NBC Beijing Olympic Air Conditioned Outdoor Set: Not So Green

Do as we say, not as we do - the new theme for NBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics? Quite possibly. 

WTHR, the NBC affiliate for Indianapolis, reported from Beijing and described the set used for the network's two highest-rated news broadcasts - "Nightly News" and "Today" - as air conditioned, even though it is outdoors.

"The set is outside, but air conditioning vents make the weather bearable," Anne Marie Tiernon wrote for WTHR Eyewitness News on August 14.

Even NBC "Today" co-host Matt Lauer remarked about the air conditioning, but complained the weather was still uncomfortable even with the luxury.

"The first couple of nights even with the air conditioning it was steamy in here, but we've been lucky ever since," Lauer said to WTHR. "It's been overcast some days, takes the temperature down. We call it fog smog."

Last fall, the network performed a publicity stunt on the November 4 broadcast of its highly-rated Sunday Night NFL show, "Football Night in America." The broadcast used limited lighting for the broadcast and even went completely dark for the final moments of the program.

The effort was to raise awareness and set an example for the rest of the country. However, the same example isn't being set for the broadcast from the world's biggest polluter, China.