It’s late December, and you know what that means: CHRISTMAS ON MARS!

Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne co-directed this surreal trip to a Martian colony getting ready to celebrate Christmas, reportedly shooting it in his own back yard. (Somehow it doesn’t strike us as odd that Coyne’s yard proved a dead ringer for another planet.) Watch its Sundance Channel premiere Christmas Eve at Midnight, and check out this bonus interview with Coyne on the creation of the film and its meaning:

Set a screening reminder and read more about CHRISTMAS ON MARS.

Check out this new video spot from GlobalGiving Green, one of the wonderful Eco-mmunity Action Partners who makes it easy for people to support non-profit charities. We hope you enjoy this playful video.

If this video helped inspire you to make a difference, then make sure to check out the GlobalGiving Green Map Marker Group [www.sundancechannel.com] on Eco-mmunity Map. If you click the little button “play slideshow” you will be able to view all of the different geographic locations where the charities are doing their work. If you find one of the charities to be interesting, we encourage you to click the “website” button found in the marker. This will take you directly to the Global Giving Website where you can easily lend your support to a noble cause that is visibly improving the lives of people and the environments they live in.

Jonathan Demme believes that “film and literature can change a mind.” If a film causes a human mind to consider questions that it has not encountered before, therein lies a great possibility to influence that one person. The idea is that awareness allows people to make better decisions in their life. Jonathan warns people from thinking that you can change society with a great book or film, but he does imply that by moving individuals towards a more informed and knowledgeable understanding of the world, these people might collectively create a difference in society. This desire to better people makes Jonathan Demme an ECO HERO.

Jonathan Demme makes films that inspire thought and confront complacency. Mr. Demme has covered human rights issues as well as environmental issues in two of his films. The first film, Jimmy Carter Man from Plains was filmed 2006 through 2007. The film features comfortable interviews with Jimmy Carter in his country home. Since Jimmy Carter dedicated his life to fighting for human rights, one of the messages from Mr. Demme’s film cannot help but be related to environmental justice.

The second film, New Home Movies From the Lower 9th Ward, focuses on the human tragedy of post-hurricane Katrina New Orleans. The residents of the city talk about their harrowing existence in a city that still suffers from environmental disaster.

Check out the ECO HEROES video with Jonathan Demme.

In order to get a geographic appreciation of Jonathan Demme, make sure to check out Jonathan Demme’s Map Marker [www.sundancechannel.com] on Eco-mmunity Map.

Feel free to comment on this post and discover More ECO HEROES using the links below:

Jonathan Demme [www.sundancechannel.com]

Ira Ehrenpreis @ Technology Partners [www.sundancechannel.com]

Jerry Fiddler @ Solazyme [www.sundancechannel.com]

Sarah Gitlin @ Dalton High School [www.sundancechannel.com]

Shai Agassi @ Project Better Place [www.sundancechannel.com]

Sherry Strong [www.sundancechannel.com]

Zem Joaquin [www.sundancechannel.com]

Adam Green [www.sundancechannel.com]

Robert Thurman [www.sundancechannel.com]

Joanna Opot @ Starting Bloc [www.sundancechannel.com]

James Wells @ Sustainable South Bronx [www.sundancechannel.com]

Are you personally invested in a healthy environment? Do you carefully consider how your lifestyle affects the earth? If the answer is yes, then you are probably an Earthkeeper Hero. You should be recognized for your notable efforts. If you enter the ‘Be An Earthkeeper Hero’ Contest, you might just win some cool prizes: Timberland Gear or the $5,000 grand prize. If you feel that you could doing more, then you can also check out all of the other contestants and help insure that the best entry wins the day.

Here at Sundance Channel, we are dedicated to bringing you opportunities to explore you connection to the environment. Check out this map marker [www.sundancechannel.com] created by the folks at www.Earthkeeper.com. Read it through and then make sure to click the “website” link on the marker to check out the Earthkeepers. If you want to go straight to the main contest page, click here [www.changents.com].

Earthkeepers is affiliated with Timberland, the popular makers of the ultimate work and hiking boots. Timberland was featured in ECOBIZ, a series of short films about businesses that began as green enterprises, or in the case of Timberland, of companies who realized the tremendous social and economic advantages of retrofitting their company to be green. Check out a video on Timberland.

Recently, there was a green blog post about Elizabeth Redmond, one of the Earthkeeper Change Agents. She has invented a new type of device that captures the energy of human movement and transforms it into energy. If you missed it, check it out here [www.sundancechannel.com].

Now you can collect the entire first season of BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET. Previously unavailable for purchase on DVD, Art Alliance America is helping to spread environmental information through this Sundance Channel original series. The DVD set will be officially available on Earthday, April 22. The Arts Alliance America website does accept pre-orders so you can insure your supply of environmental info now.

You can put your order [www.aaadvdstore.com] in now.

If you prefer iTunes video content, you can download the whole season from them and also check out season 2. Check it out [phobos.apple.com].

Whether you are working in the world of green business or you have just a passing interest the “Green Revolution,” make sure to experience BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET; the series rewards curious people with a wealth of information.

Check out the following clip from the DECORATE episode.

If you want to check out more clips from the show, check out the BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET page on THE GREEN website.

Simran Sethi led a lively discussion about water and plastic in the second life event held on June 20th at Sundance Channel Island. Some of the problems with freshwater supplies and how water can be contaminated were discussed. Also the use of plastic and its carcinogenic effect were covered. This is a very pertinent issue to everyone, as most everyone comes into daily contact with plastic products. Paper continued the discussion about products and their every day use in our lives. Make sure to make it to the next Second Life event if you are curious to get the expert environmental advice of Simran Sethi.

In case you missed the video clip THE GREEN Online with Simran Sethi: Plastic or Paper? that was showed during the event, it will be viewable below.

A Reminder for You: The Next Second Life Q&A Session with Simran Sethi

When: Tuesday, June 26 at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST
What: An evening starting with an environmentally themed short film and ending with 45 minutes of Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi
Topic: Sports and the environment.
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room

Simran Green Meeting

The Green Meeting was full of curiosity and Simran’s poignant answers. The usual, and happily welcomed, group of environmentally inclined Second Life avatars were in attendance. We hope everyone had a great time and look forward to the next chance to regale your heart with environmental goodness and to put a smile on your faces.

In case you missed it, here is THE GREEN online with Simran Sethi: CREATE. In this video, Simran introduces CREATE week’s documentary: RIVERS & TIDES. It’s a very innovative subject matter for a documentary, as Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor with one of the more dynamic mediums you could imagine: nature itself.

A Reminder for You: The Next Second Life Q&A Session with Simran Sethi

When: Tuesday, June 12 at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST
What: An evening starting with an environmentally themed short film and ending with 45 minutes of Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi
Topic: How kids can fit into the environmental movement.
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room

ECOIST: Laura Dern

The difference between being well-meaning and actually making a positive change in the world can often be found in the scope of a person’s mission. In the case of Laura Dern, she has championed children’s health. Being very impressionable and learning quickly makes a child the ideal student of the environmentally friendly lifestyle. Therefore one could make the case that by educating our children to be sensitive about their own health, that could lead to a brighter future in which those same children, as adults, will be much more aware of impacts that everyday chemicals can make on health and well-being.

Watch the Laura Dern clip above and let us know what you think about Laura Dern’s mission in our Green Discussion Board. As always, you can get more info about Laura Dern and our other ecoists at our Ecoist Profiles Page.

In the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC) website of Laura Dern is a prominent supporter, there is a wonderful little diagram of rooms in the average house and of what kinds of chemicals can be dangerous in those places. Check it out, you may find yourself learning a lot at the CHEC Virtual House [www.checnet.org].

ECO BIZ: ABC Home

Explore Eco-Chic at the ever-expanding line of sustainable ABC Home furnishings. Paulette Cole is dedicated to making your living room feel unique, and so her line of furniture features many one-of-a-kind pieces that can distinguish you from your neighbors. Listen to the CEO herself in this clip from ECO BIZ.

If you are looking to replace furniture in your house or you want to learn ways that you can refurbish your own furniture with eco-friendly techniques, then please post your own questions or take a turn at answering someone else’s in our Green Consultations discussion board.

ECOISTS: Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah has been leading a sustainable lifestyle for some time. She uses solar panels for her home, drives a biodiesel car, adopts animals and in general strives to be a sustainable member of the world.

Daryl works tirelessly to further environmental changes. To this end, she created a website that is fabulously ingenious. You can browse a lot of specially prepared environmental content at this website [dhlovelife.com] and come away feeling more hopeful than before.

Here is the Daryl Hannah clip from ECOISTS

ECO BIZ: Cameron Cole

Riva Krut (on left) divined that environmental consulting was a needed aspect if one wanted to help businesses become more sustainable. What better way to lure CEOs and business owners into doing the right thing for the environment than to tell them you can make them more profit and also cut down on their manufacturing costs. Please log in to THE GREEN discussion boards and let us know what kinds of businesses could benefit from some environmental consulting. Who knows what strings our Eco-mmunity could pull?

Here is the ECO BIZ episode for this week, we hope you enjoy.

For more information on Cameron Cole, you can also check out their website [www.cameron-cole.com].

Another view of our virtual hosts!

Welcome back to the weekly GREEN meeting recap article! On Tuesday night, May 15th, we had yet another great conversation in Second Life. Simran Sethi tried to help people understand the connections between eating and the environment. In fact, these two things are probably more related than anything else covered in THE GREEN. Eating is very integral to evolution and the progression of life forms on this planet.

Here is last week’s webisode, check it out.

This week Simran takes on the issue of becoming what we eat and shows us the terrifying example of an industrial farm and how sterile that environment appears. We will let you draw your own conclusions but in case you are interested in checking out some resources for environmental changes you can take part in, check out the Sundance Channel Guide to Greener Living.

Dont’ Miss It: The Next Second Life Q&A Session with Simran Sethi

When: Thursday, May 24 at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST
What: An evening starting with an environmentally themed short film and ending with 45 minutes of Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi
Topic: What is green about your car?
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room

The GREEN meeting this week was very lively, and people asked many questions about Green clothing. Feeling good about what you are wearing can be quite important, so perhaps in this case “looking good” is all about “feeling good”. Simran Sethi happily fielded questions from the audience and talked at length about green fashion and other interesting environmental topics.

In case you could not make it to the event in Second Life but you still want to watch this week’s webisode, click the video below.

The webisode deals with the documentary “Art from the Arctic”, a film that touches on the ways art and science can be combined to educate and motivate people towards a green lifestyle. If you are looking for a great introduction to what is involved in a “green lifestyle”, check out the Sundance Channel Guide to Greener Living.

Dont’ Miss It: The Next Second Life Q&A Session with Simran Sethi

When: May 15 at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST
What: An evening starting with an environmentally themed short film and ending with 45 minutes of Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi
Topic: What is green about your food?
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room