Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Discovery Planet Green, eco-fashion, eco-model, ecofashion, ecomodel, fashion model, green jobs, green-collar jobs, Planet Green, sustainable style

These are some pix provided by our friends over at Elephant Magazine.

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Boulder, Discovery Planet Green, Elephant, Elephant Magazine, environmental speech, Graham Hill, LOHAS

My local paper, The Times Tribune, gave me a sweet write-up. It was great to hear back from all my PA peeps and have yet to read and write back to everyone. This is just a holler out to everyone, "A big thank you," and can't wait to come back July and organize some great programs back home.

(image is from shooting the "G Word" on a farm that captures methane from cows to power 2,500 homes)

Here's the article below:

Former Montdale resident, model and activist becomes environmental reporter for new Discovery channel



BY JOSH MCAULIFFE
STAFF WRITER
06/22/2008

Summer Rayne Oakes’ criteria for being an environmentalist is pretty broad.

“If you drink the water and breath the air, you’re an environmentalist,” the former Montdale resident said.

“It’s those of us worried about putting food on their plates. It’s those of us worried about getting their kids to school and putting gas in their tanks.”

Ms. Oakes worries about all of those things, and then some. And she just got a bigger platform for airing her views.

A few weeks ago, the environmental activist and model devoted exclusively to sustainable, eco-friendly fashion, began her tenure as an on-air personality, or “resident expert,” on Discovery Planet Green, a new cable channel devoted completely to environmentally conscious programming.

Right now, Ms. Oakes, 24, can be found serving as a correspondent on “G Word,” a magazine show geared toward environmental trends. Early episodes will find her getting down and dirty on a methane recapture farm, climbing windmills and swimming in the Pacific Trash Vortex, a swirling cauldron of plastic and other debris that’s twice the size of Texas.

“I’m kind of like the Mike Rowe of Planet Green,” she said with a laugh, referring to the host of the popular Discovery Channel program, “Dirty Jobs.”

Then, in August, she’ll be featured on “Battleground Earth,” an irreverent reality show that will pit rocker Tommy Lee against rapper Ludacris in a competition to find out who’s the greenest.

“It’s just off-the-wall funny,” said Ms. Oakes, admitting she at first had some reservations about doing the show.

Other duties

It doesn’t end there. Her duties also require her to file eco-related reports on “Access Hollywood,” write on fashion and beauty tips on the channel’s Web site and maintain a blog on the political Web site Huffington Post, which will be similar to the one she does for the popular eco blog, Tree Hugger.

“I’m just having an awesome time,” Ms. Oakes said. “It’s great, because I’m just using my knowledge and my passion and my sense of humor.

“I think it’s really going to be a hit,” she said of the channel. “I think they’ve got some great talent and great people to build some buzz.”

On top of that, she believes her presence on the channel will go a long way toward “enabling and enhancing my platform.”

Ms. Oakes’ eco-conciousness first surfaced during her early years, trudging through the fields and forests of Scott Township. She was one of those kids whose idea of fun was lugging a gallon jug of caterpillars to school or growing mold in the refrigerator.

“I was probably always the most environmental kid in the bunch when it came to school,” she said. “It was always just a source of inspiration for me. I was always a curious kid. And I wanted to get into things.”

By her teenage years, she was actively involved in community environmental affairs. At Lakeland High School, she was a member of the school’s award-winning environmental club. She helped coordinate Scott Township’s recycling program and established a newsletter called Buzzworm. And she checked the water quality of area streams and worked on the Grassy Island Mine Reclamation project for the Lackawanna County Conservation District.

“Having a leadership position at a young age, for any kid, that’s a lot of positive reinforcement,” she said. “Kids want to be involved. They just need a little more direction.”

Studied bugs

It was at Cornell University, where she majored in natural resources and entomology (the study of bugs), that she first came upon the notion of using fashion and media to communicate her environmental passions.

By her second semester there, Ms. Oakes had already gotten published in a science journal. Still, she quickly came to the realization that “no one reads those things.” And she wasn’t getting through to her friends at all.

“They’d make fun of me. ‘You’re a park ranger,’ they’d say. They didn’t get the environment,” she said.

Frustrated, she started to think of other approaches, eventually landing upon the rather unconventional idea of using her All-American good looks for green purposes. She began taking trips into New York City, and in little time was landing jobs modeling eco-friendly clothing. What she came to realize was, though superficial in many ways, fashion “uses the media brilliantly.”

To this day, Ms. Oakes has been exclusively devoted to designers and companies that emphasize sustainable and organic fabrics and fair- trade agreements.

Her niche approach has resulted in a fair bit of press, including a two-page photo spread in Vanity Fair magazine last year. She’s come to be known as “the eco model,” a term she at first thought was somewhat “goofy” but has since come to embrace.

“There’s really no one else at this nexus,” said Ms. Oakes, whose everyday wardrobe tends toward organic-blend cotton shirts and vegan shoes.

The modeling has allowed Ms. Oakes to promote and write about the myriad environmental issues near and dear to her heart, including the concept of green jobs, a subject she wrote about in a recent op-ed column that ran in The Times-Tribune. In the piece, she discusses the impact “green-collar” jobs like installing solar panels, reclaiming mine sites and retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency can have on Northeastern Pennsylvania’s economy.

“I think there’s a real opportunity for Scranton and the other areas to be leaders,” she said. “I love the idea of green jobs ... green jobs reinvigorating people in other areas. We know this is a viable business.”

Speaking of NEPA, Ms. Oakes said she gets back to the area “a fair amount.” She plans to be home for a few days in July to visit her father, Robert, of Dunmore, and grandparents, Erwin “Smitty” and Lilian Schmitt, of Olyphant. Her mother, Diane Oakes, now lives outside Cleveland.

“Pennsylania’s such a beatiful state, and summer’s a good time to come back,” she said.

So what do her parents make of her career?

“I think they dig it. I don’t think they completely get what I do,” Ms. Oakes said with a laugh.

Which is fine. So long as she can keep promoting the gospel of green, she’ll be content.

“This is a real national movement that’s underway. It’s about connecting people and strengthening them,” Ms. Oakes said. “Once people start getting involved, you can’t stop. It enhances your life. It gives you a sense of purpose.”




Learn more about Summer Rayne Oakes

Age: 24

RESIDENCE: A former resident of the Montdale section of Scott Township, she now lives in New York City

FAMILY: She is the daughter of Diane Oakes, Lakewood, Ohio, and Robert Oakes, Dunmore. She has a brother, Travis, Philadelphia. She is the granddaughter of Erwin “Smitty” and Lilian Schmitt, Olyphant; and Walter Oakes, Florida; and the late Jessie Oakes.

EDUCATION: A Lakeland High School graduate, she has a bachelor’s degree in natural resources and entomology.

OCCUPATION: A model specializing in sustainable, eco-friendly fashion, she is an on-air personality and resident expert on the new cable channel, Discovery Planet Green, which is devoted entirely to environmentally conscious programming. She currently appears on the show “G Word,” and in August will be featured on the reality show, “Battleground Earth.” She also files eco-themed reports for “Access Hollywood” and writes blogs for the Web sites The Huffington Post and Tree Hugger.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit her Web site, www.summerrayne.net. For more on Planet Green, visit: http://planetgreen. discovery.com/

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Battleground Earth, Discovery Planet Green, G Word, Tommy Lee vs. Ludacris

Damn Earth First. Thanks for the #1 Position . I love my bugs. See who the rest of the 25 gals are: (#1-5); (#6-10); (#11-15); (#16-20); (#21-25). And thanks for thinking my work is the hottest part. And it's WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY TODAY so let's celebrate.

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Earth First, Earth First List, ecomodel, green girls, hottest environmentalists, Hottest girls in green, Summer Rayne

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, dung paper, Elephant art, Elephant art conservation, elephant paint, elephants painting, Planet Green, planetgreen, treehugger.com

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Discovery, Discovery Planet Green, Father's Day, father's day gifts, green gifts, planetgreen, treehugger.com

N*Style Portugal did a lovely interview. Thank you Milkman for introducing us. Click to enlarge and read if you understand Portuguese. We'll have the translation soon. They did use some of the images without formal permission...must have gotten lost in translation!

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, eco-style, N*Style, Portugal, sustainable style

Click if you want to enlarge and can read Spanish. Revista Green Pages, Dominican Republic

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, ecofashion, Green Pages, Nike, Revista, sustainable style

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, summer rayne oakes photos

Yes, I wear and use all of these things! Hot, hot, hot.

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Allure, Aveda, bamboo fashion, eco-fashion, ecofashion, Ecofashion sustainable style, Green, loomstate, panda snack, pangea organics, WEN

Can you hear me now?
Of course if you ask a telecommunications person what will solve world poverty, he’s going to say, “Telecommunications;” and ask an agronomist what will help solve the fuel crisis, and he will emphatically respond, “Agriculture.” Ask a buttoned-up economist how he sees the world, and he’ll say, “an industrialized free market economy,” and give the Chairman of the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority the podium on climate change solutions, and she’ll talk up nuclear like it’s a half-silver bullet solution out of hell...

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, climate change, global warming, jeff sachs, jeffrey sachs, lady barbara thomas judge, nuclear energy, state of the planet

March 24 , 2008
"Living in a Sustainable Fashion Industry"
School of Textiles and Design, Cornell University
An intimate presentation and Q&A discussion on the sustainable fashion industry--past, present, and future. Talk includes discussion of job market, new programs, and international interest. Short discussion on Summer Rayne's personal experience through college and the professional field.

Time: 5:15PM

April 12 , 2008 "Green Gone Wild" - Seattle Style Seattle Green Festival
Mainstream America is finally aware of the environmental issues we face. Join Summer Rayne to see what it takes to keep this movement real, grounded and moving forward. You’re in for an upbeat, intimate, flirtatiously informative and slightly off the cuff presentation that will cater to the energy level and “spontaneous collaboration” of the audience. Intrigued? Parental Guidance Advised

Time: 1:00PM - 2:00PM on Main Stage

April 19-20 , 2008 "Green Gone Wild" Green Apple Music Festival
Mainstream America is finally aware of the environmental issues we face. Join Summer Rayne San Francisco-style to see what it takes to keep this movement real, grounded and moving forward. You’re in for an upbeat, intimate, flirtatiously informative and slightly off the cuff presentation that will cater to the energy level and “spontaneous collaboration” of the audience. Intrigued? Parental Guidance Advised

Time: TBA

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, eco speaker, environmental speech, speech 2008, speech topics, upcoming speeches

Elizabeth Hightower of Outside Magazine highlights Power Shift and the growing movement of young activists raising their voices and voting power to combat climate change.

(Click image to enlarge)
Meanwhile it helps that Power Shifters are not easily cowed. "We're like dogs," model and organizer Summer Rayne Oakes told me she said after Pelosi's speech. "We can smell fear and have no patience for bullshit." Soon the wave poured over to the West Lawn of the Capitol where thousands more were assembling, a sea of yellow Power Shift tee-shirts bobbing under placards that said - 1SKY! 1FUTURE! 1CHANCE!

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Billy Parish, Outside Magazine, power shift, Power Shift 07, Powershift climate change, Van jones

D2 (Oslo, Norway) highlights Summer Rayne Oakes in their Green issue

Photo: B. Wallander

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, D2, ecofashion, green fashion, green issue, Norway, sustainable style

"The Energy Bill is a terrific victory and is exactly where we needed
to be....ten years ago.  Our government must act quickly with the
resolve of a nation truly committed to lead by example.  We must
propel ourselves down a path of reducing our Green House Gas Emissions
at least 80% by the year 2050, and we should match the EU's challenge
to us of cutting our emissions 30% by 2020.  Necessity dictates
action, and there has never been anything more necessary for the very
survival and prosperity of our civilization than taking immediate and
bold action worthy of our nation's status as a global leader.  The
Youth of America speak with one voice on this issue, and that voice is
screaming in unison: "We want more, and we will make sure we get it."

"Moving forward,  young people are demanding even bolder political
leadership from their elected officials. If threats of a Senate
filibuster and a Presidential veto are true, politicians that engage
in such activities designed to destroy our right to a clean energy
future will face fierce campaigns and job losses in 2008. What
happened in Australia will happen here. As young people we will likely
represent a quarter of the electorate in this next election and our
numbers are only growing. We're in this for the long haul and we will
build a better, cleaner, more just, and sustainable future. This
energy bill represents the beginning of the end for elected officials
and corporate interests that stand in our way."

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, Discovery, Discovery News, mtv, power shift, powershift07, testimony

Summer Rayne's fair trade choice for the holiday season: Lotus by LOA handwoven duvet

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, fair trade, Lotus by LOA, sleep peacefully, sustainable style

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, cliamte change, Discovery News, global warming, lobby day, power shift, Power Shift 07, Power Shift 2007, powershift07, youth movement

Fundraiser for Riverkeeper at the Esquire House.

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, fundraiser, Jr., Lorraine Bracco, Moby, Riverkeeper, Robert F. Kennedy

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, climate change, Elephant Magazine, Energy Action, power shift, Power Shift 07, powershift07

Image shot by: Lois Anshus; As seen in the Premiere issue of S4. Bamboo knit dress by Lara Miller; sustainably-harvested wooden bracelets by a.d. schwarz

Labels: "Summer Rayne Oakes, ecofashion, Elle, German Elle, sustainable fashion