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ITN Source
USA: Oscar nominee Penelope Cruz and other celebs hit the green carpet and say they'll be arriving to the Oscars in environmentally friendly vehicles.
USA: Oscar nominee Penelope Cruz and other celebs hit the green carpet and say they'll be arriving to the Oscars in environmentally friendly vehicles.
Hollywood stars, including Oscar nominees Penelope Cruz, Leonardo DiCaprio and others are driving their cause straight to the Oscars. These environmentally conscious celebrities are promoting alternative fuel vehicles, and trading in their plush limousines for cleaner transportation solutions on the biggest night in Tinseltown. From a plug-in hybrid car to the sexy electric Tesla Roadster, celebrities wanting to make a green statement on the way to the red carpet of the Oscars will have plenty of environment-friendly rides this Sunday. Global Green USA has lined up 30 cars to shuttle the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz and Davis Guggenheim, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary on global warming "An Inconvenient Truth", to the star-studded ceremony in Hollywood. Oscar nominee Penelope Cruz along with celebrity pals like Orlando Bloom took their cause to the green carpet at a gala event highlighting a Green Oscars campaign. Cruz, Bloom and other celebrities including model Petra Nemcova and her crooner beau James Blunt proved that caring about the environment is cool, as they pulled up up to the Spider Club in Los Angeles in stylish eco-friendly vehicles. Spanish-born Cruz, who says she plans to arrive at the Oscars in a hybrid as well, believes this is an issue she will continue to champion. "I feel like any contribution counts from anybody and I'm here just as one more person who is trying to bringing awareness to this cause. That is a really serious problem, it's not a maybe anymore." Bloom says global warming is the problem of his generation, and one that he'd like to stop from being passed on to future generations. The actor admits that he doesn't yet drive a hybrid vehicle, but says he is planning to buy a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius in the near future. Global Green USA began the green limousine campaign five years ago at the Oscars to raise awareness among the tens of millions of viewers worldwide about alternative fuel cars, energy independence and solutions to global warming. Leonardo DiCaprio was among the first celebrities to take the green ride to the Academy Awards, the world's top film honors that will be given out this year on February 25th. While he didn't make his way down the green carpet, DiCaprio, who drives a hybrid, will arrive at the awards ceremony in a green vehicle. Matt Petersen, chief executive of Global Green USA, says he thinks stars being driven to the Oscars in environmentally friendly cars can have a lasting impact on the public. "The Oscars are one of the greatest events in the world. By trying to raise attention to environmental issues around the Oscars it will obviously reach a lot of people and get them to realize they can do something in their own lives to help reduce impact on the environment. So a celebrity showing up to the Oscars in a hybrid car says so much without them having to say anything on camera." While most actors are not yet sure which hybrid vehicle they will ride in to Sunday's awards ceremony, it's the the two-seat, scarlet-colored prototype of the Tesla Roadster, invented and financed in Silicon Valley, that will be the coveted car pulling up to the red carpet. Already 330 celebrities, including George Clooney, have signed up to buy the electric car that goes from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 100 kph) in four seconds. Production will begin later this year and the base price is 92,000 U.S. dollars, although the company also is working on a sedan that will cost between 50,000 (USD) and 65,000 (USD).
ITN Source | February 23, 2007
