"I am not an environmentalist" is one of the most candid observations to come out of the Sundance Channel's second season of "Big Ideas For A Small Planet". The documentary series is part of the Sundance Channel's, The Green, a weekly programming block dedicated entirely to the environment.

Chad Pregacke, is the voice behind the quote. He is the founder Living Lands and Waters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting and recycling river trash from all around the country while monitoring pollution levels. Chad appears in the episode Water, and is one of the many social entrepreneurs featured in the documentary series.

What I found interesting about his comment was that when he set about in what is now his life's work, his first intention was to clean the part of the Mississippi River that is literally his backyard. Yet the effort proved to be so huge and yet so important, that it was his sense of personal urgency more than a environmentally focused political agenda that set him on his quest.

In Decorate, Kelly LaPlante, Daniel Michalik and Bannavis Sribyatta show how you can have an absolutely fabulous home without killing Gaia. In Power we see how the term "alternative energy source" is losing it's stigma and it's ugliness. The Solar Decathlon featured in the episode so makes me wish I had land and a few hundred grand to get one of those houses built and decorated so luxuriantly eco-friendly.

Check your local listings to see when the next show airs in your area (in the NYC metro area it's tonight at 8pm). This is a real treat of the series, showing how beauty is not in wasteful luxury but in mindful balance between personal desire and social change. If you don't have cable or do not have access to the Sundance Channel (I count myself as one of those people), you can still catch the "Big Ideas For A Small Planet" episodes online.

Oh, and by the way, if you do go to their site, don't miss Isabella Rosselini's Green Porno ... I know, don't ask me, just go see it ... heh.