Editor's note: This week's column was packed with good material, so we split it into parts. Don't miss the other half -- about American Idol, Sharon Osbourne and more.

 

Ecologically-concerned celebs walked the blue carpet at Heal the Bay’s 25th anniversary Bring Back the Beach gala in Santa Monica, celebrating the organization’s efforts to clean up and conserve the Southern California shoreline. “The work is never done, but it’s a lot cleaner than it was 25 years ago,” said actress Amy Smart, and fellow board member Julia Louis-Dreyfus concurred. “Environmental advocacy begins in your own backyard and Heal the Bay is a great representation of that in action. I believe it’s the most effective local, grassroots environmental organization here in Los Angeles,” declared the Old Christine star, whose sitcom was axed by CBS but may get a reprieve if ABC picks it up.

 

At home, “We do as much as we can,” noted Louis-Dreyfus, “from recycling to choosing compact fluorescent bulbs to trying not to use plastic bags to having solar panels on our roof to driving biodiesel or hybrid cars, we do a lot of different things. I wish we could do more than that. But even little choices have great effect.”

 

Comedian Hal Sparks (pictured right), whose Charmageddon stand-up special airs June 4 on Showtime, also noted the difference Heal the Bay has made. “You come to California for the beaches and the beauty, and you find out you can’t swim in the bay because it’s too toxic. Heal the Bay jumped on that and became the driving force behind cleaning it up, and now you can swim here,” he said, suggesting steps everyone can take. “Stop drinking bottled water. The amount of waste from plastic bottles that’s finding its way into the oceans is astronomical. Get a filtration system at home and a steel bottle -- it’s better for your health, too. Recycle and don’t litter. Get involved. Use what Heal the Bay has done to start your own organization. Eat more greens. Eating meat wastes a lot of resources,” reminded the pescatarian, who eats only wild caught fish. “You don’t trap an animal in a box and electrocute it and expect the meat to be healthy,” he said.

 

Carless since his Prius lease expired, Sparks has been renting vehicles and using public transportation when he’s traveling in cities like Chicago or New York. “I’m waiting for the [electric] Nissan Leaf to come out,” he explained, stressing the importance of moving toward hydrogen and battery-powered transportation. More than ever in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill, “Oil’s negative impact on the environment is too great,” he underlined.

 

As a surfer, Chad Lowe (pictured left) has seen the effects of pollution on the beach and ocean, and is incensed about the continuing spill. “We should be out in the streets, we should be that outraged. It’s a tragedy and it’s hard to even quantify the effect on the environment. It’s really tragic,” he lamented. Noting that garbage, pesticides and chemicals end up in the ground and then the ocean or other waterways, he emphasized the importance of cleaning up after your dog, clearing trash from gutters, not washing your car at home, and eliminating the use of pesticides on your lawn and garden. While he also recycles and brings his own bags to the grocery store, he thinks government and corporations need to do more, “because they’re the ones that are going to make the difference, to make real change.”

 

On June 8, Lowe returns to TV in the ABC Family drama Pretty Little Liars, playing a cheating husband. “I like that every character is dealing with conflict and there’s a certain moral ambiguity. It doesn’t wrap things up in a nice, white bow,” he said. “It’s messy, complicated, compelling, funny and touching. It has all the qualities that I look for in a show that I would want to watch.”

 

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Her gardening efforts have so far not produced the dramatic results she gets with her tough-love workout training on The Biggest Loser, but Jillian Michaels (pictured right) isn’t giving up. “I’ve managed to grow four potatoes and a green bean,” she sighs. “But I’m working on it because I appreciate that I have a responsibility and I’m doing my best. I compost. I turn the water off when I brush my teeth. I wash my clothes in cold and use all green products. I’ve got a water pitcher -- no plastic water bottles. I’m recycling. I have a hybrid and a flex fuel [car]. I had an expert come in and green my whole home,” says Michaels, who eats no beef or poultry and is “very adamant” about organic foods.

 

She’ll impart her diet and exercise regimens to overweight families when she moves in with them on the NBC summer series Losing it With Jillian, premiering June 1. While there are many ways to exercise, “There’s only one way to eat, and it’s real food in moderation,” Michaels declares. “You can give up all the fad diets now. Count your calories, eat less.” With Losing It, she hopes to motivate viewers and make a dent in the obesity epidemic. “It all starts with education. You have to give people the information and then you have to give them the tools to make it accessible.”

 

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When she’s not presiding over crazy stunts on Wipeout, Jill Wagner (pictured left) is busy greening her home. She’s been working with an interior designer friend who repainted her house with eco-friendly paint, brought in recycle bins, and wants to replace her existing floors with sustainable bamboo. “I may have to move out for a minute, but we want to do that. She’s teaching me and I’m all for it,” says Wagner, who drives a Mercury hybrid.

 

Wipeout returns to ABC this summer with a series of themed episodes, starting with a sneak preview on June 1 pairing single contestants on a “Wipeout Blind Date.” Future themes include Family Night and an all-women Ladies’ Night and new obstacles to go with them, none of which Wagner has tried. “I barely run two miles on the treadmill and I think I’m gonna die,” she confides, though admits to wanting to try the infamous Big Ball obstacle despite a fear of having her teeth knocked out.

 

If there were a celebrity Wipeout, Wagner would love to see Paris Hilton participate, “everyone from The Hills, and every cruel person I’ve ever met so I can laugh at them, and anyone that never hired me.” She thinks stunt people and military members would do well. “We actually have Marines test the obstacles,” she notes.

 

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Even if you don’t know Diane Warren’s name, you know her songs -- some of music’s biggest stars have won Grammys performing them. Starting June 1, PBS stations around the country will air Diane Warren: Love Songs, featuring performances by the likes of Gloria Estefan, LeAnn Rimes, Toni Braxton, and Fantasia plus the debut of Warren’s new project Due Voci -- vocal duo Kelly Levesque and Tyler Hamilton. Some of Warren’s favorites are included, among them “Because You Love Me,” Un-break My Heart,” and “Spanish Guitar.”

 

“I’m lucky to work with so many great people,” says Warren (pictured right), who recently wrote a new number for Cher. An animal lover, she’s been a vegetarian for 11 years. “There are so many great meat substitutes,” notes the songwriter, who eats Boca burgers and Quorn at home and favors Veggie Grill, the Japanese vegetarian restaurant Shojin, and Astro Burger’s “great veggie burger” when dining out in Los Angeles.