Green Options

Many thanks to all of you who entered the drawing for a gift bag from the Sundance Channel! We have a winner: Bryn Miller of Tempe, Arizona will be receiving the bag full of green goodies in the mail shortly… congratulations, Bryn!

Of course, even without the cool green swag, you can still enjoy Sundance’s The [...]

As you might guess, the timing of my new gig with the Sundance Channel’s blogging team wasn’t accidental… a new season of Tuesday night The Green programming is about to launch. While I’ll be really careful about letting my two blogging roles overlap, I did take Sundance up on an offer they made to us (and other bloggers) last year: we’ve got another Sundance green gift bag to give away this year! So, what’s in the bag? A copy of Josh Dorfman’s The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget, a set of green mp3 speakers, a t-shirt, and a notebook. Of course, the bag itself is suitable for adding to your collection of reusable shopping bags.

Running a bit late again on my preview of tonight’s The Green; unlike last week, though, I did take the time to watch tonight’s episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet. As usual, I recommend you also take the time to watch it tonight… lots of food for thought packed into 30 minutes.

Tonight’s theme on BIFASP is “Transport,” and it’s a show that will get diehard tech enthusiasts and community activists excited about the possibilities available for getting from here to there with a lighter environmental impact. Unlike some of the previous episodes, “Transport” takes viewers to places they’d probably expect, and definitely know: New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Boston. While New York’s famous for its public transportation, discussions with city transit officials show they’re moving forward rapidly to make an established system more user-friendly and sustainable. In Portland, human-powered transportation is the focus: Portland’s the most bicycle-friendly city in North America, and you’ll not only find out why, but also see how green transport evangelists are shopping its model around to other American locales.

It’s Tuesday again, and for many of us, that means another night of great television on the Sundance Channel’s The Green. Rather than trying to fake it, I’ll readily admit I haven’t gotten a chance to watch tonight’s episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet in advance… given the quality of previous episodes, though, I’m willing to bank that “Grow,” which will focus on green spaces in urban and suburban environments, will be well worth watching. Following “Grow,” the Sundance Channel will air the documentary Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa.

Do you recycle?

The seemingly innocuous question comes with all sorts of ethical baggage these days: for many Americans, recycling is not just an initial step into a greener life, but also an activity suffused with moral weight. While many will argue about the significance of individuals and families recycling items they might otherwise throw away, there’s no doubt that creative and innovative reuse of materials is critical for the health of the planet… and the people who reside on it (along with all of those other species). Tonight, the Sundance Channel’s Big Ideas for a Small Planet goes beyond the blue bin many of us place on the curb, and looks at three organizations that are taking recycling in some interesting, and effective, directions.

While I wrote a preview of tonight’s episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet this morning on sustainablog, Lucille’s right: it deserves a mention over here at Feelgood Style. So tune in (in about 45 minutes Central time) for the award-winning series’ focus on fashion tonight. Get a look at Del Forte Denim’s use of organic cotton, Nau’s sustainable methods of both creating and selling outerwear, and Revolution Cleaner’s greener alternative to traditional dry cleaning. And keep an eye on the extra coverage that appears during BIFASP, and the documentary that follows: word is that our own Jessa Brinkmeyer’s Pivot Boutique may be on tonight.

And while I’ve got you, throw your name in the hat for a green giftbag from the Sundance Channel. It’s easy to do: just subscribe to Green Options Media’s biweekly newsletter.

Impatient? Can’t wait 45 minutes? Here… take a sneak peak at tonight’s episode:

As I mentioned in this week’s preview of the Sundance Channel’s The Green, we’re hosting our own little contest here at Green Options Media. “Contest” isn’t the exact right word, though, as we’re not asking you to participate in any games of skill or knowledge. Rather, we’re sweetening the pot for an action you may have already taken: subscribing to GOM’s new biweekly newsletter.

The folks at Sundance have given us a bag full of green goodies, and we’ll give it away to one lucky newsletter subscriber. All you have to do: subscribe to the newsletter by May 20th. On the 21st, we’ll one name from our subscribers, and that person will win the bag. What will s/he win?

After previewing tonight’s episode of the Sundance Channel’s Big Ideas for a Small Planet, I couldn’t help but think that this week’s topic — fashion — tied in very closely with last week’s show on food. After all, we all eat, and we all dress. Our clothes, like our food, generally start off as crops in fields, and the process of transforming those crops into garments typically involves heavy chemical inputs and many miles traveled (especially in this era of globalization). The fashion industry has a heavy environmental footprint, but a number of designers and manufacturers are challenging those norms, and creating clothing that’s both fashionable and sustainable. Take a sneak peak at one of these companies featured in tonight’s episode: Del Forte Denim

Regardless of how “green” we consider ourselves, we’re all concerned about the quality of the food we put on our own plates and serve to our families. Tonight, the Sundance Channel’s The Green explores the world of food, from farm to plate. It’s award-winning series Big Ideas for a Small Planet profiles a large food processor, a wine-maker, and a New Mexico high school student who are all doing their part to reject industrial-scale agriculture, and the bland, homogeneous food it produces. Following that, Sundance presents the documentary All In This Tea from directors Les Blank (Burden of Dreams) and Gina Leibrecht.

Tune in. Turn on. Drop off! starts this week as the GREEN on Sundance Channel  helps promote a series of t-shirt recycling events by joining forces with Barneys New York and Loomstate.

The catch is for participants to drop off old t-shirts at all Barneys’ locations nationwide and Loomstate will then re-style the tops for a limited edition collection for Barneys Holiday 2008. Clearly the retailer is gearing up early for their smashing green holiday guide.

 Starting today, those interested in donating will receive a 20% discount on Loomstate for Barneys Green , and the promotion will go on for the next two weeks. Project proceeds go to 1% for the planet.

To follow up on Shirley’s post about The Good Fight… next week, the Kansas City chapter of AIGA will hold a fundraiser for Greensburg, Kansas’ efforts to rebuild (and rebuild green at that). According to the organization’s web site:

Simran Sethi, host of the Sundance Channel’s The Green will moderate a panel on the green redesign of tornado devastated Greensburg, KS. The green salon will feature BNIM Architects’ urban planner, Stephen Hardy and Greentown director, Daniel Wallach. The Sundance Channel will screen segments from The Good Fight Series.