In this post, we are to comment on the PBS E2 (read E-squared) series. These half-hour episodes focus on ecological and sustainable design, transportation, and energy. They are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! You can rent them, watch them online, or better still --buy them as it supports PBS.(Of course, if you're feeling v. consumer spending conscious in deference to the environment, then you could watch them online and just donate money to PBS --just as long as we support PBS). This series, narrated by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, go around the world to look at various countries and what they are doing to help the environment. From rooftop gardens and green space in Chicago to turning a garbage dump into a garden and park in Cairo --these shows are fabulous.

This particular journal entry should focus on season one of E2 Design --episodes 3, 6, and one of our choice. Episode 3, "The Green Machine", was about Mayor Daley in Chicago and how he wanted to green-up the city. He received a lot of criticism for his actions and beliefs, but he was determined. It's about time someone in the U.S. takes a stand in the political arena about environmental issues --for the good of the earth I mean --we already have George W. Bush.

Here's some stats from the opening credits of the series that illustrate the importance of Daley's work: 40% of the world's energy and 50% of its carbon emissions are from building and more than half the world's population live in cities. Chicago is the birthplace of the skyscraper, so it knows a little something about these stats from experience.

One of Mayor Daley's first projects as mayor, and the one that stays in my mind (strange because it has nothing to do with greener building practices but probably because it's so Secret Garden-like)is creating a rooftop garden on top of city hall. He saw this in Europe and wanted to recreate it here. Most city buildings are a flat expanse of tarmac and gravel that just soak up the sun and require higher energy use --especially in cooling a building. They make a perfect canvas for green space so desperately needed in the city. The city hall garden was also home to a whole ecosystem of of plants, animals, and insects.

Many criticized the mayor for his choice to make this his first green project, but now they see it as a symbol of the administration and of the importance of greener practices.

My favorite quote from this episode is: "We cannot consume our way out of this." So true --that's what got us in the mess in the first place!

In episode 6, they went to China and looked at the change in building design there. Architects made use of natural light and the dynamics of air flow to create a building (I think it was a library) that used far less energy heating, cooling, and lighting. Plus the added benefit was that one could curl up with a book or work at a table accompanied by a beautiful view of the city. On a stormy, rainy day that would be heaven! I also loved the escalators that stopped running when no one was on them. Fabulous!

Now for the episode of our choice: I chose episode 2, "Green for All."
Loved it! It was about affordable housing for the Yaqui Indians in Mexico and creating a sense of community with affordable housing in Texas. The episode centered these projects around architect and teacher, Sergio Palleroni. He's lovely, and by the end of the program, I had developed a major crush on the man. He respectfully worked with the people of Mexico and in the Texas community instead of at them. I use "at" meaning --he didn't view himself as someone there to save the less fortunate but as a neighbor and friend who just happened to have extra skills. This a rare thing in the West where the prevailing attitude is to save the brown man from himself.

Palleroni created housing for the Yaqui that functioned the way they functioned. These homes were made from local materials and were set-up to accommodate the way these people lived. These houses also required less expensive upkeep, so stayed within the owners' budgets.

In Texas, Palleroni gathered a group of volunteers to help clean up a low income neighborhood. They fixed things in the houses and cleaned up a shared alley. By cleaning up the alley, they created space for gardens --for food and aesthetics) and brought a sense of community and pride back to the neighborhood. Instead of being a forgotten place fraught with crime, it became a community gathering place and a safe place for children to play. It reminded me of Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "a song in the front yard". I've been inspired to write a poem myself about it!