by Don Fitz
The St. Louis environmental TV show, Green Time, is moving from KDHX to KNLC Channel 24. The show carried some of the best DVDs and discussions at KDHX from 1996 through early 2011.
Federal laws changed, getting rid of requirements for communities to have public access TV. Without funding from Missouri, KDHX decided to end public access shows at the end of 2011.
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, the Green Time crew decided that KNLC might be a good fit and approached Larry Rice. KNLC is produced at New Life Evangelistic Center, 1411 Locust in downtown St. Louis. It is best known for its advocacy programs for the poor, especially its homeless shelter.
But KNLC has long placed a heavy emphasis on environmental issues, particularly on renewable energy. The Center promotes an array of books, DVDs and workshops on renewable energy and has a Renewable Energy sub-channel, 24-2.
Green Time anticipates reaching a new and wider audience with its switch to network TV. Currently, Green Time is broadcast at noon on Channel 24 on alternate Saturdays (June 11 & 25, July 9 & 23, etc). The show is repeated on 24-2 at 9 pm on Channel 24-2 the next Monday (June 13 & 27, July 11 & 25, etc).
Green Time will be providing regular Channel 24 viewers with topics which complement renewable energy: coal power, tar sands, nuclear power, genetic engineering, urban gardening, storm water management, transitional living and environmental businesses.
Shows typically have footage from area environmental events or include some of the best DVDs: The Story of Stuff, Life After Growth, In Transition, Unleaded, Climate Rush, and Mountaintop Removal Road Show. Guests come from environmental groups such as the Gateway Greens, Sierra Club, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, Missouri Votes Conservation, Beyond Nuclear and St. Louis Animal Rights Team.
Shows also include guests from area religious organizations and social justice groups like the NAACP, Universal African Peoples Organization, African Youth Heritage Organization, Instead of War, Veterans for Peace, Autonomy Alliance and several unions. Other guests are elected officials or university professors.
If Green Time sounds interesting, get involved in planning and producing it. The show needs people to work on designing and creating shows. If you know or want to learn how to interview, get action footage in the field, edit a final production, or just operate a camera while taping, Green Time has a place for you. To find out more, call 314-727-8554 or email: fitzdon@aol.com.