Planet Forward

THIS WEEK: We continue our journey to the Solar Decathlon! The teams are in Washington DC and showing off their homes. Check out Team New York's Roof Pod -- it sits atop a sky rise building and helps generate power. PLUS: Brendan Owens, Planet Forward's newest Expert weighs in on New York's use of bamboo and other new building materials. See more from Brendan and Planet Forward's Experts on our Ask an Expert page. CONTEST: Want to see your favorite Solar Decathlon team featured on Nightly Business Report? LIKE the team on Planet Forward.org. Get your likes in by October 10th! We'll showcase the team that has the most likes! TRUE LOVE: Which Solar Decathlon house is your dream home? Play our Matchmaker Quiz and find out! MORE: Like Team New York's plan for sustainable living in the city? There's plenty more where that came from! Check out these videos from the C40 -- mayors and Governors share their ideas to bring sustainability to their city. BEFORE WE LET YOU GO: Feeling left out of all the creativity that's going on at the Solar Decathlon? Visit this interactive world of doodles and exercise your creativity!

THIS WEEK: In this week's webisode check out the New Zealand team's neat innovations like the hydronic drying cupboard that can dry 6 bath towels in an hour and a half using...water? MORE FROM THE SOLAR DECATHLON: Don't forget to check out all the other Solar Decathlon teams and let us know what you think. LIKE your favorite and it could be PF's next webisode!! We'll feature the team that got the most likes next month on Nightly Business Report! STANDINGS: Right now, Team New York is crushing with more than 200 likes! University of Maryland is in a close second with 130 likes. Show your school spirit and help your favorite team get on TV! FROM OUR BLOG: Check out Planet Forward's Susanna Murley and how she thinks the Solar Decathlon could help create green jobs for Americans!! See her blog post on Huffington Post! FROM OUR PARTNERS: Bracken Hendricks argues that we can still grow green jobs in a tough economy. FROM NBR: Did you know the Empire State Building just received the GOLD standard for LEED certification? Check out our PBS Nightly Business Report to see how! NEXT WEEK: Keep checking in to see what teams are in the lead for the Solar Decathlon!! Like YOUR favorite team and maybe you'll see them come out on TOP! TOP TWEET: Thanks to @franksesno for this #sunnyideas: Climate changing? Gonna do something about it? He's already started. http://ow.ly/6q6N0 for more ideas go to Planet Forward #sunnyideas BEFORE WE LET YOU GO: Feeling nerdy? Want to make your own solar lamp out of household materials?

Viewers voted and TENNESSEE is on top in the race for the Solar Decathlon! Check out the Tennessee team's use of solar energy, insulated windows and a remote control iPad in their innovative new approach to a sustainable lifestyle. Also this week, ask expert Bill Worthen what HIS thoughts are on the Tennessee team's Living Light House. GET ON TOP: Want to see your favorite solar decathlon team's video featured here? LIKE them! FROM #SUNNYIDEAS: #Sunnyideas is Planet Forward's Solar Decathlon hashtag. Share your #Sunnyidea and maybe YOU can be featured here! Thanks to @MPGomatic for this #Sunnyidea RT: No hot water? A (n)ice cold shower saves water while eliminating the need for that third cup of coffee. IN THE NEWS: A solar powered charging kit brought to you by PFF Kristina Sgueglia. Thanks, Kristina. Submit your news item to our Newsdesk. FROM the AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS: Meet Planet Forward Expert Bill Worthen. Bill will be commenting on the Solar Decathlon videos throughout the month. Got a question for Bill or one of the other Planet Forward Experts? Check out Planet Forward's Ask an Expert. (Experts are standing by.) NEXT WEEK: More from the Solar Decathlon. Want to influence which team we feature next? LIKE your favorite team! FROM @SOLARCRICKET: Do you like solar energy? Help stop the haters like this guy and LIKE your favorite Solar Decathlon teams. The @SolarCricket is counting on YOU!

This week, we begin Planet Forward's coverage of the Solar Decathlon! 20 collegiate teams from around the world are designing and building sustainable solar homes. 11 of the teams have submitted their innovations to Planet Forward. In this week's WEBISODE, we take a look at the unique use of water in The University of Maryland's home. WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, HOW 'BOUT YOU? Want to participate in Planet Forward's coverage of the Solar Decathlon? LIKE for your favorite team, VOTE your favorite idea and TWEET #SunnyIdeas MORE ON #SUNNYIDEAS: Planet Forward's Innovator Danny Kennedy is the founder of solar company Sungevity. In our Innovator Update, we see how he is doing on his goal of eastward expansion. FROM OUR BLOG: Have a twitter account? We're taking your ideas about the Solar Decathlon teams through twitter. Planet Forward's Susanna Murley, tells you what PF is looking for. FROM NREL: Ever heard of a sky trough? Planet Forward visits the National Renewable Energy Labs to find out. FROM NBR: Last month, Planet Forward was on PBS Nightly Business Report introducing the Solar Decathlon. How do you think the liberal arts students at Middlebury will do against the engineering schools? NEXT WEEK: More from the Solar Decathlon. Want to influence which team we feature next? LIKE for your favorite team, VOTE your favorite idea and TWEET #SunnyIdeas. Got it?

In this week’s WEBISODE we travel to Bangkok to see what they are doing to cope with floods. PF Producer Victoria Riess talks with Porntep Techapaibul, the Deputy Governor of Bangkok.

In this week's WEBISODE Planet Forward host Frank Sesno sits down with Harry Shearer, the multi-talented comedian who is the voice of more than 21 Simpsons characters and host of his own radio program, "le Show." Shearer, a part-time resident of New Orleans, recently directed a documentary on what he calls the 'hard truths' behind Hurricane Katrina. The Big Uneasy takes a look at the real reasons why New Orleans flooded (hint: think man-made screw-ups, not natural disaster) and how marshlands can be nature's buffer against storms.

Here is a new way to deliver energy to those who need it. The women in one small community in Guatemala have wind, they just need a way to harness it. Enter enthusiastic students from the University of Michigan College of Engineering. In this week’s WEBISODE, we run their woven wind turbine innovation by Claudio Martinez from the Union of Concerned Scientists. MORE on the UCS: The USC submitted ideas to Planet Forward.org! Check them out here! THEN, submit your own! MORE on the U of Michigan: Students have a bright idea on solar! RELATED: Planet Forward Friend Oxfam America brings you climate survival strategies from the frontlines. AND: Columbia University’s Engineers without Borders make life more comfortable and sustainable for those in Obodan, Ghana. FROM OUR NEWSDESK: Germany’s power grid gets ready for offshore wind! Thanks, Laura DiMugno for sharing that news! Before we let you go, here’s one more vid to keep you entertained. Ducks Blown off Their Feet by the Wind Thanks to @Likeitalotte for naming this week’s webisode! If YOU want to name next week’s follow @Planet_Forward on Twitter and look for the hashtag #MyHeadline!

A rising tide may lift all boats, but what does it do to marshlands? In this week’s WEBISODE we showcase NSF funded marine scientist Dr. Nathaniel Weston’s work on how marshes are affected by sea level rise. We also take you on a trip halfway around the world to learn what women in Vietnam are doing to remove salt water from their rice paddies.

Innovators need feedback to make their great ideas even better. So, we try to connect experts with our PF innovators every chance we get. In our WEBISODE this week, a top architect gives feedback to 3 ideas — green urban rooftops, hemp-based building materials and large-scale passive solar. Bill Worthen, the National Director and Resource Architect for Sustainability at the American Institute of Architects, sat down with Frank Sesno to talk about the pro’s and con’s of each idea.

Would you climb a 300 foot tree to measure climate change? This week our WEBISODE focuses on some pretty daring work done by a research team from Humboldt State University led by Steve Sillet. The folks at KQED/Quest uploaded a video showing how Steve and his team climb Redwood giants to measure (literally measure, like, with really long measuring tape) the impact of climate change on Earth’s tallest forest. These measurements give Sillet and his team a sense of how trees have historically responded to climate change, and what the future looks like for these treasures.