Welcome to Coal Week

November 7, 2007 - 3:00 ET

Welcome to "Coal Week" here on the Glenn Beck program. We take our responsibility to educate the public about the importance of carbon-emitting fossil fuels to our economy seriously. Today on my television show I used a whole bunch of completely unnecessary lights to remind you that CO2 emissions and household wealth go hand in hand. Remember, the more you burn, the more you earn!

If my pointless use of excess electricity really motivated you to run into your kitchen and start needlessly running your dishwasher then maybe you're the type of person that NBC is targeting with their new "green is universal" promotion. (Isn't that clever, they got their parent company's name and the word "green" into one slogan.) But the consequences of this go way beyond a new green logo and website. The Real Story is that NBC is doing far more harm than good, for two big reasons.

First, this campaign makes people think they can solve an environmental crises, like climate change, by driving a hybrid or taking shorter showers. That is a complete lie. Real activists know that it'll take trillions of dollars and a complete change in the way we all live to even make a small dent.

Secondly, if you really believe that global warming is the biggest problem we face, then you should be absolutely outraged that NBC increased their carbon footprint just so they can tell you to reduce yours. It's Live Earth all over again! For example -- the Today Show sent correspondents to the North Pole, South Pole and the Equator, apparently to show us how hot it is there. But that little sweeps-month stunt entailed over half a million miles of travel, which will release over 3,000 tons of additional CO2 into the atmosphere. Sure, they'll buy carbon credits to avoid criticism, but please --- planting a few trees doesn't make up for burning thousands of gallons of Jet-A fuel.

And then you had NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast. They used candlelight during halftime to show how energy conscious they are .... all while a gi-normous TV screen displayed their sponsor in the background. Was that some new wind-powered TV that only NBC has access to?

None of this is really about the public good, it's about public relations. It's like when McDonald's came out with their line of salads. Do you think the clown really supports healthy eating? Of course not, it was a PR campaign geared towards mothers! If NBC was really concerned about the environment, the best thing they could possibly do is stop broadcasting -- and that would make the world a better place in more ways than one.