Vanity Fair articles from May 2007

Vanity Fair archives from May 2007

Rush to Judgment.
May 1, 2007... Byline: James Wolcott Rush Limbaugh, he's got the life. His days flick through the slot like postcards from paradise. Where most gab-show hosts report for duty at radio studios where candy bars get stuck in the vending machine and the...

Serious Money; Everyone who's anyone is getting into the private-equity bubble-even journalists and rock stars.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Wolff I've started thinking about private equity, not as a financing concept or a professional undertaking, but as a way of life, an organizing social principle, a behavioral standard. Private equity-owning stuff with other...

Texas Chainsaw Management; Spinning the revolving door between government and business as never before, the White House has handed more than 100 top environmental posts to representatives of polluting industries.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The verdict of history sometimes takes centuries. The verdict on George W. Bush as the nation's environmental steward has already been written in stone. No president has mounted a more sustained and deliberate...

The Rise of Big Water; The water crisis is now.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Charles C. Mann Qin Huairen went back to Changzhou, the city of his birth, in 1977. He was 42 years old and had spent his entire adulthood working as an iron-ore prospector in southern China. He had arrived there in 1957, just...

A Convenient Untruth; For the obligatory "opposing view" on climate change, the media often turn to Myron Ebell, policy analyst, sound-bite artist, and oil-industry mouthpiece.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Shnayerson Al Gore says global-warming skeptics are a group diminishing almost as rapidly as the mountain glaciers. Myron Ebell begs to differ. Hurricanes, heat waves, flooding, and droughts-sure, they've stirred...

Problems Without Borders; Complex data-on fuel, plants, or recycling-can tell a simple story.
May 1, 2007... Byline: E. O. Wilson Homo sapiens is not a physically imposing species and in terms of biomass does not take up much room. If the bodies of all 6.5 billion human beings alive on earth today were log-stacked, they would fill less than a...

The Falcon's Call; At 11, the author fell in love with falconry, learning the delicate synergies among man, hawk, and eco-system.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I fell in love with falconry at the age of 11, after reading T. H. White's Arthurian legend, The Sword in the Stone. A year of pleading later, my father bought me a pet-store red-tailed hawk. I named her...

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Throne; After years of being called an eccentric who talked to his plants, Prince Charles is now an environmental hero.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Shnayerson Charles is a prince whose time has come. Not to take the throne-may his mother live long and provide Helen Mirren with material for many sequels-but to be granted an honor as impressive in its own way. More...

An Eco-System of One's Own; Brushing your teeth, checking your e-mail, ordering lunch, hitting the gym-almost every move you make affects the health of the planet.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Alex Shoumatoff Morning Juice Your unwitting complicity in the degradation of the planet begins the moment you wake up. You switch on your nightstand light, sending a message for increased demand to the power grid. The amount...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.) of the United Nations: "The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change".
May 1, 2007... Byline: Adam Spangler A 21-page summary of the I.P.C.C.'s report-the full text with recommended solutions is to be released in parts throughout 2007-states with more than 90 percent certainty, up from 66 percent in the last report, in...

Buyer Beware: Food Labels; Organic foods and those produced in more environmentally considerate ways are growing increasingly popular with consumers.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Adam Spangler MOST RELIABLE Labels are verified by an independent third party. USDA ORGANIC Foods certified: meat, dairy, wine, produce, processed and frozen foods, grains. Assures that a food has been produced and processed...

Camille Parmesan: "Ecological and Evolutionary Responses to Recent Climate Change".
May 1, 2007... Byline: Adam Spangler Human beings have not yet been seriously affected by the earth's warming climate, but according to one of the most comprehensive research papers in the history of ecological studies, the rest of the organisms on our...

Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall: "An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security".
May 1, 2007... Byline: Adam Spangler It should come as no surprise that a public report funded by the Department of Defense would examine the most extreme scenario in the debates over climate change, but as the authors state, the scenario-that global...

Sir Nicholas Stern: "Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change".
May 1, 2007... Byline: Adam Spangler If he wasn't one before, Sir Nicholas Stern, chief economic adviser at the British Treasury, is now an environmentalist. Opening the summary of conclusions from his groundbreaking report, Stern states, "There is still...

Rachael Taylor.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Krista Smith AGE: 22. PROVENANCE: The island state of Tasmania, Australia. ON THE CUSP OF MASS EXPOSURE AS... Maggie, a nose-ringed computer technician in Michael Bay's summer-blockbuster-to-be, Transformers, based on the Hasbro...

V.F.'s All-Purpose Public Mea Culpa.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Bruce Feirstein *select options appropriate to your situation and fax to Howard Rubenstein Associates for immediate release. Good morning. Let me begin by saying that I wish to apologize to {the hotel staff; the Malibu...

Jungle Law; In 1972, crude oil began to flow from Texaco's wells in the area around Lago Agrio ("sour lake"), in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
May 1, 2007... Byline: William Langewiesche n a forsaken little town in the Ecuadorean Amazon, an overgrown oil camp called Lago Agrio, the giant Chevron Corporation has been maneuvered into a makeshift courtroom and is being sued to answer for...

The Man of the Hour; LEONARDO DiCAPRIO Actor, activist.
May 1, 2007... If you go to leonardodicaprio.com, you will find that it is split down the middle. The left half is labeled "Leonardo," and will bring you up-to-date on his filmmaking career (doing rather nicely, with a recent Oscar nomination for his...

The Hour Is Near; Tapping some of the best minds on the planet-the likes of Stephen Hawking, William McDonough, and Lester Brown-LEONARDO DiCAPRIO has made the next big environmental documentary, The 11th Hour, due out this year.(Quotation)
May 1, 2007... Excerpted from the film The 11th Hour, a documentary created by Leonardo DiCaprio; directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners; the film, to be released by Tree Media Group and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, will be in theaters...

The Nourishers.
May 1, 2007... "Sustainability" is a heavy word, but these folks have found the best way to leaven the conversation: by plying us with superior food and drink that's been sourced from farmers who do it right. Mondavi-who runs Napa Valley's oldest winery,...

The Messenger; SIMRAN SETHI Multi-media environmental correspondent.
May 1, 2007... When it comes to creating a bright, green future, Simran Sethi is beating the drum loudly-and in any venue she can find. Tackling issues from what we put in our mouths to how we carpet our floors, to how we clothe our infants, she produces news...

The Soundtrack of Change; JACK JOHNSON, ALANIS MORISSETTE, CHUCK LEAVELL, JACKSON BROWNE, PERRY FARRELL, KEB' MO', DAVE STEWART, BONNIE RAITT Musicians.
May 1, 2007... You can go electric and still be green-as these rockers will attest. Browne and Raitt were the trailblazers, founding members of muse (Musicians United for Safe Energy), the group that organized the famous "No Nukes" concerts of 1979....

The Light Relief; JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS Actress, activist.
May 1, 2007... When she's not under the hot lights of a Burbank soundstage, Julia Louis-Dreyfus works for the green cause, quietly helping to raise millions for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Waterkeeper Alliance, and the Trust for Public Land. In...

The Head for Business; SIR NICHOLAS STERN Economic adviser to Her Majesty's Government.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Mild-mannered British economist Sir Nicholas Stern, 61, freely admits that until he was commissioned (by Al Gore's friend Gordon Brown, the British chancellor of the Exchequer) in July 2005 to write The Economics of Climate Change, he was an...

SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO (ABOVE) NANCY KNOWLTON, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MARINE BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION; TONY HAYMET, DIRECTOR OF THE SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY; RALPH KEELING, PROFESSOR. WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION (OPPOSITE) LLOYD KEIGWIN, SENIOR SCIENTIST; RUTH CURRY, RESEARCH SPECIALIST; DAVID GALLO, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS; LARRY MADIN, ACTING DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... We can argue until the sun burns out whether human beings are causing climate change, but there is no debate over the fact that it is happening. The climate has, after all, been changing for the last 4.6 billion years-as long as the earth has...

The Golden State Eco-warriors.(California)
May 1, 2007... Californians have traditionally led the rest of the country toward new modes of behavior and thought. Those pictured here, who come from all walks of life, are joined by their commitment to bringing about a greener world, starting with their...

The Enlightened Hotelier; BARRY STERNLICHT Mogul on a mission.
May 1, 2007... The hotel industry, in general, has been blase where the environment is concerned. Inefficient climate-control systems run full blast, in-room fridges hum all night, keeping Toblerones cold, and the maids are quick with aerosol spray. Barry...

The Model Citizen; SUMMER RAYNE OAKES Eco-style queen.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Nontoxic clothing. Sustainable design. We admit it-there's something a little dippy-sounding about the terminology. But thanks to Summer Rayne Oakes, fashion model and eco-style expert (sorry-there we go again), it's actually starting to make...

The Tree of Wisdom; NOBEL LAUREATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY YUAN LEE (CHEMISTRY, 1986), DONALD GLASER (PHYSICS, 1960), DANIEL MCFADDEN (ECONOMICS, 2000), GEORGE SMOOT (IN TREE; PHYSICS, 2006), CHARLES TOWNES (PHYSICS, 1964), AND STEVEN CHU (PHYSICS, 1997), WITH CHANCELLOR ROBERT BIRGENEAU.
May 1, 2007... Berkeley, with its vast scientific and human resources, is quickly moving to establish itself as the nation's premier academic institution for the discovery and delivery of alternative energy. From 1930, when the possibility of splitting the...

The Cleanup Guys; SEVENTH GENERATION AND METHOD METHOD FOUNDERS ADAM LOWRY AND ERIC RYAN AND SEVENTH GENERATION C.E.O. JEFFREY HOLLENDER.
May 1, 2007... Turns out you don't have to endanger your unborn child's life to get your house really clean. Seventh Generation and Method have proved that household products that are biodegradable and nontoxic actually work. About 20 years ago, Seventh...

The Future's Farmer; DR.(Doctor Carl Hodges)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Atmospheric physicist Dr. Carl Hodges is tired of the bickering over who is responsible for climate change-he wants to focus on seizing opportunities and implementing solutions. "We can stop sea-level rise," Hodges, 70, says bluntly. It started...

The Purist; ROXANNE QUIMBY Natural-care-product pioneer.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!" Roxanne Quimby long ago took Henry David Thoreau's words to heart. In 1984 she was living in the woods of northern Maine in a cabin without electricity or running water-with her young twins, no less. She...

The Pointed Pen; CARL HIAASEN Novelist, columnist, reporter.
May 1, 2007... Whether writing his Miami Herald column or hisgonzo novels, Carl Hiaasen has always been on the side of the beasts. He grew up near Fort Lauderdale, back when Florida was still a lush paradise, thick with mosquitoes and not yet an...

The Next Generation.(Energy Action Coalition's Campus Climate Challenge)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... While the president may just be getting around to accepting climate change, the youth of America have been lining up for years. Nowhere is this line longer than on high-school and college campuses. But with young people, organization can be an...

The Sundance Man; ROBERT REDFORD Actor, director, environmental activist.
May 1, 2007... Famous for four decades, Robert Redford was an environmental activist long before it was fashionable and long before global warming entered the lexicon. The Oscar winner has been spearheading grassroots movements of conservation since the age...

Dante's Inferno: Green Edition.
May 1, 2007... Vestibule: The Indifferent The 50,456,062 Americans who voted to elect George W. Bush president in 2000. First Circle: Limbo The 62,039,073 Americans who voted to re-elect George W. Bush in 2004. Second Circle: The Lustful...

Quiet Thunder; Who in his right mind would finance an auto company start-up.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Shnayerson "These are Elise seats," the young engineer from Tesla Motors says apologetically from behind the wheel as our doors click shut. We're snugged into what looks a lot like a Lotus Elise, the slinky, lightweight,...

Electric Avenue; For too long, driving a green car has been about as exciting as drinking a cup of lukewarm herbal tea.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Robert Levine 1. The Fetish, Venturi For the discerning venture capitalist afraid of running into another Tesla Roadster on the 101 near San Jose, the aptly named Venturi Fetish offers another level of bragging rights. The...

The Gasping Forest; Crucible of Earth's ecological future, the Amazon generates 20 percent of the planet's oxygen, contains 15 to 20 percent of its life-forms, and covers 2,722,000 square miles in nine countries.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Alex Shoumatoff Epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who have not visited the intertropical regions, the sensation of delight which the mind experiences The land is one great, wild, untidy luxuriant hothouse,...

OSCAR'S STARRY NIGHT; Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker; Daniel Craig; and Helen Mirren at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.(Photograph)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Krista Smith What Vanity Fair's 14th annual Oscar party at Mortons restaurant in West Hollywood. When February 25, 2007. At five p.m. on the dot, Mortons restaurant was transformed into a room lush with glamour...

Penny Marshall; The same New York chutzpah that made Laverne a household name has certified Penny Marshall as an enduring presence in Hollywood.
May 1, 2007... What is your idea of perfect happiness? Multiple orgasms and the veal at Ago. What is your greatest fear? Clowns, the Rally Monkey at Anaheim, and boredom. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Aleksandr...

On Borrowed Land.(Editorial)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Graydon Carter It is an ongoing mystery to me why Republican administrations are such wretched protectors of our land, inasmuch as Republicans own so much of it. At present, the current administration may be the greatest impediment...

An Agent of War.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2007... Stealing from Iraqis, using their stricken land as your personal playground while encouraging men barely out of their teens to get smashed and kill people, does not a "warrior" make ["Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood," by Evan Wright, March]. My...

The Cultural Divide May.
May 1, 2007... 01 New York's inaugural TeatroStageFest is an audacious amalgam of theater, dance, and music from all over the Spanish-speaking world (including the U.S.). Productions include an avant-garde dance-drama from Barcelona, a dysfunctional family...

Hot Type.(List)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Elissa Schappell On a mission to end the ever worsening genocide in Darfur, Don Cheadle and John Prendergast's Not on Our Watch (Hyperion) argues for stronger U.S. government action while also outlining ways ordinary citizens can...

GIVING MEN LILLYS.(Lilly Pulitzer)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Byline: A. M. Homes Lilly Pulitzer is an American icon, a lifestyle doyenne. Her hot pinks and greens vibrate at their own frequency-call it preppy psychedelia. Lilly's 1950s inspirations quickly became must-haves, uniforms for the wealthy...

Chick Humor.(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Punch Hutton If best-selling author Sloane Tanen's books Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same and Going for the Bronze-both of which are illustrated with chickens-left you chuckling and buying copies for friends, just wait until you flip...

Down and Dirty Double Feature.(Grindhouse)(Movie review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Krista Smith Directors Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) and Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City), with their inspired yet twisted mix of gritty glamour complete with guns, gore, and plenty of sex, have collaborated on...

HOT FUZZ'S ARRESTING HUMOR.(Movie review)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Bruce Handy Shaun of the Dead was not just a very funny zombie spoof, it was a very funny British zombie spoof. There was gore, yes, but it was temperate gore and, in a charming way, not state-of-the-art, more Monty Python than...

The Taste-Maker.
May 1, 2007... Byline: Matt Tyrnauer Did you hear about the chicken?" asks a frustrated Murray Moss, standing in the middle of his large shop, Moss, the industrial-design mecca located on Greene Street, in the SoHo district of Manhattan. In a matter of...

In Full Bloom.(La Vie en Rose)(Movie review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Graham Fuller Marion Cotillard's portrayal of revered French chanteuse Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, out next month from Picturehouse, gathers up the shards of the singer's fractured life and turns them into an emotional prism. The...

GREEN TREASURE.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Thea Grant's one-of-a-kind pieces hang from antique chains or bands. The wearable objets d'art are created from found or recycled materials culled from markets around the country (theagrant.com). Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons's Green Bracelet...

Boyhood Basics.(The Dangerous Book for Boys)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Frank Digiacomo Before Conn Iggulden and his younger brother, Hal, dropped a literary cherry bomb called The Dangerous Book for Boys on Britain's parenting class last June, Conn was known mainly as the acclaimed, best-selling...

ACTUAL REALITY.(The Actual music group)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Byline: Lisa Robinson The Actual, an intelligent, no-frills pop-punk band, is the creation of Max Bernstein, whose background includes sneaking into CBGBs as an under-age teen, hidden in a bass-drum case, so he could watch hard-core shows....