While watching television may not be a major part of your Earth Day plans, we do recommend you take a hour tomorrow to check out The Oprah Winfrey Show. THE GREEN’s Simran Sethi will be on to discuss how incorporating eco-friendly practices into your lifestyle can both help save the planet, and help save you money in these tough economic times. This topic isn’t just practical; it’s also one Simran’s focused on in multiple venues.  Check out the interview below with The Green Collar Economy author (and Obama administration “green jobs czar”) Van Jones below for a preview of the ideas that will likely get some play tomorrow.

Of course, you can also check out Simran’s work right here at SundanceChannel.com. Her web series The Good Fight provides an inside look at environmental justice issues. You may find the segments on Greensburg, Kansas’ transformation into a green community particularly relevant, as the second anniversary of the tornado that destroyed the town is just around the corner. For more information on events marking the anniversary, check out Greensburg Greentown.

And don’t forget — if you’re watching TV tonight, don’t miss the premiere of the third season of THE GREEN.

Simran Sethi interviews Rod Bremby, the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, who prevented Sunflower Electric from building multiple coal plants in Kansas on the basis of denying them permits to release CO2 pollution. As it turns out, Rod Bremby has been under a lot of pressure from coal industry lobbyists to overturn his previous decision.

Amazingly enough, this permit refusal is unprecedented in American energy politics. Other permits have been denied, but none of them solely on the basis of CO2 pollution and its negative effects on human health.

It is heartening to see a public official fighting for environmental rights. The public can reciprocate Rod Bremby’s courage by staying abreast of all the developments in the Kansas energy production industry. Sunflower Electric and other coal advocates are working hard to overturn Rod’s decision, lets all combine our voices and let them know they will not get away with it.

Read the complete interview between Simran Sethi and Rod Bremby of Kansas [www.huffingtonpost.com].

Thanks for joining us in THE GREEN BLOG.

Everybody’s favorite green host, Simran Sethi, is making the rounds on the Huffington Post, offering her journalistic skills in an effort to shine the light on a very important Government decision regarding the future of Kansas’ environment. Simran Sethi has hosted Sundance Channel’s THE GREEN [www.sundancechannel.com] in the past. Her other major contribution to Sundance Channel’s environmental work is Simran’s web exclusiive video series called THE GOOD FIGHT [www.sundancechannel.com].

Simran has just posted a blog on The Huffington Post, focusing on Kansas’ landmark decision to deny permits to two coal-fired power plants on the grounds that their carbon emissions would contribute to global climate change. A bill that would veto this decision is being debated in the Kansas state legislature this week and next, and the outcome will have major repercussions for each state’s ability to regulate polluting industries like Big Coal.

Simran Sethi’s Blog Post [www.huffingtonpost.com]

The environmental consequences of this decision are huge, but it seems that not many people even know it’s being made. In an effort to generate discussion about this important issue, we’d love to see your comments and opinions.

After reading this, we hope you jump over to the post linked above and spread the info around to your friends. Thanks for joining us in THE GREEN BLOG. Happy Valentines Day!

Simran Sethi, our knowledgeable host of THE GREEN, has been featured in a video on eq.tv (equilibrium television). The video gives a great introduction to Simran’s ability to weave story into environmental coverage. As environmental news can be a little too boring and factual, the introduction of narrative elements can spice up this news. The story of people’s lives and how those stories intersect with environmental issues is a very powerful and effective way of reaching people around the world.

We hope you enjoy this Simran Sethi Video [eq.tv]

Majora Carter and Simran Sethi care about the environment. They have many areas of knowledge on various environmental subjects. The two hosts made a few green editorial videos that played during the first screening of THE GREEN programming block. These videos deliver bite-sized bits of information that make it easier to present simplified versions of very confusing issues.

These green editorials also refer to some of the documentaries that play on Sundance Channel. Make sure to keep a note of the documentaries that interest you and tune-in to Sundance Channel the next time that documentary airs.

Green Editorial #1: Introducing the Hosts and Fuel Issues

This piece engages the fossil fuel industry and connects the dots between the oil well, your gas station and your tank of energy. This brings up the documentary CRUDE AWAKENING.

Green Editorial #2: Majora Carter and the Sustainable South Bronx project

This video with Majora Carter focuses on some important issues of pollution and poverty and how the two are often found in the same places.

Green Editorial #3: Simran Sethi and Vegetable Gardens

Simran Sethi shares her knowledge about the lawns in America and whether laboring that hard on grass is really worth it.

We trust you enjoyed these video pieces, and we’ll keep these coming in the near future.

Simran Sethi moderates Q&A session with Former Vice President Al Gore in Real Time

MSN is honored to host former Vice President Gore who will answer climate crisis questions in real time from the public. Covering questions on how to make your home more green or how to make small, yet effective, changes to your daily routine, Gore will offer simple tips and tricks that can help impact climate change. This online interaction is associated with Live Earth, concerts for a climate in crisis at MSN [LiveEarth.msn.com] on 7/7/07.

This event starts on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 1:30 PM EST.

The event will be moderated by Simran Sethi, an environmental journalist from Sundance Channel’s “The Green”.

To submit questions for the interview, simply send an email to goreonmsn@hotmail.com.

Sundance Channel Island in Second Life was featured in the New York Times Arts & Leisure section on Sunday, June 24. Sundance Channel has branched out to explore the screening possibilities in virtual worlds and its efforts have been noticed by Second Life’s virtual citizens and established periodicals like The New York Times. The screening of FOUR EYED MONSTERS in Sundance Channel Island was the first big event of its kind in Second Life and you can expect to see similar events in the future.

Simran Sethi, a top environmental journalist, has been holding Q&A sessions in Second Life for many weeks. There are a few more scheduled Q&A sessions, so make sure to login to Second Life on Tuesday night at 10PM EST. Stay tuned for audio recordings of Simran’s answers in the near future. If you want to read the New York Times article in all its glory, you can access it here [www.nytimes.com].

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

For this week’s fashion round-up, we will be taking a look at the outfits worn by Simran Sethi and Majora Carter during the last two weeks of THE GREEN’s environmental programming on the Sundance Channel. Both of our wonderful hosts enjoyed dressing in ecologically sustainable garments, as one can see in their happy and serene expressions.

Simran looks beautiful and feels comfortable in an outfit designed by Living Planet. [www.sundancechannel.com] The stunning stitch design on the front of the dress is sophisticated and compliments the simplicity of the knee length cut of the dress. Complete with short, white-trimmed sleeves, this dress catches the eye with its’ expansive red vibrancy.

Majora Carter’s is designed by Ecoganik. [www.sundancechannel.com] This gown has a gentle clinging quality that emphasizes the shape of the body while simultaneously allowing the skirt to flow, giving the impression that one is floating across the ground. The neck of the gown allows for optimal viewing of a necklace, in this case a design by jewelry designer, Mollie Dash. [www.sundancechannel.com]

The last outfit worn throughout these weeks features wardrobe by Grace & Cello. [www.sundancechannel.com] With a luscious, red, open-neck blouse and a black sweater, this outfit provides freedom of movement while still being sexy and chic for busy women on the go, such as Simran Sethi.

In case you are wondering what makes a garment ecologically sustainable, the definition comes in two parts. Part one would be the ingredients from which the clothing is made of, and these must come from organic sources, like organic cotton and organic dyes. The second part is the manufacturing process, which essentially boils down to how ecological the factory is that puts the clothing together.

If you enjoyed this post and want to see how others feel, or you just want to share your comments with us, please visit our discussion boards [www.sundancechannel.com] here at the Sundance Channel.

Technical Difficulties

Our second GREEN meeting in Second Life with Simran Sethi was held on Tuesday Night. The topic on the table that evening – “How can we green our own homes?”. The crowd was there and ready to go with questions for Simran and it was shaping up to be another informative meeting in Second Life and then…..the audio went out. Boo! It’s kind of difficult to hold a live Q&A when you can’t hear the audio….and so it goes when you’re dealing with such new and cutting edge platforms – right?

That said – we have to commend the attendees that night. Everyone was very patient and understanding of the situation and an insightful discussion on “cradle to cradle” design broke out between the avatars in the room. After numerous attempts to fix the audio problems – we had to throw in the towel. But we’ll be back next week, rested and ready to go. We were able to save some of your questions from Tuesday night and will address those at the next GREEN meeting, as well as questions on our new topic “Cities and Waste”.

For a slew of great photos, be sure to check out our SECOND LIFE PHOTO ALBUMS. [www.sundancechannel.com] Also, in order to give you a visual of how cool video can look on our virtual screen in Second Life, check out this photo of our screening room with a Simran Sethi webisode playing in the background.

Next GREEN Meeting in Second Life:

Date: May 1st
Time: 10pm EST / 7pm SLT (Second Life Time)
Topic: CITIES – How trashy are you? How can we reduce waste in our own cities?
Where: THE GREEN meeting will take place in the Main Screening Room on Sundance Channel Island.

See you there!

In order to walk-the-talk, Sundance Channel decided to make sure our on-air hosts were dressed in the finest organic clothing on the market. Whenever they appear on your TV screen, our hosts Majora Carter and Simran Sethi are always wearing clothing and fine jewelry from designers who only use sustainable materials and eco-friendly manufacturing processes for their products.

Majora Carter is wearing a black and white trim dress by Grace & Cello [www.gracecello.com]. Her jewelry is provided from the collection of Mollie Dash [molliedash.com].

Simran is wearing a red sleeveless top with a black knot pattern and greyish blue dress pants. This clothing comes from Deborah Lindquist [www.deborahlindquist.com], and are selected pieces from an eco-conscious line of clothing. The jewelry Simran is wearing comes from designer Lulu Frost. [www.lulufrost.com]