Archive by Author
Opportunity Green welcomes Yann Arthus-Bertrand for the screening of HOME
Posted on 03. Jul, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
Opportunity Green had the privilege to partner with the French Consulate and American Cinematheque in the screening of HOME, a film by French director Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, the screening was attended by over 600 fans & celebrities such as Friends star Lisa Kudrow. Prior to the screening, VIPs attended an Opportunity Green supported luncheon at the home of the French Consulate General David Martinon. Hollywood’s own Sharon Stone and Rosanna Arquette along with Opportunity Green CEO Karen Solomon were on hand to mingle with the French elite.Arthus-Bertrand used amazing cinematic examples from 54 countries to highlight global warming, resource shortages, and endangered species asking each viewer to reconsider their everyday human impact. The production, like an alarm clock, alerts each viewer to wake up and realize we barely have ten years left to reverse the exhaustion of natural resources.
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The Marrakesh House: A hidden oasis of sustainable living in Los Angeles
Posted on 19. Jun, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
A Tesla for valet? Yes, indeed. The electric sports car was part of the introduction lunch to the Marrakesh House, owned by Chris Paine. Paine, director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, purchased the home in 2007 with the goal of transforming the space into a model home for sustainable living in the 21st century.
The number of green elements infused into the 4,300 square-foot Culver City house are endless!
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Cocktails and cozy conversation at the Opportunity Green VIP event
Posted on 05. Jun, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
As the sun set upon Los Angeles Tuesday, eco-executives and newly minted MINI E owners pulled up to the Environment furniture showroom for Opportunity Green’s lastest VIP event. Invitees indulged on fresh organic burgers from O Burger, VeeV signature cocktails, and sweet treats from Real Food Daily. On hand to wash it all down were local micro-brews from Skyscraper Brewery, wine pours from Casa Barranca, and snowcones from LA’s own Locali. Coconut-flavored brown rice syrup on a bed of VeeV-infused crushed ice? Yes, please!
VIPs included executives from XPrize, Dwell, Disney, Global Green USA and Gensler to name a few. Joshua Mark, Executive Director of Special Event Production and Creative Services of FOX Studios left saying, “I got some great ideas for future projects, I am really looking forward to the conference in November – Green it, mean it!”
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Opportunity Green’s Top 10 Eco Twitterers To Follow
Posted on 22. May, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
We scoured through hundreds of tweeps in the green space to find the best eco twitterers. Whether your focus is eco-fashion or clean tech, check out Opportunity Green’s list of the top eco twitterers to add to your list:
1. @grist
Grist.org is the hub of everything fun and green. Their witty, yet informative site has contributors from around the world scribing about politics, green business, living green, and just plain fun stuff. Opportunity Green Co-Founder, Karen Solomon, had her latest post as one of the top living green posts last week.
2. @maxgladwell
Rob Reed, the face behind the Max Gladwell alter-ego, is almost like an eco-friendly Batman. He is using the alias and social media as his super power, launching green living into the mainstream. His spiderweb-like network of people is leading a wholesale shift to sustainable systems.
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Ten Ways to Change the World Through Social Media
Posted on 15. May, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
Written by Max Gladwell
Editor’s note: We’re pleased to welcome Max Gladwell, of MaxGladwell.com. Max Gladwell covers the nexus of social media and green living. We feel that these two trends and technological developments hold tremendous promise for improving quality of life for everyone on the planet.
If you’re reading this blog, then you’re on board with social media. There’s a good chance you belong to social networks like Facebook or MySpace. It’s likely that you Digg stories and even possible that you Twitter. These technologies and services, together with a growing number of others, make up the social web. It’s much like the regular web, but more interactive. More…social. It invites and even demands active participation from everyone. It has a global reach with viral capacity, and yet it’s bringing local communities closer together. It enables people to connect, organize, and make a difference as never before. Indeed, social media is a powerful force, one that the world’s CEOs are starting to acknowledge and take seriously.
Many entrepreneurs, activists, and marketers are leveraging the social web for positive change. In the process and by its very nature, they are giving each of us the tools to change the world and make it a better place. There are thousands of examples, which is precisely why Max Gladwell exists. Here are 10 worth exploring:
1. Do-Good Widgets: If you’re Facebook page was a car, these would be your bumper stickers. Only these do more than spread the message. Widgets are standalone web applications that can run inside any web page. They take many forms, ranging from the absurd to the truly useful and socially valuable. The best ones engage us in ways that lead to action, awareness, and even fund-raising. Facebook was the first to offer them, and MySpace recently followed. Other social networks offer widgets, but these two have a scale that gives them unrivaled potential. Causes is the 800-pound gorilla in the do-good widget space with millions of daily active users on Facebook alone. If you support a cause, chances are you can find it in Causes. We support 14 ranging from “Recycle not Waste” to “Ride Bikes” and “GREEN“. Each Cause enables you to recruit others and make donations.
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Opportunity Green at the Kick Off Event for Pregrancy Awareness Month
Posted on 07. May, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
Mamma Mia! Pregnancy Awareness Month (PAM) 2009 has officially launched with its Motherhood Begins Now event. Karen Solomon, Co-Founder of Opportunity Green, attended the kick off in Santa Monica, which celebrates the month-long campaign focused on education, exercise, nutrition, and wellness and nurture.
Part of the PAM advisory board includes Anna Getty and eco-chic model Josie Maran. Fun fact: After attending the University of Paris, Getty decided to pursue an interest in cooking and became an assistant to revered organic chef Akasha Richmond. Akasha’s first restaurant venture, AKASHA, is located in Opportunity Green’s backyard in Culver City.
By the end of the morning bellies were full from the organic lunch designed by Chef Domenica Catelli, CEO of Mom-a-licious, and muscles relaxed from the free Holistic Mommy Lounge Spa Services. Sounds like the perfect Saturday to me!
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Opportunity Green wins big at the inaugural Green Dot Awards
Posted on 23. Apr, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
The inaugural Green Dot Awards (GDA) went off last night without a hitch. Set at the Smog Shoppe in Los Angeles, entirely powered by solar energy, the awards featured a gathering of international award recipients ready to celebrate Earth Day.
GDA recognizes businesses, entrepreneurs, designers, innovators and unique green business proposals that focus on creating progressive products, services, and business models. Basically, cheers to green pride!
Stephan McGuire, best known for his work on Leonardo di Caprio’s The 11th Hour, was presented with the GDA Visionary Award for his actions with Coalition for a Sustainable Africa. Also know as CSAfrica, the organization is empowering sustainable solutions for grass-roots initiatives and has launched Namibia’s first green charity – Green Awareness Africa.
Opportunity Green received the Award of Excellence in Community + Policy as an organization that has mobilized people and business to take action on environment stewardship. Karen Solomon, Co-Founder of Opportunity Green, graciously thanked the community for saying “yes” to the idea of a conference which encourages the experience of collaboration and the movement towards sustainability.
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Opportunity Green attends launch of CleanTech Los Angeles
Posted on 15. Apr, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
Esteemed figures in the academic community and Los Angeles government converged this morning to announce the launch of CleanTech Los Angeles. This unique partnership aims to introduce Los Angeles into the greenspace as the hub of clean techonology. Members include the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, Caltech, DWP, JPL, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, UCLA, and USC.Opportunity Green Co-Founder Mike Flynn was on hand to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by all involved parties. During the Q&A, Flynn highlighted the importance of creating clean technology curriculum at engineering schools, such as USC, UCLA, and Caltech. In general, he is positive about the CleanTech intiative, stating “I’m very excited to see this collaboration between academia, policy and business in LA.”
