Robert Redford Finds Creative Solutions to Environmental Problems

May 2, 2007 — -- From the Wild West scenery of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" to the lush savannahs in "Out of Africa," the environment has long played a co-starring role in many of Robert Redford's films.

The big screen has provided a clear reflection of the actor-director's personal commitment to the planet, but his love of the great outdoors took root when he was just a child, when he first saw Yosemite National Park at the age of 10.

Now, with the effects of global warming increasingly documented by science, Redford is finding growing support for his green sentiment.

"I think a lot of people want to act and they want to feel like they have a role to play in the future," Redford said.

In Redford's newest role, he's retreating behind the scenes so that the environment can take center stage.

Under his creative direction, the Sundance channel is launching a weekly prime-time series "The Green," which will highlight individuals and their creative solutions to the environmental problems facing the planet.

"To me the great exciting thing about it is that those new ideas will create new innovations. Those innovations will lead to new industries, which will create new jobs which change the economy so it becomes socially economic," Redford said. "I think people want to know what can be done in a positive nature and what they can do personally."

Among the innovators featured in "The Green" are a man who runs his car on leftover fried chicken oil and a woman who makes clothes from soda bottles.

The show will air on Tuesdays on the Sundance channel.