Has anyone else noticed a curious coincidence between the flood of "green" programming and high gas prices?

Earth Day has been around for 30+ years. Alternatives to fossil fuel have been invented then shot down by government & big business. Suddenly they're lauded again as the next great step forward for mankind! I don't get it! Haven't we heard about global warming for decades? Haven't those wacky "hippies" been using natural fibers, compost heaps, & even converted their deisel vehicles to operate on vegetable oil from the local fast food joint or solar panels on the roofs of their streamlined vehicles? THIS IS NOT NEW! Yet the media is acting as if this were amazing, incredibly simple and a person is a fool & inhumane if we don't each find SOME way to reduce our personal "footprint" on our planet! We all know it takes months to plan and film a television show. There was even a writers strike recently. So how is it if NO ONE predicted the rise in fuel oil, that reality shows, whole channels & "special" episodes of our favorite TV shows are suddenly "going green" just as prices rise?