, pandas can eat meat. However, scientists estimate that the diet of giant pandas consists almost totally (99%) of bamboo.

Bamboo is such an important panda staple, the animals developed a primitive thumb from a wrist bone, so they can hold the bamboo more easily.  Despite this adaptation, the Giant Panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore and does not have the ability to digest cellulose efficiently. Since it derives little energy from consumption of bamboo, the average giant panda must consume as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 30 pounds) of bamboo shoots a day.

As promoters of bamboo for human use, readers might think our bamboo sheets or bamboo clothing are stealing food from the pandas’ paws. Nothing could be further from the truth. The bamboo utilized for fabric production comes from Moso Bamboo, located in eastern parts of China. Twenty-five species of bamboo are eaten by pandas in the wild, such as Fargesia dracocephala and Fargesia rufa and it is important that they have at least two different species in their range to avoid starvation.

The Giant Pandas live in the bamboo forests of southwest China.  Due to farming, forest clearing, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.  Estimates of the wild giant panda population ranges from 1600 up to 3000. Though reports show that the number of wild pandas are on the rise, the International Union for Conservation of Nature believes there is not enough certainty to remove the Giant Panda from the endangered animal list.

Most Westerners with TV’s have seen the efforts of major zoos to breed pandas from captive animals. Because of the rarity of successful breeding, births are greeted with more fanfare than other zoo animals and even most humans.

More important than these efforts among zoos is the willingness of governments like China to curtail the exploitation of lands that contain numbers of giant pandas. As of 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, up from 13 reserves twenty years ago.

Bamboo plays such an important role for our environment, people and animals alike. It’s powerful growth, sustainability and amazing qualities have provided nutrients, medicine, shelter and a renewable source for man made products for centuries.

The bamboo species needed by pandas for nutrients plays an equally important role. Take a look at what Jack Black has to say and see how you can help the pandas!

Jack Black Talks Pandas and Bamboo is a post from: Green Earth News