Over her lifetime Laurie Fickus has seen her community in Fairbanks physically transformed by the thawing permafrost and "drunken trees" that have become the signature features of climate change in Alaska. She shared her firsthand account with Betsy as they attended "Al Gore U." in Tennessee last week. LISTEN (8 min)
Author Archives: William Craven
Drunken Trees and Climate Change in Alaska
- Wednesday, 17 January 2007 21:31
- Written by William Craven
- 0 Comments
Ed Begley, Jr. and Rachelle Carson: Living with Ed
- Tuesday, 16 January 2007 20:33
- Written by William Craven
- 0 Comments
An actor and environmentalist in equal measure, Ed Begley, Jr. is so far off-grid that he pedals a stationary bike to charge his toaster. Lucky her, actress and comedienne Rachelle Carson is his wife. What does Hollywood do with a stubbornly idealistic husband and his smart & sassy wife? Why, of course, they put their foibles on TV! Ed and Rachelle join Betsy for a chat about their hilarious new HGTV reality show Living with Ed, and the reality of living the most realistic reality show ever.
PART 1 (11 min) PART 2 (7 min)
How Everyday Products Make People Sick
- Tuesday, 16 January 2007 20:04
- Written by William Craven
- 0 Comments
Consuming products in an informed and vigilant way can produce substantial health benefits to you, your family, and your co-workers. But you’ve got to know your stuff! Paul D. Blanc, MD holds the Endowed Chair of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and his new book is titled How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace. LISTEN (12 min)
Basel Action Network Update on the Lethal Toxic Waste Dump in the Ivory Coast
- Tuesday, 16 January 2007 20:00
- Written by William Craven
- 0 Comments
Jim Puckett of Basel Action Network gives Betsy the update on Trifigura, the gigantic Dutch oil trader who dumped the toxic waste from our first-world lifestyles onto some of the world’s poorest people in the Ivory Coast, killing ten and sickening thousands. Will Trifigura be brought to justice for profiting off the health of human beings?
Also, Jim talks about the Electronic Waste Ban that some countries have signed on to…..while others have proven reluctant. Everyday these nations refuse is a tragedy, as Jim says that E-Waste amounts to an "Ivory Coast" every day. LISTEN (8 min)
Picture: The Digital Dump
Andy Revkin, David Roberts, and the firestorm over the Climate ‘Middle’.
- Tuesday, 16 January 2007 07:15
- Written by William Craven
- 1 Comment
On New Year’s Day 2007, The New York Times published an article by Andrew Revkin titled "A New Middle Stance Emerges in Debate over Climate", setting off a firestorm on enviro-blogs and highly-critical editorials written by, among others, Grist Magazine staff writer David Roberts. Just where exactly is this ‘middle’? Does this ‘middle’ really find "An Inconvenient Truth" to be alarmist and further afield of their beliefs? What is the rhetorical value of being seen to occupy a middle ground? What is the danger in labeling like-minded people ‘extreme’?
Andrew Revkin and David Roberts join Betsy to talk about the existence of a climate ‘middle’ and where something like "An Inconvenient Truth" or EcoTalk for that matter, fits on the spectrum of opinions on Climate Change. PART 1 (11 min)
PART 2 (7 min) PART 3 (7 min)