YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip
50 states. 1 Year. Zero Garbage?
Called to action by a planet in crisis, three friends hit the road—with hope, humor . . . and all of their trash—to explore America (the good, the bad, and the weird) in search of breakthrough solutions to humanity’s greatest environmental challenges in this award-winning docu-comedy.
Watch the whole YERT film right here. For free.
Share it with your friends, cousins, students, neighbors. Send it to your grocer, your dog-walker, your congressional representative. We think everyone should see it.
Seriously, though. This is a whole, free environmental documentary, which you can and should watch right now.
Featured Videos
Chico Eco Elvis
YERT shares some Christmas spirit with The King of Green. The YERT team gets schooled on the three R's as Eco Elvis takes on the Bag Monster in a no-holds-barred grudge match. Can Julie's ChicoBag save the day? ChicoBag | Reusable Bags.)
Solar Roadways - The Prototype
Solar Roadways are being developed to pave roads with solar panels that you can drive on. Co-founder Scott Brusaw gives us an exclusive look at his most recent prototype. (More info...)
YERT Pods
While on the road, we released a ton of mostly goofy (and sometimes sobering) short films.
Watch them all below.
Warning: there are a lot of puns.
We also maintained a blog while on the road. To get the backstory on all these fabulous videos, head on over to the YERTblog.
Please note, this blog is no longer being updated, a bunch of the links are out of date, and the formatting suffered somewhat in the import from our old site, but hey—life is an adventure. Go check it out.
YERTpod1: LaunchPod
At T+14 days into the YERT adventure, we thought it would be about time to show you how we launched this thing.
YERTpod2: Pennsylvania Coal: Fire in the Hole!
You think you have an old flame? Check out the fire in Centralia, PA!
YERTpod3: Ask Uncle Sam
Got a question for Uncle Sam? These kids have questions...and answers...and questioning answers. Don't ask.
YERTpod4: Gunga Gunga in New Jersey
All indicators point to nonpoint source pollution making gigunda gunga gunga grow in Barnegat Bay!
YERTpod5: City Farm Charm in Rhode Island
We find ourselves charmed by the easygoing pace and not-too-subtle wisdom of the City Farm in Providence.
YERTpod6: Growing Meat, Milk, and Fluff in Rhode Island
Things seem to grow well in this great little state—watch turkeys mate, cows debate, and alpacas salivate.
YERTpod7: Words of Wind-dom in Massachusetts
YERT explores arguments for and against the offshore wind farm proposed in Nantucket Sound, then hits the beach for additional investigation!
YERTpod8: Lattah Wattah in Maine
YERT heads to Maine and decides to get all wet! Watch Mainers and Mainiacs sound off on water rights...and water wrongs.
EXTRA YERT VIDEO—YERT Conversation 8.1: Peace and the Planet (44 mins of nourishing conversation)
YERTpod9: Voting With Your Feet in New Hampshire
We discover that politicians need to "Live Carbon Free or Die" in the NH primary. The passion of Bill McKibben, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH), and concerned citizens cuts to the heart of the matter—and mostly through the loud rally music.
YERTpod10: Seeding is Believing in Vermont
Good things are taking root all over this beautiful state. Explore the seeds of a new economy, and see how they all grow well together.
YERTpod11: Not Your Standard CAFEs or Roofs in Michigan
After hitting the streets to explore CAFE standards with unsuspecting Wolverines, YERT gets under the hood at Ford's innovative Rouge Factory, which happens to have the largest green roof in the world! Then we dance. Barely.
YERTpod12: Gettin' Da Green Bidness in Illinois
YERT wakes up dark and early to search for green businesses from the top of Chicago's City Hall to the triple bottom line. Then we try to estimate the monetary value of our planet and all its citizens. No problemo.
YERTpod13: Solar Decathlon
YERT looks at two entries in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathalon. We toured the houses built by MIT and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before they moved the houses to Washington D.C. for the big event.
YERTpod14: Challenging Corn in Iowa
YERT is challenged by the complexities of corn, exploring biofuels, land use, and surprisingly corny food products.
EXTRA YERT VIDEO—YERT Conversation 14.1: Simple Living 101 (Ideas for simplifying the holidays—and your life)
YERTpod15: In-tree-guing Discoveries in Nebraska
Once known as the "Tree Planters' State," Nebraska provides fertile ground for earthen ideas and well-tended trees at Dancing Leaf and the Arbor Day Farm. We get to hear the YERT theme played on giant xylophones.
YERTpod16: Energy Sipping Homes in Colorado
Watch experts discuss super-green homes, and learn how your home can be where the carbon isn't.
YERTpod17: Happy Thursday in Boulder, Colorado
YERT discovers that you can't buy happiness, but you sure can "bike" happiness—500 people "peddling" good cheer on the streets of Boulder, CO. Welcome to Happy Thursday—Boulder Cruiser Ride style.
YERTpod18: A Peek at Park(ing) Day in Utah
Ben, Julie, Mark, and a green leaf bug jump into funky good times in a mini-park in a parking space. Park it and watch.
YERTpod19: Diggin' Dugout Dick in Idaho
See Dick live. See Dick live in a cave for 60 years. See Dick live simpler than any human encountered by YERT. Long live Dugout Dick!
YERTpod20: The Sound of Dammed Salmon in Washington
If the salmon in the Elwha River aren't dammed, then the watershed isn't damned. Also learn the keys to Sound environmental policy in the Puget.
YERTpod21: Building the Future at Yestermorrow
YERT dives under the hood of Vermont's Yestermorrow Design/Build School—where yesterday's wisdom meets tomorrow's architecture.
YERTpod22: Moving the Right Way in Oregon
YERT discovers that Oregonians really get around...using public transportation that actually serves the public so that everybody wins, including Mother Nature.
YERTpod23: Bioneering Change in California and Beyond
The Bioneers Conference will change you, but only if you're into change.
YERTpod24: Non-Invasive Ways to do Holidays in Hawaii
We hunt for non-invasive species while attempting to tread lightly on holiday—and on Halloween.
YERTpod24.5: Revolutionary New Energy Source
The Bush Administration pursues a new revolutionary home-grown alternative auto fuel...
YERTpod25: YEaRTh Day in NYC
YERT searches for Earthy New Yorkers and finds out all about Tuesday.
YERTpod26: Gambling on Water in Nevada
Big bucks and waning water make for high-stakes drama in Las Vegas. We look to Elvis for strategic advice.
YERTpod27: Everything's Under the Sun in Arizona
We explored the lighter side of solar power in this extremely un-desert-ed state.
YERTpod28: An Agri-Culture of Permanence in New Mexico
The wisdom of the ages meets the agriculture of the future in the Land of Enchantment.
YERTpod29: Construction Is More Than OK in Oklahoma
YERT asks some LEEDing questions and finds geothermal under where? Oklahoma.
YERTpod30: Perennial Good Food in Kansas
Great ideas keep cropping up in the heartland of America. Local Burger and The Land Institute are sun-shining examples of powerful innovations in food!
YERTpod31: An Epiphany of Three Wise Men in Missouri
YERT headed to The Show Me State—and they sure showed us! Rebirth, regrowth, re-purpose…with renowned architect Bob Berkebile, urban activist Marty Kraft, and Bob Cassilly's City Museum.
Short Films
Larry Gibson - An American Hero Remembered
YERT honors the legacy of our friend, Larry Gibson—Keeper of the Mountains and one of America's great champions for environmental justice. (YouTube)(More info...)
YERT: The Film - Junk Montage
The junk montage from the YERT feature film, set to the musical masterpiece "Junk" by Brainpool. (More info...)
The Transition Movement - An Introduction
Tina Clarke presents a 62-minute introduction to the global Transition movement, addressing peak oil and climate change with a powerful and uplifting community response. (More about Transition...)
Theo Chocolate-ey V-Day
A YERT feature film extra, in fair trade organic chocolate form! Joe Whinney from Theo Chocolate shares his secrets with the YERT team as we eat them up. Literally. (More about Theo...)
YERT Loves Mountains
We covered "I Love Mountains Day" 2009, sponsored by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Here, Congressman John Yarmouth makes it clear exactly where he stands on the issue of Mountain Top Removal (MTR). (More MTR info...)
YERT Filmmaking Lair
Here's a sneak peek at the YERT Filmmaking Lair. You'll meet editor Scott Irick, see the YERT film plan on a giant whiteboard, and learn of Scott's impressive Mountain Dew capacity.
YERT DVD Launch Party
Three hours of live interviews with YERTy fans and eco pioneers, including Scott Brusaw from Solar Roadways. Recorded live in December 2012 to mark the launch of the YERT Feature Film on DVD with First Run Features.
Earth Hour: Feel Depower
The YERT team rolls into DC during Earth Hour 2008 to test our government's commitment to the planet. Oops...let's hope they get the memo this year.
All The Presidents’ Heads
The YERT team busts into South Dakota's President's Park to get eco-interviews with All The Presidents' Heads.
YERT Conversation 19.1: Solar Roadways
YERT talks with Scott Brusaw in northern Idaho about an idea that could solve nearly every problem "under the sun"—literally. Welcome to Solar Roadways, where the rubber hits the...er...photovoltaic panel.
Bear Necessities
This is our entry for the TreeHugger "Convenient Truths" eco-video contest. Thanks to all of you (and a few judges), we placed SECOND out of nearly one hundred entries! Special thanks to Brooks White for the music.
Bag Monster at Mardi Gras!
The Bag Monster takes New Orleans by storm this Mardi Gras season!
PittPrepPod0: Purposeful Planning
An unintentionally ironic video in which Ben and Mark discuss searching for the right YERT vehicle (even though we had the car by the time we posted this video). Think of us as time travelers with terrible fashion sense.
PittPrepPod1: Questions
What’s that? You want more silly PitPrepPods? No problem.
PittPrepPod2: Tasty Spam
There are three of these. You’re welcome.
Pick a Car
Pick a car, any car! Well, actually, not just any car will do. YERT explores the criteria for our eco-wheels.
YERT Blerts
Quarterly check-ins from the YERT team during the year.
YERT Blert 1: Checking In 3 Months Out
The YERT team takes stock after the first 3 months of road tripping and shares some challenges, highlights, and a pretty giddy ditty.
YERT Blert 2: Checking In 6 Months Out
After a pregnant pause in our updates, we are happy to report that six months into the trip, YERT is ultra sound.
YERT Blert 3: Breaking In 9 Months Out
We're finally learning the ropes of this trip, just in time for stuff to start breaking. Time to clean house...er...CAR.
Support YERT
We’d love it if you could send us a little something to help with the cost of keeping these videos up and available to everyone. Thanks!