“Harmony,” an hour-long special documenting Prince Charles’ efforts to combat climate change, aired NBC last week. But if you missed it, the network’s made the entire program available online.

Watch it to see many scenes of the Prince walking around in nature, in settings both beautiful and damaged — as well as lots of closeups of the Prince looking worried about the general future of humankind. Before the show aired, Jonathan Hiskes in Grist warned that “The film also looks mighty, mighty earnest, so consider yourself warned if you’re prone to nodding off at such things.” I recommend heeding that warning. Organic, fair trade coffee may help!

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TV networks don’t just weave in green themes into their shows once a year for eco-creds — They do it to win EMAs! The 20th Annual Environmental Media Awards recognized films and TV programs for bringing attention to environmental concerns at a star-studded event on Saturday at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif. Everyone from Rosario Dawson (below) to Natalie Portman to Eva Mendez to Ted Turner came out to walk the green carpet and honor green leaders in media.

Hosted by Olivia Munn (Attack of the Show) and Jason Ritter (The Event), this year’s EMAs showed just how much better eco-themed programming’s gotten — even compared to just two years ago, when I last attended the event. The Television Episodic Drama category alone addressed everything from global warming to factory farming to e-waste pollution! Bones took home the prize, Michaela Conlin accepting the award for “The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken,” an episode that brought attention to caged chickens.

I discovered there’s a surefire way of winning an EMA: Get Al Gore to do a cameo! Just like in 2008, 30 Rock took the Television Episodic Comedy award home for its Gore-inspired episode. Katrina Bowden (above) accepted the award, joking that she’d biked all the way from New York for the event. (more…)

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Still haven’t read Bill McKibben’s Eaarth – or my review of the scary but important book? Maybe a funny synopsis a la David Letterman will be easier for you to get through. Bill was on Letterman last night, not only talking about the pressing climate change issues covered in his book, but also urging everyone to get involved with the 10/10/10 Global Work Party next month.

Watch the 11-minute clip to find out why he wants President Obama to put solar panels back on the white house, how individual personal actions relate to collective political actions — and what you can do to push politicians to make real progress on climate issues in October. By the end of the interview, you’ll probably thinking what Letterman says to Bill: “Thank you for just scaring the crap out of me.”

Earlier:
>> Book Review: Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
>> Bill McKibben meets The Colbert Report: Can 350.org get laughs?

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If you’re a fan of Terracycle’s upcycled products, or simply wondered how productive a company founded on a pot-inspired idea could be, watch Garbage Moguls on National Geographic this Saturday to find out how trash gets upcycled into treasure — or at least fugly but utilitarian eco-products.

The new reality show follows Terracycle founder Tom Szaky and a team of employees at TerraCycle who dash around designing products out of trash, shooting each other with plastic guns, and petting kitties — while the show’s editors manufacture the obligatory reality show drama with short deadlines and small personality conflicts.

The pilot episode — in which the team works to “transform cereal boxes into notebooks, newspaper into pencils and cookie wrappers into kites” — re-airs at 4 pm on Sat., Aug. 21, followed by three additional episodes in which dog food bags get upcycled into pet products, old CDs into fishing lures, and Target bags into a suit jacket.

Watch, learn, and upcycle — though honestly, I think many of Terracycle’s products are not particularly, um, attractive. However, I’m also not sure the raw materials Terracycle has to use allow for anything better looking. What do you think, readers? Does Terracycle’s team turn trash into treasure? Or could the team learn a lesson or two from Regretsy?

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Despite recommendations from friends, I have yet to read Eat, Pray Love — so I don’t know if Elizabeth Gilbert’s book addresses any eco-ethical concerns. However, I do know that in Eat, Pray, Love the movie — starring Julia Roberts and out in theaters this August — the star of Pretty Woman carries an eco-fashionable fair trade purse.

That purse is a Hobo Bag, made from repurposed Kantha quilts and lined with vintage saris by fair trade artisans in India. The roomy tote’s available at fair trade store Seven Hopes United for $140.

I don’t know of any other fair trade purses that have made it on the big screen, but another upcycled eco-ethical tote’s a favorite of a TV heroine — Ugly Betty. For a good part of a season, Betty Suarez hauled around Rebagz’ Large Tie Tote, made of reclaimed juice packs by fair trade workers in the Philippines. The Betty look can be yours for $90 at Rebagz, a local fair trade company I wrote about here.

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