Eco Company TV Episodes

Eco Company takes to the road on Segways for this episode. And they’re out looking for stuff that has a valuable second use. First they discover a new use for used cooking oil. Who would have known restaurants would be a source for biodiesel fuels. Adam went to the source to find out more. There is obviously a lot of trash that doesn't have a second use...or does it? Brendan went to a landfill where the trash goes 200 feet deep. Trash piles produce methane gas and this place is putting it to good use.

Eco Company visits the Monterey Bay Aquarium known throughout the world for it's conservation efforts. There are over 35,000 plants and animals in this amazing facility. The exhibits inspire us to preserve our oceans. First we take a look at some of the exhibits through the eyes of special tour guides, teen volunteers whose messages are music to our ears. Jordan tags along on a tour.

Eco Company wanted to know if our favorite sports teams are keeping up with the green revolution. So we went to the home of the San Francisco Giants to check it out. We learned the Giants are one of the greenest teams in sports from the concession stands, to watering the field, to recycling and transportation to the park! Jordan got the inside scoop on what they are doing and how they are doing it.

Eco Company goes to the beach! Because beaches and lakes are popular recreation areas, they often become a wasteland of plastic and garbage that people leave behind. But we found a girl scout troop that has adopted a Northern California beach and is determined to keep it free of trash and waste. Jessica catchest up with them on a beach clean-up day. Some of what they find is very surprising.

Eco Company visits a school that is doing everything to be sustainable. From their greenhouse and organic garden, to their energy monitoring systems and the new LEED Gold awarded science building with a living roof, this school is getting it right. Jordan visits the campus and discovers students who regularly check the tire air pressure of commuter’s vehicle to help maximize fuel consumption! We hadn’t seen that before.

Eco Company visits two amazing schools that are doing it right when it comes to helping the planet. First up is Sacred Heart Preparatory in Menlo Park, CA. Not only do they have a large organic garden, but they boast a brand new, LEED Platinum-rated science and multi-use building and state-of-the-art resource monitoring. Here you will find sustainability both inside and out the classroom.

Today were talking teens! Teens doing great things to support the sustainability of the planet. First up Adam goes to Santa Monica. Santa Monica High School is just a few blocks from world famous Santa Monica Beach, a great reason for the students here to take a special interest in keeping it clean and free of trash. The school's multi-awarding Team Marine does that...and a lot more! Yes, they clean the beach, but they also regularly test water quality, lobby against single use plastic bags...and recently built a solar boat! Adam caches up with them on the beach to see what they're up to.

In this episode we find amazing teens doing great things for the planet. But first Brendan visits a Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory where they are researching the efficiency of cooking stoves...those using wood and coal utilized by over 3 billion people world-wide to prepare 3 meals a day. It will give you a great appreciation of why this is so important.

From returning sea lions to a marine sanctuary to the man who organized the first Earth Day and the event that inspire it, to teen guides at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and a man making eco-friendly surfboards, this episode is all about our oceans and beaches. First up Jordan leaves land behind as she climbs on board the Kitty Kat, a boat on a mission to the Farallon Islands and the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of California. The trip has the special purpose of returning seven sea lions to the ocean in a protected place where they will find a lot of friends.

We all love to enjoy a sunny day at the beach. But we're probably unaware of the critters that live and thrive beneath the sand, critters that are an important part of the food chain and the balance of nature. Well, Eco Company's Brendan found some teens who are looking for sand crabs and documenting the ebb and flow of its population. It's a real story of budding scientists.

This episode features what has been called "Nature's Cathedral," the majestic redwood trees. First up we meet some guys that don't mind getting a little dirty. And they're up bright and early on a Saturday morning to go to work! They're giving up part of their weekend to help restore an overgrown grove of redwood trees. Brendan and Jordan grab some gloves to lend a hand and to find out why they are passionate about preserving these majestic Giants.

As Eco Company travels around, we find organizations and teen groups who are dedicated to making a difference. This episode profiles groups who are doing everything from cataloguing trash on the beach and ocean, to restoring a native habitat, to growing organic vegetables, to lobbying politicians! First up Jessica meets up with a group of girls participating in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Young Women In Science program. They get their sea legs and head out on the Monterey Bay, home to more than 30 species of marine mammals. But there is danger in these waters in the form of trash.

It may look clean, but cotton is actually one of the dirtiest crops around. Cotton has a big footprint in the world. Cotton growers use 11 percent of the world's pesticides and it takes more than 700 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to make just one T-shirt. But some farmers are doing things differently and Jordan heads out to the fields to find out how.

Meet Gerty, a Volkswagen Beetle. But she's not an ordinary Beetle. That's because the Bheda Family greened her up!! It was total family project. They tore out the old gas engine and put in a new electric motor. No easy task! And as Jalena found out, the project had it's share of problems...and a lot of satisfaction when the wheels successfully hit the road.

This week Eco Company is all about alternative energies and alternative fuels. First up Adam goes looking for cleanest, most environmentally-friendly car of the future. In Sacramento, CA, he finds the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a group of car manufacturers who have come together to create just that. After 10 years of developing Fuel Cell cars that run on hydrogen, the cars are a reality. Adam gets to take one for a test drive. Take a look and see what you might be driving in 8-10 years.

Eco Company tracks down teen climate crusaders, all with different approaches to their dedication. Jessica catches up with an inspirational teen from Ventura, CA, who has been an eco crusader since he was 12. From starting his own environmental non-profit organization to becoming the youngest presenter trained by Al Gore’s Climate Project, this high school sophomore isn’t taking climate change sitting down!

When you think of Yale University you probably don't think farming. That's because you haven't heard about the Yale Sustainability Food Project. As Adam discovered, students grow food on a one acre plot on the Yale campus. Yale students are learning about sustainability in a way that you can't learn in a classroom. Meanwhile Jordan visits the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She tours their new building built sustainably...as you can imagine!

This special episode of Eco Company features the best of the teen videos from Planet Connect's annual video contest. Teens from Hawaii to Massachusetts submitted their video that demonstrated an "Ocean Connection," how our actions can affect the environmental health of the oceans. The videos selected to be highlighted in this show demonstrated great creativity and a variety of approaches...from demonstrations and animations to dramatic presentations and...even a little dance!

It's a story everyone should see!! Household toxins...paints, aerosols, pesticides, insecticides, household cleaners, batteries, CFLs...many with dangerous carcinogens. What to do with them? How to get rid of them so they don't get into the environment and our water supplies. Take a few minutes to watch this story.

We all know to recycle...at least the basics...paper, glass & plastic. But what happens to all that stuff? How does it get reused? We decided to find out how all the plastic we recycle gets made into something else. So into a plastics recycling center we went.

This episode is all about how our actions affect the natural food chain in our oceans, protection of marine life and the health & beauty of our beaches. We're probably unaware of the critters that live and thrive beneath the sand, critters that are an important part of the food chain and the balance of nature. Nut Brendan met up with some teens who are looking for sand crabs and documenting the ebb and flow of its population. It's a real story of budding scientists.

It's a place that's hustling and bustling all day long. It's Project Open Hand and they prepare 2600 meals everyday of the year for senior citizens and others with serious illnesses. As you can imagine, they have quite an operation and it requires a lot of energy. Brendan gets a tour to find out what they are doing to reduce their energy consumption and their carbon footprint while serving sustainable and organic meals to many in need.