Ecotopia

January 31, 2012

This week our program is devoted to the Northstate Kids & Creeks project, which provides field trips to local parks and nature reserves to connect young citizens to their local environment while instilling a sense of stewardship through community involvement. Kids and Creeks has just launched a new radio show on KZFR, and you may have listened in to their inaugural program last Tuesday. They’ll be on the air every third Tuesday at 7 pm, immediately following Ecotopia, and we hope to do some joint programs with them. In the studio with us tonight will be the Kids and Creeks Executive Director, Jeremy Miller, and the Program Director, Scott Itamura. We’ll chat with them about their specific program and about the role that outdoor education can play in the lives of young people.

Our Conversation with Scott and Jeremy

This is Ecotopia on KZFR, and tonight we are talking about the Kids and Creeks educational program here in Chico and, more broadly about outdoor education and how it contributes and can contribute to quality education inside and outside our schools. With us in the studio are Jeremy Miller, the Director of Kids and Creeks and Scott Itamura, the Program Director. Welcome, Scott and Jeremy.

— Jeremy Miller: Let’s ask you to open by telling a little about Kids and Creeks. What is it? How long has it been around?

And tell us a little about yourself–you’ve been in outdoor education for almost two decades and have worked in Colorado, California, Oregon, New York, and Switzerland. How did you wind up in Chico with Kids and Creeks?

–Scott Itamura: You’re the curriculum and program director at Kids and Creeks, but you, too, have been involved in alternative education for over twenty years. What do you do at Kids and Creeks, and how did you first become involved?

Whomsoever:

–Before we get more into the Kids and Creeks programs, you have a fundraiser coming up this Saturday at the Women’s Club. Please give us the details.

–Let’s go into a little more about Kids and Creeks and how you operate. How many classes/students go through your program each year? Where do they come from? Do kids come once, twice, multiple times? What do the classes look like?

Where are the field sites?

–Scott: What is your “curriculum”? What do you want the kids to see, learn, do or achieve while they are with you? What are some examples of K&C lessons

–Jeremy: How are you funded? Do school districts pay to send kids to you? What’s the scope of your nonprofit fundraising efforts?

–Scott: One of your tasks is to align California State Standards to the K&C program. What does that entail? [Susan and Steve will probably have lots to say on this matter, having done alignment but being generally opposed to the standards-and-tests approach.] Do you only cover science standards?

What the #$%^^&*&* is ( Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Test Language?

–Outdoor education has been around for a while. Can you tell us a little about it and its various permutations. How do you see outdoor ed performing this function?

–Yours is an alternative program, with classes meeting outside of regular school classes. Have you ever thought about opening your own school that would be centered entirely on outdoor ed? Is that feasible? Could kids pursue an outdoor ed curriculum and still pass the standardized tests or get into Stanford?

–We’ve also been part of an organization called Science, Technology, and Society, that aims to get kids thinking about the unintended or unnoticed consequences of science and technology (e.g. automobile pollution, atomic waste, landfills). Are such concepts part of outdoor education?

–Let’s return for a few minutes to Kids and Creeks. What is Kids and Creeks planning for these days? What’s in the future for Kids and Creeks?

–How can interested listeners get involved as parents or volunteers?

–Please tell us again about your fundraiser this Saturday evening.

Thanks very much for being with us tonight: Jeremy Miller, Director of Kids and Creeks; Scott Itamura, Program Director. We also want to thank their Public Relations Director, Sammey Zangrilli, for arranging this interview.

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10 January 2012

This week our program carries the title, “The Rubber Dodo and Other Lobbyists.”

Our guest tonight is Philip Cafaro who is a professor of philosophy at Colorado State University. He is President Elect of the Society for Environmental Ethics and Chair of Progressives for Immigration Reform. He will talk with us about some issues in lobbying and something called the “rubber dodo award,” given annually to “to those who have done the most to drive endangered species extinct.”

Listen to the Program

The Story of the Dodo from the Center for Biological Diversity

In 1598, Dutch sailors landing on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius discovered a flightless, three-foot-tall, extraordinarily friendly bird. Its original scientific name was Didus ineptus. (Contemporary scientists use the less defamatory Raphus cucullatus.) To the rest of the world, it’s the dodo — the most famous extinct species on Earth. It evolved over millions of years with no natural predators and eventually lost the ability to fly, becoming a land-based consumer of fruits, nuts and berries. Having never known predators, it showed no fear of humans or the menagerie of animals accompanying them to Mauritius.

[The Dodo’s] trusting nature led to its rapid extinction. By 1681, the dodo was extinct, having been hunted and outcompeted by humans, dogs, cats, rats, macaques and pigs. Humans logged its forest cover and pigs uprooted and ate much of the understory vegetation.

The origin of the name dodo is unclear. It likely came from the Dutch word dodoor, meaning “sluggard,” the Portuguese word doudo, meaning “fool” or “crazy,” or the Dutch word dodaars meaning “plump-arse.”

The dodo’s reputation as a foolish, ungainly bird derives in part from its friendly naiveté and the very plump captives that were taken on tour across Europe. The animal’s reputation was cemented with the 1865 publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Based on skeleton reconstructions and the discovery of early drawings, scientists now believe that the dodo was a much sleeker animal than commonly portrayed. The rotund European exhibitions were accidentally produced by overfeeding captive birds.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/rubber-dodo-10-14-2011.html

Why are we talking about the Dodo on Ecotopia? Partly we’d like to rescue the Dodo and the word “dodo” from their meaning as dumbheads. The real dumbheads in this story seem to be (who else?) the humans who exploited the island and destroyed an ancient an ecologically well-adapted bird.

Our Discussion with Philip Cafaro

Philip Cafaro is professor of philosophy at Colorado State University. He is President Elect of the Society for Environmental Ethics and is Chair of Progressives for Immigration Reform. He also is a former ranger with the U.S. National Park Service and an affiliated faculty member of CSU’s School of Global Ecological Sustainability. Welcome Philip Cafaro. Part I: The Rubber Dodo, Lobbying, and Ethics –The Center for Biological Diversity makes an annual award called The Rubber Dodo “to those who have done the most to drive endangered species extinct” Please tell us a little about the Rubber Dodo award. What’s the purpose of this award?

–And the winner (for 2011) was? [Drumroll!!] U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

–In a Press Release, the Center for Biological Diversity focused on the Chamber’s consistent opposition to climate control efforts and legislation. Could you please describe how the Chamber works against heading off climate change? How much money do they spend on this effort? How do they lobby to achieve their goals?

–Who were some of the other nominees for the award, and how does their “work” negatively affect biological diversity.

[Other official nominees were giant pesticide manufacturer Syngenta and Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), who’s launched a disinformation campaign opposing Endangered Species Act protections for the dunes sagebrush lizard. Hundreds of write-in votes were given to Congress, Monsanto, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, President Obama, Sarah Palin and Wall Street.]

[Previous winners of the Rubber Dodo include: former BP CEO Tony Hayward (2010), massive land speculator Michael Winer (2009), Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (2008) and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (2007)]

–In your comments about the Rubber Dodo Award, you emphasized the Chamber’s “quest for never ending U.S. population growth.” What is your take on the American (global) business model of “grow or die,” which essentially requires new customers and new markets to succeed?

–What level of population do you feel the earth can tolerate sustainably?

–What do you teach in your ethics classes at Colorado State? What’s your level of optimism that the grow-or-die/lobby-for-moolah attitudes toward the environment may change in the future?

–On this show, we often ask interviewees about what sorts of mechanisms can rein in climate change. Will it come about through legislation and compulsion? market economics? green industry? voluntary restraint? being driven to or over the brink? What do you think is required so that, in the future, it might not be necessary to make a Rubber Dodo Award?

–We’ll be taking a short break and come back to talk with philosopher and environmentalist Phil Cafano about another topic that concerns him: the effect of lobbying on anti-immigration policies. But before we do that, Phil, please tell us how listeners can learn more about the specifics of the Rubber Dodo Award and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We’ll put some links on our website:

Center for Biological Diversity www.biologicaldiversity.org
U.S. Chamber Wins Rubber Dodo Award http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/rubber-dodo-10-14-2011.html

Part II: Population and Immigration Reform

–You are also Chairman of Progressives for Immigration Reform, which is committed to “examining the unintended consequences of mass migration.” Please tell us about this organization and its work. Mass migration from where to where? How does this relate to current U.S. (and other “developed” countries) attitudes toward immigration? What’s the problem with “give me your tired, your poor”?

–You link your concerns about population growth to what you see as an anti-immigrant stance by the U. S. Chamber and “other anti-environmental organizations like the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., National Restaurant Association and the American Meat Institute” [who] “spent over $15 million dollars this summer to lobby against a law that would require business to only hire workers legally eligible to be employed in the U.S. (House bill H.R.2885: Legal Workforce Act).”

–The First Street Research Group has issued a report that describes other lobbying efforts on immigration over the past decade. Could you provide us a few details about the breadth of lobbying on these issues?

[â– 1,733 immigration-related bills have been lobbied on.

â– Over 1,000 organizations have lobbied on immigration issues.

â– Over 7,500 lobbyists have lobbied on immigration issues including over 40 former Members of Congress and over 500 former congressional staffers.

http://firststreetresearch.cqpress.com/2011/11/30/extending-the-borders-in-the-immigration-debate/]

–The First Street report also talks about the DREAM Act that would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to attend college. Why are industry lobbyists opposed to the DREAM Act?

–How can activists counteract the effects of such massive lobbying efforts by industry, especially in a time when employment is down and lobbyists argue that their way is the only way that can rescue the economy?

–Do you and/or Progressives for Immigration Reform have specific recommendations for a reformed immigration policy? [What would you propose that the U.S. do about currently undocumented immigrants (estimated at about 12 million).]

–How can listeners become more involved in your work on immigration, population, and lobbying issues?

Progressives for Immigration Reform http://www.progressivesforimmigrationreform.org/

Thank you, Phil Cafaro of Colorado State for talking with us tonight. We appreciate all your great efforts on ethics, species diversity, population, and immigration.

Playlist:

1. Trophic Cascade 4:12 Ronn Fryer Endangered Animals (Environmental Jenga)

2. The Way of the Dodo 3:34 The Streets Everything Is Borrowed

3. Danger (Global Warming) – Radio Mix 3:35 Brick Casey Danger (Global Warming)

4. Supernova 4:42 Liquid Blue Supernova

5. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) 3:16 Marvin Gaye What’s Going On

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

7. Traffic Jam (Album Version) 2:13 James Taylor James Taylor Live 8. Global Warming Blues 3:42 Lenny Solomon Armando’s Pie

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Date: January 3, 2012

This week we’ll be talking about eating local and eating healthy. In the first half of the program, we’ll be talking with Stephanie Elliot who is Education Program Executive Director for GRUB: Growing Resources Uniting Bellies. She’ll tell us about her program that involves educating people about cultivating healthy communities. And in the second half, we’ll talk with Frank Mazzarino and Sally Shea, owners of Green Cedar Farm in Berry Creek, about their work as certified organic orchardists supplying our local market.

Our Conversation with Stephanie Elliott

Stephanie Elliott is GRUB Education Program Executive Director and one of a number of people running an exciting new program here in the NorthState.

1. You’re here to talk about a film being shown this weekend by Cultivating (Healthy?) Community. First of all can you tell us what “Cultivating Community” is? What are your goals?

2. Who’s involved in “Cultivating Community”? Is it a part of a larger movement? Does it have a national organization, too?

3. What are some of the main activities of “Cultivating (Healthy) Communities? What’s planned for the future? Who is your target audience?

4. The organization is showing a film, “Urban Roots.” Tell us a little about the film.

5. Tell us again when and where the film will be shown? [The film, Urban Roots, is being shown Friday January 6, 2012 @ 6pm @ Subud Hall, 574 E. 12th Street, Chico.]

Talking withg Frank Mazzarino and Sally Shea

Frank Mazzarino and Sally Shea, owners of Green Cedar Farm, a certified organic fruit and nut farm in Berry Creek.

1. Please tell us the history of Green Cedar Farm. How long have you been in business? What do you grow? How many varieties do you have? What are your favorites?

2. In our correspondence, you mentioned that you have a philosophy of farming that guides what you do and how you do it. Please tell us about that philosophy. Is it as difficult to implement as New Years’ resolutions?

3. We’re interested in the problems a local farmer encounters marketing. How do certified organic orchardists find a market that works for them? Where do you sell your products? Have you pretty much found your niche at this point?

4. We’re in the midst of what passes for winter in the foothills. What kind of work are you doing in the orchards these days? How will the new year unfold for you? What are the worries and the unpredictables?

5. There seems to be enormous interest in the buy local movement at the present time. What do you see as the most important evolving trends in our area? Do you think local ag can/will become large enough to make a serious dent in the megastore markets?

6. Please tell us how listeners can learn more about your farm and/or about some of the issues and problems in local organic farming.

E-mail: greencedarfarm@yahoo.com

Playlist for Ecotopia #171–Eat Healthy/Eat Local

1. Back To The Garden 4:03 Jason Webley Against The Night Alternative &

2. Plant a Radish 2:34 Hugh Thomas & William Larsen The Fantasticks

3. Mr. Soil’s Song 1:45 Singin’ Steve Billy the Bean Children’s Music

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

5. Dirt 4:20 Mary Mary The Sound Christian &

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

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Date: December 27, 2011

This week we’ll be previewing the Wild and Scenic Film Festival that takes place in Nevada City, January 13-15. This is a fabulous event, and it’s close to home, accessible to KZFR listeners. In the first part of the program, we’ll talk with festival organizer Melinda Booth about the overall plans and scheduled events and why it the Festival is “a place where activists get inspired.”

http://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/

Then we’ll talk with Sally Rubin, one of the filmmakers presenting at the Festival, about her film series Deep Down, which highlights people in the Appalachians who have made a difference in the environment, opposing projects like mountaintop coal mining.

And finally, we’ll talk with David Lukas, a Sierra Nevada naturalist who will be introducing several films at the festival and conducting a guided walk of a creek restoration project in Nevada City.

Listen to the Program

Our Conversation with Melinda Booth

Melinda Booth is the Director of Development and Wild and Scenic Events for the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.

1. First of all, just tell us a little about the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. How many years has it been in operation? What’s its mission?

2. How many films are being shown this year? We know that the range of subjects is immense. Can you give us an overview of the subjects and approaches?

3. Who are some of the special guests who will be appearing at the festival? Will a lot of the filmmakers be there?

4. Who makes the selections of the films that will be shown? Do you get to preview them? Do you have some personal favorites?

5. How many venues are there for viewing films? How many sessions are running at one time? Has this change over the years? How has the festival grown and changed?

6. There are also some special events at the film festival. Can you tell us about those?

7. Can you remind people of when and where the festival will take place? Where can they get tickets?

8. Are there other ways of being involved in the Wild and Scenic Film Festival? We’re sure it takes an enormous number of volunteers to make something like this happen? Do you still need help for this festival? What should people do if they want to be involved next year?

Our Questions for Sally Rubin
Sally Rubin is a filmmaker who has done a number of documentaries on social, environmental, and political issues. At the festival, she and Jen Gilomen will be showing their film from the “Deep Down’s People Power Series.”

1.  What’s the topic and title of the film you and Jen are showing? What’s the People Power project and how does this fit in?

2.  What’s the story you told about Carol Judy and why did you select her?

3.  We understand that this film is part of a film portrait series about Americans who make a difference in environmental issues.  Please tell us about other topics and people you’ve covered.

4.  How do you go about making these kinds of films?  Do you start with a script?  Raw footage?  How does the editing process work?

5.  What kinds of results have you seen from people like the activists featured in your films?

6. Where can our listeners learn more about and get involved with these causes?

7.  What’s your next project?

Our guest has been Sally Rubin and you can learn more about the film at deepdownfilm.org. Thanks for being with us tonight.  The film will be shown Friday evening at 7:05 in Stone Hall and Sunday morning at 10:47 at the Nevada Theater.  Full details are at wildscenicfilmfestival.org

Additional links:
ilovemountains.org
appalachianvoices.org

Chatting with David Lukas

David Lukas is a naturalist specializing in the Sierra Nevada, and he he’ll be playing several roles at the Festival. Welcome David.

1. Please tell us what you’ll be doing at the Festival. [We understand you will be doing a wrap-up for a film called Death of a Forest, mc-ing a session of films on animals, leading and a Sunday morning nature hike at a creek restoration site in downtown Nevada City].

2. What can you tell us about Death of a Forest, the film by Michael Pellagatti? What’s the link between the pine beetle infestation and global warming? What have you seen of this problem here in the Sierra? [The film will be shown Saturday morning at Vets Hall, 9:05.]

3. You’ve done several guidebooks the Sierra. How does your work lead in to the Wild and Scenic Film Festival session on animals? What films will be shown? [1 pm Saturday, Nevada Theater]

4. When does your Sunday morning creek walk take place? What will you be discussing?

5. Generally, what role do you see for films in the environmental movement? Do they change the way people think? Do they possibly just preach to the choir?

6. Finally, please tell us a little about how listeners can get involved in the kind of work you do. [www.lukasguides.com, www.sierranaturalist.com]

Playlist for Ecotopia #170–Wild and Scenic Film Festival:

1. Let’s Go To The Movies (Album Version) 4:42 Aileen Quinn;Albert Finney
2. Utopia 4:58 Alanis Morissette Under Rug Swept
3. High On A Mountain Top 2:44 Loretta Lynn
4. Global Warming Blues 3:42 Lenny Solomon Armando’s Pie
5. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary
6. Danger (Global Warming) – Radio Mix 3:35 Brick Casey
7. 3 Birds 3:45 The Dead Weather Horehound 8. Trophic Cascade 4:12 Ronn Fryer

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December 20, 2011

This Week’s Program This week we’ll be talking about the proposed plastic bag ban in Chico. The Sustainability Task Force of the Chico City Council has been discussing the issue, and will take it up again in January. We’ll talk first with Sue Vang. She’s a Policy Associate for Californians Against Waste, based in Sacramento, CA.

Later in the show, we’ll talk with Linda Herman, General Services Administrative Manager for the City of Chico. Among other jobs, she works with the City Council’s Sustainability Task Force.

Listen to the Program

Our Discussion with Sue Vang

You are listening to Ecotopia on KZFR, 90.1 Chico. We’re talking tonight about the proposed plastic bag proposal in Chico, and our first guest will provide some information to persuade us that that’s a good idea. She’s Sue Vang, and she’s a Policy Associate for Californians Against Waste. We’re on the phone with hertonight from Sacramento. Thanks for being with us, Sue.

1. First of all, can you tell us a little bit about Californians Against Waste. What is your mission? What are some of the issues you’re currently involved in?

2. As you know, Chico is considering a policy against plastic bags. Can we start by talking about what’s wrong with plastic bags?

3. Californians Against Waste has a “Bag Ban Tool Kit.” Can you tell us what that is? What are some of the most persuasive facts that you provide in your materials? What else is in the kit?

4. When proposing a ban against plastic bags, supporters of the ban can expect resistance from plastic bag makers. What are some of the myths that the plastic industry perpetuates about plastic? What other sorts of resistance do activists meet when trying to institute a plastic bag ban?

5. But bans on plastic bags have been successful in California. Can you tell us about some of the successes? Who’s done it and how have they succeeded?

6. What are the consequences of banning the plastic bag?

7. What advice do you have for Chico-ans who are trying to get a plastic bag ban here?

8. What else should we be doing about single use waste? What other fronts is Californians Against Waste working on?

9. How can people help with these issues? How can they learn more about what’s going on in California and the work of Californians Against Waste?

Thank you, Sue Vang. Sue Vang is a Policy Associate for Californians Against Waste. You can learn more and get involved at www.cawrecycles.org.

Our Conversation with Linda Herman

You are listening to Ecotopia on KZFR. With us now is Linda Herman, General Services Administrative Manager for the City of Chico. Among other jobs, she works with the City Council’s Sustainability Task Force. Welcome, Linda.

1. First, can you tell us a little about the Sustainability Task Force? What are its aims and function?

2. The Sustainability Task Force is considering a ban on plastic bags in Chico. Can you tell us how a ban on plastic came to be proposed? What a ban would mean? Is there a specific proposal under consideration?

3. The Sustainability Task Force discussed the ban on plastic bags a week ago, and was unable to reach a decision on the ban. Why was the task force unable to reach a decision? What are some of the considerations brought up in the discussion?

4. Is Chico looking at other laws or regulations that other cities have enacted as a model for their action? What have been some successful bans?

5. The Task Force will take this ban into consideration in their next meeting in January. If Chico-ans have ideas or suggestions, is there some way they can be involved in this process?

6. What are some other activities in the Sustainability Task Force that citizens might want to know about and be involved in? What should they do, if they’d like to participate?

We’ve been talking with Linda Herman, General Services Administrative Manager for the City of Chico. Thanks for joining us, Linda.

Playlist for Ecotopia 169: Plastic Bags

1. Recycle Reuse Reduce 2:46 Heidi Howe Give a Hootenanny!

2. reduce, reuse, recycle 3:35 The Junkman (Donald Knaack) Junk Music

3. The 3 R’s 2:54 Jack Johnson Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies For The Film Curious George

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

5. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary Folk 96 5/9/11 2:39 PM

6. Big Yellow Taxi (LP Version) 2:15 Joni Mitchell Ladies Of The Canyon Pop 43 1/24/10 11:29 AM

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