Yahoo! Picks - bringing you the best of the Web since 1995

Daryl Hannah drives the coolest, blackest biodiesel El Camino. Madonna sparked a rumpus with animal advocates when her sheep sashayed across the grass in fashionable hues of bright pink and blue. And Batman has some Hong Kong residents up in arms with a request to keep their lights on full-force for a week. Pow!

These—and many other juicy tidbits—can be found on Ecorazzi, "the latest in green gossip." This vivacious, eco-friendly blog sprang onto the scene in August and has since attracted a crack team of contributors devoted to tracking Hollywood's green, or not so green, beat.

Rebecca Carter, of greenerMIAMI, and Groovy Green's Michael d'Estries co-founded the celebri-blog. We chatted with Rebecca over instant messenger to see how things are going...

Hey there, Rebecca! You and Michael both had thriving blogs when you started Ecorazzi. What made you join forces for a new site?

It was an instant message, in fact. Apparently, Michael had been seeing what crazy traffic gossip sites like Perez Hilton receive, and I had recently written a piece about Green Celebrities. He IM'ed me and asked what I thought of doing a whole blog on the topic. Kind of harnessing the popularity of celebrities for good...

In the blogging world, if you have an idea that no one has come up with yet, and you think it's a good one, you might as well give it a shot. It only takes a day to start a blog. We didn't expect this kind of popularity at all. We've been running to catch up ever since.

Your timing was impeccable! Did you think at the beginning that you would open the site up to other bloggers/tipsters/field reporters?

I don't think we really had any plans in the beginning... Lynn Lopez joined us in October... a few months after we started. She lives in the Philippines and was really a rock star to help us get major content going.

In the beginning, there were no plans. Just an idea about a green gossip blog. Like I said, it just took off. We wouldn't be where we are today without all of the contributors, however. They have been the force that has kept Ecorazzi growing. And they all do it because they love the environment as much as they love gossip.

The group clearly keeps the site vibrant and diverse. How does the process work with contributions? A contributor writes a post, submits it, and then do you edit it/look it over?

To get started with us, we ask that contributors write a piece that is new and appropriate for Ecorazzi. Like a sample piece, but it is often published... so we don't want to see past work, necessarily. Once a couple of those have passed the test, we can set up the contributors in the system so that they can create their posts directly in WordPress.

We've got so many different kinds of contributors, it all varies. Some people are purely bloggers (contributing editors), others only go to events (field reporters), then there are photographers, etc. If someone wants to help out, we can usually find a way to match their skill set with something fun!

What's surprised you—if anything—about running Ecorazzi?

Haha, "if anything". EVERYTHING! I guess a nice surprise is to see how many people really love the site. People that really believe in what we're doing. It's so nice when something you care about strikes a chord with the public.

It's been a great experience. After leaving corporate America, I wanted to do something fun, something where I felt I was making an impact. Though "green gossip" isn't the greenest of all work, I think it serves its purpose and maybe reaches out to an audience that might not normally receive the message.

Since you started the site last August, have you seen a shift in how celebrities view green issues? like, do you think that more of them are using their position to promote good action?

Hmmm. That's a tough one. I think that through the years many celebrities have used their fame for good. The environment is certainly a hot topic right now, so it's no surprise that it is probably the one you see the most celeb attention around. I guess it is growing, in a way. We're seeing a lot more celebs taking action in their own lives. Eco-remodels on their homes, vehicle choices, etc.

Yeah, only time will tell how serious some of them are—or committed to the environment or green activism.

Well, and I hope that we all get so advanced one day that a lot of this stuff won't need to be talked about. It will just be normal. We won't need to promote bringing your own bag to the grocery store or using reusable water bottles. We won't need to mention CFLs. It will all be a given

Have you run in to controversy on the site? Like, has a particular post sparked more attention than you anticipated it would? Madonna's tinted sheep, perhaps?

Yesterday's Natalie Portman piece has drawn quite a bit of interest.

Oh, yeah, that's a good one. About having 20 pairs of jeans and not needing more.

...and how she thinks that's a New York thing. I would think it's a celeb thing. Though I don't live in New York, so maybe I'm wrong. Actually, the comments are around the veg vs. vegan issue. The vegans have come out in force to promote their cause.

Have you seen that before on the site—the strength of vegans' online presence?

Oh yes. We have a strong animal rights & vegan/veg audience. You know, we cover not just environmental issues, but also humanitarian & animal rights.

Do you have a favorite post?

Well, I don't have a good answer for you. Though I much prefer positive posts than negative, I have this terrible love for all posts Paris Hilton

Has anyone surprising ever contacted you on the site? Paris? Perez? Some other celeb? Did we just call Perez Hilton a "celeb"?

We're buddies with Ed Begley, Jr. He's a fan of the site. Haha, Perez is a celeb—what can you do? I think more celebs than we know are reading. If there is ever the slightest inaccuracy, we get contacted immediately

Oh really? From their publicists?

Yes, publicists... That's the cool thing about the Internet. You never know who's watching.

Tell us about putting together the green celeb gift list.

Oooh, that was fun. We compile the list with items that we've reported on throughout the year as something that a celeb has been seen wearing, buying, etc. We also send out feelers to companies, looking for eco-products that are celeb faves.

Plus, this year, readers can add their own suggestions to the mix—an interactive piece that I enjoy. My favorite this year is a product that I received as a sample from the company—The Soda Club. Make your own seltzer at home with tap water. Awesome. I've heard Adrian Grenier is also trying one out. I think it's a perfect fit and can picture it behind the bar of every celeb!

Do you have a celeb that you like writing about the most...? Who inspires you?

I've interviewed Adam Gardner of Guster, and I really enjoy writing about him and all of the work that he and his wife are doing with Reverb (reverbrock.org) I personally think that so many musicians are really pushing the green movement forward and love to see the work that so many of them are doing.

And we love to see the work you're doing. Thanks for talking to us, Rebecca!

Dec 14, 2007
The Handlebar Club - Meet Steve Parsons, secretary of London's fellow hood of exuberantly mustachioed men, The Handlebar Club.

Dec 12, 2007
Online and Subversive - Meet David Rees, creator of one of the Web's most sarcastic (and profane) comic strips.

Dec 10, 2007
French Laundry at Home - Meet Carol, a passionate home chef bent on making every recipe in 'The French Laundry' cookbook.

Dec 07, 2007
The National UFO Reporting Center - Peter Davenport is the man behind one of the earliest UFO sites on the Web.

Dec 05, 2007
Little People - London's overrun with 'little hand painted people.' And the artist Slinkachu is behind it.

Dec 03, 2007
Mary-Kate, Ashley, and Erin - Erin Balser produces a popular blog on the Olsen twins -- as well as three other pop culture sites.

Yahoo!'s crack team of editors serves up the coolest, funniest, or quirkiest sites we encounter on the Web. Got a favorite new link of your own? Share it with us!