Click the Tahoe hybrid for a high-res gallery

General Motors looks to get loads more exposure in short order as it becomes the exclusive automotive sponsor for the new Discovery Communications channel known as Planet Green. Therefore, viewers should expect to be inundated by vehicles from the General - hybrids and flex-fuel SUVs in particular - while they watch shows like Living With Ed. The city of Greensburg, Kansas, will be highlighted on the new channel, as that city is currently rebuilding itself using as much green-tech as possible. Besides giving Greensburg city administration some Tahoe hybrid SUVs and E85-capable pickups, GM has also provided the local school's South Central Community Foundation three flex-fuel Suburbans. One story line of the show will center around the rebuilding of Greensburg-area Chevrolet dealership Dwane Shank Motors.

Says Betsy Lazar, executive director, GM advertising and media operations, "Planet Green programs will attract consumers who also want to know what GM has to offer in terms of fuel-efficient cars and trucks, hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles." Therefore, more direct advertising will take place on both the television channel and its accompanying website. Short films will be made showcasing GM vehicles and employees. Planet Green launches on June fourth.

[Source: Automotive News]

According to Graham Hill of Treehugger, the site related to all that is green was acquired by Discovery Communications, which many know primarily for the Discover Channel television programming. Here are the reasons cited for the deal:

• They (Discovery) reach 1.5 billion (yes, billion!) cumulative subscribers around the world with top quality, often nature related, non-fiction content
• They (Discovery) have commitment from the top of the company for over $50M to create content including programming for the world's first 24 hr green channel and in addition have allocated significant budget aimed at building the leading green web portfolio on the Internet
• They (Discovery) already have web properties serving hundreds of millions of pageviews per month
• They (Discovery) are looking to the TreeHugger team to help drive the direction of their green efforts online

What does this mean to readers of Treehugger? To quote Graham Hill again, "As a reader, you can expect TreeHugger to improve the quality and quantity of its offerings while maintaining the editorial integrity and attitude that you've enjoyed to date. You can also expect to see community tools that help you interact with each other and our writers as well as rate content. Discovery wants us to continue with the successful approach we've always taken, help us build a larger, deeper team, create new tools and help us reach a larger audience."

So, there you have it. As a reader of our site, you may be a reader of theirs as well, so we thought we'd share. Now, back to all the best green related automotive and transportation news!

[Source: Treehugger and Discovery Communications]