Read more of this story »

Read more of this story »

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

In this next one, NBC’s Anne Thompson talks to Lars Stromberg, CEO of Vattenfall Group, as they walk around the world’s only clean coal power plant, where an East German energy research team has devised a $100 million pilot project that burns coal with pure oxygen—a cleaner process than using air—and stores the fly ash in concrete.

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

Coal, like it or not, is cheap and abundant. Yet, so-called clean coal technology is nowhere near ready for prime time. China alone is building two coal-burning power plants each week, with no let-up in sight. What proportion of our available resources should be spent on looking for ways to burn coal cleanly versus developing other clean technologies like solar, wind, geothermal, that we have available to us right now?

Read more of this story »

Green themed programming includes prime time shows such as “The Office” which will air an episode about the company considering recycled paper. And then local NBC stations are incorporating green-themed stories into their newscasts. As a Healthy Living Consultant, I spent this morning at the Farmer’s Market with NBC11 talking about “How to Have a Green Thanksgiving.” The segment will air on NBC11 this Thursday at 6.45pm so stay posted!

I think it’s a great opportunity for Ecopreneurists.  Both in terms of finding interesting eco businesses…as well as a tool for drawing visibility to your own eco business. Last year, the company launched its first Green Week and also a “Get On Board” program to encourage consumers to reduce greenhouse gases and raise awareness. This year’s theme is ‘Green Your Routine,’ the network will feature tips and resources that offer consumers advice on this area: green cleaning companies, sustainable food producers, greening your commute and so on. More information about the programing can be found here.

So Ecopreneurs, it is time to start creating you NBC pitch.  Your company or product might just be their next Green find!

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.

Read more of this story »

To learn more about climate change or to find out how much good or harm you’re doing to the planet, go to http://www.nature.org/janitor — you can use The Nature Conservancy’s carbon calculator to discover your impact, help the planet and feel good about yourself!

According to Nielsen ratings, however, the three-hour special on NBC only received 2.7 million viewers and was the least-watched U.S. program on Saturday night. A total of 19 million people watched at least 6 minutes on NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, Sundance Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, and Universal HD. The event also occurred during the July 4th weekend, when most people usually aren't watching TV.

There has been skepticism about the event and its performers as it required many artists to fly to the events, some in private jets, and could have created more CO2 as a result of the concert. Al Gore has defended the cause as a start of a 3-5 year program with a message that reached out to 2 billion people across the world. While some celebrities such as Sting and Cameron Diaz take active participation in helping with the efforts, others may not. Madonna and Black Eyed Peas both performed new songs that they wrote for the event. The goal is that with the help of the celebrities, more people will be aware of the issues and even the celebrities that attended and performed at Live Earth learned a lot about the issues. Whether or not, the concert really made a difference is really hard to judge. What are your thoughts?

Sources:
Newsday.com
Foxnews.com

While many mainstream media outlets are increasingly playing up the green angle in their stories, they still toss much of their environmental coverage under larger categories like health and science and rarely cover it as an issue in its own right. (MSNBC files it under U.S. News).

This is why it is encouraging to see that NBC News has announced that their business and chief financial correspondent, Anne Thompson, will take up the environmental beat. Thompson, who has been battling breast cancer, told the Associated Press that she feels the environment is an important issue that network television should devote more attention to.

With a journalist focused on the environment, NBC's special coverage of these issues will increase and could prompt network competitors to do the same. However, Thompson's understanding of business and financial issues, and her own health history will likely influence her approach to this beat and provide a unique voice that will set NBC apart in its environmental news coverage.

Via Yahoo News