Going Green Is an admirable feat. If you can pull it off and leave as small of a carbon footprint as possible by “going green,” more power to you. I truly admire the dedication. I can’t begin to imagine what percentage of my life is green.
Regardless, if you’re a green focused consumer and you get the Sundance Channel AND you’re a Brad Pitt fan… you’re about to win.
Then again, I don’t think you need to be a Pitt fan to enjoy this upcoming program on the Sundance Channel.
The Sundance Channel has declared Tueday nights to be dedicated to the place we call home, planet Earth.
As part of THE GREEN, Sundance will be airing a 6-part series called e2 design that premieres on November 10th.
If interested, the press release from the Sundance Channel ensues, after the break!
New York, September 29, 2009— Sundance Channel presents the acclaimed six-part series “e2 design” in November as part of THE GREEN, its Tuesday night destination dedicated the planet we call home. Narrated by Brad Pitt, “e2 design” looks at the burgeoning sustainability movement among architects and designers worldwide. The series is directed by Tad Fettig and executive produced by Karena Albers and Fettig; Elizabeth Westrate is the series producer. “e2 design” debuts as part of THE GREEN on Tuesday, November 10 at 8:00pm et/pt.
“e2 design” focuses on an ubiquitous but often overlooked contributor to climate change and resource depletion: buildings, which consume 40% of the world’s energy and emit 50% of its greenhouse gases. The series introduces several pioneers and innovators in the field of sustainable design and shows how their work is producing viable solutions to pressing environmental, economic and social challenges. Visiting areas as diverse as Mexico’s Sonoran Desert; Chicago, Illinois; Austen, Texas; and Beijing, China, “e2 design” takes viewers inside a range of spaces – residences, office towers, public parks, even alleys – that are re-shaping how we live, work and grow. “e2 design” is part of the ongoing PBS series “e2: the economies of being environmentally conscious,” and originally premiered in 2006.
The episode lineup for “e2 design” is as follows:
Tuesday, November 10 at 8:00pm
“e2 design”/Episode 2: “The Green Apple” (Sundance Channel Premiere) –They may be concrete-gray and loud, but America’s densely populated urban centers are very energy efficient – and looking to become more so. The series’ inaugural episode visits New York City, which is leading the charge to green the quintessential urban structure: the skyscraper “The Green Apple” tours some of the city’s most prominent and technologically advanced structures, including 4 Times Square, and The Solaire, the nation’s first green apartment house.
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Tuesday, November 17 at 8:00pm
“e2 design”/Episode 2: “Green for All” (Sundance Channel Premiere) – Is sustainable design a luxury, or can it also be accessible, pertinent and valuable to marginalized communities? The answer may lay in projects initiated by architect/activist Sergio Palleroni in East Austin, Texas and the Valle del Yaqui in Mexico’s Sonoran Desert, two areas plagued by inadequate housing. In each instance, architecture students from the University of Texas work with local residents to come up with solutions that make sense environmentally, economically and socially. Among the solutions: converting a trash-strewn alley into a potential source of income, and using local materials to build houses steeped in cultural tradition.
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Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00pm
“e2 design”/Episode 3: “The Green Machine” (Sundance Channel Premiere) – How does a major metropolis address the implications of climate change? This episode takes us to Chicago – historically, an incubator for both architectural innovation and “machine politics” — to survey the sometimes controversial measures pursued by Mayor Richard Daley in his quest to make his city the greenest in America. The tour begins at sprawling City Hall, which boast’s the country’s first city-sponsored green roof, a living laboratory of plants that symbolizes the Mayor’s commitment to environmentalism.
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Tuesday, December 1 at 8:00pm
“e2 design”/Episode 4: “From Gray to Green” (Sundance Channel Premiere) – New building generates considerable waste, in the form of old components, construction platforms, and other items. Could these discards be put to use instead of taking up landfill space? This episode looks at the principles of reduce, re-use and recycle in action, as exemplified by Paul Pedini, a civil engineer on Boston’s $15 billion “Big Dig” transportation project. Pedini had the idea to build a house using Big Dig waste – and the resulting structure has many taking notice and making plans.
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Tuesday, December 8 at 8:00pm
“e2 design”/Episode 5: “China: From Red to Green?” (Sundance Channel Premiere) – The site of the largest urban migration in human history, China is expected to build housing for 14 million people over the next dozen years – and the materials, methods and energies deployed will have impact far beyond China’s border. This episode travels to China to see how national and international experts are addressing the ramifications of this rapid development. The first top is the Tsinghua University Building Energy Research Center, which has installed 100 examples of the world’s best energy-efficient technology and is developing still more. We also meet the Chinese developers and American architects working on the Linked Hybrid project, a mixed-use community that combines green principles with traditional Chinese philosophy.
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Tuesday, December 15 at 8:00m
“e2 design” Episode 6: “Deeper Shades of Green” (Sundance Channel Premiere) – The season’s final episode profiles three remarkable thinkers who are radically changing the face of not only architecture, but of environmentalism. Architect Ken Yeang is a pioneer of bioclimatic design; his buildings, including the Singapore Library, are responsive to the characteristics of their physical environments, much like prosthetic devices that are integrated into the human hosts they serve. Architect and educator William McDonough is an originator of the “cradle-to-cradle” design protocol, and has spearheaded the development of goods and services that generate economic, ecological and social value. Architect and structural engineer Dr. Werner Sobek is experimenting with the development of emission-free, self-sufficient, recyclable, glass-clad structures, including his own private R128 residence in Stuttgart, Germany.
source: Sundance Channel Press Release
About Bruce Simmons
I've been writing newsletters since 1999. Of late, I've been focusing on the entertainment consumer angle on mostly the sci-fi, fantasy and action genres of TV, movies and books.
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To me, the best thing that Brad Pitt’s has ever done was giving these homes for the victim of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He is a hero. I admire you for that