Hollywood goes green: Entertainment meets environment

Signs that the enviro-movement's gotten huge in L.A.: 2 big green conferences overlap, but each manages to attract lots of big-name speakers and panelists. The 2-day conference Hollywood Goes Green starts on the second day of the GreenXchange event -- but both events have put together impressive programs.

Hollywood Goes Green -- being an entertainment biz event -- sounds a little glitzier and a bit less wonky. Put together by iHollywood Forum, Hollywood Goes Green's the first conference that brings together the entertainment biz with environmental issues, to "offer industry insiders a forum to collaborate and develop partnerships for a sustainable future."

When: Tues and Wed., 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. both days
Where: Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
Cost: $695 for 1 day; $895 for both days

Ed Begley Jr. of Living With Ed, will help kick off the event with his keynote speech. And while some of the panels --  i.e. "Going Green is the New Black" and "I Love Green" -- already sound tired and worn out, others, ranging from pitching green-themed shows to throwing an eco-friendly premiere, seem very specific and intriguing.

In fact, the conference sounds like it'll bring a wide range of ideas and personalities together. There'll be bottom-line focused people -- The tagline for the conference is "Going Green is good for Hollywood’s bottom line," after all. There'll likely be green washers; one of the major sponsors is GM, which will offer test drives of its "greener" vehicles (you can read how I feel about those here).

But Begley will be there, as will Allen Hershkowitz of Natural Resources Defense Council. I just wish their talks weren't happening so early in the day. Allen's talk, in fact, directly conflicts with the press conference that morning, which is supposed to include big announcements from big corporations like IBM. Coincidence? Hopefully.