Can the Red State Stay Green?
    NOW
    t r u t h o u t | Programming Note

    Airdate: Friday, January 5, 2007, at 8:30 p.m. on PBS.
    (Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html.)

A tug of war over a red state wilderness. This time on NOW.

    Can environmentalists and conservative lawmakers get along in the Idaho wilderness? That's the challenge Republican Representative Mike Simpson took on when he sponsored compromise legislation with the help of the Idaho Conservation League to protect a vast swath of the state's natural environment. But the price is too high for some. On Friday, January 5, at 8:30 p.m. on PBS, NOW talks to residents, ranchers, off-road vehicle fans, and wilderness advocates, including singer-songwriter and resident Carole King, to unearth the truth behind a tug of war that is playing out not just in Idaho, but in other states and the halls of the US Congress.

    "Some people thought I'd lost my mind when I said, 'We'll try to solve this problem.' But you know, that's the reason you're here. You're elected to try and solve problems," Representative Simpson tells NOW.

    Carole King is unconvinced, telling NOW the Gem State's wilderness "is a rare and precious jewel. It's Idaho's Hope Diamond. And if you cut it up into little tiny pieces, just like the Hope Diamond, the little pieces aren't worth anything."