Discovery pushing ‘green’ with celebs on its new channel

Discovery Networks is joining the “green” living movement with Planet Green, a new cable network due June 4.

The channel is using celebrities – including rapper Ludacris, rocker Tommy Lee, “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier and chef extraordinaire Emeril Lagasse – to soft-pedal its mission and win over casual “armchair environmentalists.”

“We’re not going to be, ‘The ice is melting,’ ” says Discovery Networks CEO David Zaslav. “We want to engage people in a fun way and in the spirit of what we can all do together.”

Planet Green, which replaces Discovery Home, plans a nearly all-original lineup of 14 personality-driven series, including:

•”Battleground Earth”, which pits Ludacris against Tommy Lee in a series of challenges such as solar-powered racing and bamboo home-building.

•Grenier’s “The Green Life,” which shows him refurbishing a Spanish-style home with an ozonated pool and recycled shower water.

•”Emeril Green,” an organic foods show starring Lagasse.