We all know about the Green movement that has pushed its way into every facet of our lives. And though its been around for a few years, some folks believe this thinking of greener living, which equals the lack of oceanfront property in the middle of Iowa, is a brand new concept. This couldn't be further from the truth!

The fact is, there have been surges of environmentally-conscious thought in every decade since Earth Day was conceived back in 1970. The biggest surge came in the early '70s when Woodsy Owl told us to "Give a hoot -- don't pollute' and a crying Native American lamented over the trash thrown out of moving cars. This thinking even permeated the safe haven of Saturday morning cartoons during this time, thanks in no part to a bunch of washed-up Hanna-Barbera characters in a flying, wooden ark.

When you look at the history of television you can usually connect names to certain eras of programming. For instance, producer Aaron Spelling can be connected with many of the dramas and primetime soap operas of the 70s and 80s; Garry Marshall can be matched to many of the great ABC comedies of the 70s; Mark Goodson and Bill Toddman can be hooked up with the daytime game shows that pocked the television landscape for three decades.

When the names William Hanna and Joseph Barbera are mentioned two words come to mind: Saturday mornings. Without the creations that the Hanna-Barbera studios put out year after year Saturday mornings would have looked much different. Oh, other studios like Rankin-Bass and Filmation would have probably picked up the slack, but then we wouldn't have known about Space Ghost, Scooby-Doo, Mutley, Jabberjaw, or the Wonder Twins.

From the late 50s until the early 90's Hanna-Barbera was a major presence on television. Their shows produced countless imitations (some coming from Hanna-Barbera itself), thousands of characters, and memories that will last our lifetime.

And, it all started with a cat and a mouse.

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