Go Green Radio

Zika virus, a pathogen transmitted by mosquitoes, has seemingly established itself in South America and the Caribbean and is now threatening the U.S. Cases have been reported in Florida, Illinois, Texas and Hawaii in patients having traveled to Central and South America, where they acquired the virus through mosquito bites. Our guest today, Joseph Conlon, technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Association, will discuss how the virus could spread and what we can do to minimize our risks. We’ll also discuss what effect, if any, climate change has on mosquito-borne illnesses.

On today’s episode of Go Green Radio, we will talk to Marc Yaggi, Executive Director of Waterkeeper Alliance (www.waterkeeper.org), about how- in 21st century America- a town of 100,000 people in Flint, Michigan was exposed to extremely high levels of lead in their drinking water. We will talk about the public policy failures, the actions taken by policymakers, how individual residents will be affected, and lessons that every community in America should learn from this disaster. Waterkeeper Alliance is the world’s fastest growing environmental movement, with over 270 Waterkeeper Organizations protecting rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on 6 continents. The organization’s President is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

In her recent article for Newsweek, “The Big Melt: The Last Antarctic Explorers Are Seeking Answers Inside The Continent's Ice” (http://bit.ly/1RcuVpp), Nina Burleigh writes: “The history of the planet is held in frozen suspension in the Antarctic. Vertical miles of ice encase air bubbles that hold bits of atmosphere… some dating as far back as a million years ago. Fossil records show the place was once green, teeming with life,…[but now holds] 90% of the planet’s ice…and those 7.2 million cubic miles of ice are now melting at unprecedented rates… Scientists have predicted that even partial melting of the Antarctic ice will raise sea levels enough to force the 150 million people around the world—including parts of New York City, Miami and Mumbai, India—to abandon their homes.” Tune in as Nina shares her first-hand experience exploring Antarctica, and how vital scientific research being conducted there may provide answers to some of the most dangerous unknowns about climate change.

El Niño produces extreme consequences for weather around the globe. The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast a strong El Niño for the winter of 2015-16. As a result, the NOAA Winter Outlook shows probabilities for above normal precipitation over much of CA, AZ, and southern NV, bringing substantial risk for levee failures, landslides, and flooding. The FEMA Region 9 office, in Oakland, CA has established an El Niño task force, consisting of subject matter experts from federal, state, local, tribal and community partners, who recently participated in a Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) exercise to practice the newly released Disaster Response Plan for California, Arizona, Nevada and its flood decision support tools. Today these experts will join us to discuss practical ways families and businesses can be ready for the hazards that a strong El Nino will produce.

Executive Producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer have partnered with National Geographic Channel and GE to present BREAKTHROUGH, a revolutionary new series about scientific explorers from leading universities and institutions and how their cutting-edge innovations and advancements will change our lives in the immediate future and beyond. On today’s episode we will discuss Angela Bassett’s contribution to the series, “Water Apocalypse,” which will air on Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. The film makes clear that California faces a future of drought that will cost billions in lost farm revenue and thousands of jobs. The challenges facing the state are not unique: All over the world, governments are struggling with bigger populations and a diminishing supply of freshwater. Bassett focuses on inspiring stories of people working to change the world, and one of her featured guests, Sandra Postel, joins us on Go Green Radio.

Transitioning our nation’s transportation infrastructure to support electric vehicles won’t happen overnight, but it may happen quite rapidly thanks to a new not-for-profit trade association, the Electric Vehicle Charging Association. Leaders from the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, technology and services industry have joined forces to advocate for policies to advance clean transportation, and focus on creating an environment that maintains the highest levels of innovation and maximum value for electric vehicle drivers. Today we’ll be joined by the President & CEO of Envision Solar, Desmond Wheatley; President of EV Connect, Jordan Ramer; the Vice President of Government Market Development for Volta, Dr. Abdellah Cherkaoui; and the Vice President, West Region for NRG EVgo, Terry O’Day.

The American Cleaning Institute’s ® (ACI) 2015 Sustainability Report showcases the cleaning products industry’s progress toward sustainable development and unveils ACI’s first-ever industry “materiality assessment,” which maps the critical risks and opportunities facing its value chain. br The ACI is the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products Industry™, representing producers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products, their ingredients and finished packaging; oleochemical producers; and chemical distributors to the cleaning product industry. Among the many well-known member companies are: Amway, BASF, Clorox, Colgate-Palmolive, Ecolab, Proctor and Gamble, SC Johnson, and Seventh Generation. Today we’ll be joined by ACI’s VP of Sustainability Initiatives, Brian Sansoni, and Alec Lager, Director of Strategic Services for Framework LLC.

Andrew Nikiforuk’s new book, Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry, is the shocking story of an oil and gas industry insider’s determined stand to hold government and industry legally accountable for the tremendous damage caused by fracking. When Jessica Ernst’s well water turned into a flammable broth that even her dogs refused to drink, the biologist and long-time oil patch consultant discovered that energy giant Encana had secretly fracked hundreds of gas wells around her home, piercing her community’s drinking water aquifer. Since then, her ongoing lawsuit against Encana, Alberta Environment, and the Energy Resources Conservation Board has made her a folk hero in many places worldwide where fracking is underway or is being contemplated. Slick Water raises dramatic questions about the role of Big Oil in government, society’s obsession with rapidly depleting supplies of unconventional oil and gas, and the future of civil society.

Our guest today is to Chloe Demrovsky, Executive Director of DRI International. She’s widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on disaster recovery and preparedness, and has been featured in USA Today, and Bloomberg. According to Chloe, the extreme climate changes we have seen over the years are only getting worse, to the point that they are now the new “normal.” Chloe believes that businesses should focus on disaster recovery and prepare for these severe weather situations, as there are serious business implications that would result from a single event of severe magnitude. Chloe will discuss: how damages from disasters can be prevented with a better risk management plan; climate resilience and how to build a roadmap for the next crisis; the lessons from disaster examples; what to do to maintain a level of stability should a similar event actually happen; and tips and tricks for preparing for disasters (from minor to the extreme). @ChloeDemrovsky

Crumbling flood control infrastructure, rising sea levels and lack of natural barriers leave the Bay Area open to devastating flood events. Many critical elements of the Bay Area’s infrastructure, including airports, hospitals, water treatment plants, and the headquarters of major employers are built at or below sea level. That means a severe storm or major flood could knock out huge parts of the regional economy, causing long-term damage to the Bay Area’s economic health. Failure to act presents potentially devastating consequences to the businesses and individuals that call the Bay Area home, as well as to California’s economy. Today we’ll talk about solutions to these problems with Jeremy Lowe, a coastal geomorphologist with 30 years of experience in tidal wetland restoration and sea-level-rise adaptation planning, and John Bourgeois, Executive Project Manager, CA Coastal Conservancy. Both gentlemen are feature in a new mini-documentary, The Water At Bay.

New farmland-mapping research published this week shows that up to 90 percent of Americans could be fed entirely by food grown or raised within 100 miles of their homes. Professor Elliott Campbell, with the University of California, Merced, School of Engineering, discusses the possibilities in a study entitled “The Large Potential of Local Croplands to Meet Food Demand in the United States.” The research results are the cover story of the newest edition of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the flagship journal for the Ecological Society of America, which boasts a membership of 10,000 scientists. Tune in as we discuss the implications of his research with Professor Campbell.

Much of the commentary on the Pope’s encyclical, Laudato Si, has centered on who is on his side, and who should feel chastised, e.g. environmentalists vs. big oil; Northern hemisphere vs. Southern; developed countries vs. developing countries. But on today’s episode of Go Green Radio we will focus on ways the Pope encourages readers to be on the same side, “We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family.” Our guest today is Fr. James Martin, Editor-at-Large at America, The National Catholic Review. Father Martin is a Jesuit priest, author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, The History Channel, the BBC, National Geographic TV, Fox News, NPR, and many more. @JamesMartinSJ

What better way to appreciate the environment than to walk 2,160 miles through some of the most beautiful vistas in North America? That is precisely what Jeff Alt did in 1998, and has gone on to hike the 218-mile John Muir Trail with his wife, and carry his 21-month old daughter along the coast of Ireland on a family hike. Jeff is the award-winning author of A Walk for Sunshine, Four Boots One Journey, and Get Your Kids Hiking: How to Start Them Young and Keep it Fun. His new book, The Adventures of Bubba Jones: Time Traveling Through the Great Smoky Mountains, has a curriculum guide and discussion guide for each chapter, making it perfect for the classroom. @jeffalt

The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International is calling for a Global Women's Climate Justice Day of Action on September 29th, 2015, in light of the December 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP21, where world governments will work towards finalizing a climate agreement that will have profound impacts on our global trajectory. There are a number of ways to participate in the day of action, and we will discuss them with Osprey Orielle Lake, co-Founder and Executive Director of WECAN International. @OspreyOLake @WECAN_INTL #ClimateWomenSpeak

What do major fashion retailers and designers like HM, Target, Gap and Levi have in common? They are all working with the Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC to create clothing that uses less water and energy to produce, transport, and care for. Through implementation of the NRDC’s Clean By Design program, these corporate partners utilize their tremendous buying power as a lever to reduce the environmental impacts of their suppliers abroad. Clean by Design focuses on improving process efficiency to reduce waste and emissions and improve the environment. Tune in to hear Dr. Linda Greer discuss the program in detail, and learn how consumers can influence the growing sustainable apparel movement.

“This is the story of the race to feed the world without wrecking it,” writes Joel K. Bourne, Jr. in his new book, The End of Plenty. “Producing food for more than 9 billion people without destroying the soil, water, oceans, and climate will be by far the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.” Today we’ll talk with Bourne about a new generation of farmers and scientists on the frontlines of the next green revolution. Joel Bourne is an award-winning journalist and former Senior Editor for the Environment at National Geographic. He’s covered major environmental issues for the magazine, including the global food crisis of 2008, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and California’s recurrent water woes. With a degree in agronomy, he is uniquely qualified to report on not just what experts tell him, but also on the efficacy of their expertise. @joel_bourne

In 1938, the Los Angeles River overflowed its banks causing such loss of life and property damage that the Red Cross called it the fifth largest flood in history. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was brought in to create flood control and protect the city, which resulted in the pouring of 3 million barrels of concrete to tame the river. Environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity were upshots of the project, but 77 years later, the US Army Corps Civil Works Review Board unanimously adopted Alternative 20 – a $1.35 billion plan to break up the concrete and restore 11 miles of LA River habitat. Today we’ll be joined by Lewis MacAdams, founder and President of FoLAR (Friends of the Los Angeles River) and Shelly Backlar, Vice President of Programs for FoLAR, to discuss how the L.A. community is working with the federal government to restore the river and its natural beauty. @FoLARtweets

Plastic beverage containers are a problem. According to the most recent report available from the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, of the 9,131 million pounds of plastic bottles generated in 2012, less than 1/3 were recovered for recycling. The remainder ends up in a landfill where it could take hundreds of years to break down, or as litter where it flows into stormwater drains and ultimately into the ocean. In either instance, the energy and petroleum used to manufacture and ship the plastic beverage containers is lost. A new company, called Paper Water Bottle, seeks to upend that wasteful model. They have created an alternative beverage container made from Non-GMO verified fiber products that are BPI certified to be compostable. Today we’ll talk with the company’s co-founder and president, Dan Doster.

Leading professional sports venues that serve all major leagues are now promoting more sustainable food options to fans, according to a new report by the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Champions of Game Day Food” features 20 venues spanning North America that are serving healthier food choices and adopting more sustainable food practices behind the scenes to help advance smarter environmental practices throughout our food system. Today our guests will be Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, co-founder and president of the Green Sports Alliance, and Gabriel Krenza, NRDC Strategic Food Advisor and report co-author. @SportsAlliance @NRDC @Gabriel_Krenza

Be Green Packaging is the only food and beverage packaging company with Cradle to Cradle™ certified products. Their clients include Whole Foods, Gillette, P&G, 7 Eleven, Wolfgang Puck and many more. In addition to designing, manufacturing, and distributing compostable packaging that is certified by BPI, the company is a champion of social responsibility. Be Green Packaging has been certified by Intertek for the ethical treatment of workers and social conditions at their plants. Their facility in Richland, SC is one of the first factories in the United States to be based upon Cradle to Cradle™ manufacturing protocols. Features of the facility include: Water Recycling System, Composting System, Recycling System, and Zero-Waste-Manufacturing. Our guest today is Ron Blitzer, Co-Founder of Be Green Packaging. @BeGreenPkg