Planet Green on cable? YUK!

[F8L]

Sheepdog,

I think you are missing the finer point of attracting a different viewer than would typically be interested in only that which is truely green. Some people jump into the idea of being green rather quickly due to education (academic or personal), some do it after having a child. There are also people who do not want to give up certain aspects of their life yet may be mildly interested in going green. Racing vegetable oil-powered vehicles is meant to attract just this type of person. It is not "green" imo, yet neither is driving any car. It is however, a way to get people to stop racing their gasoline powered car and maybe trade over to something running a cleaner fuel. Once they take that step who knows what other areas of life they will consider changing.

[PriuStorm]

I think there's that, and then if you can get that viewer to stick around for another 30 minutes to watch Wasted, to see a real life example of a family who cuts their carbon impact by a significant percentage without having to change their life too much, then they can impact the greater world incrementally with each changed viewer.

[badrufus]

I think PriuStorm has a good take on the channel. I saw the offending show and thought it was silly, but Wasted and Living with Ed, as well as Greenburg, about the town trying to rebuild from complete destruction, are IMO good shows. After a few episodes of Wasted, we made some changes around our home to try to decrease our carbon footprint, and the channel can have a awareness-raising effect. I think many of the shows on the channel start with an assumption that the average viewer has some resistance to going green(er), and they don't try to deny that change is difficult. I watch DIY channel frequently, and there are shows on that channel that are either not interesting to me or even irritating, as with just about any channel.