Uncategorized
Archived Posts from this Category
Archived Posts from this Category
Posted by Stephen on 18 Apr 2011 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
 April 19, 2011
Tonight our topic is “Changing Planet–Changing Health.” In the first part of the program we’ll talk with author Dan Ferber, who has coauthored a book with that title. He and Paul Epstein have explored in depth the proven and possible consequence of climate change on human health globally. Wonder why you’ve been sneezing more? We’ll ask Dan Ferber to explain.
Then we’ll talk to Chicoan Pamm Larry, who is interested in protecting our health from another threat, genetically modified organisms. She is part of a team sponsoring a ballot initiative that would require labeling on GMO products in California so that consumers have a chance to know what they are eating and make informed decisions about it.
Our Discussion with Dan Ferber
Part 1–The Threat:
On previous editions of Ecotopia, we have discussed climate change and how it is affecting the health and survival of wildlife on the planet. Tonight, we turn to people. Our guest is Dan Ferber, co-author, with Paul Epstein, of a book titled Changing Planet, Changing Health. Dan is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine and has written widely on science issues, including articles in Popular Science, Audubon, and Nature Conservancy.
The subtitle of your book is How the Climate Crisis Threatens Our Health and What We Can Do about It. Let’s save the “what we can do about it” part for later in the show and start with the the threat to our health. Broadly, what’s your view of the relationship between climate change and our health? Why are we in trouble?
You’re not talking about a “theory” or “thesis” here. You say, “Clearly climate change is hazardous to our health.” Why do you and Paul Epstein find the evidence so persuasive?
The opening chapter of Changing Climate–Changing Health focuses on Mozambique as an example of the climate-induced health crisis and presents a substantial and frightening list of diseases and epidemics: “an epidemic of epidemics.”
–Why did you choose to begin the book in this way?
–How does Mozambique bear out the theories of early 20th-Century Austrian ecologist, Ludvig von Bertalanffy?
–What is “the science of the whole”?
A chapter entitled “Every Breath You Take” offers an explanation for increased sneezing! What’s the relationship between climate change and respiratory problems​? Who has lobbied against proposed agreements such as Kyoto and Copenhagen (not that the U.S. was signing on to these anyway)?
The book covers a vast range of planetary ailments. Could you review (your choice of) one or several of these:
–toxic oceans and declining fisheries
–forests in trouble
–agricultural problems
–storms and sickness
You have a chapter called, “Sobering Predictions.” As we end this segment, we want to ask an impossibly broad questions: Could you please give us a sobering prediction of how health will worsen over, say, the next 50 to 100 years if we do not alter the rate of climate change?
Part II: Solutions Along with sounding the alarm, you and Dr. Epstein have recommendations for “what we can do about it.” Let’s talk about some of these.
What do you mean by “Gaining Green by Going Green”?Â
–How might going green positively effect, say, the insurance and banking industries?
–How else might the economy actually be improved by fighting global climate change?
–Could you please talk about Gary Hirshberg and his dispelling of myths about:Â externalities, sending away waste, and pollution dilution?
Can green captialism produce the needed changes? (We’ve had people on this program argue that by its very nature, capitalism can never be green–it will always be devoted to squeezing out maximum profits by exploiting any resouce it can. What do you think?)
Throughout the book you refer to Kyoto and other international agreements (or non agreements) on climate change. What’s your view of the possible success of these kinds of global efforts? Will they produce the change we need? How can we “prod the politicians”?
Do you sense that community-level strategies can be successful, e.g., smart growth, campaigns and targets to lower emissions? (In Chico, our Sustainability Task Force is working on these problems.)
What advice do you have for individual listeners to help us “veer from our tarnished history, creating a legacy of healing for both the Earth and ourselves.”
The book is Changing Planet–Changing Health, by Paul Epstein and our guest, Dan Ferber, and it’s published by the University of California Press. You can learn more about the book at http://www.changingplanetchanginghealth.com/. Dan also has a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ChangingPlanetChangingHealth, that includes blogs, comments, and links to other articles. We’re posing all those links on our own website, ecotopiakzfr.net.
Our Discussion with Pamm Larry
Pamm Larry has lived in Chico for 33 years and has worn many hats in her tenure here–one as a farmer in the mid ’80s to ’90s. She’s a mother and a grandmother and has been a mini activist for decades. After years of being depressed about the future of our food she had an epiphany on January 20, 2011 to take a strong stand and organize the state for a ballot initiative to require mandatory labling of genetically engineered foods and the factory farmed animals that eat them.Â
1. What was your epiphany?
2. What is the ballot initiative you are creating? What would it require by way of labeling?
3. Why is it important to have GMO food labeled? (Does labeling
actually protect us from GMOs or simply alert us to food content?)
4. Please tell us about your fundraiser this coming Saturday. (We’re
not allowed to state ticket prices over the air–goofy FCC rule–but
you can tell people how and where to get them.)
5. How can people learn more about the initiative and get involved?
Playlist for Eco 133: Changing Planet–Changing Health
1. Global Warming Blues 3:42 Lenny Solomon Armando’s Pie
2. Danger (Global Warming) – Radio Mix 3:35 Brick Casey Danger (GlobalWarming)
3. Health 2:50 Electric Guitars Health
4. Good Health 3:37 The Dixie Hummingbirds In Good Health
5. Health and Strength 4:28 Pressure Riddim Ruller: Drop It Riddim
6. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary
7. The Health And Welfare 8:58 Urlaub In Polen Health And Welfare
Posted by Stephen on 14 Apr 2011 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
April 12, 2011Â
On several editions of Ecotopia, we’ve talked with people who argue persuasively that Green Jobs are going to increase dramatically in the future.  Tonight, we’ll be talking with Melissa Everett, a career counselor and green activist from New York, who has mapped out possibilities and strategies for “Making a Living While Making a Difference.”
Before we talk with Melissa Everett, we thought we’d share an amusing story from the Wall Street Journal. Reporter Annie Gasparro says that:
McDonald’s Corp. is hoping to bulk up its burger-tossing forces and recast the image of the “McJob” with a nationwide hiring event April 19. On this self-proclaimed National Hiring Day, McDonald’s and its franchisees plan to recruit as many as 50,000 U.S. employees to add to its roughly 600,000-member ranks.[…]
The fast-food giant is promoting the hiring event in print magazines such as People and Us Weekly, as well as social-media channels. The campaign highlights employees of varying ranks, from cashiers to corporate, in an effort to improve the image of working there. For years, people have used the term “McJob” as derogatory slang for low-paying, dead-end work in the kitchen or behind the counter. McDonald’s thinks by putting the spotlight on employees who have risen through the ranks in successful, long-lasting careers, it will be able to give the McJob a new meaning.
Jim Norberg, a senior vice president in McDonald’s restaurant support office, began his career making french fries when he was 16. This month, he is celebrating his 30th anniversary with the company.
“We want to show people what a McJob really means to those of us who have them,” Mr. Norberg said in an interview. “About 40% of our company staff started out working in the restaurants, so the opportunities are out there in a big way.” […]
McDonald’s says the job offers will be a combination of full- and part-time positions in its 14,000 restaurants. […]
[And here’s the fine print:]
Bringing on more part-time and seasonal workers would allow McDonald’s to decrease full-time staff, which would reduce costs at a time when health insurance and other full-time benefits are becoming more expensive for companies.
“Labor costs are a real problem for restaurants this year,” said Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a Chicago-based industry research and consulting firm. “The changes in health-care benefits are going to force companies to rely more on part-time workers than before.”
You want fries or health insurance with that McJob?Â
Melissa Everett has some alternatives to McJobs.
Our Conversation with Melissa Everett
Melissa Everett is author of a book titled Making a Living While Making a Difference.  She is a community activist and a career counselor. As the book title suggests, she believes strongly that it’s possible to contribute in positive and sustainable ways to our world and still make enough dough to keep the wolf from the door. She also practices what she preaches as Executive Director of a group called Sustainable Hudson Valley, and we will ask her about that in the second part of the interview.
Part I: Making a Living While Making a Difference
Part II: Some Questions about Sustainable Hudson Valley
Melissa Everett describes herself as a “social entrepreneur.” She puts her ideas into practice as Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, a nonprofit located on the Hudson halfway between New York City and Albany.
We highly recommend Melissa’s book, Making a Living While Making a Difference. It’s published by New Society. Also be sure to check out the Sustainable Hudson Valley website http://www.sustainhv.org, which includes a great range of environmental information as well as Melissa’s blog, which you’ll find at http://www.makinglivingdifference.com.
Playlist
1. Get a Job       2:27       The Silhouettes       Original Solid Gold Hits, Volume 2                      Â
2. Working Man’s Blues       3:46       The Devil Makes Three       Do Wrong Right      Â
3. Sixteen Tons       2:37       Tennessee Ernie Ford       Hotdogs, Hits and Happy Days             Â
4, Clear Blue Skies (LP Version)       3:07       Crosby, Still, Nash & Young         American Dream      Â
5. Weave Me the Sunshine       4:28       Peter, Paul And Mary       The Very Best of  Peter, Paul and Mary      Â
6. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)       5:11       Neil Young       Ragged Glory       Rock              Â
7. Working Class Hero       3:09       Shawn Douglas       Shawn Douglas       Blues
Â
Posted by Stephen on 30 Mar 2011 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
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.
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.
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.
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
Posted by Stephen on 22 Mar 2011 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
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.”
 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.Â
 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
Posted by Stephen on 16 Mar 2011 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Date: 15 March 2011Â
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.
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 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 .Â
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