Ecotopia

June 12, 2012

This week on Ecotopia will be addressing two environmental topics.  In the first half hour, we’ll talk with Harvey Wasserman, who is an anti-nuclear power activist, about his research into world wide reaction to the Fukushima-Daichii disaster a year ago.  It seems that a number of nuclear power programs are now on hold or even being abandoned as the world recognizes the catastrophic consequences of unsafe nuclear plants.

Then in the second part of the show, we will talk with Case Western University law professor Jonathan Adler.  He has some interesting ideas about how we might be able to use property rights–the right to protect our own property–as a way of taking on larger issues of environmental degradation.|

Our Questions for Harvey Wasserman

Our guest in this segment, Harvey Wasserman, is a world renown expert on utility deregulation, atomic power and  renewable alternatives. He is Editor of www.nukefree.org website and his frequent commentaries are widely circulated on the internet.    We spoke with Harvey about a year ago following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.  He has recently written two articles  about how reactions to Fukishima have slowed the development of nuclear power worldwide.  Welcome, Harvey.

–Your most recent article carries the title, “Hot Sushi.”  Please tell us what has happened.  [Cesium 137 in tuna off the coast of California, NPR reassurance that it is safe to eat.]

–You have also researched and documented a number of slowdowns and protests around the globe.  Please tell us what is happening in:

… Japan [total shutdown of nuclear plants, note that GE and Westinghouse are Japanese owned]
…China [30 reactors on hold]
…India [hunger strikes outside Koodankulam nuclear facility]
…France [election of François Hollande reduces pro-nuke pressure]
…Germany [focus on green energy policy]

–When we spoke a year ago, you were concerned about the U.S. plans to provide $37 billion in loan guarantees to the nuclear industry.  Please tell us about that and other roadblocks to the nuclear industry.  What is happening in:
… Georgia [Vogtle loan $8.33 billion on hold]
… California [San Onofre shutdowns]
… Nebraska [flooded Calhoun]
… Vermont, New York, Ohio, Texas.  [pressure to forever close Vermont Yankee, New York’s Indian Point, Ohio’s Davis-Besse, South Texas and more continues to escalate]

–Where do things stand with the Yucca Mountain project for nuclear waste storage?  If Yucca is delayed or canceled, wouldn’t this also slow down nuclear power development?

–What can our listeners do to be more involved and to register their concerns?  [Sign the petition, visit www.nukefree.org]

Our Questions for Jonathan Adler

Jonathan Adler is Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Business Law and Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he teaches several environmental law courses. He is currently a contributing editor to National Review Online and regular contributor to the legal blog, The Volokh Conspiracy. We were intrigued by a blog he recently posted on atlantic.com entitled “How Property Rights Could Help Save the Environment.”  Welcome Professor Adler.

–You begin your essay on atlantic.com by referring to something called “the tragedy of the commons.”  What is that concept, and how does that relate to your idea of “approaching environmental problems from a property rights perspective”?  How can “the creative extension of property rights to ecological resources … help address many environmental problems”?

–You discuss the fishing industry as an example, writing that  “Fisheries are in trouble the world over, but property-based management regimes are a demonstrated way to prevent overfishing and fishery collapse.”  Please explain.

–You also discuss the Endangered Species Act as a complex example of how property rights and the environment could work toward a common goal, but you also note that the ESA, “in effect, punishes private landowners for having maintained their land in a way that is beneficial for listed species.” Could you tell us a little more about this, especially from a legal perspective?

–Susan take this one > Monsanto/Morton. You argue that “In principle, a commitment to property rights should entail a commitment to protecting people and their property from unprivileged or unconsented to invasions.”  You also note, “In practice, however, this can be difficult to do.”

[On this program, we have frequently discussed the problem of pollen from genetically modified plants (particularly corn and beets) drifting onto an organic farmer’s or seedgrower’s land and polluting the crops.  Yet the organic farmer is held liable for patent infringement. How might this be addressed from a property rights perspective?]

–Are there test cases concerning the environment and property rights that are going on presently?  Could you give us an example or two?

–What kinds of cases would you like to see introduced in the future to put the theory into action?  What is the longer range potential of this approach to be systematically a part of environmental actions and protection? [“Though I believe in property-based solutions to many (if not most) environmental problems, the viability of such approaches should not be oversold….The question is not which approach is perfect, but which approach is better (or not as bad) as the others.”]

–Where can our listeners learn more about this approach and even become involved in the movement?   [http://home.earthlink.net/~jhadler/ ]

Playlist:

1. Nuclear Infected (Album Version)     2:16    Alice Cooper    Flush The Fashion       Rock            5       7/19/11 7:54 AM
2. Nuclear      3:25    Ryan Adams      Demolition      Rock
3. The Rape Of The World        7:08    Tracy Chapman   New Beginning   Folk            5       12/12/11 8:41 AM
4. Lake Funt Property   3:54    Sukpatch        Honky-Tonk Operation E.P.       Rock
5. Weave Me the Sunshine        4:28    Peter, Paul And Mary    The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary   Folk            99      5/22/12 8:05 AM
6. The Invention of Nuclear Power       2:46    Peter Adams     The Spiral Eyes Rock            7       7/19/11 7:53 AM
7. This Land Is Your Land       2:27    Peter, Paul And Mary    The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary   Folk            22      5/9/11 1:47 PM

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Date: June 5, 2012

Tonight on Ecotopia we’ll be bringing you another of the series we call “EcoLit”, reading from works we think are powerful not only because of their Ecotopian content, but because of the quality of the writing. We receive a number of examination copies of environmental books here at the station, and we aren’t always able to interview the authors. So we have gone through the bookshelves to find passages that are just plain good reading, literary reading in the sense of materials where the words and the content mesh in ways that are, well, Ecotopian.

Listen to the Program

The Readings

(The introduction to each reading is provided, not the text itself.)

We’ll start with reading from a book by a local author and KZFR programmer, Chris Nelson, who’s written a wonderful travel book called THE VEGGIE VOYAGERS; AN ECO-FRIENDLY, LOW BUDGET LOOP OF NORTH AMERICA’S WILD PLACES POWERED BY USED COOKING OIL. The title pretty well sums up the story: Chris and Michael Pike fitted their camper out to burn vegetable oil, not the biodiesel that requires a good deal of chemical processing, but veggie oil that Michael filtered and then centrifuged with a modified Acme Juicer.Chris writes in the introduction: “This book is naturally dedicated to the people we love and care about, but deeper than that, to our poor planet. Humans have no right to overwhelm the earth or to harm one another. Nor do we humans have the right to destroy the habitats of other species. We individuallyand collectively must learn sustainability. We must take responsibility for what we do minute to minute and implement the collective actions that will save the future for the health and survival of all we know and love. There is no alternative.  In the passage we’ll read now, Chris and Michael have traveled across the U.S. and Canada to Maine, and what Chris calls “the crisp shine of the Atlantic,” to a refuge honoring one of the pioneers of the current ecological movement:  Veggie Voyagers: p. 62 You can also follow her writings on environmental and peace issues at www.veggievoyagers.blogspot.com.

Appreciation of and respect for the land and its beauty comes in many ways. Our next reading is from an autobiography by Canadian writer Sharon Butala and her book, Perfection of Morning. Here she writes about the differences in perceptions of the land between her husband, Peter, and herself, a city kid moved to the ranch.  Subtlety of the Land 166-167.  Sharon Butala, Perfection of Morning, Published by HarperCollins in 1994.

In their book, Edges of Bounty: Adventures in the Edible Valley, William Emery, writer, and Scott Squire, photographer, describe their learning quest about food and its production in the Central Valley, including the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. In this passage, they described what they learned from Stuart and Emily Rowe, who are dairy farmers near Dixon.  William Emery and Scott Squire, Edges of Bounty, Heyday Books, 2008.

And speaking of visiting the farm, here’s a passage from a book by Catherine Friend called Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep & Enough Wool to Save the Planet. It’s a collection of anecdotes about hers and her partner’s fifteen years of sheep farming, often comic, but with deep underlying appreciation of the ways of people and animals.  Sheepish, by Catherine Friend, DaCapo Press, 2011

An issue that we have explored frequently on this program centers on the apparent assumption–especially here in the New World–that whatever is out there in nature, whether it be trees, minerals, or animals, is free for the taking, the more the better. For example, much of the exploration of the United States, from East to increasingly West, was driven by the fur trade, fueled by the passion for beaver-skin men’s hats in London. In Fur, Fortune, and Empire, Eric Jay Dolin explores what he calls “The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America.” Here’s a passage that traces the fur trade all the way back to the Plymouth Colony, though in this case a naïve and unsuccessful venture by a man named Thomas Weston.  Fur, Fortune, and Empire, Eric Jay Dolin, Norton 2010, and Dolin goes on to describe how the beaver was nearly hunted to extinction, saved, in no small measure, because beaver skin hats went out of fashion.

Mark Kurlansky has written a book for younger readers about another kind of extraction, one going on today that could lead to a World Without Fish. Mark Kurlansky, Workman Publishing, 2011.|

Nor is extraction-to-extinction limited to fish and animals. In this next segment from her book A Doubtful River, writer Mary Webb describes how the Truckee River, which starts at Lake Tahoe and ends at Pyramid Lake in the Nevada desert northwest of Reno, was dammed, sluiced, canaled and channeled, almost to extinction. A Doubtful River, by Mary Webb, with photographs by Peter Goin and Robert Dawson. University of Nevada Press, 2000.

Channeling the water also leads to chaneling people, mostly toward the water. In his book, Bird on Fire, Andrew Ross describes lessons that could or should be learned from what he calls “the world’s least sustainable city,” Phoenix, Arizona. In this excerpt, Ross discusses the voracious appetite of Phoenix for new land, new subdivisions, and speculates about possible results, comparing modern-day Phoenix to the prehistoric Hohokam (hÉ™-hō’kÉ™m) people who occupied the same territory and constructed an elaborate system of canals and drainages. Bird on Fire. Andrew Ross. Oxford, 2011.

OK, we’re done with the apocalyptic warnings and stories of overextraction. Here are few description of wilderness and wildness, places where, to quote Sierra Club pioneer David Brower, “the hand of man has not set foot.” (Kenneth Brower, The Wildness Within, Heyday Books, 2012).

Here’s a selection that focuses on the planet rather than people. Here, from his book Cold, is a description by Bill Streever of the planet during the Pleistocene era, the last ice age.  Cold, Bill Streever, Back Bay Books, 2009.

And in our own time, here is John Hanson Mitchell, lying on his back in the meadow on a Sunday afternoon, just . . . looking up:.  “Sundays in the Sky.” John Hanson Mitchell in Soul of the Sky. Mt Washington Observatory, 1999,

Thank you for listening to Ecotopia this evening as we’ve explored some recent environmental writing, from observations of the world to catastrophic predictions about our common future.

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 April 24, 2012

About the Program: This week we’ll be talking with activist Daniel Imhoff, who has written a book called Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill, published by Watershed Media.

The Farm Bill is up for renewal in September of this year–it is generally renewed and revised every four years–and in his book, Dan explores its myriad complexities and the issues that will likely be coming up.

Farmer/writer Wendell Barry says:

The United States government’s agricultural policy, or non-policy, since 1952 has merely consented to the farmers’ predicament of high costs and low prices; it has never envisioned or advocated in particular the prosperity of farmers or farmland, but has only promised “cheap food” to consumers and “survival” to the “larger and more efficient” farmers who supposedly could adapt to and endure the attrition of high costs and low prices.  And after each inevitable wave of farm failures and the inevitable enlargement of the destitution and degradation of the countryside, there have been the inevitable reassurances from government propagandists and university experts that American agriculture was no more efficient and that everybody would be better off in the future.

Listen to the Program

Our Discussion with Daniel Imhoff

About a year ago, we spoke with Daniel Imhoff about his book CAFO: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, which described in graphic detail the cruelty and health problems associated with factory meat farming. He has recently released another richly detailed and illustrated book called Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill. Dan is the president and co-founder of Watershed Media in Healdsburg and he speaks and conducts workshops on a wide range of food, farming, and environmental issues.

–Your book is a collage of essays, photographs, charts, and quotes on about the Farm Bill that will come before congress in the fall. Why did you write the book and why did you present it in this form?

–In the Foreword to your book, Michael Pollan says, “Don’t Call it the ‘Farm Bill,’ call it the ‘Food Bill’,” and one of your aims in writing the book is to educate people about this huge piece of legislation. To begin, then, what is the Food/Farm bill, and could you tell us about its history? When was it created? for what purposes? How has it evolved over the years?

–What is the authorization and funding process that will be happening starting in September and carrying on throughout the life of the bill? [Authorization, Funding, CHIMPING, reconciliation, etc.]

–You write, “Delving into the Farm Bill can seem like visiting another country (if not another planet),…” (p. 12). You have a very helpful chart that shows the major components of the bill, and perhaps we could talk about each. What have been the promises, successes, and complications in the areas of:

…Commodity Support (22%) ~$89.9 billion. What’s a “commodity” crop as opposed to a “specialty” crop? What are the major commodity support programs? Are farmers really paid not to farm? Who gets the lion’s share of the support? How do small farmers make out under the commodities appropriations? What has commodity support achieved? What problems has it created?

…Nutrition (72%) ~$470 billion. What are the elements of this program? When and why did “Food Stamps” begin? How has the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) progressed over the years? How does it help its target audience of the hungry? How does it fail? Is ketchup a vegetable? Why does the Department of Defense participate in school nutrition programs? How does the commodities support program conflict with the stated aims of the nutrition program?

…Conservation and Energy (6%) ~$38 billion. What does the conservation element of the Food and Farm Bill include? What kinds of programs have been established? How has the conservation aspect fared under budget cuts? What have been its major accomplishments? Is it making a genuine contribution to global efforts to reduce pollution and increase sustainability?

–You point out that the agricultural lobby is strong and well funded. Who will be lobbying in Washington this fall? What will they be trying to accomplish? Do you see the ag bill being a major issue in the presidential campaign?

–In your book, Food Fight, you say, “It would be naive to imagine that the Farm Bill could be radically overhauled in any single negotiation cycle” (105). In this segment, we’d like to discuss some of your recommendations. [We know we can’t possibly cover all of these, but we’d like to spend about fifteen minutes discussing your choice of topics]. How can the Farm Bill catalyze See chart 22-23]:

–Beginning Farm Programs–Good eating habits and the food pyramid
–Organic agriculture
–Know Your Farmer programs
–SNAP good food incentives ( Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
–Ethanol from noncorn sources, biobased energy
–Energy efficient farming (National policy on renewable energy and climate change, p. 147)
–Land conservation.
–Perennial farming
–Many models in existence that are “ignored, marginalized or largely underfunded.”

–You write, “The time has arrived for a food fight,” (187) and your book includes an “activist toolkit” (p. 193. also described online at foodfight2012.org). What are the steps, and in particular, what can our concerned listeners do to get involved?
…Learn about the bill (as in tonight’s program)
…Adopt a local food charter
…Bring officials up to speed
…Communicate with representatives (Do you have recommendations for Northern California reps?)
…Be clear about connections [benefits]
…Create outreach/education
…Build coalitions
…Think beyond Washington
..Take the long view

–What will you and your various organizations be doing to promote a better Food and Farm Bill over the coming months?

Learn more at http://foodfight2012.org/.

Playlist

1. Poor Old Dirt Farmer 3:53    Levon Helm      Dirt Farmer     Classic Rock
2. On This Old Farm     2:54    Si Kahn Courage Country & Folk
3. Factory Farms        3:40    Trouser Factory Farm Songs      Rock
4. Down on Penny’s Farm 3:44    Natalie Merchant        The House Carpenter’s Daughter  Folk
5. Weave Me the Sunshine        4:28    Peter, Paul And Mary    The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary   Folk
6. Maggie's Farm        3:58    Bob Dylan       Bringing It All Back Home       Folk
7. Farmer's Delight     3:38    Busy Kid        Barbecue Beets  Electronica 

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April 17, 2012

Tonight we’ll talk with people who are working on production of healthy foods in our area. First we’ll talk with Monica Bell, one of the leaders of Cultivating Community. She’ll tell us about how this new group is working to strengthen the local food network and access for low income people. In the second half of the show, we’ll talk with Dave Miller. Dave as just been designated a local hero by Edible Shasta-Butte for his work as a food artisan, in his bakery, Miller’s Bakehouse.

Listen to the Program

Our Questions for Monica Bell

You are listening to Ecotopia and with us in the studio now is Monica Bell, a major leader of Cultivating Community. Welcome, Monica.

1. Monica, can you tell us what “Cultivating Community” is?  What are its goals?
2. How long has it been functioning? How did it get formed? How are you funded? Who’s involved?
3. How are you working toward fulfilling those goals of:

–Strengthening Local Food Security
–Supporting Community Gardens
–Supporting Small Farmers
–Providing Workshops
–Promoting Local, Healthy Use of Nutritional Assistance Funds
–Supporting Lower-Income Residents

4.  Tell us about some of the workshops and activities you’ve sponsored so far

5. You have a workshop coming soon on drip irrigation. Could you tell us when and where that will be?

6.  What are some of your hopes and dreams for the future of this project?

7.  Who do you hope will be involved in Cultivating Community? How can people become involved?

Thank you, Monica Bell. Monica is a leader of Cultivating Community. Check out their website cultivatingcommunitynv.org

Our Conversation with Dave Miller

You’re listening to Ecotopia on KZFR 90.1, and with us in the studio now is Dave Miller. Dave has just been designated a local hero by Edible Butte Shasta. Dave is the owner and baker of Miller’s Bakehouse, and sells his bread at the Saturday morning Chico Farmer’s market. Welcome, Dave.

1. In Edible Shasta-Butte, you are designated as a food artisan, but the article goes on to say that you don’t like the word “artisan.” Isn’t that a fair description of your kind of baking?
2. Tell us a little about your history as a baker. How did you get interested in baking? How did you learn to bake? (Edinburgh, Scotland; baking in college)
3. You had an important mentor in St. Paul. What did you learn there?
4. How did you get to Chico?
5. What makes your bread so great? Tell us about what’s in your bread and your process of baking? What does your week look like?

Playlist for Eco 185

1. Dirt Made My Lunch 2:25 Banana Slug String Band Dirt Made My Lunch

2. Back To The Garden 4:03 Jason Webley Against The Night

3. Real Food 2:58 Jerry Engler Very Jerry

4. Food Food Food (Oh How I Love my Food) 2:10 The Wiggles Toot Toot

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

6. Blinuet 4:35 Zoot Sims Rushmore

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

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10 April 2012

Diane Suzuki-Brobeck and Cheetah Tchudi guest host the show with famed farmer/farm advocate Joel Salatan.

Listen to the Interview

For full info on Joel go to his website:

Polyface, Inc. www.polyfacefarms.com/

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