Green Options » ABC

Great Multicultural Children’s Literature: Tribal Alphabet Teaches Children About Indigenous People

Jennifer Lance — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:33:51 +0000

Occasionally, I come across a rare gem of a children’s book that warms my heart. It’s not a book that attempts to “dumb down”, simplify, or infuse awkward silliness into an important issue facing the world today, such as global warming. It’s not a book just for children.

It’s Tribal Alphabet, a multicultural children’s book presenting the ABCs of indigenous people.

Tribal Alphabet is beautifully illustrated and informative. From Australian Aborigine to Zulu (and all the letters in between), children and parents learn about each tribe following the alphabetic progession.

Nn is for Nukak

Along the Amazon Basin, the Nukak migrate

A tribe never contacted ’til 1988.

The Nukak hunt monkeys, frogs, and peccaries too,

They fish for piranha in the rivers blue.

But now outsiders have sent in expeditions

And some Nukak suffer from disease and malnutrition.

Coca farmers and armies occupied their land

So the Nukak marched out, bow and arrown in hand.

Don’t let ABC get away with it!

Jennifer Kaplan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:50:14 +0000

The We Campaign, a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection — a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Al Gore, recently put together a 30-second TV ad called “Repower America.” It talks about the benefits of alternative energy. It says right upfront that we are “stuck with dirty and expensive energy” and asks how can it be so? In the end it points out that big oil and its lobbyists are the reason. It starts to make sense when you learn that in the first half of 2008 big oil spent $201.2 million on paid media and 45.6% of that was spent by the the seven top oil companies on TV ads (to the tune of $92.2 million). So, ABC refused to air the ad in an unjust and cowardly act. Why? Because big oil airs a lot of those ads on ABC.

Repower America Ad
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So, its time to take action and ask ABC to reconsider their decision and air the Repower America ad. Send ABC an email via an easy to complete form at the We Campaign site. The pre-loaded email message is simple and to the point:

I am disappointed by ABC’s refusal to air the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Repower America ad. The ad has the simple message that massive spending on ads by oil and coal companies — ads which your network airs — is a key reason our nation hasn’t switched to clean, renewable sources for energy.

It only takes 30 seconds to tell ABC we’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore! Go for it.

TV Guide: ABC Airs Oil Ads While Refusing Solar Power Advert

Jerry James Stone — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:47:35 +0000

In a bit of TV Mis-Guided, the ABC Network is refusing adverts by Al Gore’s We Campaign all the while running ads on oil for Chevron.

The campaign is working to get the ad aired on the next 20/20. The ad details how massive ad dollars spent by oil and coal companies is the key reason America hasn’t switched to cleaner renewable energy sources. Help the We Campaign get this advertisement aired!

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Video source: We Campaign

Tangled Up in Green: The 3 a.m. Call That Didn’t Get Through

Ranjit Arab — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:15:43 +0000

It looks like Hillary Clinton has another “3 a.m.” political ad out. This time it’s about the economy.

I’m not sure what it is about these ads that have captured the nation’s imagination; John McCain has his own version of it, and, of course, it inspired scores of parodies on YouTube and among late-night talk show comedians.

Still, I wonder if the candidates will get around to making one of these ads about the environment.

It’d be really easy to do, actually. All you need is a ringing phone…and no one to answer it.

That’s because the environment has somehow become a non-issue during this campaign season. All three candidates have fairly progressive views when it comes to addressing climate change, and they all tout the benefits of weening ourselves off foreign oil, so we’ve basically been told by the media that there’s nothing more to discuss on the topic.

The only problem is that voters WANT to discuss it.

ABC News Presents “Seven Ways to Help Save the World”

Amy Stodghill — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:05:03 +0000

ABC News is dedicating a whole day to saving the world.

On Friday, April 20 ABC will feature news anchors and correspondents reporting from all seven continents throughout the day culminating with a 20/20 special hosted by Diane Sawyer called Planet Earth 2007: Seven Ways to Help Save the World.

Their coverage will look at environmental issues from all corners of the globe and will more than likely end on a cheery note as they highlight some success stories of how different businesses and governments are working to create positive change. They will also give examples of what viewers can do on an individual level, and have an extensive on-line supplement at ABCnews.com.

It looks like the "save the world" theme will appear in various ABC News programs during that day like Good Morning America and Nightline, so even if viewers only tune in to a portion of the day they'll get a taste of the broad coverage. Of course the date, Friday, April 20, was probably chosen as the last weekday before Earth Day (April 22) - the perfect tie-in to the multi-continental theme. However, Fridays aren't the best day for ABC. According to the Programming Insider at MediaWeek.com for the past few weeks ABC has ranked 3rd in network ratings for Friday primetime. A special edition of 20/20 may garner additional audience as long as it isn't up against new episodes or specials running on other networks.

I'm curious to see how in-depth they are able to go in covering the most pressing environmental issues in brief 20/20 segments (and even shorter segments during the news hour), and what they decide to push as the "what YOU can do" (my prediction is on the energy focus with the suggestion to switch to CFLs and to turn down the thermostat).

While I do think that these types of issues should be covered on a more regular every day basis, it is nice to see a major network dedicate special coverage to environmental themes, and even nicer to see that they're spinning a positive approach, which is often missing in general overall news coverage.