WOODY STUMPS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Talk Is Part Of His West Coast Bike Tour Touting Organic Living

Cal Poly Barefoot, tanned and clad in a loose-fitting hemp shirt and
matching pants, TV and film star Woody Harrelson sang the praises of
renewable natural resources and earth-friendly products to an audience of
more than 800 people at the Cal Poly Recreation Center on Monday night.

"We've got to make a connection between what we're doing and the beast,"
Harrelson told the audience.

Harrelson, who starred in movies "White Men Can't Jump" and "The People vs.
Larry Flynt" among others, rallied the audience to think about the products
they are using and the way they live their lives eating at McDonald's,
drinking Coca-Cola, driving cars and how it affects the environment.

The actor, surrounded by friends and family, stopped in San Luis Obispo as
part of his West Coast bicycle tour to promote his message of simple
organic living. He began the journey April 12 in Seattle, and had biked
1,300 miles by the time he reached Cal Poly. His final destination is Los
Angeles.

One of Harrelson's fellow bikers, Joe Hickey, spoke to the crowd about hemp
farming in his home state of Kentucky. Hickey, who is with the Kentucky
Hemp-growers Cooperative, became acquainted with Harrelson when the two
fought for farmers' rights to grow the product, which can be used to make
paper, clothing and food.

The hemp plant is a strain of cannabis as is the illegal marijuana plant,
but it does not contain significant amounts of the active drug THC present
in marijuana.

Hickey announced that the Kentucky legislature recently passed a bill that
allows research of industrial hemp.

Harrelson challenged the crowd by asking if anyone thinks they live in a
free country.

"To me freedom is absolute," Harrelson said. "To me, to live in a free
country, you should be able to do what you want as long as you don't hurt
anybody else or hurt their property."

Harrelson and his crew are accompanied by a bus called the Mothership,
which runs not on gasoline but on a bio-fuel made from hemp and vegetable
oil. The bus is equipped with an organic kitchen and solar-powered appliances.