Simran Sethi – formerly of www.treehugger.com and now, environmental correspondent for NBC and MSNBC News. In this interview with Keeper.com, Simran talks about the history and evolution of treehugger.com, one of the top environmental websites, as well as her (and Treehugger’s) commitment to the idea that we can all be environmentalists and that there are financially accessible, beautifully designed, fun ways that we can contribute to the environment. She also talks about her role as co-host of the Sundance Channel’s “The Green.”
Listen to the interview:
Simran Sethi shows Oprah Winfrey Show viewers how to have a “Green Christmas.” (December 5, 2006)
SHOW NOTES/TIME LINE (in minutes)
0 – 3.5 – The Keeper, Inc.’s Marketing Director, Julia Schopick, introduces Simran Sethi, of Treehugger.com, the largest eco-site on the Internet.
3.5 – 9:25 -Simran talks about today’s increased interest in the environment and Treehugger’s history – how Graham Hill and Nick Denton conceived Treehugger to be “hip, not hippie,” and to “look at opportunities that the use of our natural resources presents to us.” Treehugger tries to promote the idea that we can all be environmentalists and that there are financially accessible, beautifully designed, fun ways that we can contribute to the environment.
Treehugger is a multimedia site that was actually put up by an independent production company, Missing Pieces. There are several components of Treehugger.com, including Treehuggertv.com, hugg.com and treehugger radio (which is in conjunction with Air America/EcoTalk), so it is now referred to as Treehugger Media.
9:25 – 11:25 – Simran talks about the contests, one of which is Convenient Truths, that Treehugger is running now. (Readers will submit videos showing ways the public can respond to climate change.) Laurie David, a very well known environmentalist, is one of the judges, as are environmental pioneers Jerome Ringo, Hunter Lovins and Cameron Sinclair. To find out more about these contests, and to hear interviews with these environmentalists, go to Treehugger.com and click on “contest.” Or go directly to the contest site, where you can access interviews with Ringo, Lovins and Sinclair, as well as with Lisa Renstrom (Sierra Club), and Bob Perkowitz (founder of EcoAmerica). (A list of the judges and their affiliations may be found here)
11:50 – 15:00 – Slate.com collaboration, The Slate Green Challenge, will challenge people to look at their “carbon footprints” (i.e., the carbon emissions we generate), and to explore how they can go on a “carbon diet,” in order to lessen the amount of carbons each of us emits and to make good choices to become more “green.” Slate.com author Meaghan O’Neill has been writing this series up. People are hungry for learning practical ways to make their lives greener: The editor of Slate.com says that there has been a huge response to this contest to reduce global warming: 27,000 people (as of the end of November 2006) have signed up for this environmental challenge! Treehuggertv, too, teaches people how to “go green.” Green Guides are also being prepared, on how to “green” different aspects of our lives, such as our wardrobes.
15:00 – 16:00: The relationship between broadcast and broadband in involving people in the environmental movement. How do websites influence and interact with mainstream media? Discusses Leonardo DiCaprio’s upcoming TV show, in which he will “green” an entire village. Also discussed: other environmentally conscious actors, such as Daryl Hannah, George Clooney, Ed Begley, Jr.
16:00 – 21.50 – Simran’s interest in Food Justice – helping poor people to live more sustainably and helping to provide a just food system for all. Going into poor neighborhoods, providing access to, and education about, healthy foods. Also talks about food in the schools. People’s Grocery, a not-for-profit organization, is discussed.
21:5 – 23:00 – Discussion of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s efforts to pass a bill that will provide for independent study of possible toxicity of disposable menstrual products (i.e., dioxins). We talk about the possibility of keeper.com and treehugger.com both interviewing Congresswoman Maloney, in order to help her get her bill passed.
23:00-25:00 sign off
NEWS: Starting April 17, 2007, Simran Sethi will co-host “THE GREEN“, a new 13-week television series on Sundance Television, which will be devoted exclusively to environmental topics.
Keeper.com’s interview with Simran Sethi was recently featured on Treehugger.com! Also mentioned in this short article was the terrific print interview with Simran, conducted by Eliza Thomas, which appeared in Common Ground Magazine.
And don’t forget to watch Simran on the Sundance Channel’s THE GREEN, starting April 17th.
