What is unfortunate is that a lot MTV’s best material sometimes receives inconspicuous time slots. Though it later got a primetime replay, Jay-Z’s “Water for Life” first aired at 9 o’clock on a Thursday morning. According to Rowe, there is no way to compare the popularity of MTV’s environment-related programming to more typical shows, such the Real World (which may soon feature a season in an “green” house). Nonetheless, with short public service announcements airing around the clock between scheduled programming, “There is no way you can watch the channel without realizing that global warming is one of our central issues,” Rowe said. But what of the ambitious and valorous new reporting that MTV produced during the early days of the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina? We will have to wait and see, but according to Rowe, if environmental issues continue to occupy a prominent place in the 2008 presidential election, MTV will continue its dot-connecting. So don’t expect MTV News to be a cornerstone of the fourth estate. But do expect that the station will play an important role in the education and mobilization of younger generations that will, inevitably, have to face up to challenges of a warmer world.

Correction: The vernal equinox was March 21, not April 21, as the post originally stated. The reference has been removed from the post. (Earth Day used to be held on the equinox.)

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