On June 27, 1969, the renowned folk musician Pete Seeger set out on the sailboat Clearwater down the Hudson River as a means of drawing attention to its polluted condition. Along with entertaining the public, Seeger was able to use his celebrity status as a means to spread environmental awareness. His trip inspired an environmental group dedicated to industrial waste disposal and treatment of major pollutants that were discharged into the Hudson. The entertainment industry has a strong history of advocating eco-friendliness, and today, these endeavors can be easily noted on your television.

From the Academy Awards to Linkin Park, going green seems to be the popular agenda for 2008.

The 80th annual Academy Awards featured various green highlights: All food-related utensils were either reusable or biodegradable, and 100 percent of the energy used for the telecast, the red carpet arrivals show and the Governor’s Ball were supplied by renewable wind power. Some could argue that the fact that the Oscars brought in the lowest ratings in the last 20 years is a sign that more people had their televisions turned off, thus saving even more energy.

But some, like Yi-Ting Wang, feel the awards show could have done more.

“The Oscars were not as environmentally friendly as last year,” the sophomore economics major said. “Maybe they should have invited Al Gore again.”

At the same time, environmentally-friendly musicians are realizing that their actions can be as loud as their music. The contemporary rock music group Linkin Park, on their visit to the city of London in Ontario, Canada, inspired the city to promote a greener environment by offering free parking for carpoolers and free rides on city buses to those that flashed their Linkin Park ticket. Other eco-friendly musicians, such as Jack Johnson and Fall Out Boy, spread awareness by selling and promoting eco-friendly merchandise. It’s even rumored that Radiohead’s Thom Yorke is launching Friends of the Earth’s “Big Ask” Europe campaign in order to help Europe cut down its carbon emission.

On television, Heather Mills is planning to start a vegan cooking show, while certain studios are investing in eco-friendly energy sources and set material. This past November, NBC Universal had a “green” theme running through their programs including “30 Rock” and “The Office.”

The Live Earth concert last summer was another major step toward green awareness. To promote and initiate a three-year campaign concerning climate change, Live Earth was able to bring 150 musical acts to 11 concerts around the world. For a greener globe, the fictional band Spinal Tap reunited and auctioned off a global warming guitar that they used at the concert.

The entertainment industry is quite powerful.

Rita Chan, a sophomore English major, thinks the influence the industry has is being put to good use.

“I think it’s great that entertainment is trying to bring awareness to its audience,” she said. “It’s a very powerful industry and will inevitably influence the public.”

With entertainment so enthusiastic about going green, awareness is spreading faster than ever before. At this rate, maybe someday we can all have cleaner air to walk out into after watching our favorite environmentally friendly program.