Discovering green space for gasping Thailand

Published on November 17, 2007

Here's the latest from the cable TV operator: "Please be advised that with negotiations now over, we have not been able to obtain the licence for four NFL games a week. We have secured two games per week through the whole season - on Monday/Tuesday at midnight and 3am - but have not been able to secure the rights from ESPN for other live NFL games on Monday and Tuesday mornings."

But after that bad news came some good. We learned last week that Discovery Channel is planning to satisfy nature lovers' appetites with the launch of a special programming block called "Planet Green" early next year.

The Planet Green block will launch in Asia with 50 hours of programming in March 2008. The range of shows will run from locally produced Asian-interest stories to global specials drawing on Discovery Communications' unprecedented US$50-million (Bt1.58-billion) investment in original content that celebrates, preserves and protects the environment. The block will kick off with the premiere of a new six-part series, "Fearless Planet", which aims to show how various natural wonders were formed millions of years ago. (Not lost on most viewers will be the fact that it's taken humankind less than two centuries to set a seemingly irreversible course for their destruction.)

The channel has given careful thought to the planning. "Fearless Planet" is followed in the schedules by "Ways to Save the Planet", which will give insights into the global effort to find solutions to the most serious environment threats.

Elsewhere, viewers might be charmed by "Eco-Town", produced by actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio and his production company Appian Way. This 13-part series will tell the story of the Midwest farming town of Greensburg, Kansas. Destroyed on May 4, 2007 by a devastating tornado, Greensburg is being rebuilt as a sustainable example of eco-living, something that might protect it from future environmental catastrophe. With over 1,500 people displaced by the tornado and waiting to return to their homes, the series will chronicle the rebirth of this once-vibrant, classically American community - stronger … and greener.

Among the 50 hours of shows will also be "The Future Makers" and "Ecopolis", which takes its cue from the projection that by 2050, 75 per cent of the world's population will live in cities.

Needless to say, global warming is having a direct effect on people the world over, with the storms, floods and droughts attributed to climate change. But so far, no local programme-makers have announced anything like Discovery's environment-themed project. In meetings with the press, Thai executives never get further than discussions on future advertising fees and airtime allocation.

No wonder TV is so popular in Thailand compared to other media. There's no thinking involved whatsoever, just an endless diet of mind candy: shiny hi-so parties, cheap laughter in game shows, cat-fighting in soap operas and so on.

It kind of reminds me of something I once heard a learned man say: As long as the most popular TV programme is a soap opera, Thai society will always be haunted by this (political) vicious cycle.

Comments can be sent to e_nang30@yahoo.com.

by e-nang

The Nation