TV

Now playing: dh love life

Move over Current TV, lookout Treehugger TV ... here comes Daryl TV! Actually, that's dh love life, Daryl Hannah's weekly video blog, which covers a range of green topics.

Now playing is a piece on vegan junkfood. Previous episodes covered biodiesel and a natural products expo. Upcoming episodes will feature green building and a skater/farmer (organic I presume).

I'm hooked.

(Via TH)

Current TV: Make your own Yaris TV ad, and more

So you think you've got the chops to produce a television commercial after making your own Chevy Tahoe ad? Well, let's see how well you do when you have to shoot and edit it yourself! Still up to the challenge? If so, head on over to Current TV where they're seeking submissions for viewer-created ads for the Toyota Yaris.

What would you do with your Yaris? Now, you don't have to own a Yaris to take on this project. Just make a V-Cam commercial about what you would do with your Toyota Yaris. The operative word here is "you." Make it personal, engaging and compelling. Where would you go? Who would you take? What would you take with you? Whatever you do, have fun and let your freak-flag-fly. There. Now go make something.

Now, before you get all subversive, check this out: the Yaris supposedly gets up to 40 mpg on the highway, according to the Toyota website. Oh yeah, if your piece airs, you earn $1,000.

If you'd rather watch than create, Current has added several new enviro pieces to their Earth pod:

Media Shower: Another weekly roundup

Well, I'm off to the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival soon for a weekend bonanza of green films. I don't have much time to write, so here's another weekly recap:

Using TV to illumininate and inspire

Last night I watched the film Good Night, And Good Luck. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It is currently available on DVD.

The movie is about the 1953 CBS News team (led by Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly) that successfully went head-to-head with the junior senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. How closely the situation in 1953 mirrors today is disturbing, but CBS's success gives us hope.

Media Shower: A weekly roundup

Wow, I guess I underestimated my ability to influence coverage here at Grist. If you haven't noticed, environmental media has been getting a lot of play around here lately. So, this week I'm simply going to provide a roundup of green-media topics appearing on Grist (and elsewhere):

Courtesy of PBS

While most television networks lack programming in the environmental arena, at least we have PBS, which will air a few green specials just in time for Earth Day.

First we have "Planet H20":

Media Shower: An addendum

When I was asked to start writing this weekly column, I toyed around with the idea of having myself a slogan: "I watch TV so you don't have to." It is a good thing I didn't, because I'm failing miserably.

First, Brendon directs me to CBS's The Amazing Race, which is in its ninth season. I gave up watching the show a few seasons ago. But without Brendon's tip I wouldn't have realized that in episode two, which takes place in Brazil, the teams had to make their own ethanol:

In Brotas, Brazil, Teams needed to travel to Camping Bela Vista, an old plantation, and process raw sugar cane into juice. Then, Teams had to distill fermented juice to create 500 milliliters of ethanol, an alternative fuel source. After completing the task, Teams would have to pour the newly created ethanol into their gas tanks before continuing on. While the task wasn't demanding, completing the scientific process could take a long time. Dave & Lori, Wanda & Desiree and Lisa & Joni took the scientific route.

And then it takes New York-based blog Groovy Green to inform me that the King County government here in Washington State is running a progressive campaign called "EcoConsumer." From the website, you can watch a variety of television PSAs (airing on KOMO4, Seattle) on topics ranging from "remodelling" your home to reducing junk mail to efficiency.

Methinks I need a Tivo. (Could I write that off as a work-related expense? Hmm ...)

Media Shower: Environmental film

If you watched the Oscars on Sunday night and were paying close attention, you may have noticed that climate change made a small appearance. Missed it? It was right there in the middle of the "issues" montage. If you don't believe me, head on over to Oscar.com and take a look at item number ten. See it? Day After Tomorrow. (For those of you not familiar with the movie, IMDb can help. May I also suggest this and this.)

As I mentioned last week, this year's Academy Awards presented a variety of green tinted films, including Syriana and March of the Penguins, which both won Oscars. But you don't need to depend on Hollywood for great environmental filmmaking. A whole host of green films are being created by independent filmmakers everywhere, and are featured at environmental film festivals around the U.S. Two of the most prominent are taking place this month.

Treehugger TV has arrived

We've all encountered comments like "television rots your brain." Generally speaking, I don't believe technology is inherently bad. What we should evaluate is its application and use, not technology itself. Which is why I advocate that enviros utilize traditional and emerging media to their advantage instead of abandoning it altogether.

With television, I think most of us would agree that environmental issues and innovative green products and ideas do not get the coverage they deserve. Which is why I'm very interested in projects like Current TV, where you can help make television by creating your own news and/or helping to decide what gets aired.

So, I'm excited to see that our friends over at Treehugger have launched Treehugger TV, which plans to feature a new video each week. So far, they have two:

01: Trike Taxi
The men from Trike Taxi take us through their plans for a eco-friendly electric powered pedicab.

02: Swaporamarama
Swaporamarama developer Wendy Tremayne discusses the community event she has been organizing since 2002. An alternative to knee jerk consumerism, 'The Swap' is a creative happening that bonds people, fashion and ideas.

Good luck guys -- I look forward to future episodes.