The 15 Must-See Green Shows On TV Right Now - Page 2

9. Survivorman

(series, Science Channel/SCI) Alone, 7 days. No food. No TV crew. Meet Les Stroud, "Survivorman" -- think MacGyver meets Grizzly Adams. In one episode, Stroud travels in a hot air balloon across a remote stretch of Africa, lands, and then his crew leaves him completely alone for seven days. Half an hour after they leave, a lightning storm hits and Stroud is forced to take cover under the balloon basket. It's like watching Into the Wild, but with a happier ending. Survivalist Stroud, a musician and former garbage collector, always gets out alive.

10. Wa$ted!

(series, Planet Green/PLGN) In one episode, James and Dean are branded "highly dangerous" eco criminals, so host Annabelle Gurwitch, with the help of her fellow trash master Holter Graham, puts the New York City-based couple through a three-week enviro boot camp. In "Wa$ted," Gurwitch and Graham unearth eco-horrors, while at the same time revealing how to save money.

James and Dean's infractions? Obsessive dry cleaning garnering hundreds of wire hangers. Food waste. Round-the-clock electricity. No recycling. (Gurwitch points out that just one of James and Dean's unrecycled wine bottles can sit in a landfill for one million years). And the list goes on. For Gurwitch and Graham, no family's hazardous habits are too far-gone. The show is fun, scary and inspirational.

11. Dogtown

(series, National Geographic Channel/NGC) This may not necessarily come under a traditional "green" category, but any show that saves and rehabilitates unwanted dogs helps save our world. Dogtown is a sanctuary in Southern Utah, also famous for taking some of Michael Vicks' abused fighting dogs and transforming them into adoptable sweethearts.

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12. Eco documentaries, Season 2

(series, Sundance Channel, SUND) I was this close to picking the irresistible Isabella Rossellini's whimsical insect series Green Porno, but I also could not resist Sundance's new season of stirring documentaries -- like this month's Crude Impact, which takes a look at what happens when worldwide petroleum supplies dwindle down. Or Escape From Suburbia, which follows one family's move to a Canadian eco village, another who leaves New York City to work "the land," and a third struggling to keep their suburban life sustainable.

13. Greensburg

(series, Planet Green/PLGN) In May of 2007, Greensburg, Kansas was wiped out by one of the largest tornadoes in American history, displacing more than 1,500 people. Enter producers Leonardo DiCaprio and Craig Piligian, who created this 13-part series depicting the town's rebirth as a model green community.

The documentary follows the people of Greensburg as they first decide to rebuild their town, through the journey and drama of the daily struggle, even when most residents continue to live out of FEMA trailers. Eco-friendly reconstruction is what this town has chosen and the results promise to be historic, although the path is not always easy.

14. Outrageous Wasters

(series, Sundance Channel/SUND) You will feel secretly eco-superior after watching these four families (in separate one-hour specials) transform from "energy-guzzling meanies" to "tree-hugging greenies" in two weeks. This BBC British-import has all the tartness and finger wagging only the English can get away with. Think "SuperNanny" for naughty grownups who are leaving giant carbon footprints.

15. Total Wrecklamation

(series, Planet Green/PLGN) Spunky redhead Jodi Murphy is a demolition auctioneer who helps reduce waste on the planet. "My job is to sell off everything reusable in a house from toilets to light fixtures," she explains on the show. "The reason there are so many teardowns," Jodi continues, "is because as the American family changes, so does the floor plan of the American home. People want in-town locations with new construction. And the only way to get it is tear it down and start from scratch."

We all know this is a big, fat green no-no, but people like Jodi keep these teardown owners from being obscenely wasteful. In one episode, Jodi walks into a soon-to-be demolished Chicago home containing (gasp!) top of the line cabinets and appliances worth about $85,000, which she manages to salvage and sell at auction.

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