I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not (EPA paid weather channel for videos).
The Environmental Protection Agency paid the Weather Channel $40,000 to produce and broadcast several videos about ozone depletion, urban heat problems and the dangers of ultraviolet radiation as part of the Bush administration's efforts to inform the public about climate change, agency records show.
The environmental side of me thinks awareness is a good thing:
[...]
The Weather Channel "is in a unique position to help EPA expand its audience," an EPA official wrote in a document justifying the sole-source agreement. "It is the only channel that focuses its programming solely on weather and environmentally-related information. Broadcasting to more than 80 million households and 95 percent of all cable TV homes in the U.S., the weather channel has established itself as the strongest electronic-media brand among all 24-hour news and information channels."
But...
...the EPA's payments to a commercial news organization to further its public relations efforts reinforce recent concerns that the administration sometimes has cloaked its promotion of executive branch policies in messages that resemble news stories and do not always fully disclose the government's role.
Even if...
...the content is straightforward, educational and scientifically sound.
I'm conflicted (or maybe not).
