Big Ideas for a Small Planet
More information: IMDB
Watch Big Ideas for a Small Plane... Season 1
Episode 13
Pray
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
The Reverend Fletcher Harper inspires environmental concern in the religious world with GreenFaith, an interfaith coalition dedicated to greening places of worship and taking action against polluters; Judy Bonds, director of Coal River Mountain Watch, uses her faith to galvanize local communities in the battle against the mining companies who are destroying their homes; and avid diver Don Brawley gives life to the cremated remains of the dead by including their "cremains" into a man-made reef that supports coral re-growth in the Florida Keys.
Episode 12
Work
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Mathias Wackernagel, co-creator of the Ecological Footprint, audits a Bay Area company in an effort to show it how to reduce its environmental impact; Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch, the founders of New Belgium Brewing Company, demonstrate their dedication to the environment and to their employees by creating an ideal working environment; and David Hertz, founder and president of Syndesis Inc., introduces the office of the future.
Episode 11
Sports
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Bicyclist Craig Calfee's unusual bike design uses a highly sustainable resource - bamboo - to build a bicycle stronger than steel for champion cyclo-cross athlete Dorothy Wong; Jason Salfi, co-founder of Comet Skateboards, shows off his solar-powered facility where skateboards are made from sustainable materials and introduces us to the students who are producing artwork for these eco-friendly boards; and World Champion Freeskier Alison Gannett launches her "Global Cooling Tour" to highlight the impacts of global warming on the business of winter sports.
Episode 10
Paper or Plastic?
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
The United States Post Office teams up with William McDonough to develop a "cradle to cradle" policy that will reduce the USPS's environmental impact; Frederic Scheer of Cereplast creates biodegradable containers made from corn and potato starch; and the designers at Ford present a tour of the recyclable Model U, a concept car that embodies the "cradle to cradle" principle with its hydrogen fuel cell supercharged engine featuring high fuel efficiency and recyclable or biodegradable parts.
Episode 9
Kids
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Eleven-year old activist Evan Green hosts a kick-off party to recruit new members for his Red Dragon Conservation Team, a group of kids and adults dedicated to saving the rainforest and fostering biodiversity; a group of students from the educational initiative "Plastics are Forever" collects used containers from a Los Angeles waterway and creates rafts from the trash; and toy-maker Barbera Aimes, founder of ImagiPLAY, creates non-toxic toys made from renewable rubberwood and recycled cardboard.
Episode 8
Create
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
World-renowned photographer Subhankar Banerjee documents the biodiversity and indigenous cultures of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to demonstrate the effects of global warming in Alaska; artist Alyce Santoro weaves together audiotape from the "technotrash" that is crowding our landfills, and creates a durable new material; and prolific green architect David Hertz creates a house made from a retired 747 airplane in a remarkable show of sustainable reuse and "upcycling."
Episode 7
Furnish
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Engineers from Herman Miller explore green design and developing sustainable concepts; Scrapile designers scour their neighborhood for leftover scrap wood and then head back to their studio to cut, glue and sand the pieces into sleek recycled furniture; Owners of the Philadelphia-based design firm MIO, prove that it's possible to live in "green style" without breaking the bank with their innovative home-product designs.
Episode 6
Drive
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Tesla Motors debuts their limited edition high-performance electric car to a select lucky few who get to test drive the $100,000 sports car of the future; Dana Myers shows off the assembly line of Myers Motors’ brightly colored “NmG” (No more Gas), an affordable electric commuter car; and Lowell Simmons and his Miramar High School Electric Vehicle Competition Team get ready for the Battery Beach Burnout by making final revisions on their electric vehicle.
Episode 5
Eat
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Tesla Motors debuts their limited edition high-performance electric car to a select lucky few who get to test drive the $100,000 sports car of the future; Dana Myers shows off the assembly line of Myers Motors' brightly colored "NmG" (No more Gas), an affordable electric commuter car; and Lowell Simmons and his Miramar High School Electric Vehicle Competition Team get ready for the Battery Beach Burnout by making final revisions on their electric vehicle.
Episode 4
Wear
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Eco-couture designer Linda Loudermilk prepares for a fashion show featuring her eco-friendly designs made from sustainable materials; Patagonia's Jill Dumain, spearheads the company’s cutting edge sportswear line, which recycles used soda bottles and worn out garments to produce high quality active wear; and Lori Petitti, invites people to channel their creative energies into constructing new fashion statements from used clothing and fabric.
Episode 3
Cities
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Dennis Wilde is the pioneering force behind the South Waterfront project, which is turning a polluted brown field into a flourishing sustainable community; Trey Taylor, puts years of research to the test when he submerges two underwater turbines in the East River in the hopes that it will light up the skyline using renewable energy; and Heather Flores and her band of guerilla gardeners work overnight to beautify blighted urban plots of unused land with local plants and flowers.
Episode 2
Build
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Visionary architect Michelle Kaufmann builds a Glidehouse, an ultra-sustainable modular prefab dream home, for a couple looking to enjoy life off the grid; architect Carlton Brown defies all odds and builds a low-income sustainable housing project in Harlem; and MIT genius Mitchell Joachim demonstrates his Fab Tree Hab living house made from intertwined trees, creating a spectacular living space of the future.
Episode 1
Fuel
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Joel Woolf, alternative-fuel enthusiast and inventor of Veg Powered Systems, drag races his truck fueled by the vegetable oil from a fried-chicken tailgate party; Colette Brooks, a fanatic for muscle cars and Prada shoes, leads a bio-diesel PR campaign that hooks up clients with diesel cars around the country; and Indy Racing League’s Jeff Simmons prepares for the 2007 season by suiting up for a test drive a car that runs on 100% ethanol.
