TV

Building green while sitting on your couch

In case you have forgotten -- it's been a long week, with a holiday, hooray! -- last week's Dig This claimed that I will use my weekly soapbox here to promote house-related stuff that's affordable to the average human being.

Well, today's column is aimed at the average human being that owns a TV. If you are one of these lucky folk, you too can tune in to PBS this summer for the first-of-its-kind Building Green:

Jon Stewart interviews an oil analyst, who basically blows it

A couple days ago, Jon Stewart interviewed Peter Tertzakian, author of A Thousand Barrels a Second: The Coming Oil Break Point and the Challenges Facing an Energy Dependent World. (You can watch the interview here.)

I haven't read the book, so I don't know what Tertzakian's general outlook is, but I can tell you that on television his outlook is boooring. It's highly unfortunate: The Daily Show reaches an extremely influential demographic, and the peak-oil issue desperately needs a higher profile on the cultural scene. A Daily Show interview is not the time for measured analysis; it's the time to be funny and flamboyant and, OK, a little alarmist. We need people to pay attention.

But Tertzakian was soporific, droning on about energy "break points" and how we've weathered the previous ones pretty well, and how even though there's no obvious alternative, we'll muddle through, blah blah zzzz ... I suspect he hasn't been on TV much.

My one substantive critique was that he referred several times to the lack of an alternative energy source that could scale to oil's breadth and depth. But what the public needs to understand is that we don't need a single, silver-bullet alternative. What can replace oil is a diversity of small-scale sources (wind, solar, biothermal, hydro, cogeneration) appropriate to local conditions. We need to replace a single, concentrated source of power -- both physical and political power -- with a decentralized multiplicity of sources. This will be a boon -- again, both physically and politically.

I wish everyone talking publicly about oil could at least get on the same page on that one talking point.

Media Shower: The inauguration

What do you get when a significant number of your posts are about the same topic? You're asked to write a weekly column! Thus, I introduce "Media Shower," whereby I'll shower you (ha ha) with musings on the intersection of media and the environment. While I'll focus on television, film, video games, and the internets, no medium will be off-limits. Specifically, I'll be exploring ways that TV shows, movies, etc. are being used to help the cause. To that end, I give you Jeff Skoll.

This is what a Honda sounds like …

Normally, with the exception of those for hybrids, I can't stand car commercials. But then there is this.

As you will learn from the length of the commercial, as well as the fact the car is on the "wrong" side of the road, it is for UK audiences. Sigh ... Europeans do so many things so much better.

I'd like to see a counter ad from Toyota with "this is what a Prius sounds like ..." followed by silence.

(Via PSFK)

Thank you Alanis, thank you PBS, thank you …

Looks like Oprah and Leo aren't the only celebs concerned about climate change. This week (Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8-9 PM ET/PT), Alanis Morissette will host and narrate a PBS documentary on global warming:

International recording artist Alanis Morissette hosts and narrates a one-hour PBS network prime time documentary on global warming, people across America facing the possibilities of grave consequences of a changing climate, and the innovative individuals, communities, and scientists creating new approaches to safeguard our children's future. Filmed across the U.S., Asia, and South America, this accessible, empowering program brings the reality of climate change to life and offers viewers ways to make a difference in their own communities. See what's melting, what's rising, what's drying up, and what's drowning ... and how school kids, county sheriffs, architects, and community planners are taking action.

You can watch a two-minute preview of the doc here [20MB MPEG] or a smaller promo [3MB MPEG] at www.alanis.com.

Find out which PBS station is airing this documentary in your area.

Dateline NBC explores that question

Here at Grist, we like to keep you on your toes. On the one hand, we tell you that the Christian Right is swaying politicians and threatening the environment. On the other, we show that some of the evangelical leadership is urging its members to adopt eco-friendly living habits and exhorting the government to lighten America's environmental footprint.

For those of you who don't have anything better to do on a Friday night, you have an opportunity for a different perspective. Dateline NBC will be airing "In God They Trust," in which Tom Brokaw "explores why so many Americans are turning to this expression of faith, and asks whether or not some Evangelicals are going too far."

I doubt they will be discussing the environment, but one can pray hope.

Ag giants launch new public-tv show that promises to be so bad it’s … bad

What do you get when Monsanto and the Farm Bureau (whose sorry politics are discussed here) team up with the National Corn Growers Association, the United Soybean Board, the U.S. Grains Council, and the National Cotton Council (discussed here)?

If your answer is vast-scale, heavily subsidized, environmentally ruinous agriculture, you have a point. But I was thinking of a different response: Television that promises to be so bad that it might qualify as camp.

2005 EMA Awards & “The West Wing”

Tomorrow night the Environmental Media Association will be hosting the 2005 EMA Awards in Los Angeles. From the EMA website:

What Is An Environmental Media Award?

First presented by the Environmental Media Association (EMA) in 1991, the Environmental Media Awards honor film and television productions that increase public awareness of environmental issues and inspire personal action on these issues. The Awards recognize writers, producers, directors, actors, and others in the entertainment industry who actively expressed their concern for the environment through their work. The Environmental Media Awards have also honored people in the entertainment industry who have gone above and beyond their peers in consistently including environmental practices, story lines and rolemodeling. Such honorees have included Keely and Pierce Brosnan, Jayni and Chevy Chase, Blythe Danner, Dave Matthews Band, Daryl Hannah, Alanis Morissette, Willie Nelson, Edward Norton, Rob Reiner and John Travolta.

For a list of nominees, check out the EMA press release. (Look for Grist coverage of the event later this week.)

In the "Television Episodic Drama" category, my fav The West Wing has been nominated (along with Boston Legal and House) for the episode titled "The Hubbert Peak." This past Sunday, The West Wing addressed another topic familiar to us here in Gristmill: intelligent design. Candidate for POTUS Matt Santos must have been reading Gristmill, as his reasoning for opposing teaching ID alongside evolution in public schools sounds very similar to Dave's post on the subject.

And apparently, NBC is promoting a "live debate" on Sunday, Nov. 6th for which you can submit questions. So hop to it! Here's mine: "How will your administration address the issue of climate change?" Let's see if they actually answer it, or at least any enviro question, on television.

But if submitting questions to a fictional presidential debate is not your thing, how about a poll:

Lost power source

Fans of the hit TV show Lost might have been wondering how the hatch/bunker gets its power. Last night we found out: geothermal energy.

Another example of a green energy source being mentioned during prime time television -- granted, it was for about five seconds, but we'll take what we can get!

And visitors to the Lost message boards can get a brief science lesson on how geothermal energy works from poster SlowElectron.