According to Microsoft, the July 7, 2007 Live Earth concerts streaming on MSN.com made history with more than 8 million people watching over 15 million streams, with peak simultaneous viewership of 237,000 people.

The company claims that, to date, more than 30 million people witnessed some portion of the event online. The peak simultaneous viewership was during Madonna’s performance in London.

Live Earth television ratings, on the contrary, did not fair so well. Nielsen Media Research reported that only 2.7 million people watched the event last Saturday and was ‘least watched’ compared to other shows aired opposite it: ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos, CBS’ 48 Hours Mystery, and Fox’s America’s Most Wanted.

Here are some videos from Live Earth 2007:

Madonna - Hey you

John Mayer - (Not) Waiting on the world to change

The Police - Message in a Bottle

Shakira - Hips don’t lie

Last June 21, millions of Londoners joined the campaign to raise awareness on climate change. London turned off its lights from 9-10 PM during this night in an effort to make a difference for the environment.

An estimated 2 million light bulbs went out around the capital, saving roughly 750 MWh of electricity in just one hour – enough to run 3,000 televisions for a year.

Homes, shops, businesses, the Buckingham Palace, and Tony Blair participated in this noteworthy endeavor, showing to the rest of the world that London is a green city that respects the earth. Even the Piccadilly Circus Advertising Lights went out for the first time since World War Two! That is just amazing.

Check out the video of this event:

This is again another success story that can be replicated in other places. I admire London, its people and leaders, for their sense of environmentalism in spite of its first-world status. They are not afraid to give back to the environment what they have taken from it. For your social conscience, London, you are now close to my heart.

Know more about this initiative…

Jay Leno makes a funny anecdote regarding the upcoming Live Earth concerts, where Al Gore promised will happen in all seven continents. But in Antartica, some scientists were said to have volunteered. Look what happens:

See, that’s the effect of global warming. Haha. If you want free tickets to Live Earth, you may enter this contest at ecorazzi. Deadline, unfortunately, is already today. Cheers!

Photo Credits: weddingthailand.com

When June comes, there is one thing that comes to mind - weddings!

History tells us that June Weddings have roots in early Roman times, Pagan traditions and the Elizabethan England… The Roman goddess Juno — goddess of women’s well being and marriage lends her name to this month.

Pagan traditions of hand-fasting, summer solstice — the longest day of the year, first harvest — not only of crops but said to be the ‘harvest of emotions” are all part of the origin of the June wedding. Our current honeymoon, has origins in the Pagan “honey moon” — the first moon after the summer solstice and named for the honey-flavored mead drunk after the solstice hand-fasting. PRWeb.com

But now that a lot of people are becoming more conscious about the environment, consider a green wedding just like Kristy Wang and Nik Kaestner.

I read from KansasCity.Com that this lovely couple’s big day was “green” from the bridal apparel to the reception and car. Here are some tidbits:

• The bridal gown has a design and style that makes it suitable for parties too, meaning it can be used again
• They organized guest car pools in hybrid vehicles
• They chose an “outdoor Japanese garden instead of a big, energy-sucking reception hall”
• They used “homemade tablecloths that were later turned into dinner napkins”
• The food served came from locally grown organic vehetables and fish catched using sustainable means

According to the article in the above mentioned website,

“Going green is one of the great business opportunities of the 21st century, and the rapid growth of green weddings and green wedding consulting groups is not surprising,” said David Cooperrider, a business professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “In fact, wedding advisers that are not going green are going to be at a competitive disadvantage.”

Are you getting married anytime soon? Make it green.

Read the complete article here…

Let me restate that.

“What was with Brad Pitt at Ocean’s Thirteen Premiere?”

The answer: a BMW Hydrogen 7. I know. Brad Pitt is enough reason to send me screaming out to the limits of my voicebox but his car is just too hard to ignore.

Hydrogen technology dramatically reduces emissions generated by personal transport and, in particular, minimizes the emission of CO2. Running in the hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 essentially emits nothing but vapor. And, unlike fossil fuels and traditional gasoline, hydrogen is available in virtually infinite supply. With the BMW Hydrogen 7, the BMW Group is laying down a marker for sustainable mobility. This car will play a pioneering role in driving forward hydrogen technologies. Autobloggreen.Com

BMW Hydrogen 7 is also considered as the first hydrogen-drive luxury performance automobile for everyday use.

Brad, you are definitely a hottie!

Photo Credits: ecorazzi.com

May 18, 2007 was declared as the Endangered Species Day in the United States. It was started last year with the aim to “encourage the people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.”

The Endangered Species Act of the US is considered as the most successful conservation laws in the country.

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In the latest list released by WWF, the tiger landed as the most in-demand animal, meaning it is the most “bought, sold, smuggled, killed or captured for trade purposes.”

The most immediate threat to wild tigers is poaching for trade. Despite international and domestic bans, a thriving black market for tiger skins and bones threatens to wipe out wild tigers. China, with its booming economy, burgeoning human population and ancient traditions of using tiger parts as medicine and clothing, is the world’s leading consumer of tiger products. [wwf.worldwildlife.org]

Here are some advocacy videos geared towards saving tigers:

Other species cited by WWF as most endangered by international trade include red and pink coral, Asian rhinos, the European eel, African and Asian elephants, the figleaf mahogany found in central and South America, Asian elephants and great apes – including gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. [inthenews.co.uk]

Sunrise

This is a picture of a ricefield in Laguna, Philippines. I took this shot at the beginning of the new year [literally]. I chose this photo for today’s entry to symbolize my vision for the future generations.

Just like in any special occasion, people always ask you what your wish is. This Earth Day, a day just as special as other days, I will loudly announce my wish and that is “for future generations to see more of this kind of sunrise in the decades to come.”

At the rate people are exploiting the resources today, I am unsure that the sunrise in the coming years will still be as clear like in the photo or will it be covered by smog?

If people continue to live without regard for the environment, maybe the next generations will no longer bear witness to the beauty of nature, the music of the vibrant animals, the bountiness of vegetation, the steady drops of rain water, the mild heat of the sun and soft cool breeze caressing their faces.

The sunrise stands for hope. Hope that our children will be wiser than us. That they relinquish their irresponsible stewardship of the earth and treat nature as their brother.

I dream of a world where there is clean air, nourishing water, fertile soil, gentle climate and harmonious living. I dream that dream for my bundle of joy:

I love you, Vito!

Earth Day 2007 is just a few days away. A lot of activities are going to happen on that day in several nations across the globe. However, there is one big question in my head, “what is Earth Day for?”

As I try to answer the question myself, I think that Earth Day is for kids, for the future generations, especially those who are underprivileged. Allow me to share with you the program that I conceptualized in 2004.

It’s called Adopt-a-Kid for the Environment, an environmental education campaign for streetchildren/sampaguita vendors in UPLB. The environment education program was constructed in an interactive way, through games and fun activities. That project earned me the Bayer Young Environmental Envoy 2004 award, which gave me the opportunity to go on an environmental field trip in Germany.

I successfully implemented it in February 2005. It has been sustained by my organization after I graduated from the university.

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Adopt-a-Kid for the Environment

By building a culture of environmentalism among young people, environmental efforts become more sustainable and long-term. “It’s time we hear their little voices.”

Each time I see them in the university, I always ask them who their environmental parent was. And it’s so amazing because they always give me the correct answer. When I ask them, “Why do you remember it well?” They reply, “Because they have made us see a very beautiful part of life. Before, we pitied ourselves because we’re poor but when we saw what you made us see, we realized that life is still beautiful.”