Josh Bernstein

Your new show puts you at the scene of discoveries-in-progress (whether archeological, biological, or anything else). Can you tell us more at this point?

It's still a work in progress. We don’t have a name for it yet, but we've shot two episodes and so far, what we're learning is that it's like nothing else that's been on TV. We start every production meeting (when we're trying to decide what the next story could be) with, 'What's the headline?' We want to make news.

Is there an eco element?

The eco component to my new series is more subtle than overt. If there's a show about global warming, it's not accidental; I think it's an important issue for us to discuss and explore. But I'm also involved in other areas on the Discovery Networks like Planet Green—a 24-7 eco-lifestyle channel launching in 2008. We're now assembling a board of advisers of 18 environmental leaders throughout the world—people who are really determining future of the environmental movement. I'm one of the 18…Leo DiCaprio just joined the board…we're picking scientists, different political figures, institutional leaders. I'm excited. I think Planet Green is going to help redefine the green movement. What's nice for me is that I can do my series on expeditions and explorations purely for that—and then when I feel like I need to put more time and energy into the green movement I have an outlet because I know that Planet Green will be there, too.

Are you at liberty to describe one of the episodes you've shot?

In April 2007, I was in the Arctic Circle. I was on an ice camp 200 miles north of Northern Alaska, living with physicists, ice scientists—people who get very excited about snowflakes and ice crystal structures. They were doing core analysis and sonar analysis and satellite analysis of these ice fields to determine the dynamic nature of polar ice and why it’s shifting when it shouldn't be, why it's shrinking, why it's thinning—and what that means for the Arctic, specifically Arctic habitat loss and the polar bear.

When—if ever—did you experience your eco-awakening?

I think I was unusually holistic and eco-conscious as a kid, even growing up in New York City. When I was 13, I was already traveling downtown or cross-town to get the organic market food and bringing my own thermos with organic soup to school every day. This was before Whole Foods so it wasn't easy, but it was something I believed in. There has to be a connection between your food and the source of the food, and that connection was severed when grocery stores started packaging things in ways that you don't tell you what part of the animal your food came from. One of the reasons my survival school [the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, or BOSS] exists—and the reason I'm there is because I think that connection has to be reestablished. We teach people paleo-skills—how humans survived in the world before industrialization. We show you the old old-school methods.

Have you met any eco-idols along the way?

I've spent a lot of time with traditional peoples, so I've studied the relationship that they have with the environment—and it's not a conscious process for them. We have the belief that you go green, and that you then modify your thought process to become more pro-environment. But for many of the native peoples that I've lived with or spent time on the trail with, there's no difference in how they approach life when they're at home and when they're outdoors. You don't change, you don't flip a switch. You always are sustainably focused. You're always trying to conserve.

Any eco-items you can't live without?

I like my truck. I drive an old Land Cruiser that I converted to run on waste vegetable oil, but I keep it Colorado. In New York, one doesn't need a car, so I take a subway or a bus…or a Prius. There are now car services that—instead of sending a luxury sedan—will send a little Prius instead.

Is there something you wish were more green?

Hotels. I live in hotels these days because of production. And I know they use a tremendous amount of water to clean all the sheets and towels, which is a significant waste of resources.

What's your own latest eco-improvement?

I shifted all my light bulbs at home to compact fluorescent months ago, but I just opened up a new office, so the CFLs went in today. It's not my space—just a production company facility, so we're not building it from scratch. But it’d be nice to use nontoxic paints, use nontoxic carpeting. It’s baby steps sometimes. I think it's important for the green movement to not be too preachy and not be too impatient because we've had many, many years of creature comforts; we're used to not caring about our impact, but we're starting to wake up to the realities.

How do you reconcile your endless flights with your eco leanings?

I certainly am aware of the impact of flying all over the world, and I fly a lot, but I hope that there's some upside to the product I'm creating. Maybe everyone can justify it that way, but you can't do international television without going international. So I haven't found a solution to getting rid of the carbon footprint, but I do offset—typically 125,000-150,000 miles a year to feel a little less guilty. I've been going with Conservation Fund and the Go zero initiative because I was a Go Zero Hero. (I was one of the founders of that movement a few years ago.)

Would you date someone who wasn't green?

There are obviously different shades of green, and she could be light green instead of dark, emerald-forest green. She should not be chucking her glass into the paper bin without understanding the ramifications...but I'm also an educator.