Go Green Radio

“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

McDonald’s new CEO recently announced that the company is committing to serve chicken raised without antibiotics used in human medicines in all of their U.S. restaurants within two years. As McDonald’s grooms its supply chain to deliver on this promise, this could signal a significant uptick in the supply of affordable, antibiotic-free chicken available to the general public in America. Today we’ll be joined by Sasha Stashwick, a Senior Advocate with the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Energy & Transportation and Food & Agriculture programs. She will discuss the rationale behind the move to antibiotic-free meats, and what other leaders in the food industry are doing to address this issue.

In June 2012, Alameda County in California became the first local government body to pass a safe drug disposal ordinance that would hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for the safe collection and disposal of unused medications from the public. Now San Francisco and numerous additional local governments are on the cusp of doing the same. Today we’ll talk with former Center for Disease Control physician, Dr. Matt Willis; Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the CA Product Stewardship Council; Guillermo Rodriguez of the San Francisco Department of the Environment; and Conor Johnston, from the office of the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

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

Today we’re joined by actor/producer, Raphael Sbarge to discuss Green Wish, a grassroots, non-profit organization that funds local, green organizations through customers’ small donations at local retailers. Green Wish was founded in 2009 by Sbarge, after the birth of his first child, “I was struck by how alive I suddenly felt as a father,” he explained. “Conversely, I also felt remarkably vulnerable and defenseless to protect this little person’s journey in a world as vast and complex as ours. I had to ask, ‘What can we do to contribute in any small way to leave the world a better place than when we found it?’” The answer: Green Wish. When you donate to Green Wish, you’re actually helping numerous environmental groups, right in your own community. On today’s episode, we’ll also discuss Raphael’s documentary, Is There Hope For Planet Earth?

In March of this year, Rolling Stone magazine reported that Bonnie Raitt, Indigo Girls, Kristen Graves, John Butler Trio and Michael Franti are among two dozen musicians who have contributed songs to Buy This Fracking Album, a two-disc compilation LP intended to educate listeners about hydro-fracking, a controversial method of extracting natural gas from the earth's shale. In a statement, Raitt said, One of the most critical environmental issues of our time is banning fracking everywhere because it destroys our water, our communities and our planet. The 24-track set, produced by Jason Samel, features a mix of original recordings, previously released tracks and live versions of older songs – all of which share the theme of environmental awareness. Proceeds will benefit various anti-fracking organizations, including Food and Water Watch and Marcellus Protest. Today we’ll be joined by the album’s producer, @jasonsamel, and one of the featured artists, @kristengraves. @frackingalbum

The Urban School Food Alliance (Alliance), a coalition of the largest school districts in the United States that includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Dallas and Orlando, announced that it will start rolling out the use of compostable round plates at cafeterias this month, saying good-bye to polystyrene trays. The districts in the Alliance serve 2.5 million meals a day, and the six districts project to remove 225 million polystyrene trays from landfills every year. Tune in as we speak with the Chairman of the Alliance, Eric Goldstein, and the director of Natural Resource Defense Council's New York urban program and senior attorney, Mark Izeman.

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.

In her new book, Driving the Future, Margo Oge (Former Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, United States Environmental Protection Agency) portrays a future where clean, intelligent vehicles with lighter frames and alternative power trains will produce zero emissions and run at 100+ mpg. With electronic architectures more like that of airplanes, cars will be smarter and safer, will park themselves, and will network with other vehicles on the road to drive themselves. Offering an insider account of the partnership between Federal agencies, states, environmental groups, and car manufacturers that led to the historic deal, she discusses the science of climate change, the politics of addressing it and the lessons learned for policymakers.

Opening a new era for cooperation on the world’s most critical water issues, mayors from across Great Lakes and the Middle East will sign a pioneering agreement this month that links their cities through game-changing “Sister Waters” partnerships. The treaty-signing will take place at Water after Borders: Global Stakes, Local Politics, a historic two-day summit at the University of Illinois at Chicago, April 23rd-24th, 2015. Water After Borders will focus on strategies for sharing water across political, geographical, and cultural boundaries. The partnerships will be facilitated by EcoPeace Middle East – an Israeli/Jordanian/Palestinian trilateral organization dedicated to environmental peacebuilding – and the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative - a coalition aimed at protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Tune in to hear the mayors themselves discuss this historic partnership!

In her new book, Driving the Future, Margo Oge (Former Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, United States Environmental Protection Agency) portrays a future where clean, intelligent vehicles with lighter frames and alternative power trains will produce zero emissions and run at 100+ mpg. With electronic architectures more like that of airplanes, cars will be smarter and safer, will park themselves, and will network with other vehicles on the road to drive themselves. Offering an insider account of the partnership between Federal agencies, states, environmental groups, and car manufacturers that led to the historic deal, she discusses the science of climate change, the politics of addressing it and the lessons learned for policymakers.

Leaders in the culinary arts, business, public health, and environmental sciences are working together to develop business-friendly solutions to today’s most pressing social and environmental concerns, such as: • Obesity, diabetes, and healthcare costs • The sourcing and production of our food • The challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by 2050, as global resources decline Menus of Change: The Business of Healthy, Sustainable, Delicious Food Choices is a ground-breaking initiative from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that examines these key issues. Today we’ll be joined by William Rosenzweig, Executive Director and Dean of the Food Business School (FBS), the new center for executive and graduate education at The Culinary Institute of America; and Sophie Egan, director of programs and culinary nutrition for the strategic initiatives group at The Culinary Institute of America.

Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER) crystallizes the ecological and social tragedies of humanity’s ballooning numbers and consumption. It’s time to make millions of people acutely, immediately, and viscerally aware of the dangers and deprivations facing people and the planet. Our guest today is Bill Ryerson, founder and president of Population Media Center; he also serves as Chair and CEO of The Population Institute in Washington, DC. We will discuss ways to proceed into a sustainable, collaborative, and hopeful future using global communication systems.

Opening a new era for cooperation on the world’s most critical water issues, mayors from across Great Lakes and the Middle East will sign a pioneering agreement this month that links their cities through game-changing “Sister Waters” partnerships. The treaty-signing will take place at Water after Borders: Global Stakes, Local Politics, a historic two-day summit at the University of Illinois at Chicago, April 23rd-24th, 2015. Water After Borders will focus on strategies for sharing water across political, geographical, and cultural boundaries. The partnerships will be facilitated by EcoPeace Middle East – an Israeli/Jordanian/Palestinian trilateral organization dedicated to environmental peacebuilding – and the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative - a coalition aimed at protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Tune in to hear the mayors themselves discuss this historic partnership!

In June 2012, Alameda County in California became the first local government body to pass a safe drug disposal ordinance that would hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for the safe collection and disposal of unused medications from the public. Now San Francisco and numerous additional local governments are on the cusp of doing the same. Today we’ll talk with former Center for Disease Control physician, Dr. Matt Willis; Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the CA Product Stewardship Council; Guillermo Rodriguez of the San Francisco Department of the Environment; and Conor Johnston, from the office of the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

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.