7 Ways Brad Pitt Proves Green is Sexy
4. He Spoke at Congress with a Green Building Agenda
Accompanied by Hollywood producer Steve Bing and political strategist Chad Griffin, Pitt headed to Washington, D.C. to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid about the Make It Right Foundation's sustainable housing project in New Orleans and to discuss the possibilities of federal funding. Rep. James Clyburn, House Majority Whip and head of the Hurricane Katrina-Rita Task Force, expressed his appreciation for Pitt's charity, which the actor and Bing helped finance with a $5 million donation each. Pitt's pitch happened to coincide with the debate in the House of Representatives over the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, offering relief from foreclosures. The trip was action packed: Senator Reid announced plans for a green power energy bill, proposing the Federal government's support of connecting renewable energy to the nation's electrical grid with solar, wind and hydrothermal power, and Pitt's party also met with Energy Czar Carol Browner.
5. He Co-Founded Not On Our Watch
Displaced persons camp entrance near the edge of Nyala, South Darfur. Credit: Jon Nicholson via Not on Our Watch. Along with fellow philanthropists and actors George Clooney and Matt Damon, Pitt founded Not On Our Watch. From their website:
Our mission is to focus global attention and resources towards putting an end to mass atrocities around the world. Drawing upon the powerful voices of artists, activists, and cultural leaders, Not On Our Watch generates lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced. We encourage governing bodies to take meaningful, immediate action to protect those in harm's way. Where governments remain complacent, Not On Our Watch is committed to stopping mass atrocities and giving voice to their victims.
6. He Founded the Jolie-Pitt Foundation with Angelina Jolie
Brad and Angie with their six children. Credit: Angelina Jolie Watch
This power couple has been working their magic all over the globe the last few years, and when they started having children, the giving didn't stop. When Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was born, the couple earned $4.1 million for exclusive rights to the first photos. What did they do? They turned around and donated those funds to African children charities. In 2006, Pitt and Jolie established the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to aid humanitarian causes around the world. They have made donations in the millions to Global Action for Children, Doctors Without Borders, Daniel Pearl Foundation, and the UN Refugee Agency. Via :: Wikipedia .
7. He Could Spark a Green Building Revolution
Brad Pitt, Tom Darden (the CEO of Make it Right), and S. Richard Fedrizzi, the President of the US Green Building Council, all attended the Clinton Global Initiative this year to report on the progress of Make it Right, which so far has brought 13 LEED certified homes to the 9th Ward in New Orleans. Darden sat down with TreeHugger at CGI and spoke to his hope that the project will inspire the green building community--and that it can help answer the question of how to rebuild scattered home sites under any conditions: neighborhoods hit by natural disaster, foreclosed developments, and so on. The project helps New Orleans residents move back to their hometown, to live in green homes (and save hundreds of dollars on their electric bills), and the world gets an example of how green building is the indisputable future of development. And that's how Brad Pitt (and Fedrizzi and Darden, of course) may help ignite a green building revolution.
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e2: the economies of being environmentally conscious
