BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET: CITIES

Over half of the world’s population lives in cities these days, which is why BIG IDEAS explores a few issues and businesses that operate out of the city.

This week’s episode of BIG IDEAS includes some interesting personalities and projects that focus around environmentalism in cities.

Here is a short clip that will give you a taste for some of this week’s events.

ECO BIZ: GREEN HOTELS

Green hotels can make great changes to the products that are used in rooms and throughout the hotel. These changes can create tremendous environmental and public relations benefits for hotels while costing nothing since non-sustainable versions of these products are already a necessary part of hotel maintenance. Going green is a no brainer for hotels.

Read more at the ECO BIZ homepage.

ECO-DOCUMENTARY: CLEAR CUT: THE STORY OF PHILOMATH, OR

The town of Philomath, Oregon was initially a logging operation that induced the creation of a small town to support the families and workers who labored at the lumber mills. The town has been supported by lumber barons since its very beginning, and everything was fine until local educators started teaching students about environmentalism. That is when the questioning of logging practices started, and shortly thereafter, the political and business connections that make the town what it is flared into an angry confrontation between free speech and private funding of public education.

Check out this video clip and make sure to catch THE GREEN this week.

ECOISTS: MORGAN FREEMAN

Morgan Freeman is a well-spoken advocate for human beings taking responsibility for their world. He says that the natural evolution of life on this planet is a state of balance, and we need to understand this balance if we are to insure the survival of life. Check out this brief clip from ECOISTS and catch this segment on THE GREEN.

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Second Life continues to provide a perfect space for discussing environmental issues with Simran Sethi. Although there was a brief interruption in the audio stream last night, the connection was re-established and the rest of the night featured some very excited exchanges about sustainable furniture.

Simran introduces CLEAR CUT: THE STORY OF PHILOMATH, OREGON, a documentary about logging. Since the logging industry provides the wood that is used to make most furniture, it makes sense to consider the industry when thinking about furniture. As always, we encourage you to join Simran during the next Green Meeting, you will find the details below.

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

When: Tuesday, June 5 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 is Creativity important to environmental thought and action?
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room