Playboy’s Green Gala

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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This September, the Playboy Mansion will host a bash to benefit the environment—making it the latest unlikely bedfellow of the green movement.

The swanky cocktail gala, co-hosted by the Entrepreneurs Organization, promises celebrity sightings (it’s sponsors include Billy Zane and Matthew Modine), casino games and, of course, scantily clad bunnies. At $600 a head, proceeds will benefit the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization, a UN-backed IGO dedicated to developing green technology.

But is this a shining example of eco do-goodery, or yet another case of Tinseltown greenwashing? As Dave Gilson wrote in Mother Jones last year, “(Hollywood is) turning the traditional messages of the environmental movement on their heads, replacing existential anxiety with a relentlessly feel-good, prime-time-ready version of saving the planet.” 

Notes the event’s invitation: “We we will open our doors to celebrities and others that share our desire to celebrate life and promote a better world.”

If only it were that easy.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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