Kermit the Frog was on to something when he made that famous statement: “It isn’t easy being green.” Just ask NBC.

For the week of Nov. 5-9, the network turned its icon green in the name of “Green Week” (detailed info can be found at www.nbc.com/green). The week was filled with environmentally-themed shows, like green versions of “The Biggest Loser,” “Bionic Woman,” “30 Rock” and “The Office,” and public service announcements, during which our favorite NBC stars give us tips for making our everyday lives a little greener. We are given rehashed tips like plant a tree, recycle, and turn off the water while brushing our teeth.

NBC’s sister networks, including USA, Bravo, and Sci Fi, went green as well. While NBC is to be admired for pulling this off – not only on its primetime shows, but also its morning and daytime shows – it raises a key question: Is this week of green programming going to be enough to influence Americans to be a little more environmentally conscious?

I asked that question to Connie Lindholm, the executive director of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance.

“I do think that national campaigns can influence people,” she says. “But I also think that green has permeated the consciousness of most Americans, and this type of campaign [just] reinforces their concerns.”

There was really no new information conveyed during Green Week. It, like most environmental advocacy, seemed to be more about drilling the ideas into viewers’ heads.

Perhaps the venue makes it more likely for the information to stick, and maybe if environmental ideology is worked into the plotline of our favorite shows, the ideas introduced are more palatable than if they had been given in a normal public service announcement.

Coincidentally, Lindholm says, during NBC’s Green Week, over 20,000 people committed to greener building were meeting at GreenBuild in Chicago, an annual conference of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The fact that NBC’s green programming lasts for only a week, however, might hinder its effectiveness.

“The media has a good deal of power,” explains Lindholm. “But I think many people are wary of the media and that they will find that, while the programming is interesting, the fact that it only lasts a week isn’t very significant.”

There could, however, be some lasting effect from Green Week. The “Today Show,” for example, made their green room a little greener, replacing each light bulb with more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

It is unlikely that they will switch the bulbs back after green week is over, therefore at least some part of the green will be will be long-lasting.

Unfortunately the only original thing about Green Week was that NBC was the first to do it. The environmental storylines seemed obvious and contrived at times, and the public service announcements were worthy of afternoon specials. Additionally, NBC’s continued marketing deal with Nissan, (its SUVs have popped up in episodes of “Heroes” and “The Office,”) makes the network seem hypocritical.

Perhaps Green Week will have a bigger impact and change the world, and I will eat my own green words. As tired as this adage is: only time will tell.

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