Your Environmental Road Trip (YERT) Celebrates the Completion of Eco-Adventure: 50 States in 52 Weeks
Celebrating green across the red, white and blue.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) July 8, 2008
Your Environmental Road Trip (YERT), an all-American eco-documentary project, completed its year-long odyssey on July 4, 2008. After exploring all 50 states in only 52 weeks, the YERT team has collected over 400 hours of footage and 800 interviews, but a mere 43 pounds of garbage...all of which confirm that this country may be environmentally challenged, but it is by no means doomed. The blog and video podcasts on the YERT team's website (www. yert. com) currently document just the tip of the iceberg. Now in the post-filming stage, YERT will continue to release podcasts as it explores opportunities for the footage to become a documentary, television series, or educational curriculum.
"We wanted to cut through all the 'green' hype and figure out what was really going on, from real people in real places who have real things to say. We learned that Americans care deeply about supporting the environment, but many are frustrated by the lack of truly green options to address their concerns," said Mark Dixon, co-founder of the project.
"And, with each new 'green-ish' product or service we move closer to 'over-greenification'—the backlash that comes when a word ceases to mean what it once meant. We risk building up a social immunity to the very movement that's trying to save us," added co-founder Ben Evans. "A giant 'green' SUV that gets 20 miles to the gallon isn't actually 'green'—it's barely 'chartreuse!' We're out to help real ideas and solutions see the light of day."
The YERT team, composed of Mark Dixon, Ben Evans, and Julie Evans, has often found itself knee-deep in environmental marvels. Interviews include eco-innovators such as Scott Brusaw of Solar Roadways and maverick farmer Joel Salatin of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Occasionally the team has created a stir. "YERT's video has turned me into a national and international phenomenon, man," said Matt Riggs, aka 'Eco Elvis'. "From their video I've gotten interest from Living on Earth, the BBC, CNN and the Discovery Channel's Planet Green. My limitless 'thank-you-very-muches' to their efforts!"
YERT will host a presentation of the project and its findings in both the San Francisco, CA, and Pittsburgh, PA, areas, where it will introduce 'awards' such as the greenest city, the smallest carbon footprint, and the person least likely to mourn peak-oil.
San Francisco, CA:
Date: July 11, 2008
Press Interviews: 3:30 P. M. – 6:00 P. M.
Open to all: 6:00 P. M. - 9:00 P. M.
Location: Temple Nightclub: 540 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105
Pittsburgh, PA:
Date: August 9, 2008
Press Interviews: 2:00 P. M. – 4:00 P. M.
Open to all: 3:00 P. M. – 7:00 P. M.
Location: Rachel Carson Homestead: 613 Marion Ave, Springdale, PA 15144
About YERT:
YERT, which stands for 'Your Environmental Road Trip', (www. yert. com) is a year-long eco-documentary project combining Internet videos and blogs to explore green issues inside and across all 50 states in the U. S. With video camera in hand and tongue in cheek, Ben Evans, Julie Evans and Mark Dixon have bathed themselves in the best, brightest and weirdest of the United States' ecological progress. Video podcasts of their adventures tapping into pressing environmental topics such as transportation, water scarcity, green living, renewable energy, organic farming and other ecological issues can be found at www. yert. com.
Media Contact:
Genea Sobel
Sobel Public Relations for YERT
(415) 516-0443
Genea(at)sobel-pr. com
To schedule a YERT presentation for schools or other community groups contact:
Mark Dixon
(415) 672-5537
Mark(at)yert. com
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