GoingGreen: Every Home an Eco-Home

2006 • 24 minutes

About this movie

Mixing humor with everyday, affordable examples at home, GOINGGREEN tours the original Eco-Home with a group of middle-school kids who discover first-hand some simple, inexpensive ways to become more earth-friendly. Guided by eco-pioneer Julia Russell, Founding Director of the non-profit, Eco-Home Network, the children learn how to conserve water through drip irrigation, soaker hoses, graywater systems and drought-tolerant, California Friendly landscaping. They discover why and how to compost, what household hazardous waste may be lurking in their own homes, and how to use the sun's energy to light, heat and power their homes with sun pipes, solar hot water heaters and solar panels. The kids experience the delight of making their own organic tomato juice with tomatoes they picked right off the vine in Eco-Home's backyard garden. They learn, hands-on, how to compost, and have fun watching the progress of several serious-looking bugs that Julia describes as a crucial part of the 'composting team.' The kids ask questions and then come up with some of the answers! GOINGGREEN shows us how we can live earth-friendly lives on a limited budget, even in the middle of a city.

Ratings and reviews

"Though many want to live an environmentally responsible life, few know how to accomplish this. This DVD provides some practical and inexpensive methods for earth-friendly living. Host Tony Shalhoub introduces Julia Russell, an environmentalist who leads a group of middle-school students on an enjoyable and educational hands-on "going green" tour of a Los Angeles environmental demonstration "eco-home." This older residence has been "redesigned and retrofitted using materials, systems, and technologies that minimize the use of natural resources and employ alternative energy sources." The students inspect landscaping and gardening, examine energy conservation methods, discover how to properly manage household hazardous wastes, and interact with a compost pile—bugs and all. With assistance from the middle-school guests, Russell makes organic tomato juice. Tips and summaries are presented throughout."