The primaries are thrilling this year. Have you been listening to the victory and concession speeches from the nominees? The environment has been occasionally appearing in the middle of a speech. While it is great to have any mention of the environment in a presidential speech, does the strategic placement of the topic in the speech indicate how important (or controversial) the environment is in today’s society?

As you may know from statistical analysis, most people remember the first and last thing they hear in a sentence that ranges from 14 to 21 words. This holds true even more when you consider a speech that is five or ten minutes long. People remember their first impression, or the first point made in a speech. They may like what they hear in the middle of a speech, but will they remember the environmental position Barack Obama took? Or will they simply remember that he mentioned the environment? In the midst of the “current issues” (derived from polls taken by big media outlets) – the economy, the war, the highest fuel prices in history and the housing market crash – does the environment have a chance of being noticed? Do you forget about the environment when the speech ends with a rousing prophecy of American values and democracy prospering world wide?

Well, chances are, everyone is out there voting already, or will later today. When you are in that voting booth, consider what is standing in the way of alternative energy and a safer weather climate in the world. Special interest groups (most of which are international) stand between your society and sustainable lifestyles and businesses. Have any of the presidential candidates mentioned that they would work against special interest groups? Assuming we believe any words that come out of a politician’s mouth – do you think it is important when a politician says something like “special interests need to have a seat at the bargaining table, but they should not own every seat at the table.”

Thanks for joining us at THE GREEN BLOG. Please leave comments about the presidential nominees and their respective positions on environmental policy.

THE GREEN mini-site is proud to announce that the majority of the Eco-mmunity will be launching by week’s end. The Eco-mmunity is the community driven portion of THE GREEN, and is intended to support people as they grow into more sustainable lifestyles. No matter how well-intentioned people are, you always need practical tools to achieve results. The Eco-mmunity fuels exchange of knowledge about green ideas, energy saving techniques as well as a place to find testamonials on sustainable products. For example, if you wanted to learn how to attach a solar panel to your house’s electric grid, who better to ask than a farmer who has been running his homestead off solar for the past 5 years. The Eco-mmunity aims to bring people together.

In other news, one major tool which supports the Eco-mmunity has launched. Green Consultations has launched in the Sundance Channel Discussion boards. This topic is a free-form communication platform that helps people lead greener lifestyles. If you want to be green but just do not know how, this is the place for you to go. We encourage experts in green products, green tips and other sustainable activities to make posts in this thread and see how much they can help those in need.

Sundance Channel and THE GREEN Online are focused on promoting the development of ecologically sustainable lifestyles by highlighting people and companies at the forefront of the “green” movement. We have a lot planned for you over the next several months including exclusive video clips, webisodes, the launch of our new eco-mmunity, a brand new blog from Treehugger, Second Life visits by our host, Simran Sethi, and an area for you to learn more about how you can take action and make a difference in your community.

Be sure to add THE GREEN blog RSS feed to your feed manager or simply check back here often for a quick and simple way to find out what’s happening on Sundance Channel or in the green world.

By now you probably know THE GREEN launches on April 17 at 9pm with “Big Ideas for a Small Planet”. The first episode is FUEL. This episode investigates the future of automotive fuel with segments on a truck that runs on vegetable oil (from a fried chicken party!); one-woman’s bio-diesel promotion called Bio-Bling; and the test of an ethanol racing car at Daytona. If you can’t wait until April 17 you can go to iTunes for a FREE sneak peek through the 17th. Click here if you want to download the first episode:

Download Video From iTunes [phobos.apple.com]

We are also going to have exclusive webisodes each week that go into further detail on what’s happening each week on THE GREEN. We’re excited to have Simran Sethi host our online segments. This week join Simran as she talks about ways to cut your carbs – carbon emissions that is.

Let’s make it simple, when carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere it creates a “blanket” of greenhouse gasses around the planet that traps the suns rays and heats the planet up.

This week the New York Times noted: “In almost every instance, the people most at risk from climate change live in countries that have contributed least to the atmospheric buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses linked to the recent warming of the planet. Those most vulnerable countries also tend to be the poorest. And the countries that face the least harm – and that are best equipped to deal with the harm they do face- tend to be the richest.” (New York Times, Report from the Four Fronts in the War on Warming, April 3, 2007)

Americans and other large industrial countries add thousands of tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere every day… by driving our cars, making electricity, and living our modern industrialized lives. Nobody wants you to give up your modern lifestyle, we just want to show you all the ways you can do your part to undo the damage we have done to the planet. We are building an interactive eco-conscious online community and we want to explore with you how “greener” lifestyles can become a part of our everyday lives. We hope you join us. Everybody can do it and every little bit helps!

“The Green” in Second Life

What: Join Simran Sethi, host of THE GREEN on Sundance Channel, in Second Life for weekly discussion forums on environmental issues and solutions.
Date: April 17th
Time: 10pm EST / 7pm SLT (Second Life Time)
This Week’s Topic: FUEL – How can we cut back on carbs (carbon emissions)?
Where: THE GREEN forum will take place in the Main Screening Room on Sundance Channel Island.

If you no clue what Second Life is, check our Second Life Blog [www.sundancechannel.com].

Join the Sundance Channel Group in Second Life to stay up-to-date on upcoming THE GREEN events in Second Life. Simran will be hosting weekly discussions in-world with eco-experts and eco-celebrities like herself.

Sundance Channel Island SLURL [slurl.com]