Photo by Rankin via Oxfam

We’re increasingly understanding that the environmental movement is not just about hugging trees and saving the whales, it’s about people too. That’s why musicians like Fatboy Slim, Jarvis Cocker, VV Brown, and Little Boots are lending their faces – painted blue – to Oxfam’s “Blue in the Face” campaign.

The new campaign urges world leaders attending the climate summit in Copenhagen this December to address the needs of poor communities dealing with the impacts of global warming. From the destruction of homes to limited access to clean water to food shortages, the poor are especially hit hard by the effects of more frequent and severe natural disasters caused by climate change.

Photographed by fashion photographer Rankin, these celebrity pics are just the beginning of an online photo gallery of supporters. That’s right! You too can join in the face painting fun and “take action on climate change until you’re blue in the face.”

Oxfam will be at festivals all over the UK to help with face painting and photo snapping. They’ll present the petition to the UK government just in time for the summit, asking for reduced global carbon emissions and funds to help poor areas adapt to environmental changes. The big kickoff starts this weekend at Glastonbury.

via Treehugger

Photo via Meat Free Monday

It’s Paul McCartney’s 67th birthday! And what Paul wants most is not for us to sing “(na na na na na na) you say it’s your birthday,” but to show our support for his newest endeavor, Meat Free Monday, which officially launched this week.

Paul, a longtime vegetarian and advocate for the ethical treatment of animals, recognizes that not everyone is willing or ready to make the switch to a completely meat-free diet. Instead, he’s asking us to forgo meat for just one day a week:

“I think many of us feel helpless in the face of environmental challenges, and it can be hard to know how to sort through the advice about what we can do to make a meaningful contribution to a cleaner, more sustainable, healthier world. Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make, that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once.”

Sir Paul is encouraging us to go veggie not only because it’s healthy and animal-friendly, but also because it helps fight global warming.

Huh? What’s the connection between eating meat and climate change? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock industry accounts for upwards of 18% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Eating meat is so energy intensive, in fact, that Compassion in World Farming estimates that the average UK household can reduce more emissions by cutting their meat consumption in half than by cutting their car use in half.

He’s making it real easy for us to skip the meat by sharing vegetarian recipes from his dearly departed wife Linda’s cookbook each week. The UK’s top chefs are also contributing their favorite meat-free dishes.

Hey Paul? I signed up. “I’m glad it’s your birthday. Happy birthday to you.”

Photo via Friends of the Earth

Recently on Radiohead’s website, Thom Yorke urged his U.S. fans to show their support for the fight against global warming by joining the Stop Global Warming Virtual March.  Here’s what’s  on Yorke’s mind:

“currently there is talk of a climate change bill in the US similair to the one we have passed in the UK.
thats a BIG deal.
but i have been reading how the oil industry is investing millions of dollars in a PR campaign against it!
how utterly dumbass is that? how do these people look their children in the eye?”

In case you’re wondering what the hell Thom is on about, let me fill in the blanks. Back in 2005, Thom Yorke helped launch Friends of the Earth’s Big Ask Europe, a campaign to convince European nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions yearly. The ultimate goal? A 40% emissions reduction within Europe by 2020; 100% by 2050.

Thanks in part to pressure from Big Ask Europe, the UK passed climate change legislation in November 2008, the first of its kind in the world, that legally commits the UK to reduce their emissions by a whopping 80% by 2050.

Those clever Europeans…always a step ahead of us on these matters of environmental importance.

Anyway, it looks like similar legislation could be in the works for the U.S. So what are you waiting for? When Thom Yorke asks you to do something, dammit, you better do it.