Wind Power
The Green Economy looks at the emerging technology that’s becoming big business.  Condon Oregon is the site of one of the largest wind farms in the World.  This trend is becoming a reality!

Waste to Energy
Marion County Environmental Services oversees the operation of one of the most successful recycling and energy programs in the United States. Curbside collection, sorting, waste incineration which in turn generates electricity…these folks have it nailed.  We get to see all steps and get involved in the process.

Biodiesel
Growing gas…that’s one way to look at it.  By focusing on using organic waste like used cooking oil and compost materials niche companies like Sequential Bio-Diesel have created their own industry.  We will look at how it's grown, gathered, made and used.

Solar Energy
Stores like Real Goods in Humboldt County California carry everything you can think of solar including…yes you guessed it…solar toilets!  We will look at the differences in the technology and how this endless energy source is being used.  The future really is bright!

Solar Revisited
Previously we looked at the different types of solar and where the technology and trends are taking us.  Now we will look at how solar is much more widely accepted and used.  In Coos Bay Oregon nearly every new public structure has solar integrated into its construction.  The efficiency of the modern panel is impressive and the future really is as bright as they say.

Geothermal Energy
All of us have seen a hot spring or an active volcano but finding new and creative ways to utilize this energy hasn’t been easy.  Now you can not only heat your home but use it to turn the lights on too.  We visit Bottle Rock Power Plant in The Geysers California.  Here they drill and harness the heat and steam from the earth on a scale hard to believe.

Wave Energy
Another budding energy field is harnessing the power of the ocean.  Wave energy buoys are doing it now but the plan is to expand this technology all over the world.  The worlds largest buoy is being built in Vancouver Washington and it will launch on the Oregon Coast.

Hydroelectric Power
Bonneville Power built several of the biggest and most powerful hydroelectric dams.  We find out how these huge turbines work as well as what other groups like Fish & Game are doing to lessen the impact on the river and its fishy residents.

Sustainable Mining
The history of Butte Montana is forged in the not so environmentally friendly practices of the Copper Kings of the early 20th Century.  Now the city leaders and residents are pushing to clean up the sins of the past and also educate those who wish to get into the field of Mine Reclamation at Montana Technical Institute.  We go on top and hundreds of feet below the city to get all the angles.

Green Education
Universities like Oregon State, Montana Tech & Portland State are adding degrees to their curriculum that cover many new sustainable trends.   

The Future Of Urban Planning and Building

New Urbanism
This sleepy seaside community is built under the brand of sustainable new urbanism.  Not only are the homes and other community buildings built in a very environmentally friendly way, but the design promotes the diminished need to drive by grouping services like grocery, laundry, restaurants and other things in the center promoting biking and walking.  We take a few days off to enjoy the experience!

Green Building
Trends these days are to not build homes and buildings to code but to standards that are much more efficient.  Windows, doors, insulation, heating, cooling and even the countertops in some kitchens are more efficient and made with less and less toxic methods.  We will be visiting one of the most efficient homes on the planet and one of the first Leed Platinum office buildings in the US.

Green Remodeling
Rebuilding old homes isn’t new but in this country it isn’t nearly as common as in places like Europe.  Keeping the basic structure in tact isn’t just more economical but it also helps keep history alive.  Not just homes but all sorts of things are being re-tasked over buying new.  

Green Insulation
Not only how, but what is now being used to insulate homes and buildings will surprise you!  How about sheep wool or compressed recycled newspaper?  The list is fascinating as are the folks who are working to make it even more sustainable.  

Green Golf Course Management
Think the modern golf course simply dumps tons of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides everywhere?  Think again!  Not only would that bankrupt most of these facilities but they are must more forward thinking, from a sustainability standpoint, than you might give them credit for.  We will look at 2 courses that are making sustainability one of their primary goals.  We will also look at the industry in general and how things are changing... for the better!

Water Systems
We all need it and its much less common than you might think.  The earth has plenty of water but only a small fraction of it is fresh and clean.  Our rivers are much dirtier than people think so cleaning water for drinking is becoming the focus of numerous scientists.  We take some of the dirtiest and make it clean and drinkable right before your eyes.

Home Recycling
Keeping aluminum cans out of the trash is how a lot of us were raised to recycle.  Today nearly everything we buy, use and throw away can be recycled in some form.  Its not always easy but the ways in which companies are making recycling products is down right fascinating…we will take a look.

The Future Of Transportation

Hydrogen Fuel
Can you run a car on basically water?  Yes you can.  However that’s not the most common use.  Utilizing this technology takes a little know how.  We go to Clackamas County Community College to see a car that runs on basically water as well as talk to scientist types who are looking to the future.

Green Vehicles
All of the big 3 automakers are offering or getting ready to offer electric alternatives to the family car.  One of the first was the Nissan Leaf and one of the more recent, the Chevy Volt.  We take a look at these as well as electric racecars and motorcycles from exploding new businesses like Brammo Motors.

The Greening Of Freight Rail Part #1
Since the early days of the railroad there has been the ability to move massive amounts of freight to expand the literal horizons of where business is done.  Today that trend continues except technology and good old-fashioned American know-how is leading the way.  Moving a ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a gallon of fuel is now the benchmark for efficiency.  You will see how the technology is revolutionizing the locomotives and companies like Gunderson, GE and others are looking to stretch that even further.

The Greening Of Freight Rail Part #2
How does a major port like Long Beach and Los Angeles use rail to move the literal mountains of freight?  We will show you.  Also, think it's impossible for the exhaust of a locomotive to actually be cleaner than the air it takes in?  It is!

 

The Future Of Natural Resource Management

Wildlife Management
Lions…Tigers…Bears…Oh My!  We find out how people who really care about wildlife are raising awareness about why our urban growth is literally making dangerous encounters with wild animals is becoming an everyday occurrence.  We visit an exotic animal rescue to see lions, tigers and other wild animals are being cared for the best way possible.  We also talk to experts about one of the most allusive animals, the wolf, is now making a comeback.

Sustainable Fisheries
Beyond Catch & Release policies are experts who are dedicated to making sure the habitat for both commercial and sport fishing stays healthy.  The Pacific Ocean is home to literally thousands of species of fish and other creatures.  Here in the Northwest one of the best indicators to the health of the ocean is Salmon.  The Green Economy looks at how experts are monitoring all aspects of the health of the fish.  There are some major breakthroughs from a technical aspect that are making the monitoring all the more accurate.

Sustainable Forestry
Growing trees is not totally the job of Mother Nature anymore!  Making sure logging doesn’t tax future growth too much is an ever more increasingly important task.  Using a relatively new high tech invention, the helicopter, to harvest hasn’t been around that long but offers an interesting alternative to logging.  We look at growing, managing and cutting of the new sustainable forest.

Waterways Superfund Part #1
Cities around the United States grew up around the great arterial waterways.  In the West, the Columbia and Willamette have seen 150 years of commerce and change and unfortunately have paid the price of the industrial revolution.  It's not the water so much as the sediment on the bottom where PCB’s and other toxins are threatening fish and other wildlife.  There is a push to reverse the damage of the past by removing the worst of this sediment.  This is a complex issue with an even more complex solution but we show you how they’re doing it.

Waterways Superfund Part #2
In this program we will compare other rivers where industry has left its mark.  Rivers like the mighty Hudson where PCB clean up has been revolutionized.  New Jersey’s Passaic River, which is considered one of the most polluted bodies of water anywhere.  The Gowanus Canal that runs through Brooklyn New York where you’d think twice if you wanted a dip on a hot day.  Lastly, its the Fox River in Wisconsin that is one of the largest cleanups on record.  The Willamette just may be pristine again!

The Future Of Food & Medicine

Green Wine
Organic wine making is big business in California.  We take a look at Frie Family Winery in Napa County where organic wine making was practically invented. Then we take a look at how this trend is moving north to Oregon where varietals like Pinot Noir are becoming the organic cash crop.  Along the way we sample the tremendous wines available.

Green Beer
Mendocino California is where hops, the lifeblood of beer, have been grown for generations.  Brewers like Mendocino Brewing brew dozens of types of Organic beer and we find out how.  Then we sample some of those and other great beers at Urban Hop Works in Portland Oregon where they have their own twist on beer.  Along the way we stop at one of the largest hop farms in the West to see how they’re grown.

Organic Cooking
There’s nothing boring about organic cuisine anymore!  Bland and dull are not words used to describe the food at places like Flying Lotus Café.  This trend has to start up the stream a little further, which is where food giant like Sysco comes in.  We find out what restaurants are looking for in the organic arena straight from the source.

Green Medicine
Words like Naturopath and other less traditional terms to describe the healing process once were shunned by modern medicine and the general public.  Today they are much more common and accepted.  Procedures like acupuncture are prescribed by doctors routinely nowadays.