“Ask This Old House” Carefully Avoids the Environmental Implications of Energy  

This morning saw the airing of the first episode of the 35th season of PBS’s “Ask This Old House.”  I try to catch it every Saturday morning; even though I’m not particularly handy, I love to learn about the various aspects of building and restoring our dwellings, especially classic ones.

Yet I’ve always wondered how a show like this can cover renewable energy and efficiency in virtually every show and not mention the environmental benefit.  They love to talk about how happy the homeowners are to be saving on their utility bills, but (until this morning) had never let slip a single mention that it might be nice to “do the right thing” vis-à-vis the world around them.

And this mention was so odd that it might have indeed been a slip.  A minor figure in the show, one of the sons of the plumbing and heating guy, used the word “ethical” in discussing a certain energy saving device.  I had to play it back to make sure I heard it right.

For whatever reason, they talk around the central issue facing humankind, even though they have every opportunity.  Now it’s true that they’re all guys.  Do they feel less manly expressing a concern for the planet we inhabit?  I doubt it; I suspect that the show’s producer was told by his seniors that the show should not take on a political bias, and especially not a liberal one.  How sad that there is any controversy whatsoever about protecting our planet—our home—from damage; isn’t this a concern that everyone should share?

In any case, it’s very awkward to avoid the elephant in the room continually.  It’s like discussing baseball without mentioning players and teams, batters and pitchers, and balls and bats.