Reading the below interesting report on the business of web and green-minded media.

You get a sense that Treehugger.com, the leading green web site in the whole wide world, and other purchases are being viewed from top-down, demographic, bottomline points of view—instead of as vehicles for changing the world. Considering that the green demographic is primarily interested in changing the world, if you want our hard-earned dollars, you better stay true to the ethos of conscious consumerism.

In 2007, Discovery made the $250 million purchase of HowStuffWorks.com. The company also bought TreeHugger.com for a reported $10 million that year, and PetFinder.com for a reported $35 million in 2006. The sites were intended to complement networks Discovery Channel, Planet Green and Animal Planet, respectively.

Singer said Discovery continues to search for ways to make those sites work more in concert with the various channels. Efforts are also ongoing to upgrade the Web sites directly linked with the company’s slew of networks.

For a full report, click here.