EcoTalk Blog

Saturday April 12, 2008

Logan Nakyanzi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:30:04 -0400

This week you’ll hear one of the few interviews with the US Olympic torchbearers . . . we’ve got Majora Carter, who on a regular day works as Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx, an organization she founded, which works for environmental justice in the South Bronx. But this was an unusual week for her: she tells us what it was like to carry the Olympic torch through crowds of protesters this week in San Francisco. Plus – hear what happened when she pulled the Tibet flag from her sleeve...

And, we’ll be joined by conservative columnist Robert George, from the New York Post, reporting on his view of the week’s news, plus Avis Jones-DeWeever, of the National Council of Negro Women, shares her views on how everyday people are coping with what many now admit is our economic recession.

EcoTalk's Final Show?

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:19:08 -0400

This might be EcoTalk's last hurrah as a daily show, but we'll be damned if we won't go out with yet another jam-packed hour of news that will inform the future that us optimists are determined to see through.
If the mainstream media were a little more concerned with concrete plans for our energy future than the cost of somebody's haircut, presidential outside shot Governor Bill Richardson (NM) might have a reasonable shot at the White House this upcoming silly season. David Sandretti of the League of Conservation Voters joins Betsy to outline the big guy's plan to combat climate change. LISTEN (10 min)

Treehugger Radio

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:10:34 -0400

Treehugger Correspondent Simran Sethi
reports on France's request that the US show more leadership on reducing emissions, the green rebuilding of tornado-devastated Greensburg, Kansas, the unusual challenge of making the Burning Man festival sustainable, and Paul Hawken's incisive new book "Blessed Unrest." LISTEN (8 min)

EXXPOSE EXXON

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:06:27 -0400

Shawnee Hoover of Exxpose Exxon comments on reports that say that despite their ongoing insistence that they've severed ties with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and renounced smearing the science of climate change, Exxon "is still funding more than $2 million to the majority of climate skeptic groups" closely linked to CEI and their ilk. LISTEN (8 min)

Richard Heinberg And Madonna Help Betsy Say Good Bye

Philippe Boucher — Fri, 18 May 2007 23:47:55 -0400

Richard Heinberg performs his role as EcoTalk's final (for now) guest with aplomb, discussing Exxon's latest shenanigans as well as his books The Party's Over and The Oil Depletion Protocol.

Keep EcoTalk On The Air With Beantrees Organic Coffee!!!

Philippe Boucher — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:53:02 -0400

Beantrees Organic Coffee founder Barrie Gromala tells us about the coffee that has won over celebrities like Oprah's chef and Aerosmith, and announces a great deal for all of us and our planet: order coffee from Beantrees.com, and Beantrees will donate one dollar per bag to keep EcoTalk on the air!
LISTEN (9 min)

Toronto and the Clinton Climate Initiative

Philippe Boucher — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:52:31 -0400

Toronto Mayor David Miller talks about representing one of the sixteen major world cities (plus five major banking institutions) to cut carbon emissions by renovating city-owned buildings with the Greenest of practices and the Clinton Climate Initiative: "This is a win win win win win win." This what it takes! Teamwork, optimism, and practical business. LISTEN (11 min)

Paul Ehrlich

Philippe Boucher — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:51:02 -0400

Paul Ehrlich has been both authoritative and controversial for forty years, so that fact that to this day his still somewhat taboo advocacy of population control and his other work are cited in newspaper editorials no longer shocks him: "I am an outsider from the point of view of the media. I am an insider from the point of view of science. Scientists don't care what Jerry Falwell, or Limbaugh, or Coulter say. They care about what other scientists say." Join us for a special interview that is as compelling as it is freewheeling.
PART ONE (7 min) PART TWO (12 min)

Green By Design TV

Philippe Boucher — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:49:20 -0400

Greg & Connie Mattison of the "GreenByDesign", the creative and frisky Green Building TV show that's taking the state of the New Jersey (and beyond) by storm. Connie: "I think there are many out there who don't know where to begin. We thought, 'Well, you can watch us while we learn.'" Greg: "We call ourselves newlygreens." Check it out! LISTEN (8 min)

Bush's slooow turn toward the light

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:58:04 -0400

Clean Air Watch President (and EcoTalk favorite) Frank O'Donnell weighs in on the President Bush's pledge to abide by the Clean Air Act (or at least mouth words to that effect). "I think that the president has come up with a strategy to stall off any kind of action, and essentially put the US EPA into a straitjacket of bureauracratic process," Frank tells Betsy. Does this have to be "a long process", as the President says? LISTEN (10 min)

Ward Hubbell Takes Green Buiding To Washington

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:44:39 -0400

Green Building Initiative's Ward Hubbell checks in with EcoTalk following his Senate testimony on how the Federal Government makes Green Building an implicit part of a smart, forward-thinking government: "I think what [the Senate] were trying to do was get educated on the various rating systems out there and the different approaches." Find out about GBI's Green Globes rating system here. LISTEN (8 min)

Andres Edwards And Edutracks

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:35:29 -0400

In the growing Green Building Community, Andres Edwards of EduTracks and author of The Sustainability Revolution is among the most thoughtful. Here he opines on Tibet, Deep Ecology, and helping companies like Whole Foods, Pfizer, small non profits, and government agencies make the practical decisions that we will look back on and call wisdom: "When I started, it was a huge learning curve for folks to begin to understand, 'What is Green building?' As it's very rapidly been mainstreamed people are a lot more familiar." LISTEN (11 min)

Best Of EcoTalk

Philippe Boucher — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:34:06 -0400

This is a rerun of our April 30 program:
Greenpeace Canada Targets Prime Minister Harper LISTEN (10 min)
Vanity Fair's 2nd Annual Green Issue LISTEN ( 8 min)
Kim McKay: True Green LISTEN (12 min)
Lori Pye, Eco-Psychology, and Eco-Suicide LISTEN (8 min)

EcoTalk in the San Francisco Chronicle

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 12 May 2007 11:12:17 -0400

The San Francisco Chronicle about EcoTalk: Environmental radio show hopes to flourish -- but it needs a lot of green

Read it all in Joe Garofoli's chronicle with a series of photos by Christina Koci Hernandez.

Paul Hawken: Blessed Unrest

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:03:09 -0400

Paul Hawken talks about his most recent book Blessed Unrest : How the Largest Movement in the World Came in to Being and Why No One Saw it Coming.
Part 1 (11 min) Part 2 (7 min)

Kevin Contreras: Building Green

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:01:33 -0400

Kevin Contreras talks about his new PBS program Building Green.
LISTEN ( 10 min)
You can also read his blog.

Treehugger Radio

Philippe Boucher — Sat, 12 May 2007 00:59:48 -0400

This week, correspondent Jeff McIntire Strasburg sheds some light on the murky question of ethanol versus biodiesel. We speak with Mark Oberholzer, a runner-up in the 2006 Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition, whose plan for roadside turbines aims at getting something back from the flow of traffic. We also speak with the designer of World Without Oil, an online alternate reality game that simulates a world in the throes of an oil shock. LISTEN (9 min)

Best of EcoTalk

Philippe Boucher — Thu, 10 May 2007 20:11:23 -0400

This is a rerun of our program of April 27:
Schwarzenegger tells the EPA to shape up LISTEN (10 min)
Treehugger: Earth Day Hangover Edition LISTEN (8 min)
PG&E's Nancy McFadden LISTEN (11 min)
Clif Bars GreenNotes Program LISTEN (8 min)

The Fate Of The Dead Sea

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 09 May 2007 22:08:39 -0400

As the Dead Sea shrinks three feet per year, can Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories find common ground in these common waters to build a more lasting peace? Oregon State professor and author of Hydropolitics along the Jordan River: the impact of scarce water resources on the Arab-Israeli conflict Aaron Wolf offers his thoughts on the solutions, and the political will necessary to save the Dead Sea. LISTEN (11 min)

Organic Agriculture & The World's Poor

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 09 May 2007 22:01:55 -0400

Think only inorganic, GMO, pesticide-laden agriculture can feed the world's poor, and that organic is merely an indugence of the elite? While certain parties have a vested interest in having us believe that, University of Michigan researcher Catherine Badgley tells Betsy about some new studies that suggest that organic agriculture can feed the world. LISTEN (7 min)

Rachel Carlson, The Gentle Subversive

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:45:51 -0400

Brad College Environmental Studies Chair Mark H. Lytle checks in to discuss his new book The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement: "[Carson] really believed that the right to endure gave us a right to know. She felt that unless the public had the facts necessary to make an informed decision, they were going to be unwitting victims." We take such citizen advocacy for granted today, but as multinational coporations and the chemical revolution created a brave new world of potential dangers to human beings, Carson was one of the first people to stick her neck out for all of us. LISTEN (12 min)

Verdiem Makes Computers More Energy Efficient

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:37:25 -0400

The city of Boston has cut its PC energy use by an astonishing 44 percent with the help of power management software company Verdiem. With power management something we need in every city, Verdiem Vice President of Business Development Dave Harvey tells Betsy what they can offer to any City or Company in the land. LISTEN (8 min)

Best of EcoTalk

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:48:34 -0400

This Tuesday May 8 we air a rerun of our April 20 program:
Earth Day co-founder Pete McCloskey PART ONE (11 min) PART TWO (7 min)
Treehugger: Eco America's Bob Perkowitz LISTEN (12 min)
Home Depot's New Eco Options LISTEN (8 min)

Best of EcoTalk

Philippe Boucher — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:39:54 -0400

This monday May 7 we air a rerun of our April 19 program:
Senator Barbara Boxer gives a damn LISTEN (12 min)
Matt Peterson and Global Green USA PART ONE (6 min) PART TWO (12 min)
Orbitz Travel & EcoTourism LISTEN (8 min)

Media Matters on Glenn Beck

Philippe Boucher — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:08:00 -0400

It's not just Fox News anymore. When you see media degradation on the level that's being seen on shows like CNN's Glenn Beck, who do you call? Media Matters, of course. Betsy alluded the other day to Beck's desperate linkage of Al Gore to Nazis, and here Media Matters Senior Fellow Paul Waldman joins us to give his reaction to the veracity and audacity of such statements, and such newsman as Mr. Glenn Beck. Has CNN hit a new low? "I think they stooped to a new low when they hired Glenn Beck in the first place."
LISTEN ( min)