The last two decades have been littered with doomsday criers foretelling the imminent repercussions of our insatiable urge for carbon based fuel, our destruction of oxygen producing forests and our indiscriminate dumping of industrial waste into the ocean. The 90's were awash with horror stories of holes in the ozone layer, acid rain, melting icecaps and the greenhouse effect. There was even a popular animated cartoon 'Captain Planet' where the villains were big bad polluters. While the Democrats paid lip service to environmental issues, the Republicans dismissed them and although it was bandied between them, it paled next to more immediate concerns like war, social security and the national debt. But as evidenced by the recent craziness over the sold out ' I am not a plastic bag' canvas tote designed for Whole Foods, the growing popularity of hybrid vehicles and concerns about reducing our carbon footprint (total amount of CO2 produced by an object or service) suddenly environmentalism is sexy, hip and center stage. And the image makers in Hollywood have stood up and taken notice.

There was a time when 'green screen' in studio speak meant the compositing process where live action was shot in front of a matte background usually green or blue as these were furthest away from natural skin tone. Later the green background was removed using a 'keying out' process and the actors could be placed in any environment the director chose, be it a prehistoric jungle or a futuristic metropolis. It is the same technique that is employed in TV weather forecasts to project satellite images behind the meteorologist. But now the term has very different connotations in tinsel town. The eco-conscious movement has come to Hollywood in a big way and everyone from movie stars to power brokers is falling over themselves to get on the bandwagon. Why the conversion? Forgive my cynicism but this interest in the earth doesn't stem from some producer or movie star in his Maserati being suddenly struck by a vision of Gaia, just like Saul was blinded in desert. No this epiphany has more pragmatic roots and speaks a language in which movie moguls are fluent. Green also means money and selling environmentalism can be very lucrative. Case in point, the late Anita Roddick founder of UK based brand The Body Shop managed to turn a meager loan and her passion for rain forest relief and sustainable farming into an international eco-friendly cosmetics empire of 2000 stores in 50 countries all the space of 15 years. The Body Shop was recently acquired by French conglomerate L'Oreal for the tidy sum of $1.14 billion, of which Roddick personally pocketed $237 million. Not a bad business deal for a tree hugger.

In LA the business is moving pictures and Hollywood has dipped it's toe into the eco-pool in the past. Take the 2004 Roland Emmerich blockbuster 'The Day After Tomorrow' for example. It's a fast forward catastrophic account of the worst that could happen. Helicopters fall from the sky as their fuel freezes; New York is besieged first by a tsunami then by an Arctic super storm. What is it about Manhattan that makes screenwriters just relish destroying it? Finally in an ironic twist Americans cross illegally into Mexico seeking succor from Mother Nature's wrath. The film for all its exaggerations and pseudo science had tongues wagging although the filmmakers were careful to present it as pure entertainment and not try and turn it into a political statement. Then followed 'The Core' in which man's meddling with terra firma caused the earths spinning core to stall and only intervention by an intrepid team in a high tech subterranean drilling machine carrying a war's worth of nukes could jump start it and avert disaster. But a much earlier effort the Kevin Costner bomb 'Water World' is remembered more for its budget overruns than its setting in a submerged world following the melting of the polar icecaps. Then there are the films that feature aliens invading our little blue planet because they have sucked theirs dry. Invariably this prompts Will Smith or Tom Cruise (' Independence Day' and 'War of the Worlds' respectively) to flex their muscles, defeat the invaders and ensure that no one destroys our planet but ourselves. Last years brooding 'Children of Men' directed by Alphonso Cuaron dealt with infertility as a side effect of our global mismanagement and the British indie hit '28 Days Later' rode the themes of genetic engineering and a resulting global zombie epidemic all the way to the bank. Sometimes the formula doesn't work as well, a prime example being the 1998 'Godzilla' remake also by directed by Emmerich. It was a messy, loud monster-pardon the pun- of a movie whose heavy handed special effects eclipsed the underlying anti-nuclear message that was the idea behind of the original Japanese films on which it was based. But the few duds have not stopped Hollywood from throwing its hat into the eco-ring.

M. Night Shyamalan a director who's synonymous with taut, twisted 'oh my god how could I not have seen that coming' thrillers, a virtual genre onto himself plans to release his own take on the topic next year. Fox has green lit his latest project 'The Happening' in which Mother Nature has had enough and isn't going to take it anymore. Mark Wahlberg and John Leguizamo have already hopped on board but the script was shopped around before finally finding a home at Fox. Blame 'Lady in the Water'. India's UTV will commit 50% of the $57 million budget and retain distribution rights for the subcontinent with Fox getting the rest. And coming close behind is James Cameron's first studio feature since Titanic which poses humans as the invaders, attacking fertile planets in search of resources. On the small screen MTV has announced that the 20 th installment of that mother of all reality shows 'The Real World' will go green too. In its return to Hollywood early 2008 (it was last shot here 14 years ago) the show's usually swank digs will be replaced by an energy efficient home. While not quite the Chateau Marmont, the house will feature a solar heated pool, recycled glass counters, bamboo flooring, sustainable furniture and energy-efficient lighting. Producers are hoping to introduce viewers to ways in which they can make eco-friendly lifestyle choices. And they are not alone, Discovery is launching 'Planet Green' and the Sundance Channel has an entire block of programming devoted just to the environment called what else…'The Green'. Advertisers such as General Electric and Proctor & Gamble flock to these programs because the association helps boost their good corporate image.

Who's to blame for this sudden glut in environmentally themed entertainment? The Enron debacle? The Iraq war? Or Al Gore and the penguins? Gore, the former political pariah reinvented himself as the prophet of the planet, and in the process garnered an Oscar and more public respect than he ever had while in office. His film on global warming, 'An Inconvenient Truth' won two Academy Awards in 2006 including one for best documentary, earned $49 million worldwide and it's companion book penned by the ex vice president has been on the New York Times best seller list since June 2006. The film was well received by critics, politicians and scientists, (no small feat, considering they usually disagree on everything) and has been incorporated into school science curriculums internationally. Now instead of being known as the man who was almost president he will be remembered as one made environmentalism cool. And then there are those penguins from ' La Marche de l'empereur' aka 'March of the Penguins' but you get the idea. Basically suits in studios from Burbank to Culver City have realized that there are real dollars to be made in being green. But so have the more visible faces of the industry the movie stars themselves.

Being a celebrity is all about ones image and the effective management of said image is an investment in career longevity that keeps scripts landing on your doorstep and your face on the cover of good magazines. A good public image is what separates Scarlett Johansson from Tara Reid and George Clooney from Val Kilmer. Short of adopting a Malawian orphan or donating half your check to charity a less difficult way to bump up your Q rating (marketing jargon for how well known or liked a person or product is) is to hop on the green gravy train. And most stars begin by trading in their gas guzzling but head turning Lamborghini for a less petrol hungry model. In fact eco-friendly hybrid cars have become so popular with the glamorous set that now the Toyota Prius or Lexus RX 400h SUV have supplanted the traditional stretch limo as the chariot of choice when arriving at an awards show. Among the proud owners of an earth loving auto are Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Ashton Kutcher, Johnny Depp, Sting and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Once the ride has been taken care of, one can then sign on as celebrity endorser of an eco-cause tying their bankable face to an important issue and getting an image boost at the same time. Pamela Anderson is not only known for her gravity defying assets and iconic red bathing suit but also as a staunch supporter of PETA and a recipient of numerous awards for her efforts. Edward Norton has used his appeal to help jumpstart British Pertoleum's (BP) Solar Neighbors Program an initiative that aims to put solar panels onto low income homes in LA and he hosted an award winning, National Geographic special about the global problems. In this he has the support of fellow thespian Brad Pitt who on his days off from being one half of Brangelina finds the time to promote Solar Neigbors, work on rebuilding New Orleans in an eco-friendly image and donate his voice talents to a television series on sustainable design. But the real heavy hitter is former teen hearthrob turned serious actor and earth crusader Leonardo DiCaprio. He did not merely join a cause but rather started his own foundation to promote global awarness and graced the cover of this years' Vanity Fair Green issue. The long time activist took a cue from his buddy Al Gore and produced a documentary 'The 11th Hour' which features interviews from noted enviromental movement leaders and both informs and warns of eminent climatic changes urging us to take action. But if you are famous, want to be eco-correct while still enjoy the finer things, fear not because apparently being environmentally sensitive does not require one to take a vow of poverty. You can be green and rolling in the green as well. Julia Roberts a long time champion of the environment has just completed a $20 million 'green home'.

Even attending exclusive Hollywood bacchanals can be a way to make an elegant eco-statement with party planners vying to out do each other in the most environmentally ethical bash department. Earlier this year Hollywood environmentalists threw the first green Golden Globes soiree for celebrities, boasting organic catering, recycled paper decor and tables constructed from reclaimed wood. And at a Fox Television event last week the party favors given to guests included a tree, courtesy of Million Trees LA, complete with planting instructions. Producers of this year's Oscar awards ceremony eschewed the famous luxury gift bags that they traditionally hand out to presenters in favor of a more earth conscious alternative. Each participant was instead given a glass sculpture and 100,000lbs of carbon offsets essentially rendering the celebrity carbon-neutral for one year. I imagine that despite their professed public support of the measure at least a few of those presenters would have preferred to get the usual free jar of Crème de la Mer, Bose headphones, spa vouchers and Cartier Roadsters. Oh the sacrifices one makes for one's art.

For the studios however turning the production process itself green is not as simple as just saying yes to eco-positive films. We tend to forget that for all its glitz, glamour and creativity Hollywood is after all an industry manufacturing and selling a product while producing waste material just like a shoe factory. The entertainment industry is the second largest source of air pollution in the Los Angeles metropolitan area surpassed only by oil refineries. It emits more waste than aerospace manufacturers, hotels and the garment industry. If you take into account all the generators that produce the vast amounts of wattage necessary to light and regulate the massive sound stages, the first class flights and commutes from suites at the Four Seasons to the set that occur during just one production it is easy to see why. Some studios projects like the afore mentioned 'The Day After Tomorrow' have tried to set an example, the production company shelled out $200,000 to offset the carbon dioxide emissions caused by vehicles and generators used during filming. Two of the Matrix movies used set materials that consisted of more than 97% recycled material. Another trend is the use of biodegradable snow on winter film sets. The 'snow', a combination of potato and corn starch flakes can dissolve in heavy rain, allowing it to literally melt unlike the usual fake snow made from white polyethylene chips. In addition to reducing plastic pollution the snowflakes are non-flammable and more realistic in texture and behavior than their predecessors and recently five tons of it, had a starring role in the movie 'Ice Planet'.

So should we be a little skeptical when a celebrity hosts a concert to raise awareness for global warming then right after hops on a private jet to their 60'000 square foot mansion in St Tropez? Or if a studio releases a well intended documentary espousing the importance of protecting our fragile ecosystem and then uses up a forest worth of paper in print ads and one sheet posters promoting the film. Catching eco-cheaters has become something of a spectator sport with sites like ecorazzi.com tracking the green habits of celebs who claim to be converts to the cause. It may just be a passing fad or a genuine change of heart on their part but the most realistic explanation for the greening of the entertainment industry is that it is a smart business move, benefiting both their bottom line and their image. 'Greed is good' was the phrase immortalized by Michael Douglas' in his Oscar winning turn as the unscrupulous corporate raider Gordon Gekko in 'Wall Street', the 1987 film that defined that era's 'more is more' culture of excess. But today at least as far as Hollywood is concerned 'Green is good.'