When considering the ramifications of global warming, atmospheric gases, and the greenhouse effect, most of us do not think about our television set as possibly being a culprit.

We point fingers at pollution-producing factories, too many automobiles on the road, aerosol cans, and the elimination of the rainforests, but we don’t want to consider that gases produces by America’s favorite form of entertainment could be partially contributing to the earth’s climbing temperatures.

The fact is, the old-style version of television that employed the use of cathode ray tubes did not cause any problems at all.

However, today’s newer LCD and plasma versions both employ nitrogen trifluoride, a gas which lingers in the atmosphere for no less than 550 years and is said to contribute more to the effects of global warming than coal-fired power plants! So when one shops for a new television, what is one to do? The obvious choice would be to just stick with your old CRT television until it simply stops functioning, but considering that televisions are no longer built using CRT’s, you will have to decide at that point what you will choose to do.

Several manufacturers claim that their technology actually produces a lower level of nitrogen trifluoride in the atmosphere, which would make their television the greener choice…if this claim is factual, which is nearly impossible to prove. Meanwhile, consumers are left with reading manufacturer data and deciphering for themselves which is the more environmentally-conscious television to purchase.

Then again, if we were truly so environmentally-conscious, we would spend more time outdoors and less time in front of a television anyway.

Perhaps that would be the “greenest” choice to make.