If you still think that public television is crappy, think again! The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has been changing hearts and minds with their latest innovative series, titled e squared: the economies of being environmentally conscious.

Focused on bringing attention to the modern pioneers in all aspects of sustainable design, e squared has garnered vast amounts of praise from countless sources. Now in its third season, e squared in narrated by none other than Brad Pitt, and previously by Morgan Freeman.

Focusing on new advances and a refined way of thinking, e squared features a substantially inspirational collection of topics in their third season, which also features a separate series of episodes based on transportation. Shown on your local PBS station and premiered on the series’ website, e squared also has exclusive podcasts available, expanding on the knowledge presented in each episode.

I recently had the pleasure of checking out some of the most recent episodes from e squared’s third season and transportation special. Summing up an entire TV series in one word is a rare ability, but it is an easy task with e squared: phenomenal. I haven’t been this inspired by man’s ability for innovation since seeing Al Gore’s An Innconveient Truth. Each episode is a work of documentary art.

Instead of giving you an overview of each episode I watched, I’m choosing to present some of the most intelligent and mind-altering quotes from each half-hour video. All 3 seasons of e squared, along with their special series on energy and transportation, are available on DVD – a perfect present if I ever saw one.

e squared design Season Three: The Village Architect

“Tradespeople … are our teachers.” – Brian MacKay-Lyons

“Consumption is the problem, not the answer.” – MacKay-Lyons

“It’s not enough to copy the past – you have to have a critical connection to your culture.” – MacKay-Lyons

e squared design Season Three: Melbourne Reborn

“If you’ve got good streets … you’ve got a good city.” – Rob Adams, Director of Design and Urban Environment, City of Melbourne

“The more successful we are, the harder it will be to hold on to it.” – Adams

e squared design Season Three: The Art and Science of Renzo Piano

“Each building has a different story to tell.” – Renzo Piano

“He’s the only one … who you could say is both global and local. It’s a building that seems to grow out of the context, that belongs to its place.” – Peter Buchanan, Writer and Architecture Critic

e squared design Season Three: Super Use

“It’s all about imagination much more than just solving problems.” Jeroen Bergsma, Architect at 2012 Architecten

“The vision that we have is to create cities or urban districts which actually regenerate themselves.” – Jan Jongert, Architect at 2012 Architecten

e squared transport: Paris – Velo Liberte

“Cycling, you have the feeling that you are in touch with others who use the public space and you are in touch with the outside world.” – Celine Lepault, Velib Manager in the Mayor’s Office

“No one chooses to pollute. A lot of people use cars because they don’t have a choice, so we have to give them the means to change their transport mode.” – Denis Baupin, Deputy Mayor of Sustainable Development in Paris

e squared transport: Food Miles

“We change the natural world more through our eating choices than anything else.” – Author Michael Pollan

“In order to scale up this movement, we’re going to have to find a way to mirror the large-scale distribution system using local food.” – Ann Karlen, Director of Fair Food

e squared transport: Portland – A Sense of Place

“In Portland, the pedestrian is the first class passenger. It’s a hundred little things to implement that common sense policy that, in a city, the pedestrian comes first and everything is organized around that.” – Charlie Hales, Senior Vice President at HDR Engineering

“The only thing different about Portland is that we’ve actually put enough of this stuff in place that people do have a choice, and that is a very American idea.” – Hales