Go Green Radio

Summer is the season for parties! Graduation parties, Father’s Day, and the 4th of July are just a few of the many dates we’ll be hosting get-togethers with family and friends. Even if you have some strategies for “going green” at your parties, today we promise you’ll learn several more. Our guest today is Andrea Fowler, Entertainment Editor of The Bash, and she will walk us through some of her best ideas to help you throw the greenest bash on the block!

Dr. Jason Bradford, a farmer, biologist and board president of Post Carbon Institute, released a report earlier this spring called, The Future Is Rural: Food System Adaptations to the Great Simplification. In the report Dr. Bradford acknowledges that our modern food system is entirely unsustainable. But, he then takes the argument one step further and considers key, commonly overlooked factors that would logistically prevent simply replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy in order to maintain our food system as it is today. Tune in as we talk with Dr. Bradford about his report and an upcoming event designed to identify and discuss key leverage points where individuals and communities can most effectively shift our food system towards long-term sustainability through greater energy efficiency and localization.

Green America marked a major milestone this month: over 1,000 registered Climate Victory Gardens in the U.S equal 140 football fields of healthy plants that are healing the soil. Green America took note of the occasion to release Climate Victory Gardening 101: A toolkit for growing healthy food for a healthy planet. The Climate Victory Garden 101 Toolkit details step-by-step instructions for planting a Climate Victory Garden and 10 carbon capturing practices. Climate Victory Gardens were inspired by the “Victory Gardens” planted during WWI and WWII. By 1944, nearly 20 million victory gardens produced eight million tons of food to feed Americans at home and for the troops abroad. The Climate Victory Garden campaign seeks to recreate this spirit to empower Americans to take immediate action on climate change, right in their own backyards.

On March 26, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Challenge visited Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)’s Showcase Project Santee Education Complex, to recognize LAUSD for the energy productivity advances made in its schools. Better Buildings Partner LAUSD opened the 338,000-square-foot Santee Education Complex in July 2005 as the first new four-year high school for the Los Angeles Unified School District in more than 35 years. Santee is on schedule to achieve 30% annual energy savings this year. As a result of these upgrades, the school expects to achieve a 23% annual cost savings, equal to more than $195,000 yearly. Tune in as we speak with Maria T. Vargas, Director of the Better Buildings Challenge at the Department of Energy, and Christos Chrysiliou, Director of Architectural & Engineering Services at LAUSD.

CleanChoice Energy, a renewable energy company that empowers people and businesses to cut emissions and live cleaner lives, has launched a new product to provide solar lanterns to families in need around the world. For every customer that makes the switch to clean energy through the Clean Lights Plan, CleanChoice Energy will send a solar lantern to families in need. An estimated 1.1 billion people – 14% of the global population – do not have access to electricity according to the International Energy Agency. Tune in as we talk with Kate Colarulli, VP, Retention Marketing and PR for CleanChoice Energy about this program and many more offered by the company.

Our guest today is Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow-in-Residence at the Post Carbon Institute. We will discuss what our future climate might mean for us and how we can prepare for the coming changes. Richard is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of 13 books, and presently serves as the senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute. Richard will draw on the extensive knowledge of the Institute and from his outstanding online video series, Think Resilience.

Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a free program available to all public schools in the Garden State that want to “go green” and conserve natural resources. The program offers training, grants and certification opportunities. The program was launched in 2014 and encompasses three vital components of sustainability: people – contribute to a strong civil society that provides opportunity for all; prosperity – support local economies and wise use of community resources; and planet – practice responsible environmental management and conservation. Tune in as we talk with the Sustainable Jersey for Schools Program Director, Heather McCall; Dr. Michael Salvatore, Superintendent of Long Branch Public Schools; and four educators in the Long Branch School District.

The End of the World, in collaboration with HowStuffWorks, was one of the best new podcasts of 2018! The podcast is hosted by Josh Clark, co-host of the award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know, and presented by iHeartMedia. On the show, Josh discusses the existential risks humankind faces and how new technology seeks to address them. He is joined by a number of experts across the podcast’s ten episodes, from astrobiologists to philosophers to economists and transhumanists. All ten episodes are available on Audible, iTunes, Spotify, and more. Clark’s compelling and insatiable curiosity will guide listeners through a dark debate around the astoundingly odd and unique nature of human intelligence and how that might either destroy or save the species. Tune in as we talk with Josh about what he has learned and his hopes for the future!

On December 21, 2018, we spoke with Dana Geffner, Executive Director of the Fair World Project, about Fair Trade issues for cocoa farmers. On today’s episode, we will focus on: what is happening in the fair trade movement today that is exciting; how fair trade is relevant in today's current political climate and is connected directly to current issues such as immigration; and how to make educated purchasing decisions.

Fair World Project (FWP) recently released a new report providing an in-depth analysis of existing fair trade standards, and the group is calling on major retailer, Costco, to evaluate its buying practices for its private label cocoa products. Costco is the nation’s leader in organic product sales and is renowned for its treatment of its domestic workforce, with fair wages and generous benefits. The company has also made significant sustainability and sourcing commitments to reflect its social and environmental values. Given these commitments, FWP is calling on Costco to leverage its powerful supply chain to address the impacts of the climate crisis and a historically volatile market by sourcing cocoa using the certifications recommended in the new report.

According to John Piotti, president and CEO of the American Farmland Trust (AFT), the U.S. is losing farmland at a rate of three acres a minute – 31 million acres between 1992 and 2012 alone. AFT is the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food® and today we’ll be talking with senior AFT representatives about their view on the 2018 Farm Bill and its effectiveness in protecting farmland, promoting environmentally sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land.

California is first in the nation to establish a comprehensive, producer-funded take-back program to provide safe and convenient disposal options for both home-generated pharmaceutical drugs and sharps waste. Manufacturers of sharps, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications will be required to create, fund, and participate in a statewide take-back system. Tune in as we talk with Heidi Sanborn, Senior Advisor and former Executive Director of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), about new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation in CA and what this could mean for the rest of the nation.

Natural Habitat Adventures is spearheading the world’s first zero waste trip—a travel-industry first. On the July 6-12, 2019 departure of Safari America: Yellowstone Country, 14 travelers will join this pioneering endeavor in which Nat Hab’s goal is to divert (refuse, recycle, compost, upcycle, or re-use) 99 percent or more of all waste produced as part of Nat Hab-sponsored trip operations. With the World’s First Zero Waste Adventure, Nat Hab aims to fit all waste produced on the trip into a single small container at the end, nearly eliminating the need to send any materials to a landfill or incinerator. Trip leaders will encourage travelers to refuse potential waste whenever possible, such as declining disposable straws or individually packaged condiments, minimizing the waste they produce along the route while in vehicles, lodges and camps throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Tune in as we talk with Nat Hab’s Director of Sustainability, Court Whelan.

The levels of lead in Newark, New Jersey’s drinking water are some of the highest recently recorded by a large water system in the United States. Experts agree that there is no safe level of lead exposure. Pregnant women and children are most at risk: Even low lead levels are associated with serious, irreversible damage to developing brains and nervous systems. For years, the city has had the greatest number of lead-poisoned children in New Jersey. This likely stems from a variety of exposures to lead, including from contaminated tap water and other sources. Indeed, 2016 tests revealed 30 public schools with elevated water lead levels. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), together with the Newark Education Workers Caucus, is fighting in court to ensure that the residents of Newark have access to safe, clean drinking water every time they turn on the tap. Tune in as we speak with Mae Wu, Senior Attorney for the NRDC’s Health Program.

The CW has just launched a new Saturday morning show called, Ready, Set, Pet, hosted by Phil Torres. Phil has appeared on shows like Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, and has been published in Wired, BBC, National Geographic, WSJ, MSNBC, and more. Ready, Set, Pet will educate and inform teens and their families about pet adoption, responsible pet ownership, and the importance of a green space for pets. Each episode, Phil will guide a family through the pet adoption process after a careful look at their unique situation to help them make an informed decision in finding the right pet for their lifestyle. While the family visits local shelters and rescues, experts revitalize their outdoor space to make a safe and eco-friendly home for their new pet.. Ready, Set, Pet will teach viewers that thoughtful preparation is key when learning to care for an animal’s needs. Join us as we talk with Phil on today’s episode!

Recycling programs as we know it are at risk, because China, as one of the world’s biggest recycled goods buyers, has increased their standards for the recycled goods they will import. Standards have gotten so tough that even one dirty pizza box can contaminate tons of recyclable material and send them to the landfill. According to Republic Services, as much as 30% of the materials in the recycling stream are currently contaminated. So, what’s the solution? In the long-term, companies are improving technology to better sort and clean recycling. But for now, it’s more important than ever that people know what to recycle and how. The nation’s recycling model is broken, but it can be fixed. Republic Services has recently launched a new consumer campaign called Recycling Simplified, to discuss the general issues facing the recycling industry. It’s an important issue for every town in America– if people know the guidelines, they won’t risk ruining the recycled goods of others.

Disenchanted with the mainstream environmental movement, a new, more radical kind of environmental activist emerged in the 1980s. Radical environmentalists used direct action, from blockades and tree-sits to industrial sabotage, to save a wild nature that they believed to be in a state of crisis. In The Ecocentrists, Keith Makoto Woodhouse offers a nuanced history of radical environmental thought and action in the late-twentieth-century United States. Focusing especially on the group Earth First!, Woodhouse discusses how the organization became increasingly at odds with movements focused on social justice and examines the implications of ecocentrism’s sweeping critique of human society for the future of environmental protection. The Ecocentrists is a groundbreaking intellectual history of environmental politics in the United States. Tune in as we talk with the author!

In his new book, WAGING JUSTICE, Dr. Paul Zeitz pens a searing memoir that takes the reader from his early years in Philadelphia as the son of a hard-working (and belligerent) hoagie-shop owner, through his journey rising up the ranks in government. We learn how he spearheaded a global charge against AIDS and climate change. Zeitz’s journey shows how personal transformation leads to global activism and acts like a much needed blueprint for our times. On today’s episode he’ll discuss his experience serving under the Obama and Trump Administrations as the Director of the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development at the US Department of State 2014-2017; working with global activist movements and advocates leaders like Alicia Keys, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Graça Machel, and Bono on the global HIV/AIDS response; and solutions for solving our current global crises, such as the collapse of democracy, the climate crisis and the mass extinction underway.

This September 2018, policymakers from across the U.S. and around the world will gather in San Francisco, California, for the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS). The Summit's stated goals are to encourage more action to achieve the aims of the Paris Climate Accord. The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, will be on the ground in-action and in solidarity with diverse allies from the global movement for climate justice throughout the week leading up to and during the Global Climate Action Summit. On Sept. 11, WECAN will host, ‘Women's Assembly for Climate Justice: Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change’, which will be an extraordinary gathering of women leaders from across the United States and around the world. Tune in as we talk with the founder and Executive Director of WECAN, Osprey Orielle Lake!

The area surrounding the Salton Sea is home to more than 650,000 people. As the water levels in the sea recede, the exposed lakebed dries up and the toxic dust blows across the vicinity, which has some of the highest asthma rates in the United States. In addition to the public health implications, shrinking water levels result in a higher salinity, which kills fish that many migratory birds depend on to fuel their migrations along the Pacific Flyway. In June 2018, California voters passed Proposition 68, a $4 billion state bond measure that will provide critical funding for state parks, clean water, climate change resilience, and wildlife habitat – including $200 million in funding to address the deterioration of the Salton Sea. Echoing this mandate from the electorate, the National Audubon Society urges the state of California to accelerate progress on the implementation of projects to reduce dust and stave off environmental degradation.