May 07, 2008

Supermodel comes up with a super 'green' idea

Cindy Crawford, considered one of the smarter supermodels in the stable, told ABC News this week that her experience as a mother has led to an "eco-awakening."

“I mean, we’ve all have seen the Al Gore movie and green is on ... it’s on top of the mind for everybody,” Crawford said. “But, it is overwhelming. I have a very full life as well, so it’s like ‘Oh, I can’t compost my own stuff.’”

No, she can't possibly compost her own stuff. It's messy and smelly -- the kind of stuff, like, ugly people do. But she'll try to do what she can.

“My kids go to a school in Malibu and it’s super-environmentally conscious,” Crawford said. “We do beach clean-ups, try to use less plastic as a school. And so, that kind of made me think, 'what can I do?' "

I presume Cindy didn't just yesterday start instructing her nanny to drop the kids off at school for Malibu-style "super-environmentally conscious" indoctrination. So maybe this awakening has something to do with a new endorsement deal ...

"I teamed up with PUR, which is a water filtration company. They do the things you can attach to your faucets, as well as those pitchers ..."

Um, yeah. We've heard of them. You know, with all the PUR TV commercials, the displays in the Piggly Wiggly and Wal-Mart and stuff. Those are called "stores" owned by what's called "retail companies." They do the things, like, where you pick something off the shelf, take it to the counter, pay for it, and take it home. Anyway, now for Cindy's big idea!

"... we came up with a reusable water bottle.”

Wow! Really?! You mean you can take those bottles of Fiji or Adirondack or Dasani, and when you drink it all down, you can put them back under the faucet and refill them? Never thought of that. Of course, I never thought of charging $19.99 for special "reusable" water bottles on a website, either. So maybe I'm the dummy.

Cindy laments that Americans use 50 billion bottles of water every year, "and only 50 percent are recycled. So that's like 38 billion that aren't recycled." Umm .... math is hard. So let's have my hilarious friend Jon at Exurban League do the figuring for us.

Let's see... 50 Billion x 50% = 25 Billion, subtract the loss factor, add in the safety margin, carry the missing supermodel brain cells... yep, 38 billion!

It's bad enough that environmental scolds like Ed Begley Jr. wag their fingers at ordinary Americans for not caring enough about the Earth to ditch the internal combustion engine and hitch a donkey to the SUV for the morning commute. But it is exponentially more annoying for Cindy Crawford to encourage us to be green -- at $19.99 a pop -- when she lives in the house below:

That's right. Four (count 'em)  structures on her beachfront Malibu estate -- each larger than the one I live in. Tell you what, Cin. I'll keep recycling and reusing water bottles my way, and I'm sure I'll make up for your carbon footprint -- as long as I live until 2751. Good to know you're doing your part!



By the way, don't go over to RedBlueAmerica anymore. They suck.

Posted by Dr. Zaius at May 7, 2008 08:56 PM | TrackBack
Comments

What are you talking about? redblueamerica.com is a great site--everyone should go there today. Or tomorrow. I mean, I just heard someone on the radio the other day talking about how conservative websites attract conservative advertisers, and liberal sites, liberal advertisers. A site covering both sides can attract all sides, plus advertisers who don't want to be seen as taking sides. Heck, if a media company can't make money with a site like that, they should get out of the media business...

Posted by: Monkey David at May 7, 2008 09:46 PM

I agree with David. RedBlueAmerica.com is one of the great ventures in new media. E.W. Scripps, a publicly traded old media company, was smart to invest in it. They would be crazy to shut it down after just a few months. People really hunger for best thinking from both sides. Honestly, there's a huge market.

Posted by: Ben Boychuk at May 7, 2008 09:50 PM

You guys are really convincing. That does seem like a great business plan!

Success and fortune surely follows. RedBlueAmerica is dead. Long live RedBlu ... er ... Infinite Monkeys.

Posted by: Dr. Zaius at May 7, 2008 11:07 PM

We are correct to criticize Ms. Crawford for doing too little. However, by lending her likeness to a very important campaign, she can help raise millions of dollars for charity and save a corresponding number of lives in the third world.

I'm as environmentally conscious as they come but even I recognize that we need everyone rowing in the same direction. Could Ms. Crawford do more? Most definitely. Can anyone partner with PŪR and start a new global initiative? I didn't think so.

Posted by: Mr. Sustainable at May 11, 2008 11:10 AM

However, by lending her likeness to a very important campaign, she can help raise millions of dollars for charity and save a corresponding number of lives in the third world.

Is she doing this with the PUR campaign? I don't see the connection. You know what would save millions of lives in the Third World? Bringing back DDT and ending the ethanol subsidy.

Posted by: Dr. Zaius at May 14, 2008 12:23 PM

Ben and Jim,

A wee bit of intra party squabble. Keep your eyes on the prize.

California moderate.

Posted by: john 2000 at May 14, 2008 02:13 PM
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