We wanted to wish you a very merry holiday season.  Things have been quite busy over here on our end and we plan to come back in 2010 & rock!  Thanks for following The Changing Buzz!

Movember 2009 has finally come to an end and now it’s time to show off all of your hard work & creepiness!  ”Mo Bros dressed to suit their Mo will be judged by an expert panel for their chance to take the title as the coveted Man of Movember or Best Mo in Class. Mo Sistas come dressed to suit their Mo Bro or in costume, with the best dressed being crowned Miss Movember 2009.”   The Mo galas are all going off this weekend around the world, so just visit MOVEMBER.com to see where the nearest party location is. Tonight in San Diego, Bondi (located downtown), is hosting a huge Mo Party.  You can get your tickets for $10 at the door or if you raised more than $100 for men’s prostate health and awareness, your ticket is free!  PARTY TILL YOUR MO FALLS OFF!

I was at work a while back when a cute little sparrow fell out of its nest and hit the floor next to me.  Being the animal lover that I am, I went into a panic and immediately wanted to help the lil’ tweetie bird. It looked to have a broken beak & leg and I honestly thought it would die a slow, painful death, but then a co-worker told me about a facility that actually rehabilitates wildlife.  They will rescue birds of all sizes, skunks, possums, ducks, reptiles, deer, (or any variation) and then release them back into the wild, usually within a three mile radius of where they were found.  So I jumped in my car with the bird in a little box and drove to a small building next to the San Diego Humane Society.  It is a place called Project Wildlife.

I went up to the window and a young, super friendly volunteer greeted me and took the bird back to a cage.  She seemed very confident that they could repair the beak and actually fix the little sparrow.  I didn’t have any money with me at the time to donate, but the volunteer gave me a prepaid envelope and said, “It only cost about $15 for three months of care and all donations are tax deductible.  If you want to donate that would be cool, but if not, no worries.”  So, it doesn’t cost a penny to bring an injured animal into Project Wildlife, but it is important to note that they do survive on donations and volunteer help, so every dollar is desperately needed.

I am writing about Project Wildlife because I had no idea that there was such a place that treated and cared for all of the animals that normal veterinary clinic would reject.  You can visit their website here and while Project Wildlife is only located in the San Diego area, there are a number of other emergency wildlife rehab clinics located throughout the US.  You can visit Wildlife International site to locate a facility closest to you.  Tweet on little birdies :>

Cameron Diaz definitely has something to smile about.  The actress has been on almost every most beautiful list, and this time around we are are putting her on our most eco-friendly celeb list.  To start off, after making over $20-million a movie, Cameron can afford to drive any car on the lot, but she chooses to drive a Prius.  She was an early adopter of hybrid vehicles and has been driving one ever since they hit the market.

When Cameron is hit up by gossip and glamour mags, she usually ends up talking about how to live a greener life.  For example, she recycles and tries to offset her carbon footprint by taking advantage of carbon neutral travel.  Also, once Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” came out, she was one of the slide show presenters and actively participated in the presentations.  In 2005, Cameron hosted the MTV show, eco-trippin’, where she traveled across the world giving tips on how to be an eco-friendly traveler.

After reading Ms. Diaz’s green biography, I have also learned that as a member of the Environmental Media Association, she has filmed public service announcements about the importance of conserving energy. The group’s Gen E (Generation Environment) program brings Hollywood and environmental concerns together, just like Diaz has in her own life.   4Real Foundation, Act Green, One Campaign, Pangea Day and the Lunchbox Fund are just a few of the other charities and foundations Cameron supports.  There’s something about Cameron that we love!

Normally, I am not a fan of the good ‘ol ’stash but during the month of Movember (formally known as November), the Movember Foundation wants men to sport their best handlebar, creeper scruff or soul patch to “change the face of men’s health” by raising money and awareness for prostate and testicular cancer.  A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 8 minutes and a man dies from prostate cancer every 18 minutes, around the clock 365 days a year.  Those are alarming stats and a good reason to join in on this movement.

It’s pretty simple, go to: www.movember.com and register yourself or a team.  You will then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom your mustache while raising as much money and awareness about men’s health as possible.   All you MO sisters out there can also support the men in your life by registering as part of a team and work to collect donations for the cause.

Check out the Movember site to learn more about getting involved in the month-long movement and to find an end-of-month gala to flaunt your new facial hair and possibly be crowned Mr. Movember 2009.  Make this Movember the mustache ride of your life!!!

So, I have been slightly obsessed with tote bags lately and they seem to be everywhere now that we are finally realizing how horrible plastic bags are to wildlife and the environment but, I will admit that I am a design snob and it is rare when I find one that I actually LOVE.  I stumbled across a really cool site called, Green Eyed Monster, where they hold eco-friendly design competitions for tote bags.  Designers can submit ideas and then if they win, their artwork will be featured on one of their limited edition tote bags.  They don’t have A TON of designs, yet… but their Ponder Monster bag is super cute! All of their bags are only $20 and a portion of sales are donated to different environmental groups.  It got me thinking… how cute would a THE CHANGING BUZZ tote be?  So we created one :) maybe a design for Green Eyed Monster will be next…

Brad Pitt is one celeb that we don’t mind seeing more of and the more we see him, the more publicly active he’s becoming to support a variety of different causes.  In the last couple of years Brad has paired up with Global Green USA for a project to develop homes with green technology in the 9th Ward of New Orleans.  So far, this effort has lead to the development of over 150 green homes.  According to Brad’s Make It Right foundation’s website, the primary efforts are to help residents of New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward rebuild their lives and community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  “Our initial goal is to bring at least 150 families home to affordable, green storm resistant houses.”

When he is not helping rebuild a city, he is actively taking part in environmental issues by advocating energy efficient cars and alternative fuel methods. He is also a big supporter for human rights from poverty and adoption to gay rights and AIDS. In 2004, he paired up with Bono as a spokesman for the ONE campaign, which is committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

Tomorrow, Saturday October 24th is the International Day of Climate Action.  We stumbled upon a really cool website, 350.org and it combines everything you need to know to participate in this rally going on around the world.  350 “is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis–the solutions that science and justice demand.”  Their mission, as posted on their website simply puts, “is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.

Under the ‘DAY OF ACTION’ tab you can create a new event & invite friends to join, or you can click the interactive map to see which events will be taking place around your neighborhood and city tomorrow.  Also, if you live around Los Angeles,  green LA girl is helping put on the BLOGGER BEACH CLEANUP- visit her site here!

We can’t explain the problem or tell you the facts better than they can so just check out their website!!!  www.350.org

Don’t let this blond bombshell fool you, she has a lot more to offer than just a pretty face.  These days she has been on a mission in a fight against autism.  Jenny is an outspoken advocate for creating greener vaccines, writing books and founding a site called, Generation Rescue (www.generation rescue.com), which challenges the media’s conventional message about autism.

Jenny’s boyfriend of more than three years, Jim Carrey, has also lent his name and support to her noble cause. Together they believe that certain vaccines are causing injury to children, which raises some pretty interesting issues. For example, 1 in 91 children (formally 1 in 150 up until 2009 and 1 in 10,000 in the early 1990s) is diagnosed with autism every year, which is the fastest growing developmental disability in the U.S.

According to the site, “Generation Rescue is an international movement of scientists and physicians researching the causes and treatments for autism, ADHD, neurological disorders and chronic illness, while parent-volunteers mentor thousands of families in recovering their children. These conditions are treatable and often reversible.”

Jenny has also teamed up with Oprah in educating the public about the possible causes of autism and the idea of green vaccines. The first collaboration under the pact is a blog by McCarthy on Oprah.com. Both sites offer some great info & are definitely worth checking out. These are just a couple reasons why TCB ♥’s Jenny McCarthy.

Hey everyone, welcome back to TCB…

We are going to be doing a really exciting weekly series on the top 10 celebrity activists that are putting their star power to good use.  Every week we will introduce a new celeb, create an original illustration on them, and give you the causes that they are fighting for.

We love our celeb gossip just about as much as anyone else and that is why we are putting the spotlight on these A-listers that are creating a buzz for all of the right reasons.  Let us know what you think about our celeb picks, join in on the discussion, and check back soon, so you don’t miss the next buzz worthy celebrity!!!

love & happiness,

tcb

I have always had a desire to work for a non-profit in their creative department, and I have found that it is very rare for the majority of non-profits to be as creative, clear and as on point as this bottled water company based in the best city in the US: San Diego.  Okay, so maybe I am a little biased but none the less, Nika Water Company is working overtime in reducing their carbon footprint and making the world a better place, one tasty drop at a time.

Initially, what caught my attention about Nika Water Company is that they donate 100% of their profits to support clean water projects in impoverished countries.  So you mean to tell me that the founders of this company are not raking in the dollars produced by Nika?  NO!  They actually do not receive ANY compensation or economic benefit from Nika at all.  Instead, they share the same beliefs and passion of having created an environmentally responsible business that will be used to help solve global issues. Seriously awesome!

The Nika water bottle definitely stands out from the rest of bla bla competitors.  It has an amazing, colorful picture that looks hand-painted on the front and it sparks your curiosity from the first glance. Not only is the bottle pretty to look at on the outside but it tastes pure and crisp (and I would consider myself a pretty big water snob). It is also the only carbon neutral certified water bottle that exists today.  Think of it this way, imagine how much carbon dioxide is produced by getting that fancy schmancy, untouched by man, filtered through the exotic rainbow on the remote islands of wherever, water bottle to the US so that you can actually purchase and drink it… A TON!  So that “pure” water that you are drinking isn’t so pure after all. Why purchase the trendy bottle of water when you could be actually supporting an environmentally responsible company like Nika?

On top of all of this, Nika has also set up a couple of different programs that make it super easy for all of us to get involved.  Nika has pledged that for every Nika water bottle sold, they will ensure that a corresponding plastic bottle is taken out of the environment and recycled. To do this, NIKA has set up unique recycling programs with different schools and universities to create plastic bottle buy‐back programs.  This is great considering the huge problem the world faces with the growing amount of plastic that is invading our oceans and landfills.  Perhaps you have heard of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?  I will admit that I had not known or heard much about this ‘plastic ocean’ until looking into it after reading about it on the Nika site.  This floating continent is twice the size of Texas and in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  It comes from all over the Pacific Rim and swirls into a vortex that eventually creates huge sand dunes made of plastic.  Pretty gross, but luckily with Nika’s One-for-One Program that they have set into place, they are helping to prevent this plastic land from getting any bigger.

The only actual complaint that I have about Nika water is that I wish this water bottle was easier to find.  Right now it is located at different cafes, bakeries, bars and restaurants only in California. Hopefully, soon it will be at all of the everyday stops too but, until then lets all help support this company in growing one bottle at a time. Check it out for yourself at: https://www.nikawater.org

P.S. Don’t you think this illustration we did would make an awesome Nika t-shirt for their site? We do!!!

We are still in the progress of getting everything finalized and set up. So, in the mean time we created the changing buzz twitter account where you will now be able to see all of our tweets coming out of the little blue birds mouth (up top) directly on the changing buzz home page.  Also, if you like what we’re sayin’, it is super easy to re-tweet the goods.  So what are you waiting for? Follow us! tweet! http://twitter.com/thechangingbuzz

the changing buzz will be up and running soon…very soon!