Celebrity Speaking: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Summer Rayne Oakes, Lorraine Bracco on the Green and Clean
Not too long ago, I started to take an interest in the intercontinental shipping industry and its negative impacts on the environment.
All of the sudden, I was given an opportunity to interview Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Riverkeeper, an independent, member-supported environmental organization that has investigated and brought to justice more than 300 environmental lawbreakers since 1983.
What seemed at first to be auspicious serendipity, quickly became an exercise in “greening up” my red carpet interviews. I thought it would be fun to let some environmental luminaries flex their cred on camera.
After all, shouldn’t a model-activist (in the case of Summer Rayne Oakes) be given a chance to speak intelligently about ballast dumping and invasive species? Shouldn’t a chief prosecuting attorney be able to field questions about air and water pollution as it relates to idling ships and barges? Shouldn’t a famous actress like (Lorraine Bracco) be allowed to vent about her environmental pet peeves and express her love for friendly showers… on the red carpet?
It turns out, at least in this case, that the answer is “yes”.
What followed was one of the most enlightening events I’ve had the pleasure to cover — and not just because I managed to stand directly in front of the spotlight (whoops). Gaffs aside, I found Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s oral history of the RiverKeeper Organization thoroughly engrossing, if not underplayed. If you are looking to take on corporate polluters, spend some time rooting through the RiverKeeper website for inspiration and contacts.
On a personal note, I was absolutely floored when Summer Rayne Oakes mentioned mycoremediation within the context of our conversation. Did she know that mycoremediation has been on my mind ever since I saw Paul Stamets lecture on his experiments with Battelle and DARPA? Or is she simply in good company amongst her fellow myco-fiends?
At the end of the day, whether or not Summer can read the minds of men matters not. What matters is that we begin to ask serious questions of our celebrities and celebrate the ones who reflect our pursuits and passions.
Just be sure not to block their light ;^)
- Curtiss Martin
Curtiss P. Martin grew up in a geodesic dome on the side of a mountain in Southern Appalachia. Now he serves as ScribeMedia's clean technology editor in a tall building in downtown Manhattan.
Great interviews. I do want to make one slight clarification, though. The organization Bobby Kennedy was referring to with over 161 programs around the world is actually called Waterkeeper Alliance. It is made up of individual waterkeeping programs that cover rivers,lakes, bays,inlets, streams, harbors,coasts and other waterways around the world. These waterkeepers are extraordinary individuals who standup as a voice for their waterway.