Go Green Radio

What will it take to teach the next generation to live sustainably? Can environmental education enhance academic achievement in math, science and social studies? These are among the many important questions that the Green Schools National Network (GSNN) addresses by connecting education professionals from across the U.S. Today we’ll be joined by GSNN CEO, Jim McGrath, and COO, Dr. Jenny Seydel, to discuss the latest trends in the green schools movement, and some best practices for communities that want to provide kids with green, healthy and sustainable schools.

With a million more of us every 4½ days on a planet that's not getting any bigger, prospects for a sustainable human future seem ever more in doubt. Alan Weisman traveled to more than 20 countries to ask what experts agreed were the probably the most important questions on Earth-and also the hardest: How many humans can the planet hold without capsizing? How robust must the Earth's ecosystem be to assure our continued existence? Can we know which other species are essential to our survival? And, how might we actually arrive at a stable, optimum population, and design an economy to allow genuine prosperity without endless growth? Tune in as we talk with Alan about what he encountered on his global search for answers.

Climate change isn’t bad news for everyone. As Arctic ice melts at historically rapid rates, some people brace for rising sea levels, and some brace for new opportunities to drill for oil in waters that were once too icy for rigs. Recently, several Greenpeace activists were captured by Russian forces and charged with piracy after protesting one such drill site in the Arctic. Today, Phil Radford, Greenpeace USA’s executive director, joins Go Green Radio to discuss his organization’s concerns about oil exploration in the Arctic Circle, and the plight of the “Artic 30” activists imprisoned in Russia.

Just a few weeks ago, 17 foundations with assets of about $2 billion agreed to divest their portfolios of coal, oil and gas, and reinvest in the clean energy economy. This adds a major tailwind to the movement that is up and running on 400 college campuses nationwide. Major institutions in San Francisco, including the city itself, have agreed to divest completely. Some of these big names include The Compton Foundation, The Sierra Club Foundation, The San Francisco State University Foundation and more. Four of the leaders of this movement will join us on Go Green Radio to discuss the fossil fuel divestment movement, and its economic implications.

“Western man has been using the sun’s rays for useful purposes since the days of ancient China, as this comprehensive, carefully researched, clearly written history of solar architecture and technology makes abundantly clear,” says The New York Times about John Perlin’s book, Let it Shine: The 6000-Year Story of Solar Energy. Let it Shine presents the step-by-step development of solar architecture and technology and pertinent energy policies. By providing the background for today’s vibrant solar industry, a deeper understanding emerges of how solar energy applications have evolved and performed and their promise for today’s world

Toxic chemicals used to wash coal were stored on the banks of a river less than 2 miles from where water entered the public water system for 300,000 people in nine counties of West Virginia. When 7,500 gallons of the chemicals spilled into the river, people not only got sick, but they could not use their water for anything but flushing toilets for several days. No drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, washing hands, no public water for a week. We need to stop and think about the chemicals used to bring us coal, oil and natural gas, and what impact these chemicals could have on our water supply.

What will it take to teach the next generation to live sustainably? Can environmental education enhance academic achievement in math, science and social studies? These are among the many important questions that the Green Schools National Network (GSNN) addresses by connecting education professionals from across the U.S. Today we’ll be joined by GSNN CEO, Jim McGrath, and COO, Dr. Jenny Seydel, to discuss the latest trends in the green schools movement, and some best practices for communities that want to provide kids with green, healthy and sustainable schools.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton made protecting wild African elephants the centerpiece of the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative, in part because the elephants are facing extinction in a decade given current poaching rates, but also because their tusks are financing terrorism. Today we are joined by bestselling author and war correspondent, Mike Bond, to discuss the real world threat that is the subject of his new fiction novel, The Last Savanna. The book is based on his participation in military operations with Kenyan rangers against elephant poachers.

Greenpeace Senior Scientist, Dr. David Santillo, joins us to discuss geoengineering – what it is and why it is gaining attention in the U.S. Congress, the U.N. and countries around the world. With 15 years’ experience in organic analytical chemistry and development of policies for environmental protection, Dr. Santillo will share his insights on climate intervention technologies.

Toxic chemicals used to wash coal were stored on the banks of a river less than 2 miles from where water entered the public water system for 300,000 people in nine counties of West Virginia. When 7,500 gallons of the chemicals spilled into the river, people not only got sick, but they could not use their water for anything but flushing toilets for several days. No drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, washing hands, no public water for a week. We need to stop and think about the chemicals used to bring us coal, oil and natural gas, and what impact these chemicals could have on our water supply.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton made protecting wild African elephants the centerpiece of the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative, in part because the elephants are facing extinction in a decade given current poaching rates, but also because their tusks are financing terrorism. Today we are joined by bestselling author and war correspondent, Mike Bond, to discuss the real world threat that is the subject of his new fiction novel, The Last Savanna. The book is based on his participation in military operations with Kenyan rangers against elephant poachers.

Education is a dynamic institution. Every few years classrooms are introduced to new technologies and reforms that alter the learning experience in many ways. Throughout all these changes, however, two things have remained the same: first, human beings are completely dependent on natural systems, and second, human beings are capable of rendering natural systems incapable of supporting life. To what extent are we teaching students the necessary skills to preserve the natural systems on which they rely? Our guest today is Dr. Jerry Lieberman, who will discuss practical ways to use the environment around any school to create standards-based environmental education programs.

When a large environmental disaster occurs – like the BP oil spill in the Gulf – we take notice of the impact that energy extraction has on wildlife. But we tend to think of this impact only when a catastrophic event causes egregious pollution. The fact is that wildlife and wilderness areas are under constant pressure due to the expanding footprint of energy exploration, which is taking up more and more acreage every day. In this episode we’ll talk with Tom Butler, Editorial Projects Director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology, and board president of the Northeast Wilderness Trust. We’ll discuss the mounting conflict between those who seek to extract economic value from wild lands, and those who believe their value is greatest when they are left untouched.

“How much economic risk does the United States face from the impacts of climate change?” The Risky Business initiative will help us find out. Risky Business is a joint initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Office of former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, and Next Generation. The Risky Business Initiative includes two core components: • An independent risk assessment to reveal the likely financial risk the United States faces from unmitigated climate change. • An engagement effort - led by top national and regional leaders from across the American economic and political spectrum – to help leaders from the economic sectors most at risk from a changing climate prepare a measured response to the risks they face. Tune in as we talk with Kate Gordon, Executive Director of the Risky Business Initiative!

Are there upsides to fracking? Are consumer fears warranted? What are oil and gas companies doing to manage the risks involved? At the top of the hour, we’ll explore this topic with Karen Moreau, Executive Director of the New York State Petroleum Council, who will discuss hydraulic fracturing from an industry perspective. Later in the episode, we’ll be joined by Richard Heinberg, author of Snake Oil: How Fracking’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future.

It comes as news to no one that the energy industry is the most profitable on Earth. Based on their rise to prominence in the 20th Century, the annual earnings of the top five oil companies alone (ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Conoco Philips, and Chevron) are now measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars. In his new book, Following the Money, Craig Shields presents a set of interviews with subject matter experts who discuss the effects that economics and financial power have on the course of the world’s energy policy. If it is true that we need a radical change in our approach to transportation and energy so that we can forge a sustainable path to consumption of resources here on Earth, it will only happen with action by a large, informed electorate of people who understand and honestly care what’s going on around them. Tune in, and become part of the informed electorate!

Geoengineering is a generic term for a multitude of technologies and theories aimed at changing the Earth’s climate. There are two basic categories into which all geoengineering concepts fall: solar radiation management and CO2 removal. Numerous governments around the world are looking to scientists who study geoengineering for possible “quick fix” solutions to global warming, which include spraying chemicals into the clouds above us and changing the chemical composition of the ocean. While the official line is that geoengineering is under consideration, some believe it is already happening. Today we will examine what geoengineering is, the risks involved, and what each of can do to be part of the decision-making process to deploy or not to deploy geoengineering technology on the planet.

When a large environmental disaster occurs – like the BP oil spill in the Gulf – we take notice of the impact that energy extraction has on wildlife. But we tend to think of this impact only when a catastrophic event causes egregious pollution. The fact is that wildlife and wilderness areas are under constant pressure due to the expanding footprint of energy exploration, which is taking up more and more acreage every day. In this episode we’ll talk with Tom Butler, Editorial Projects Director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology, and board president of the Northeast Wilderness Trust. We’ll discuss the mounting conflict between those who seek to extract economic value from wild lands, and those who believe their value is greatest when they are left untouched.

“How much economic risk does the United States face from the impacts of climate change?” The Risky Business initiative will help us find out. Risky Business is a joint initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Office of former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, and Next Generation. The Risky Business Initiative includes two core components: • An independent risk assessment to reveal the likely financial risk the United States faces from unmitigated climate change. • An engagement effort - led by top national and regional leaders from across the American economic and political spectrum – to help leaders from the economic sectors most at risk from a changing climate prepare a measured response to the risks they face. Tune in as we talk with Kate Gordon, Executive Director of the Risky Business Initiative!

In 2007, coal-fired power plants generated 50% of all the electricity in the U.S.; it’s now down to 37% thanks to cheap natural gas prices. About two-thirds of the coal used in America comes from surface mining, including mountaintop removal (MTR). But because the communities around these operations are small, rural, and less likely to receive media attention, most Americans have no idea about the human health problems caused by this form of mining, all in the name of cheap energy. Teri Blanton has been fighting mountaintop removal (MTR) mining and toxic pollution in her home state of Kentucky for 20 years. Some people call her the Erin Brockovich of the social justice movement within the Appalachian coalfields for her tireless efforts to protect our headwater streams, and to ultimately move eastern Kentucky towards a more sustainable future beyond coal. Tune in to hear her firsthand account of the truth about how MTR affects the people who live nearby.