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“The Kissing Booth 2” star Taylor Zakhar Perez made his awards show debut on Thursday during the 30th annual Environmental Media Association Awards.
“This is my very first awards show, albeit virtually, but what isn’t virtual these days,” the actor said before presenting the top documentary television series award to “Activate” for its episode “Ending Plastic Pollution.” “Virtual meetings, virtual dates, virtual workouts, even virtual cooking classes and little by little our lives are basically recorded 24/7 as if we’re living in a real-life documentary — featuring a weekly nasal swab.”
The EMAs, held virtually this year and hosted by Lance Bass, honor Hollywood productions and individuals for their support of environmental storylines and environmental justice.
“As much as we’re in a period of devastation, we’re in a period of unexpected healing,” said EMA CEO Debbie Levin. “Caring about the different generations of our family has opened our hearts to caring about equality and justice for all of our human family. At EMA we do this through promoting and celebrating storytelling.”
The night’s winners all recorded virtual acceptance speeches, with many of them further discussing the importance of bringing environmental topics to viewers through visual media.
HBO’s “Chernobyl” picked up the best television episodic drama honor. “Hopefully we can learn the lessons of Chernobyl and start paying attention to scientists because we want to try and forestall this disaster before it happens,” series creator Craig Mazin said. “I don’t want to have to tell more stories like ‘Chernobyl.'”
“Nature Cat” took home the prize for outstanding children’s television series. “Whether it’s from a stoop in the middle of the city or their back yard or a nearby park, we’re hoping to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards to take care of this one and only earth,” Jesse McMahon, one of the show’s producers, said while accepting the honor.
“Riverdale” actress Madelaine Petsch shared the affects of vegan meals on greenhouse gas emissions, noting that even one vegan meal per day would greatly reduce an individual’s footprint. Constance Zimmer shared information about EMA’s School Garden program, which partners with 22 schools to teach leadership and gardening practices to youth.
Retail fashion company H&M also shared a video about its foundation, which promotes the goal of sustainable fashion by 2030 by supporting innovators through initiatives like the Global Change Award, meant to provide innovators of technologies that could speed up the shift toward circular fashion.
Eric Christian Olsen and Nikki Reed appeared alongside Dr. Aaron Bernstein in support of EMA Talks, a video conversation series with entertainers and climate professionals.
“It turns out scientists, we’re good at science, (but are) not really the best communicators, we’re not really the best storytellers,” Bernstein said. “A lot of people tune into their favorite shows … and favorite forms of media. So it turns out that we can reach people in ways that are so important.”
See the full list of award winners below.
Feature Film – “Dark Waters”
Documentary Film – “Ted Turner: Captain Planet”
Documentary Series – “Activate” episode: “Ending Plastic Pollution”
Television Episodic Drama – “Chernobyl” episode: “Please Remain Calm”
Paul Junger Witt Comedy Award – “Mixed-ish” episode: “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
Variety Television – “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” Season 6, Episode 101
Reality Television – “Shark Tank” Season 11, Episode 1101
Children’s Television – “Nature Cat” episode: “Soil Turmoil/Wisteria Hysteria”
