May 17 2012
Live Recording of Jim Hightower Earth Day 2012
May 24 2012
Urban Agriculture with Jake Stewart, City of Austin Office of Sustainability
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For 3-22-2012, our guest was Dr. Susan Shaw, a leading marine toxicologist, Doctor of Public Health, and founder and director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI). Dr. Shaw shared her expertise on toxins and the marine environment, discussing a wide variety of issues that impact our lives. She is widely known for her research on the toxic legacy of man-made chemicals in the ocean environment, and particularly her research on the environmental and health impact of the BP oil spill. Much of her research has focused on the harmful environmental and human health impacts of chemical dispersants used to clean up the spill. One month after the oil spill began, Dr. Shaw dove into the oil slick a few miles off the coast of Louisiana and wrote an op-ed in The New York Times recounting her experience and discussing the harmful effects of a dispersant called Corexit. Since then, she has been leading an investigation on the effects of oil and chemical dispersants in the Gulf ecosystem, and she serves on the U.S. Department of Interior’s Strategic Sciences Working Group, a team of scientists responsible for assessing consequences of the oil spill and recommending policy actions. On March 17th, Dr. Shaw will be recognized for her research and advocacy for the marine environment with the Citation of Merit Award at the Explorers Club Annual Dinner in New York City, and will be giving a lecture the next day that will focus on the ways in which explorers are addressing the challenge of saving the world’s oceans. Our March 15th show was a St. Patrick’s Day Special! Not sure if we were as funny as we thought we were but we had a hoot with our guests talking St. Patrick’s Day history and beer!  Michele Hallahan and Johnny Livesay at the station Our guests on Thursday, 3-8-12 were members of a delegation of environmentalists from Kazakhstan, visiting the US as part of the Library of Congress Open World Program. Ruslan Telegin, 43 years old, from Karaganda (population 471,800), is Press Secretary of the NGO Karaganda Regional Ecological Museum (www.ecomuseum.kz). He works to raise awareness of the many complex ecological issues in his region, including mining issues. He has a strong journalism background, experience in working in the private sector and media, and now applies this knowledge in the NGO sector researching and writing on environmental issues. He is interested in meeting NGO leaders and activists doing similar awareness work. He wants to learn about organizing environmental actions, city greening policies, parks, ecotourism, public transport, and public monitoring of major infrastructure projects. Ruslan enjoys photography, social networking, blogs, and biking. Baltugan Tazhmakina, 23 years old, from Astana, (Capital of Kazakhstan, population 700,000) is lead coordinator of international programs at the National Aarhus Center at the Environmental Information Analysis Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Kazakhstan (www.aarhus.kz). She organizes professional development trainings for leaders of higher education, organizes public hearings on environmental issues and is head of the PR service of the Aarhus Center. The Center increases access to information and justice, and involves citizens in making significant environmental decisions. Baltugan works with NGOs, providing consultations and trainings on environmental issues and promoting access to environmental information for the population. She coordinates four regional Aarhus Centers and provides support working with media and planning public events with authorities and international organizations. She holds multiple certificates and professional awards. We had a great conversation about the issues that are most pressing in the Kazakhstan area and learned how much we have in common with people across the globe. Click here to listen to the Podcast.
“Talking Local Business” with Rebecca Melancon, Executive Director Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA). The long time publisher and local business advocate Rebecca Melancon represents over 400 local businesses participating in AIBA. Although we consider “doing business local” a tenet of green business, the AIBA population is a mixed group on subjects like the “ban the bag” issue discussed earlier on Shades of Green. Rebecca discusses the important issues associated with independent businesses and how to keep them continuing as a vibrant and a sustainable foundation of the Austin economic community. February 23rd “Bag the Bag” — Will Austin follow Brownsville’s Lead? The City of Austin Council is considering instituting a ban on plastic and paper bags through at their meeting on March 1, 2012. The bag ban could be implemented in stages over time. We had a lively discussion about bagging the bag in Austin with our guests The climate for local support of Solar Power needs help to compete on the national scene and a coalition of local advocates are working to get the City of Austin in the right mindset. Our guests were Tod Wickersham of Beneficial Results and David Dixon of Hill Country Eco Power, who are both working with the local activist organization “Solar Austin” to shed light on the subject. They have adopted a slogan developed by the local solar installer community saying “Use us or Lose Us”. In other words, if the City of Austin does not adopt more aggressive goals for solar power the solar installers will go elsewhere and jobs in Austin will be lost. Shades of Green prepares for the love of Valentines Day with a discussion of the aphrodisiac effects of organic chocolates and flowers. With us in the studio was Jennifer Lucas, the local representative for Theo Chocolates and founder; Joe Whinney joined us on the phone from Seattle, Washington. Pamela Arnosky joined us for the second half hour to discuss her locally grown organic flowers on Arnosky Farms in the Texas Hill Country. You can learn to go organic with chocolates and flowers for your favorite Valentine! On February 2nd, 2012 we discussed the Impact of recent drought on texas forests Our conversation covered what is being done at the local and state level, rural and urban, to prevent loss of trees during exceptional drought in Texas. On Thursday, January 26th Shades of Green hosted Paul Robbins for a discussion on the City of Austin’s proposed electric rates increases. Paul breaks things down in just the right amount of detail for an informative discussion. He discusses how important it is to design electric rates that encourage energy conservation and renewable energy. The new rates proposes by Austin Energy may do the opposite and are regressive in their design. Click here to listen to the Podcast. Listen to Shades of Green Energy each week at 1 PM in Austin, TX on KOOP 91.7 FM! Wes Wigginton, managing director of Austin based Foursquare Builders and Eric Brown, founder and CEO of Thoughtcrib, an Austin design firm that focuses on sustainable practices joined us in the studio. Designing a home that also contributes to reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) is a fundamental concept of sustainability and a core value for Wes Wigginton, a homebuilder with over 30 years of experience and architect, designer, Eric Brown. Together these award winning, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Accredited Professionals (LEED AP) have conceived a building process where every step seeks to reduce the fiscal and environmental implications of home construction and operation. |
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