Go Green Radio

Ted Genoways – award-winning author of The Chain (2014) – follows a family through a year in the life of their farm. Genoways catalogs the day-to-day struggles of the Hammond farm in a pivotal time frame: in 2014-2015, mild weather and heavy rainfall led to higher-than-expected yields, depressing crop prices and lowering profits, while encroaching pipelines, groundwater depletion, climate change, and shifting trade policies added to the threats facing the Hammond farm. Genoways demonstrates that family farms are far from an isolated refuge beyond the reach of global events; the family farm is increasingly at the crossroads of emerging technologies and international détente.

Did you know what we put on our plates has a major impact on our planet's health? The kinds of foods we grow, produce, and eat have the biggest environmental impact of any human activity. Tune in today as we talk with Meg Donahue, co-founder of MamaSezz, as we discuss the environmental and human health benefits of a plant-based diet.

This summer, two Granite Gear sponsored Minnesotan adventurers, Paul Twedt and Michael Anderson, aim to remove trash from 1200 miles of Minnesota rivers: the Namekagon/St. Croix, Minnesota and Mississippi. Twedt and Anderson founded Adventure Stewardship Alliance and represent the organization’s mission of acting as stewards of our public waterways, inspiring a deeper sense of connection and care for natural environments and public waterways. They believe litter isn’t one person’s problem, it’s everyone’s problem, and they aim to make an impact on that issue. The team is currently paddling the Minnesota River, the second river clean-up of their Three Rivers Expedition. Since beginning on July 3rd near Ortonville, Minnesota at Big Stone Lake, the duo has paddled more than 65 miles and removed over 350 pounds of trash. The expedition will conclude in October as the team paddles and cleans up the Mississippi river along its first 600 miles in Minnesota.

Sometimes the most heated debates are among people who almost agree. That seems to be the case with the recent Jacobson-Clack controversy, in which two groups of well-intentioned, renewable energy advocates bitterly spar over differing paths to a 100% renewable energy future. But as PCI Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg points out in his latest essay, neither side is considering one of the most crucial aspects to successfully reaching that future. Tune in to hear Richard's take on the controversy and decide for yourself who offers the clearest path forward.

Coral reefs are the nursery for all life in the oceans, a remarkable ecosystem that sustains us. Yet with carbon emissions warming the seas, a phenomenon called “coral bleaching”—a sign of mass coral death—has been accelerating around the world, and the public has no idea of the scale or implication of the catastrophe silently raging underwater. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, CHASING CORAL taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen. The effort is anything but simple, and the team battles technical malfunctions and the force of nature in pursuit of their golden fleece: documenting the indisputable and tragic transformation below the waves. With its breathtaking photography, nail-biting suspense, and startling emotion, CHASING CORAL is a dramatic revelation that won’t have audiences sitting idle for long.

From National Geographic Documentary Films, From the Ashes captures Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry and what its future should be under the Trump Administration. From Appalachia to the West’s Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the “war on coal” to present compelling and often heartbreaking stories about what’s at stake for our economy, health, and climate. The film invites audiences to learn more about an industry on the edge and what it means for their lives.

Globally acclaimed teacher Stephen Ritz shows readers how, in one of the nation’s poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom. His innovative program began by accident. When a flower broke up a brawl among burly teenagers at a tough South Bronx high school, Stephen saw a teachable moment to connect students with nature. By using plants as an entry point for all learning, he witnessed nothing short of a transformation. Attendance soared from 40 to 93 percent. Disciplinary issues plummeted. In a school with a 17 percent graduation rate and high crime rate, every one of his students finished school and stayed out of jail. More than 50,000 pounds of vegetables later, he has figured out how to bring the magic of gardening into the heart of the school day for students of all ages.Join us as Stephen shares his practical solutions for growing his favorite crop: organically grown citizens.

With summer on the way, it’s time to take steps to make homes and businesses are comfortable without wasting energy—or overheating anyone's wallet—as the temperature rises. The Natural Resources Defense Council is working to make sure that the government’s energy efficiency standards developed or updated over the past year for many types of products that help keep you cool, including ceiling fans and portable air conditioners, take effect on schedule. Updating national efficiency standards on a regular basis means that when it's time to purchase new cooling equipment, you can be assured it meets at least minimum energy-saving performance criteria while saving money and energy. But in the meantime, we've got some tips to keep your cool in the warmer months: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lauren-urbanek/keep-your-cool-summer-energy-efficiency. Join us as we speak with NRDC senior energy policy advocate, Lauren Urbanek.

Can profit and sustainability go hand in hand? A new report by The Conference Board proves they can. Released today, Business Transformation and The Circular Economy details how companies are moving from the linear economy to the circular economy. This increasingly popular model centers on the reuse of materials, to ensure they retain their highest value at all times. The research spotlights seven companies at the forefront of the circular economy: Dell, DuPont, Interface, Kimberly-Clark, Philips, Waste Management, and Hewlett-Packard. The report also features practical recommendations for how other businesses can follow suit. Tune in as we talk with the author of the report, Thomas Singer.

By 2050, $40 trillion will change hands in North America alone. The largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history is underway and the ramifications will remake the world. The dirty money of business as usual is on the brink, wedged between catastrophic climate change and the demographic tidal wave of Millennials pounding the consumer table for real change. These forces are transforming the very nature of capitalism into something different and powerful— towards a clean money revolution. Joel Solomon, pioneering clean money investor and change agent, lays it on the line. The revolution is underway, the opportunities are everywhere, and the challenges and rewards are immense. The Clean Money Revolution explores this massive economic shift, and how you can ride the $40 trillion wave to create the new, ethical, and sustainable businesses that power local economies, restore ecosystems, and build social and financial equity. The Clean Money Revolution is underway. Join it!

The Vegetarian’s Guide to Eating Meat chronicles a young woman’s journey from vegetarian PETA activist to blood-and-guts-eating omnivore. Marissa Landrigan, journalist, professor and author, discovered that eating ethically was far from simple—and cutting out meat was not the answer. As she criss-crossed the U.S. to get closer to the source of her food, eventually even visiting a slaughterhouse and hunting elk, Landrigan realized that the most ethical way of eating was to know her food—whether meat or vegetable—and prepare it herself, on her own terms, to eat with family and friends.

Lauded by Booklist as “an essential guidebook for anyone who wants to make a difference,” Sustainability Made Simple: Small Changes for Big Impact (April 2017, Rowman & Littlefield) walks readers through small, actionable steps anyone can make at home, school, work, and on the road to reduce their environmental footprint. With an emphasis on science, facts and practicality, environmental experts, Rosaly Bird and Lauren DeMates, introduce readers to the concept of sustainability and humanity’s growing impact on the environment, why it’s harmful, what steps the government and other institutions are taking to help, and finally what individuals and families can do to make a difference. Tune in as we talk to Byrd and DeMates about their book, and the small, specific changes we can make in all aspects of our lives.

NATURE's, Yosemite, premieres Wed., March 29 at 8/7c on PBS. Yosemite is a land forged in wildfire and sculpted by water, but with climate change, water is scarcer and fire more common. Shot in 4K by filmmaker Joseph Pontecorvo, the program follows scientists and adventurers as they investigate how these global changes are affecting one of America's greatest wildernesses. Tune in as we talk with Joe and one of the geologists featured in the film, Roger Putnam.

Alan Bell was a star prosecutor for mob trials in Florida in the 80's. When he began getting severely ill many believed he was being poisoned by the mob. It turned out that that it was exposure to hidden toxic chemicals in his office building that made him so sick that he was forced to spend nearly a decade living in a sterile “bubble” in the remote Arizona desert. When his health improved, he teamed up with other lawyers (including those featured in the films Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action) to avenge hundreds of environmental victims in court. Bell discovered that his plight was just the tip of the iceberg. Millions of people get sick and die each year because of toxic chemical exposures—without knowing they're at risk. His new book offers a view of one of the most important global health issues of our time. Robert F Kennedy Jr. called the book: “a riveting memoir with serious health implications for us all”.

Growing your own food, even in a small space, is now much easier thanks to GrowOya. Their porous clay irrigation vessels are an ingenious, modern method of watering your garden borrowed from the ancient wisdom of South America. Tune in to learn how these water-saving devices can be used year after year, and are revolutionizing the access to healthy, local food – even in drought areas. Our guests today are Brant Cheetham, co-founder of GrowOya, and Justin Cutter, with the Compass Green Project, who uses Oyas in school gardens.

In his new book, Paul D. Blanc, M.D., outlines the century-long history of “fake silk,” or cellulose viscose, used to produce such products as rayon textiles and tires, cellophane, and everyday kitchen sponges. He explores the export of hazardous manufacturing to developing countries, and the current “greenwashing” of viscose as an eco-friendly product. He describes the poisonous materials and environmental abuses involved in the manufacturing process, and the grave impact it has on human health. Deeply researched and boldly presented, Dr. Blanc’s book brings to light an industrial hazard whose egregious history ranks with those of asbestos, lead, and mercury.

Just this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued advice regarding fish consumption which is geared toward helping women who are pregnant or may become pregnant – as well as breastfeeding mothers and parents of young children – make informed choices when it comes to fish that are healthy and safe to eat. Our guest today is Sean Wittenberg, President and Founder of Safe Catch, Inc. We will discuss the health benefits of eating low-mercury fish, how to ensure the fish you eat is safe, and the unique way that Safe Catch delivers its products to consumers.

SwiftMile is tackling the first and last mile problem in transportation. Fifty percent (50%) of most auto trips are less than three miles, and thirty percent (30%) are less than one mile. This leads to traffic, smog, and congestion in urban environments on a global scale. Swiftmile is creating a network of solar powered eBike hubs for first/last mile commuters. Users can locate and rent an eBike or eScooter with the tap of our Swiftapp at a solar powered Swiftstations, then use to it to get across town or for a quick trip, then return at the same location or another one on the network. Our guest today is SwiftMile founder and CEO, Colin Roche.

As the world’s population continues to grow, the demand for increased amounts of food strains our soil and the ecosystems juxtaposed to agricultural sites. International NGO, Rare, and its partners have just announced the launch of a global competition, Solution Search. The contest is open to any organization that has an innovative solution in sustainable farming, while promoting behaviors that strengthen biodiversity across the agricultural sector. Examples of potential entries include: sustainable land use management that integrates the consideration of biodiversity and ecosystems; alternative pest control practices that reduce toxic run-off into local water sources; organic farming methods that increase soil biodiversity (or other species); livestock control measures that protect local flora and fauna; and innovative approaches that reduce human-animal conflicts in agricultural zones. Tune in as we learn more from Rare CEO, Brett Jenks.

California’s primary clean water supply, upon which 25 million people depend, is out of date, unreliable and inefficient. California’s largest supply of clean water is dependent on 50-year-old levees. Earthquakes, floods and rising sea levels could cause these levees to fail, putting the fresh water supply at risk from saltwater contamination. The current system is inefficient and cannot adequately capture and store water when it is available. The state is losing fresh water that could be used by farms, businesses and communities. Without an update to the water infrastructure, the environment and the state’s economy are at risk. Tune in today as we talk with Jeffrey Kightlinger, the General Manager of Metropolitan Water District, and Erin Mellon, Communications and Outreach Advisor at the California Natural Resources Agency.