• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 23, 2008

Take those Earth Day messages from your friendly media giants and put them to good use. Here are two of them: NBC's "Green is Universal" and Fox's "Green It. Mean It."

NBC's original green push started last November, when it had specials and showed ways to save money -- including the "Football Night in America" pre-game show that featured anchors and analysis lit by candlelight.

Earth Day now gets a bump up from its 1970s fringe appeal to non-mainstream folks and older hippies. Now green is big business - at least when consumers recognize there are products made from the earth's limited resources -- like "The Jerry Springer Show."

TV still relies on videotape and DVDs, which still leave big carbon footprints around town. Flat-screen TV sets may be a bit more efficient these days - with plenty of big old tube sets looking for a decent burial.

Fox has a more aggressive approach with its "Green It. Mean It" campaign. Seems like a call to arms for its strong, young TV viewers. We can only imagine what levels of sarcasm Fox's Dr. Gregory House could utter when commenting on a too-heavy lawn-watering TV neighbor. (Wait, that neighbor would be Dr. House!)

Still, take Fox's call to action to heart -- or to your legs. Save some TV electricity by adapting what Ed Begley Jr. does to make morning toast. Sit on a stationary bike and spin enough electricity to watch "Lost" or "The Office."

Maybe the networks can get involved, and add incentives: Spin too little, and you'll be subject to either no TV or an additional two-minute-and-30-second commercial pod.

TV network executives would be happy to make more money off a bunch of lazy asses.

Of those harder-working asses that remain, the networks would have focused, clear-headed viewers. For all those media agency executives who complain about the networks these days -- you'd get viewer engagement, for sure.