The HD and flat-panel television buying trend has frequently been coupled with environmental blurbs. Consumers looking for a reason to upgrade their television sets are told that flat televisions use less electricity than their big-tube counterparts. In other words, “Be green! Go buy an HDTV!”

Here are some reasons to ignore the hype:

1. Reusing is Always Greener: It is rarely better for the environment to throw away something you are using and buy a new one. Chances are, your new HDTV must be transported half-way around the world. It consumed massive resources being produced, marketed, and delivered to your living room. Every year that you “make do” with your existing television is another year of solid green karma, no matter how wonderful and energy efficient your new television might be.
2. The Energy Argument Isn’t Clear: Does your new flat television really use less energy than your old tube? If you’re looking at a lower-cost plasma screen, you may not see any improvement in energy consumption. LCDs are better, but not by much. We may need to wait for new LED technology before we really start to benefit from the reduced energy needs of modern televisions. As with anything, your results may vary; you should consider the wattage consumption on your future television before purchasing. One 65-inch Sharp LCD uses 583 watts during operation and 76 watts while turned off! (link)
3. Recent Gas News: A gas used in making flat televisions may be contributing to global warming (link). Nitrogen Trifluoride has been in the news a lot lately. The gas is used in the manfacturing of LCD televisions. It is apparently 17,000 times as harmful to the environment as carbon dioxide, and it is not regulated by the Kyoto protocols. This is breaking news and details may shift in the coming months, but you should keep an eye on the issue if a television purchase is in your near future.
4. Flat Television Lifespan Still Uncertain: Finally, remember the old saw: they don’t make them like they used to. When we first got married, my wife and I inherited an ancient television from her uncle. It was already at least fifteen years old, perhaps older, and it worked fine. We used it for the first four years of our marriage before deciding we wanted an upgrade. It still worked wonderfully. Will flat panel televisions still be chugging along twenty years after they were manufactured? No one knows, obviously. Plasma and LCD screens have an awesome theoretical lifespan, but the supporting technology and the television itself may be less robust than your old tube. Remember that products with a longer lifespan, if manufactured sensibly, are always greener than products that require replacement every few years.

Even with all the above reasons, you may choose to purchase a new television set. Awareness doesn’t mean we should agonize over every life decision or purchase. If you are going to purchase a television, however, keep the above tips in mind. And take your time: Law and Order is just as gritty and moody on your old tube, and the American Idol singers won’t be any more in-tune in High Definition.

The Discovery Networks company premiers a new cable television channel this week: Planet Green.

We all live on one planet. It is rather odd that so little of our daily dose of media addresses our larger home. The environment, when featured in the nightly news, usual shows up as a special feature, a news piece that is pre-recorded and slipped in as filler at the end of a show. Even a major scientific report will slide off of Tom Brokaw’s plate if there is a celebrity disaster that takes higher billing. “Hold the mother-earth issues for a slow news day,” our media seems to say.

Humans made a game show channel, a cartoon network, and an “All Puppies, All the Time” channel before they launched a channel fully devoted to environmental issues.

I listened today to Brian Seltzer, of the New York Times, talk about the Planet Green channel on Marketplace. He called it, “The highest profile cable launch of the year,” and “a big bet that environmentally-themed programming can be entertaining [and profitable].” In other words: no matter how good the message, the programming has to attract viewers. It has to attract sponsors. It has to make money.

Who is Planet Green’s first premiere sponsor? General Motors: the makers of “The Hummer,” the king surfers of the SUV wave (which thankfully now seems to have crested.) Perhaps every major company or organization needs to have a green platform now.

Discovery’s method for attracting viewers, according to Seltzer, will be to focus on “making everything a little bit better,” and to be “optimistic, not preachy.” For the first half of this blog entry, I have definitely been preachy. For the second half, I promise to be optimistic.

I applaud vigorously. The Planet Green channel will replace the Discovery Home channel, which means it will be in 80 million American homes as of Wednesday, June 4th. 80 million American TV sets will have a constant source of awareness-raising, pro-earth information. That’s awesome. What’s more, the network is making a gamble, and to ensure that the gamble pays off they are going to have to create invogorating content. Al Gore giving (excellent) PowerPoint presentations is not going to be enough. I look forward to seeing the result.

A reading of Planet Green’s weekly schedule reveals their strategy: take show concepts that have worked before and paint them green. The schedule includes home improvement, fashion, and travel shows all with a dash of eco-verve. There’s a “Hollywood Green” show which features, “eco-conscious celebrity lifestyle segments in a sophisticated-yet-fun-to-watch style.” And then there’s “Mean Green Machines,” an enviro-friendly attempt at a greaser’s “Trucks + Bikes”-style show.

The big bang, however? Reality TV shows. Seriously. Check out the descriptions of Wasted or Greensburg. It may seem a bit forced, but if they can take reality TV, a style of television that is frequently reviled (although also frequently watched), and give it a purpose beyond ego-stroking, I may have to tune in.

The real gain here is to the American consciousness. Knowledge is power. Plenty of people have a luke-warm interest in helping the environment, and Planet Green may help them learn simple ways to really help. If arm-chair environmentalists learn lifestyle tips that help them save money while they save the earth, the show might build an unexpected middle-American fan base.

Depressing environmental news can lead to learned helplessness. Barring miraculous shifts in governmental policy, optimism and knowledge that empowers are our only roads out of the environmental decline. Knowing that you can make a difference, even in small ways, is vitally important. Despite my usual skepticism about such efforts, I’m going to tune in, visit the excellent Web site, and give big corporate America another chance to step up to the plate.