Where's Huell 4/19 - 4/25
In honor of Earth Week, Huell celebrates all the green things we do to protect California.
Monday - April 19, 7:30pm: Green Businesses - In this green adventure, Huell travels to the small northern California town of Arcata to visit two businesses that use recycled material to create beautiful and functional art. First it’s off to Whit McLeod Furniture to see how a group of craftsman are turning old wine barrels into fine furniture. Using the Craftsman style of furniture design, this small company is making a product that is both beautiful and eco friendly. Next it’s off to Fire and Light where a team of twenty artists’, turn old broken bottles into beautiful giftware and dinnerware that is now shipped to specialty stores and galleries throughout the country.
Related: Our wastefulness is tied, at least in part, to our narrow notions of material and function. We have strong and often limited ideas about what materials should be used to create everyday objects. Earth Week invites us to see new potential in the raw materials around us and find new ways of using and reusing what we often take for granted. For example, how many of us would have ever dreamed up a cardboard lounge chair?:
Tuesday - April 20, 7:30pm: Wet Cleaners - We all know what dry cleaning is, but have you heard of wet cleaning? If you haven’t, you will begin to hear the term more and more as California embraces the process that is the answer to the hazardous chemicals used in dry cleaning.
To help jump-start professional wet cleaning in the Los Angeles region, the South Coast Air Quality Management District funded The Garment Care Project of the Pollution Prevention Education & Research Center (PPERC) at Occidental College. This project provided wet clean equipment and technical training grants to 22 cleaners interested in switching from dry cleaning to professional wet cleaning.
So to learn more about it, Huell is joined by PPERC’s director and the proud owner of Nature’s Best Cleaners and follows the steps involved in this non-toxic, energy efficient and, of course, environmentally friendly process.
Related: Yes, you did read the title of this episode correctly. Wet cleaning — not to be confused with dry cleaning — is a green alternative, a way to clean our sensitive fabrics without posing too much of a threat to Mother Nature. But before Huell delves into the topic of wet cleaning, perhaps it would be beneficial to review exactly what dry cleaning entails..:
Wednesday - April 21, 7:30pm: Tires - California is faced with the significant challenge of diverting or safely managing more than 31 million reusable and waste tires generated each year. Huell introduces us to individuals, companies and agencies that are hard at work coming up with solutions to this daunting problem.
Related: In this episode, Huell looks at some of the more conventional ways to recycle waste. Vince Hannenmann offers up another way to breathe new life into old objects. Since 1989, Hannenmann has used junk as his primary building material for his outdoor cathedral. And somehow, through the years, this space has moved from trash to treasure.:
Want to learn more about Hannenmann's Cathedral of Junk? Check out this story done by American Public Media's The Story.
Thursday - April 22, 7:30pm: Green Waste - Huell learns about plant waste and how it is turned into useful products like compost, mulches and wood chips.
Related: Compost is for everyone. If you're looking for a simple way to reduce waste, look no further. We'll let Huell tell you about the essentials of composting. In the meantime, here's a video that doesn't get into the nitty-gritty of compost creation, but will give you some sense of what to expect.:
Friday - April 23, 7:30pm: Solar Fest -The Solar Living Institute in Hopland is a non-profit educational organization that promotes sustainable living through inspirational environmental education. Huell attends their annual SolFest where he discovers exciting products, workshops and entertainment all celebrating renewable energy technologies and healthy lifestyle practices.
Related: Understanding the science and the methods surrounding green energy options can be a challenge. Luckily, there are organizations like The Solar Living Institute to school you on best green practices. By the end of their PV Boot Camp you will be a solar energy superstar.:
Saturday - April 24, 7:00pm: Solar Homes - Huell visits a new solar community and checks out the new “solar tiles”.
Related: Know exactly how solar energy works? If ther answer is no, then we're in the same boat. Here's a solar energy 101 video so we can keep up with Huell as he tours California's solar homes.:
Sunday - April 25, 7:30pm: Wind Power - Huell gets a private bus tour of a wind farm in Southern California’s Coachella Valley. The “windmill tour” shows us the history, technology, and economic benefits of wind as a natural power source
Related: When it comes to choosing a wind farm location, there are quite a few requisites: a minimum wind speed of 10 mph, a near constant flow of steady wind, and the list goes on... Huell checks out one area of Southern California that has that winning combination.:
