THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST, hosted by Josh Dorfman, screens Tuesdays at 9PM on Sundance Channel.
I’m really excited about this first episode. I think that viewers will hopefully find this show to feel different than many other environmental shows that they’ve watched before. One of the primary reasons is that in this show we don’t engage in “green show and tell” by which I mean simply presenting eco-friendly options for the camera without anyone being able to evaluate them. Instead, I set out to see how well many of the most cutting-edge environmental alternatives perform under real life conditions based on the feedback and opinions of our “heroes” who are trying out my suggestions in each episode.
Shooting “Lazy Family” was very cool and very challenging. Jess, the father, was extremely resistant to change. We had several lively debates about whether global warming is really happening. At one point, we walked outside to investigate the family’s gigantic mounds of trash in the backyard. Jess turned to me, stomped his foot on the grass, and asked, “See, Josh, did you hear anyone say ‘ouch’”? As I stared at him blankly trying to comprehend his meaning, he stated it clearly for me, “I’m telling you, Mother Nature doesn’t have any feelings.”
So that’s what I was up against.
You’ll see as the segment unfolds that Jess and I start to find some common ground as we attempt to implement a zero-waste BBQ for his family and their guests. Though, at one point, while Jess and I were debating the merits of environmental action on camera the producers called “cut” and took me aside for a pep talk, “Listen, Josh,” they said, “You’re doing really good, but Jess is actually make better points than you. He’s winning.”
I responded by saying, “Yeah but I’m trying to have a conversation with a guy who refuses to believe that global warming is real about the merits of taking environmental action.”
“Exactly!” they said. “Figure it out. Go ‘Lazy Environmentalist’ on him!”
Going ‘Lazy Environmentalist’ on him means finding ways to show Jess that going green is not just in the planet’s interest but that it’s also directly in his self-interest too. Check out the episode to see how well I managed to pull it off.
To find out more about THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST, check out:
- Official Site
- Episode Guide
- Watch Videos
- Photo Gallery
- Lazy experts
- THE LAZY GREENOVER, presented by Brita and Green Works
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June 18th, 2009 - 7:11 pm
I watched the Lazy Environmentalist the other night. Have have a question… ummmm… given that meat production/consumption is one of the main causes of damage to the environment…. ummmm why is the ’so called’ environmentalist, Josh Dorfman consuming meat on camera. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH MR ‘ENVIRONMENTALIST’. I think its called ‘leading by example’..
June 19th, 2009 - 4:53 pm
I’m assuming the environmentally sound BBQ will be vegan – considering that animal agriculture contributes 18% greenhouse gasses and 25% of the rain forests have been destroyed for livestock production. Or is this show going to ignore the fact that diet has an incredible impact on global warming? Switching to a plant based diet is more effective than driving a Prius… It’s also healthier.
June 21st, 2009 - 12:48 pm
I watched too, and the vegans have a point; but what was most upsetting to me was the cavallier head-in-the-sand attitudes that are still not only possible, but prevalent in the the US. I grew up in LA and have lived in Montreal for a couple of decades. In my town (a Beverly Hills-like separate city called Westmount) we have 3 collections per week:Monday compost (kitchen and yard waste), Wednesday recycling, and Thursday non-recyclable garbage…maybe one small bag/week. My 63 year old husband still throws coffee grounds and table scraps in the garbage, and thinks it’s all nonsense, but my kids are as careful as I am. So my point is, that this is generational to a degree, and as with the non-smoking campaigns aimed at the elementary schools, the biggest impact can be brought about by children asking their parents to change. There is also a big political dimension, because the corporate/consumer culture is so ingrained, it often becomes incumbent upon local governments to institute services, programs, bylaws and/or tax incentives to affect real changes in behavior. The Canadian and provincial governments have instituted tax rebate programs for home renovations that increase energy efficiency to both stimulate the the construction industry during the recession and reduce carbon emissions. The City of Montreal is also cracking down on the particulate emissions from fireplaces, wood stoves and wood burning restaurants that cause winter smog up here. Meanwhile, where my mother now lives in the California desert, everyone in her gated community still throws all their garbage in a dumpster which is collected for a land fill once a week, and almost no one in her community has solar panels. The average American doesn’t even realize how far behind the curve the US is in this regard. Where was the presentation of reading lists for parents and kids…”Cradle to Cradle” “Hot Flat and Crowded” for a start.
June 22nd, 2009 - 10:07 am
Vegan balony: Just because you choose not to eat meat does not make you right in your assumptions that plant eating is better for the environment. You forgot to write the statistics for growing all the food you eat. Tell me what that is!@ I will readily admit that the current system for our food production is making an incredible impact but your ridiculous notion that only a plant based diet is good for the environment and your body is insulting. You didn’t get the brain capacity by being a plant eater. You can thank your ancestors for eating all that meat, and have you ever looked at your teeth. They were designed to eat MEAT and vegetables. Save your righteous wrath for changing the trash issue that the episode was about.