Ecotopia

Date: 3/29/2011

Tonight we’ll be talking with Christine LePado; she’s a staff writer for the Chico News and Review, who’s written on everything—food, music, art, fashion, gardening, and the environment and health. We’ll talk with her about the environmental topics she’s covered and her contributions to the Green Guide.

 And, we’ll also be talking with Garin Wally. He’s an Alternative Transportation and Planning intern at Chico State, and he’s spearheading a project called zimride, a social network for ridesharing.

Listen to the Program

Our Conversation with Christine LePado

Our first guest is Christine LePado. You’ve read her articles in the Chico News and Review. She also does the Greenways section of CNR. Welcome, Christine.

1. Can you start by telling us a little about your job at Chico News and Review? You’ve done the Green reporting and the Greenways section; do you cover other topics as well? What’s a week of work like for you?
2. How many stories a week are you responsible for? How do you decide what you’ll cover?
3. What have been some of the most interesting stories you’ve covered?
4. It seems like you often cover a lot of the “good news” in the environmental world? What have been some of the more hopeful and optimistic stories you’ve covered? Do you have a favorite story?
5. Have you covered some bad news? What have been some memorable of the gloomy stories?
6. Are there trends in sustainability that you’ve become aware of as you’ve covered the environment? What have you noticed?
7. You also do the Greenways column in the CNR. First, if we have any listeners who don’t read the CNR, can you tell us what that column consists of? How do you put that column together? Where do you get your info? What have been some interesting things you’ve discovered doing that work?
8. What do you see as your central aim in writing on environemtnal and sustainability projects?
9. How has doing the environmental news affected your outlook? What are your visions of our future?

Our Chat with Garen Wally

We have here in the studio with us Gaein Wally. He’s a student at Chico State and an intern in alternative transportation and planning. And he’s involved with Zimride, a social network for ridesharing.

1. Let’s start by learning a bit more about what zimride is. How does it work?
2. How did it get started?
3. Who uses it?
4. How well is it working?
5. What sort of feedback are you getting?
6. What’s your role? How did you become involved?
7. How do you see Zimride working in the future? Do you see ways it might grow and involve more and more people?
8. How does this project fit with your own goals and hopes for your future after graduation?

Playlist

1. All The World Is Green 4:37 Tom Waits Blood Money

2. Glorious 5:19 MaMuse All The Way

3. Killer Cars 2:14 Radiohead Towering Above The Rest

4. Traffic Jam (Album Version) 2:13 James Taylor James Taylor Live

5. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary

6. Land of the Future 5:14 Josh Lasden & Synoptic Futuristic Music EP

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Date: 22 March 2011

 On tonight’s program we will discussing some of the implications of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuklear disaster in Japan. We’ll be talking with Harvey Wasserman of nukefree.org. He is a longstanding opponent of nuclear energy, and we’ll talk with him about events in Japan, about President Obama’s pro nuke policy, and about green alternatives to a nuclear-powered future.

News Update

Before we talk with our guest, Harvey Wasserman, we want to bring you a few recent stories to bring us up to date on the nuclear crisis in Japan.

From the Wall Street Journal comes this report:

TOKYO—Tokyo Electric Power Co. continued to report progress in restoring order at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, but finishing the job is turning out to be a painstaking process plagued by damaged equipment and unexpected incidents. Smoke rose from two of the plant’s six reactors Monday, forcing workers to retreat temporarily. The cause of the smoke wasn’t immediately clear. Radioactivity returned to previous levels after a brief rise, officials said. “We aren’t out of the crisis situation yet, but we are seeing a light at the end,” said Prime Minister Naoto Kan. As of Tuesday, power has been restored to all six reactors, but efforts to use that power to cool down the reactors have not been initiated Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior official at Japan’s nuclear-power regulatory agency said, “Because of the earthquake and tsunami and water, there are going to be cases where some devices don’t work when they receive electricity.” He said workers may need to bring in temporary equipment. The most troublesome of the six remains No. 3, where grayish smoke was seen Monday afternoon rising around the pools where spent nuclear fuel is stored. The smoke disappeared after a few hours.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703858404576214061148397204.html

 The UK Telegraph has been following the immediate effects of radiation on Japan’s agriculture and seafood industries. Yesterday [the Telegraph reports]

…Japan banned food exports from near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Despite statements from the World Health Organisation proclaiming food produced near the Daiichi plant safe, Japan has stopped food exports from around the stricken nuclear plant. Milk from Fukushima along with spinach from four surrounding prefectures are included in the precautionary ban. “There were media reports that excessive radioactive substance was detected in spinach and other leafy vegetables,” [said] Hirofumi Watabe, manager of the Tokyo Citizen Call Centre for Food Contamination by Nuclear Radiation. “So many people called in to ask about food safety”.

 In addition, today’s UK Telegraph adds that: “…fears about contamination [have] spread to the country’s seafood industry: After shipments of spinach and milk from the Fukushima area were halted because of heightened levels of radiation, new tests found elevated levels of radioactive iodine and cesium, in sea water. That prompted the Japanese government to order monitoring of seafood. Levels of radioactive iodine-131 in sea water samples near the plant were 126.7 times higher than the safety limit. However, Yukio Edano, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, said: “Radiation levels higher than safety levels were found in the sea-water, but these levels indicate radiation levels that would still be safe even if you drank sea-water for a year…. [Still,] At Tokyo’s Tsukiji central fish market, trader Eiichi Heima, the 66, said: “Some people are asking for fish that aren’t from up north, because of the nuclear plant.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8395727/Japan-bans-food-exports-from-near-Fukushima-Daiichi-nuclear-plant.html

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8398604/Japan-nuclear-crisis-engineers-reconnect-all-six-reactors-to-electrical-grid.htm

 And we want to thank listener Diana Suzuki for alerting us to this blog about Tokyo Electric by journalist Greg Palast prepared for Truthout/Buzzflash

“ I need to speak to you, not as a reporter, but in my former capacity as lead investigator in several government nuclear plant fraud and racketeering investigations. I don’t know the law in Japan, so I can’t tell you if Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) can plead insanity to the homicides about to happen. But what will Obama plead? The Administration, just months ago, asked Congress to provide a $4 billion loan guarantee for two new nuclear reactors to be built and operated on the Gulf Coast of Texas — by Tokyo Electric Power and local partners. As if the Gulf hasn’t suffered enough…. Now be afraid. Obama’s $4 billion bail-out-in-the-making is called the South Texas Project. It’s been sold as a red-white-and-blue way to make power domestically with a reactor from Westinghouse, a great American brand. However, the reactor will be made substantially in Japan by the company that bought the US brand name, Westinghouse — Toshiba.

There’s a good deal more to Greg ‘s blog; you can read the  full article at:,

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703858404576214061148397204.html

Our Conversation with Harvey Wasserman

 Our guest is Harvey Wasserman, editor of the nukefree.org website. He is not only interested in the dangers inherent in nuclear power, but has also written and spoken widely about alternatives to nuclear power. His newest book is titled, Solartopia 2030. 

• We would like to begin our discussion with the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. Please give us your assessment of what has happened and is happening now. What do you anticipate is likely to happen next at the site? around the world due to radiation releases?
• For decades, you’ve steadfastly said, “No nukes.” Is the Fukushima Daiichi confirmation of your worst fears?
•  Last week on this program, Ecosocialist Joel Kovel said, “You can’t call this kind of event an ‘accident.’ It’s the result of a complex set of errors leading to a predictable result.” Do you agree?
•  We don’t want to be self-centered here, for the disaster in Japan requires our closest attention, but you have warned of the dangers created by California’s two nuclear plants: San Onofre and Diablo Canyon. Please tell us about the problems you forsee. (Please tell us about the contingency plans and fiscal accountability for the operators of these plants. What will they do in the event of a disaster?)
• What are other major danger spots in the U.S. and around the world?
• In the presidential campaign, one of the few points of agreement between John McCain and Barack Obama was that nuclear power has to be a part of a “balanced” energy package for the country. And you have reported that “The Obama Administration is now asking Congress for $36 billion in new loan guarantees to build more commercial reactors.” Why are nuclear plants such a “popular” alternative? Why might the US reverse its practice of not building new plants?
• We were pleasantly surprised last week to read a Reuters report that green energy stocks have risen in value since Fukushima Daiichi. Then we were shocked that the author advised against buying such stocks, for this is just an aftershock and the “green” bubble will burst. How do you think the Japan disaster will affect future of green energy?
• Please tell us about your vision of “Solartopia 2030.” What kind of mix of energy sources do you forsee?
• What will it take for the U.S., in particular, and the world, in general, to become deeply committed to green alternatives? Will this come about from, say, legislation, incentives, market forces, or people just doing the right thing?
• We’ve been following the Copenhagen Conference and its followups. Do you have confidence in the U.N. and its members to provide leadership in green energy? Will the wealthy/industrialized nations take into account the whole world rather than their capitalist corner of it?
• What are your highest hopes and worst fears for Solartopia 2030? What are the consequences if we don’t go seriously green?
• In addition to opposing nukes, what can our listeners do to actively promote safe, green alternatives? 

 Be sure to check out Harvey Wasserman’s website which is “A global library of information and links about nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear waste contamination, and citizen action for sustainable energy and human survival.” Dedicated to “Exploring paths beyond the global culture of violence.”

Playlist: 1. Nuclear Infected (Album Version) 2:16 Alice Cooper Flush The Fashion 2. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) 3:16 Marvin Gaye What’s Going On R&B
3. Industrial Disease 5:50 Dire Straits Love Over Gold Rock
4. The Invention of Nuclear Power 2:46 Peter Adams The Spiral Eyes Rock
4. Wind Power 3:03 David Suzuki Space Child
5. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary
6. Death Of Mother Nature Suite (Album Version) 7:54 Kansas Kansas Rock
7. Solar Power Princess 2:45 Nooshi the Balloon Dude Ready, Set, Go Green Children’s Music
8. Turn! Turn! Turn! 3:53 The Byrds The Byrds: 20 Essential Tracks from the Box Set Rock

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Date: 15 March 2011 

On tonight’s program we’ll be talking about the concept of “ecosocialism,” which our guest Joel Kovel, argues is essential to saving the earth. Capitalism, he says, just won’t do it, because the profit motive drives the capitalist system to exploitation of the earth and its inhabitants.

Listen to the Program

Our Coversation with Joel Kovel:

Our guest tonight is Joel Kovel, who is editor of the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism; the title sums up or focus tonight. In 2001, he and Michael Löwy published The Ecosocialist Manifesto, and in 2002 he published a book (revised in 2007) called The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?. \

• You’ve had a long career in medicine, psychiatry, education, and social and political activism. Please give us a little of your biography–how did you get to be an ecosocialist?
• Your book subtitle puts the choice bluntly, “the end of capitalism or the end of the world.” In that book you also quote Rosa Luxemburg, who says we have a choice between “barbarism or socialism.” Please tell us about what you see as the role of capitalism in undermining the environment. Why is capitalism at war with nature? Can it bring an end to the world?
• You argue that capitalism is not bound by absolute laws, but by traditions and conventions. Is capitalism incapable of green reform? (e.g. carbon cap-and-trade, wind power, solar power)?
•  In fact, you are pretty hard on a number of current environmental movements. You write of faux good news, a “puerile mish-mash, of local cleanup efforts, greenwashings of one kind or another, the hucksterings, of green capitalists, various techno-fixes, and the noises made by government agencies.” Are well-meant individual green efforts pointless?
• You are also critical of Kyoto, (and, we are assuming, Copenhagen). Can’t/won’t world governments save the world from capitalism?
•  Here’s a question you ask yourself in the Manifesto: “But why socialism, why revive this word seemingly consigned to the rubbish-heap of history by the failings of its twentieth century interpretations?”
• What are the major tenets of ecosocialism? (Perhaps you can describe some of them.)
• How might/must the ecosocialist revolution come about? Who will lead it? What form will it take? Will it be violent? Might the actions Republicans in Wisconsin lead to a people’s rebellion? Might the health care crisis bring us to ecosocialism? What does Katrina teach us about the possibility for ecosocialism?
•  Please describe your vision of an ecosocialist planet after the revolution. [Our program title is taken from Ernest Callenbach’s 1973 novel, Ecotopia. If you’re familiar with Callenbach’s vision, could you offer a few comments on Ecotopia as an ecosocialist kind of state?]
• It’s difficult from your writing to see the precise role of the individual in bringing about ecological change. Please give our listeners (and us) some ideas about individual engagement. What can/should/might we be doing? Can you recommend additional sources or organizations for action?

You can also learn more about Joel Kovel and his work at his website (which also includes a copy of the Ecosocialist Manifesto) and at a detailed article on Wikipedia . 

Joel Kovel <http://www.joelkovel.com/>

Wikipedia <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Kovel >

Nature Capitalism Socialism <http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/journal.asp?issn=1045-5752&linktype=145>

Playlist for Ecotopia #128: Ecosocialism 1. Fast Paced World 3:52 The Duhks Fast Paced World
2. Revolution 1 4:16 The Beatles The Beatles (White Album)
3. It’s Money That I Love 3:43 Randy Newman It’s Lonely At The Top
4. The Penguin 2:50 Don Byron Bug Music
5. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary
6. Doctor My Eyes (LP Version) 3:20 Jackson Browne Jackson Browne
7. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall 6:57 Bob Dylan The Freewheellin’ Bob Dylan

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Date:  3/8/2011

Ecotopia is a weekly program exploring ecosystems—environmental, social, and technological.

Tonight we’ll be talking with Dr. Mark Stemen. He’s a professor on the faculty of the Geography and Planning Department at CSU. He’s also a well-known community activist with, among others, the Chico Sustainability Task Force and the Butte Environmental Council.

 We’ll also be talking with four students from Chico State who are involved with some of the many sustainability projects on campus. We’ll talk with three students who are involved in a campaign to block construction of a new parking structure and another student who is a residence hall advisor for Sustainability House.

Listen to the Program

Our Discussion with Mark Stamen

Mark is coordinator of the Environmental Studies Program at Chico State, advisor to eight student groups, faculty mentor to the  “Sustainability House” in the residence halls, and a tireless teacher, mentor and colleague for sustainability.

1. First of all, tell us about Chico State’s Environmental Studies Program.
2. You’re known as a huge supporter of sustainability issues and topics on and off campus. What are some of the most important projects you are and have been involved in?
3. Tell us about some of the groups you work with on campus.
4. How did you become interested in sustainability issues? How has that shaped your career over the years?
5. What are you currently teaching?
6. What else would you like our listeners to know about sustainability on campus or in Chico?

 Vanessa Pasa, Eddie Markie, and Jessica Ulvang:  Tell us about CSU’s “Parking Structure Catastrophe.” 

1. Let’s start with the parking structure. Tell us a little about the structure and where things are in the building process.
2. What are your objections to the structure?
3. Who all is involved in the campaign against the structure?
4. How do you assess your chances of winning your campaign? (I understand the moved up the building of the project. How does that affect your chances?)

Kelly Cronon: You’re involved with the Sustainability House at the residence halls at Chico State. Tell us something about the Sustainability House.

2. How did it come into being? How old is it?

3. How do people come to live there?

4. What are some things that make it sustainable?

5.  What’s your role?

News About the Procession of Species

The Endangered Species Faire will again be held the first Saturday in May, May 7. This year, there will be a new event at the Faire that we’re really excited about—The Procession of the Species. Everyone is invited to participate in this celebratory parade in which they create their favorite species—oyster mushroom, dolphin, daisy, monarch butterfly, lion, tiger, or bear. We’ll then Process in creative costume to Cedar Grove in Bidwell Park. We’re inviting schools, organizations, businesses, and individuals and their friends to craft puppets and costumes out of recycled materials.

We’ve got a couple of possibilities to help you with ideas and construction. First of all, there will be four puppet-making workshops conducted by Master Puppeteer Cheetah Tchudi. These workshops will be held on four consecutive Fridays—March 18 and 25 and April 1 and 8. The workshops are free and will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 at the GRUB house, 1525 Dayton Road. If you get off work at 5:00, come at 5:30. You don’t have to RSVP, but it would really help us with planning if you did. To let us know you’re coming or for more information, please email ecotopia@kzfr.org.

If you are a teacher or principal (or parent), Steve and I would love to come to your classrooms to help build puppets. Puppets can be as elaborate as large, collaborative wearable puppets like whales or snakes or as simple as a school of fish or a garden of flowers on sticks. Our major construction method is cardboard, paper mache, and paint.

Again, email ecotopia@kzfr.org.

To learn more about the Endangered Species Faire, you can go to the BEC website, www.endangeredspeciesfaire.org, or you can phone (530) 891-6424 or email marym @ becnet.org.

 Playlist

1. Global Warming Blues      3:42  Lenny Solomon   Armando’s Pie                    

2. Working On A Dream        3:30  Bruce Springsteen       Working On A Dream  

3. Break Up The Concrete     2:39  The Pretenders   Break Up The Concrete

4. Danger (Global Warming) – Radio Mix 3:35  Brick Casey Danger (Global Warming)        Rap & Hip-Hop                   

5. Weave Me the Sunshine   4:28  Peter, Paul And Mary    The Very Best of Peter

6. Effect & Cause        3:00  The White Stripes       Icky Thump Rock

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 March 1, 2011

Our topic tonight is “Greenwashing”–the practice of businesses to make their products sound environmentally sound and ecologically “correct.” There’s lots of it going on as manufacturers and advertisers jump on the Green Bandwagon: gas guzzling cars surrounded by butterflies, industrial poisons described as feeding the world. The Federal Trade Commission has some regulations about greenwashing and truth in advertising called the Green Guides. These haven’t been overwhelmingly effective, and the FTC is in the process of attempting to strengthen them.

We read from an announcement prepared by Halimah Collingwood of the Mainstream Media Project in Arcata:

For the first time since 1998, the Federal Trade Commission is updating its Green Guides for environmental marketing claims. The Green Guides are meant to define terms and standardize claims made about a product’s impact on the environment. The Green Guides gives the FTC the right to prosecute businesses for misleading environmental claims under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The changes to the Green Guides come in response to the profitable surge of “green” marketing. Claims of “sustainable” and “carbon neutral” have entered the language but the FTC had no standard definition of these and other such terms. Some marketers have taken advantage of this lapse by exaggerating the eco-friendliness of a product – a practice known as “greenwashing.”

Here’s the link to  the FTC’s summary of the proposal: www.ftc.gov/os/2010/10/101006greenguidesproposal.pdf

Broadly, the proposals call for manufacturers to avoid making unqualified claims and making the qualifications explicitly; calls for cautious use of “certification” by other agencies and revealing the science behind the certification; limits the use of the terms “compostable” and “degradable” to materials that will degrade or decompose in a reasonable period of time; clarifies and limits the use of terms like “free of” and “nontoxic”; calls for identifying the source of any “renewable energy”; and clairfying and documenting any claims for carbon offsets.Halimah Collingwood concludes her Mainstream Media announcement:

It’s hard to quantify how much these corporate claims impact profits. From automobile to textile manufacturers, household cleaning products, and service industries like airlines and hotels, it is clear from today’s advertising that projecting an environmentally friendly picture is now considered an essential business practice. The FTC revisions may help separate fact from fiction.

How can consumers be sure what they’re buying has a low environmental impact? What would FTC guidelines mean for the development of the emerging carbon offset market? What else can consumers do to reduce their impact?

We’ll be asking our guests tonight those questions, first, Lisa Graves of the Center for Media and Democracy, in Madison, Wisconsin, then Pat Murphy of Community Solutions of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Listen to the Program

Our Conversation with Lisa GravesGraves is the Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy, the publisher of PR Watch, SourceWatch, and BanksterUSA. She’s a graduate of the Cornell University Law School. Before joining the Center for Media and Democracy, she had a distinguished career in Washington engaging in a wide range of civil liberties and consumer issues. KZFR listeners had a chance to hear Lisa on Democracy Now, talking about the protests in Madison, Wisconsin, but tonight we’ll talk with her about Greenwashing.

• Please tell us about the work of the Center for Media and Democracy. What’s your mission? How do you work? (What are your funding sources?)
• You’ve worked on a number of instances of greenwashing and collusion, for example, the efforts of the American Petroleum Institute to shape public perception in advance of the Copenhagen conference. Please give us an example or several of the cases you’ve investigated. What tactics do businesses use to “greenwash” their products, especially in ways that are not immediately obvious to the consumer?

[We’ve been following Monsanto’s (recently successful) efforts to get approval for its GMO alfalfa and sugar beets. PR Watch has written about this. If you can give us any insights into Monsanto Greenwashing, we’d appreciate it.]

• Earlier in the program, we read a brief summary of the new “Green Guides” being proposed by the Federal Trade Commission. Please give us your assessment of the Guides. Are they addressing key issues?
• Are there any teeth in the Green Guides? any serious enforcement policies?
• As an attorney and media activist, you can probably see loopholes and points of evasion in the new guides. Can you predict how business and industry will respond in terms of their advertising and product promotion?
• What happens next to the Green Guides? How can interested listeners express their opinions? to whom?

More broadly, how can consumers best protect themselves and their families against greenwashing?Visit the Center for Media and Democracy at http://prwatch.org/cmd.

 

Our Conversation with Patrick MurphyPat Murphy is Research Director, Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions. It’s a nonprofit that advocates for small communities, living sustainably. He’s also the author of Spinning Our Wheels: The Failures of the Auto Industry and Government in the Quest for Lower Carbon Emissions and What We Can Do – Right Now – to Change Our Transportation System (2010).  

• We know that you’ve studied greenwashing in a number of areas, but you have particular interest in the auto industry. We assume that greenwashing is only part of the failure of the auto industry and the government to lower emissions, but could you give us some examples of automotive greenwashing to get us started?

[We’ve looked up a few examples of auto ads ourselves, such as the Toyota Rav 4 Diesel, “The car nature wants to own,” with bunnies trying to to get a peek inside.]

[And the Prius ad where “nature” (pictured in black and white cartoon) comes into full-color bloom as the car passes, implying that the car actually fertilizes growth.]

[And Chevy Volt, declaring “Put simply, electricity is a cleaner source of power. And as technology improves in the generation of electricity, we will continue to see reduced carbon outputs. Advancements in electricity production along with reduction in emissions from electric-powered driving could help make our world a cleaner place,” which passes the buck to technological solutions.]

• You’ve also studied greenwashing in other areas and have some criticism of the LEED certification that is widely advertised as green building. Could you tell us some of your observations there?
• Earlier in the program, we discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed new guidelines for truth in green advertising. What’s your appraisal of the guides? Will they change greenwashing in the auto industry? in LEED certification?
• Obviously there is some consumer demand for cars that are greener. For buildings that are more energy efficient. Is this leading to a genuine change in the the construction and auto industries? Is consumer demand enough to provide real changes?
• Please tell us about your work at Community Solutions. It sounds as if you are interested as much in change of lifestyle as in direct reduction of emissions. That is, if we simply drive less, we essentially bypass greenwashing.
• Community Solutions is also talking about changes in housing and food patterns. Please explain how these all tie together.
• What’s your vision of a (more or less) ideal sustainable community? in the city? in the country?

[The title of our show, Ecotopia, is taken from Ernest Callenbach’s utopian novel (1973) that calls for decentralization, localized food supplies, and small, cohesive communities.]

• A question we often ask on this program is how significant change can come about. Will it require:

government regulation?

incentives to business and the population?

the planet being driven to the brink of destruction?

• What can/should interested listeners do to bring about change in their own lives and communities? Other than Community Solutions, can you suggest some other resources?

Thank you, Pat Murphy of Community Solutions. They can be found on the web at http://www.communitysolution.org/ [Note: That’s community solution singular–not solutions, which takes one to a different web site.]

On the Value of Community Radio Programming

As we close the show tonight, we want to take a moment to talk about public affairs and kids’ programming on KZFR. As a community radio station, we carry a number of broadcasts that are unique to our area and present local perspectives on a wide range of issues. For example, as you’ve probably heard, KZFR is now carrying interview excerpts from StoryCorps, the national oral history project sponsored by National Public Radio. The excerpt you are hearing on KZFR are produced in our studio and feature people from our region with stories to tell. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for a community radio station.

We’re also pleased to be a part of the original programming that makes this station unique. For example, Adrienne Scott’s Storyteller, coming up next, which brings mix of story and song from a multicultural perspective. Tonight, Adrienne will be visititalking about the Maasai Culture.  She has a great book called: 14 Cows for America.  A true story about the Maasai people’s gift to the US after 9/11. You can listen to Adrienne read this wonderful story on tonight.  She will offer some music and other information of the Maasai’s way of life. Children of all ages and lovers of traveling near and far are welcome to tune into this one-of-a-kind programming on KZFR.

We’ve been working with area teens lately to help create a revised Monday night “Teen Talk” program 6-7 pm. These next-generation broadcasters are tackling serious international and local issues, human relations problems, and looking at the role of art, especially creative writing, in people’s lives.

And there are many other original programs coming to you throughout the week: “Mama Rose’s Kitchen,” Diana Suzuki’s “One World Music,” Sharon North’s “Shattered Lives,” Laurel Avalon’s “Peace and Social Justice Hour,” Tom Resk’s “Monthly STroll,” and that Saturday morning favorite, The Point Is, with Sue Hilderbrand and Paul O’Rourke Babb.

No we’re not asking for pledges (though we will be doing that in a few weeks). Rather, we just want to emphasize and brag a little about KZFR’s locally produced community radio, unique to the Sacramento Valley, the foothills, and beyond.

Playlist: Ecotopia #126 Greenwashing

1. All The World Is Green        4:37        Tom Waits        Blood Money       
> 2. Karma Police        4:22        Radiohead        OK Computer
> 3. In the Blink of an Eye        3:32        Somasonic        Future                       
> 4. Education        2:41        Pearl Jam        Live At Lollapalooza 2007               
> 5. Weave Me the Sunshine        4:28        Peter, Paul And Mary        The Very Best of 
> Peter, Paul and Mary       
> 6. Beautiful Feeling        4:00        PJ Harvey        Stories From The City, Stories 
> From The Sea                       
> 7. The Mess We’re In        3:57        PJ Harvey Feat. Thom Yorke        Stories From 
> The City, Stories From The Sea

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