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"Since the mid\u20131980s, when I was hired to work for Andy Warhol at Interview magazine, I've basically been out on the town nearly every weeknight\u2014attending premieres, gala openings, charity benefits, and swell cocktail parties. And I've been reporting on my conversations with celebrities and society figures at these events nearly as long. For Daily AD, I'll be doing more of the same, directing my questions toward interior design, architecture, art, fashion, collecting, and travel\u2014the things that matter most to this magazine. While having some fun, of course. Welcome to The Inquisitive Guest.\n\nSince the mid\u20131980s, when I was hired to work for Andy Warhol at Interview magazine, I've basically been out on the town nearly every weeknight\u2014attending premieres, gala openings, charity benefits, and swell cocktail parties. And I've been reporting on my conversations with celebrities and society figures at these events nearly as long. For Daily AD, I'll be doing more of the same, directing my questions toward interior design, architecture, art, fashion, collecting, and travel\u2014the things that matter most to this magazine. While having some fun, of course. Welcome to The Inquisitive Guest.\n\nSelling antiques is a kind of recycling. But Christie's, the venerable auction house in Rockefeller Center, went truly eco-friendly last week, when it hosted the third annual Green Auction: Bid to Save the Earth. The event, sponsored by JW Marriott hotels, raised nearly $600,000 for the environmental charities Oceana, Conservation International, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Central Park Conservancy. The online portion of the auction, hosted by charitybuzz.com, featured hundreds of lots\u2014including a day with Bill Clinton\u2014that brought in another $635,000.\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nRather than the usual setup of a red carpet leading to an ink-printed plastic backdrop for photos, a plush green runway welcomed the VIPs, who then posed in front of a wall of driftwood, green bananas, and verdant foliage. AD contributing editor Bronson van Wyck, who designed the event, explained, \"They are all living plants. And they'll later be given either to a nursery or a hospital. We used all-natural materials in the decorations\u2014hemp linen for skirting, reclaimed wood for the bars.\"\n\nBut just how green are those who attended? We surveyed the men and women\u2014presumably in vegan loafers and slingbacks\u2014about environmentally conscious actions they take in their daily lives.\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nIs Glenn Close green? An early arrival in a black tuxedo jacket, Close said that she lives in old houses, \"so that's one of the ways I recycle. And I love my Prius. The whole culture of my family is about protecting animals and the environment for future generations\u2014that's the way I was brought up.\"\n\nDocumentary filmmaker Susan Cohn Rockefeller, who designed jewelry being sold in the online auction, discussed her primary green concerns at home. \"The most important thing I've done is to reduce the use of disposable plastic. So I refuse all single-use plastic containers and bags\u2014anything that I know will end up going into the ocean as waste. That's one thing that's very doable.\n\n\"And sometimes we turn our heat off,\" she added, \"and we wear sweaters, it's about not having a comfort level at 70 degrees. I would love to design a green house.\"\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\n\"I wish my house was sustainable from the ground up,\" offered supermodel Angela Lindvall. \"But I didn't build it. However, I put in these beautiful reclaimed-hardwood floors that came from old factories. I have a vegetable garden. I compost. And I use all-natural materials\u2014plus a lot of refurbished antique pieces.\"\n\n\"I really just believe in whatever we can do to help the planet,\" said philanthropist Denise Rich. \"The roof of my building is all green with plants\u2014I've started a garden up there. I'm also helping a friend who is doing an urban farming project. And we recycle bottles and clothes.\"\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nAmanda Hearst, who works as an assistant editor at Marie Claire, said that she \"unplugs chargers, makes sure faucets aren't running, uses eco detergent. I love the more efficient light bulbs.\"\n\nBritish actor Paul Blackthorne (The River) has solar panels at home and drives a 10-year-old beat-up hybrid. \"I try to think about my button-pressing habits,\" said Blackthorne, referring to the incessant use of electronics that many of us share. \"If we think as individuals that doing our little bit can help, we'll have a better situation.\"\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nOlivia Chantecaille, the creative director of her family's cosmetics and skin-care company, Chantecaille, strives to be green at work. \"We always make an effort to use natural, organic ingredients,\" she said. \"We also try to work directly with farmers and support organic farming. And at home, I recycle religiously.\"\n\nLauren Bush Lauren, the co-founder and creative director of FEED Projects, which makes handbags, apparel, and accessories that are sold to raise money to provide food for children in underserved communities, noted that \"FEED encourages people to use reusable bags. And we use eco-friendly materials in constructing the bags.\" Meanwhile, she drinks filtered water at home. And, she added, \"I ride a bike when I can.\"\n\nPinterestFacebook\n\nModel Coco Rocha even coifs green. \"I don't use any blow-dryers or curling irons day-to-day on my own,\" she said. \"At night, I wash my hair and put it in a bun. And in the morning it has a perfect wave, so I don't have to use any electricity. I'm kind of crazy about recycling as well.\"\n\nArne Sorenson, the president and CEO of Marriott International, has two hybrids at home. He explained that every property that is being built for six of Marriott's 19 brands will now be LEED-certified. And at every hotel, there is a Green Council \"looking at recycling, turning off lights, and making sure that when we put in new equipment it's more energy efficient,\" he said.\n\nUpstairs, recycled tenting trimmed the edges of the auction room. The lots for sale included direct funding opportunities, such a $10,000 donation to help Clean By Design host a workshop on environmental efficiency standards for 100 Chinese factories. Bidders also competed for a diving excursion in the Cook Islands with environmental scientists, an Alain Ducasse\u2013curated culinary tour through New York, Paris, and Provence, and a trip aboard Hemisphere, the world's largest sailing catamaran.\n\nAs a final green note, there was no car service for this writer: I walked home from the event."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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