Welcome back for another edition of green news weekly featuring a few interesting stories from around the globe impacting the environment. The highlights include: NBC Green Week is on the air; higher American recycling rates will equal more local jobs; and American Idol season 10 contestants participate in a PSA for the Plastic Pollution Coalition not appreciated by their sponsor. Just click on the links to learn more.

On Sunday, November 13, 2011, NBC Green Week kicked off as part of NBC’s Green is Universal initiative.  “Each month, NBCUniversal reaches over 100 million consumers via our 40 on-air, online and mobile platforms. With a portfolio that includes iconic mainstays like the TODAY show, Nightly News with Brian Williams, NBC Sports and newer brands like Oxygen and iVillage, environmental programming takes on many shades of green throughout the year. Twice annually—November’s Green Week and April’s Earth Week—NBCUniversal dedicates a week of programming across all its brands to inform and educate audiences about environmental topics.”  This week NBC programming is also “bringing humor to the environmental movement through great comedy pieces in many of its shows. Catch a laugh with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s Eco-Jam and The Recharger superhero skits, Al Gore’s appearances on 30 Rock and The Office’s one-and-only Dwight Schrute as the recycling-promoting Recyclops.”

On Tuesday, November 15, 2011 it was ‘America Recycles Day.’  Adrian Martinez from the NRDC (National Resources Defence Council) attended a press conference and reported some exciting news: ‘Recycling equals jobs.’  This was based on a report ‘More Jobs, Less Pollution’ which “was prepared by the BlueGreen Alliance, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, NRDC, Service Employees International Union, Recycling Works! and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) by the Tellus Institute.”

The More Jobs, Less Pollution report showed that most of American municipal solid waste can be recycled, reused or composted and currently only 33% is diverted from landfills.  By implementing a national recycling and composting strategy committed to 75% waste diversion by 2030, 1.5 million local jobs would be created while saving water and energy, reducing pollution and combating climate change. A national recycling rate of 75%  “will also significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions–recycling 75 percent of our waste is equivalent to shutting down 72 coal fired power plants or taking 50 million cars off the road.“

Sponsors can get in the way of an important environmental message.  Forbes reported ‘Under Pressure from Sponsor, American Idol Pulls Plug on Plastic PSA’ which Treehugger also picked up on with ‘Coca-Cola Wins Again: American Idol Abandons REFUSE Plastic Message After Pressure From Sponsor’.  The contestants from Season 10 of the 2011 edition of American Idol all donated their time for a Public Service Announcement promoting the REFUSE disposable plastic campaign through the Plastic Pollution Coalition.  “Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists in some form,” says Lauren Alaina, the runner-up from Idol’s tenth season.  Ms. Alaina further urges people to, “refuse single-use and disposable plastics,” an ethos emphatically reiterated by Haley Reinhart, who goes on to say, “Single-use plastics and disposable plastics are the main source of plastic pollution.”
 
Forbes also reported “One of the show’s sponsors was very angry at seeing the piece and demanded that the show have it removed,” says Plastic Pollution Coalition executive director Daniella Russo. “When I asked if the sponsor in question was Coca-Cola, they said, ‘You didn’t hear it from us.’ But even before all of this we were told that the PSA could only launch after the American Idol concert tour because Coca-Cola was a sponsor and might get upset.”  Coca-Cola doesn’t offer sustainable bottles for their beverages relying on plastics as a vessel for their popular drinks.  Treehugger also reported this week on November 10, 2011 in a similar (unpleasant) story: Grand Canyon Abandons Bottled Water Ban, After Meetings With Coca-Cola.

And that’s a few tidbits from this past week in the green news.
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