Photo: BuildingGreen
In case you have forgotten — it’s been a long week, with a holiday, hooray! — last week’s Dig This claimed that I will use my weekly soapbox here to promote house-related stuff that’s affordable to the average human being.
Well, today’s column is aimed at the average human being that owns a TV. If you are one of these lucky folk, you too can tune in to PBS this summer for the first-of-its-kind Building Green:
During the first season of “Building Green” we follow the start to finish progress on an innovative, beautiful, straw bale home being built in Santa Barbara, California, by our host, and delve into the details of green building techniques and materials. Through our host’s interactions with his wife, contractors and experts, we show the romance and challenge of building this home.
Now, I’m not claiming that all of us normal home-buyers and -builders and -renters have the capacity to build a straw bale home in Santa Barbara (natch). But the site claims it will give “hands on how-to that help viewers take immediate action toward greening their own homes” — which I really hope means, “Okay, gather your wood, nails and solar panels! We’ll give you a moment to take the TV up to the roof!” The 13-episode first season has tips from greening your foundation to your roof, interior furnishings to landscaping, and everything between.
As would be expected, host Kevin Contreras and his wife, Maryanne, are easy on the eyes. In fact, Kevin seems to have a knack for dressing to complement his surroundings — think yellow gloves with straw bales, gray shirt with paisley couch, and blue shirt with gray-blue steel framework. Indeed, Kevin has had spots on such eco-shows as Mad About You, The Single Guy, Law & Order, and Married With Children. (Side note: he was allegedly a “co-star” in an episode of Mad About You, but all Google can dig up is his stint as Birthing Classmate #1.)
But I digress (a trademark of mine). What I can’t find is when the show exactly starts, but references to “summer” abound. And summer’s right around the corner, right? I’m so ready for the sun to come out. For now you can watch the Building Green promo video.
Seems like it could be a cool show. But note to Building Green’s web designers: There are more subtle ways to advertise your ad space than boxes around your website that say “variable AD space” and “BANNER AD space.” Tacky.
