GREEN MACHINE: Thomas L. Friedman is getting a lot of mileage out of his motto, "Green: The New Red, White and Blue." After making its debut on Starbucks coffee cups, the phrase became a newspaper headline and now, it's the title of Friedman's upcoming documentary for the Discovery Channel, which airs Saturday. The columnist for The New York Times specializes in foreign affairs, but visited companies including Google and Wal-Mart to reveal some of their energy-saving methods. And, while some may view his turn as green advocate as a departure from his normal reporting, Friedman has a history on the subject. He developed a previous documentary, "Addicted to Oil," and he wrote a lengthy piece in Sunday's Times Magazine, "The Power of Green." He wrote: "How do our kids compete in a flatter world? How do they thrive in a warmer world? How do they survive in a more dangerous world? Those are, in a nutshell, the big questions facing America at the dawn of the 21st century." Friedman told WWD that he may follow up the documentary with a book, although he hasn't decided yet. — Amy Wicks

SPLITSVILLE U.K.: It seems there are as many theories about why Prince William and his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, split as there are Corgi hairs on the Buckingham Palace sofas — and the British press is having fun with each and every one. Reasons range from Middleton's nouveau riche middle-class background — and gum-chewing mother, a former airline hostess — to Wills' famously roving eye to the fact that the young couple had grown apart after the prince left London for officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, from which he graduated last year.

The Sun, Britain's largest-selling newspaper, broke the story on Saturday — and sent the country's media machine into overdrive. Radio stations announced the news every hour, and even Prime Minister Tony Blair got involved, telling a BBC political TV show the young couple should be "left alone…and allowed to get on with their lives."

The Sun has been the most sympathetic to the couple. It dubbed the split "amicable," and claimed — in a story headlined "Tears in the Alps" — that the prince and Middleton had discussed their future at length during a ski trip to Zermatt, Switzerland, last month. Their topic of discussion reportedly was a time-honored classic: She wanted more commitment, and he wasn't ready to take the next step. Even the royals can't escape a cliché.