Leo behind "green" reality show

Discovery Communications has partnered up with Leonardo Dicaprio to help them launch their Planet Green channel. Dicaprio will executive produce a 13-part series called Eco-Town, which will chronicle the "green" rebuilding of a small town in Greensburg, Kansas that was devastated by a tornado in May. Greensburg will be rebuilt as a "sustainable model of eco-living and one that will save it from future environmental catastrophe." Dicaprio will also serve on the board of advisers for Planet Green, which is set to launch in 2008.

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Hilary helps kickoff clean water fundraiser

Hilary Swank lent her support to a good cause yesterday by helping launch an around-the-world relay to raise money and awareness for the issue of providing safe drinking water for the 1.1 billion people who lack it. About 20 runners will run a whopping 15,000 miles through 16 countries over the next 95 days in the event, organized by the Blue Planet Run Foundation. "What if it were your job to carry in a rusty metal pail all the water you and your family would use for the day?" Swank the crowd at the race kickoff on the lawn of the U.N. "What if the water made you sick? What if you had no choice? I know I will never take a glass of water for granted again." The goal of Blue Planet, together with the U.N. and partly funded by Dow Chemical Co., is to bring safe drinking water to 20 billion people by 2020.

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Angelina issues plea

In an article for the Washington Post, Angelina Jolie has issued an urgent call for relief funds on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. After a tour of refugee camps close to the Sudanese border, Jolie warned that the UNHCR and NGO aid agencies are in "a race against time before the rainy season comes" later this month. "There has been a groundswell of public support for action," the actress writes. "People may disagree on how to intervene - airstrikes, sending troops, sanctions, divestment - but we all should agree that the slaughter must be stopped and the perpetrators brought to justice... It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring peace without justice. History shows that there will be another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally exists. It will be as strong as the support we give it. This might be the moment we stop the cycle of violence and end our tolerance for crimes against humanity... What the worst people in the world fear is justice. That's what we should deliver." Read the full article here.

Angelina back in Africa

Angelina Jolie won't be on the red carpet tonight at the Academy Awards - the humanitarian is back in Africa on a United Nations mission. Jolie arrived in Chad today and is scheduled to visit refugee camps near the Sudanese border. The goal of her trip is to continue to raise awareness about the continuing crisis on Darfur.

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Jessica turns swag into sweet charity

Jessica Simpson proved her heart is good recently by turning a car she won during last year's MTV Video Music Awards festivities into a seven-passenger van for an orphanage she sponsors in Mexico. "Last week, someone asked Mama Lupito [who runs the orphanage] if she could use a van..." a source close to Simpson says. "Mama Lupita said, 'Of course we could use it.' So then she was told she was getting a brand-new seven-passenger van from Jessica Simpson for the orphanage." The Public Affair singer won a Chrysler Crossfire at a swag suite last fall. "Instead of the Chrysler Crossfire, she decided to get a minivan for the orphanage instead," confirmed a rep for Chrysler. Simpson has more plans to help out - she is auctioning off the red dress she wears in her new Pizza Hut commercial on eBay, and will donate the proceeds to the orphanage.

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Gwyneth ready to get back to work

Gwyneth Paltrow showed her support for people battling cancer by hosting a diamond jewelry auction in NYC last night to raise money for Hope Lodge, which provides free housing for adult cancer patients undergoing treatment. "My life has been affected by cancer in so many different ways," said the actress, who lost her father to the disease in 2002. "When my father had cancer, he found it so isolating. It's very difficult to empathize with if you haven't gone through it." The mom of two children, Apple and Moses, with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, says she's ready to step back into the acting world. "I haven't done a real part in a long time," she said. "I'm going back to work now... When I had kids, I just wanted to be with them."

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Gore announces Live Earth concert event

Al Gore announced a massive series of concerts to draw attention to the threat of climate change. The 24-hour worldwide Live Earth event will take place on July 7, and is part of the Save Our Selves campaign. Gore drew on star power to help make the announcement, with Cameron Diaz and producer Pharrell Williams on hand at the press conference. "I've been driving a Prius since they came out," Diaz said. "I carbon neutralize when I travel... I recycle. If we can get people to change one aspect of their lives, even do one thing, that's a step closer." Performers expected to take part include Lenny Kravitz, the Foo Fighters, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Duran Duran, the Black Eyed Peas, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Concerts will take place in Shanghai, Johannesburg, Sydney, London, and cities yet to be announced in Japan, Brazil and the U.S. Proceeds from the event will go to the creation of a foundation to fight against climate change led by The Alliance for Climate Protection, which is chaired by former vice president Gore. "In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," Gore said in a statement about the event. "The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement."

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