Category Archives: Energy

Before 2005 becomes just another bad memory we’ll do a quick rewind and name the Top Five Environmental Stories Of The Year with David Roberts, Assistant Editor for our favorite green news website, Grist magazine.

Listen (10 min)

Then on to some better news with Amy Warren, of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency – she’ll tell us about a model anti-idling program getting revved up in the Seattle area. Idling tidbits to keep in mind:
On average, a single vehicle dropping
off and picking up kids at one school puts three pounds of pollution
into the air per month.

Vehicle idling consumes 1/2 to 1 gallon of fuel per hour. Put another way, idling = ZERO mpg. It is more efficient to turn off and restart your car than it is to idle for more than 30 seconds.
Asthma is the most common chronic
illness in children and the cause of most school absences.  Children’s
asthma symptoms increase as a result of car exhaust.

Also contributing to this segment is EcoTalk’s co-producer Shana Weber talking about commercial truck idling, the new laws in place and new technology that makes it easier to turn those big engines off at night and still stay comfortable in the cab.
Listen (7 min)

Our second half will focus on films with a green tint…first, The End of Suburbia with Julian Darley, founder and director of the Post-Carbon Institute –
this DVD is playing at house parties across America and driving
housewives to abandon their SUVs en masse (we wish).

Listen (11 min)

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The second film in
the EcoTalk spotlight is Syriana. NRDC‘s Daniel Hinerfeld  critique this geo-political thriller, starring George Clooney. It is a project of Participants production, a different type of producer. The movie is also an opportunity to participate in the Oil Change campaign to reduce our dependance on oil, inspired by the film and organized by NRDC and the Sierra Club.
Listen (7 min)

LISTEN to the whole show (37 min)

So just what WAS accomplished at the U.N. Climate Change conference in Montreal?
We’ll find out from New York Times environment reporter, Andrew Revkin.  Andy also lends his voice and musical talent (who knew?) to this week’s theme s
song…Liberated Carbon…by his band Uncle Wade.  Listen (11 min)

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Paul Rogers, science reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, will join us for an update on what California is doing to combat global warming while the Bush administration fiddles away.  Listen (7 min)

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In our second half
we’ll hear  Daniel
Nepstad,  senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center and
founder of the Amazon Institute of Ecological Research in Brazil, will join us to talk about a devastating drought unfolding in the Brazilian
rainforest, most likely the result of climate disruption.  Listen (12 min)

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Last, but not least, Jerome Ringo, new president of the Apollo Alliance ,
will weigh in on this week’s announcement by the Energy Department that
the price of oil will continue to rise steadily (surprise!) and so the
U.S. must turn to "renewables, like coal and nuclear". Oy to the world.  Listen (7 min)

With Wilma taking aim at the Florida coast and the hurricane center quickly running out of names we’ll speak with global warming guru Ross Gelbspan about "Katrina’s True Name". The author, journalist and lecturer tells us why we should prepare for more extreme weather. We’ll also be chatting with Laurie David, eco-activist and wife of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David. Laurie discusses why she’s so enthusiastic about curbing global warming as is Steve Cochran, with Environmental Defense’s Undo It campaign. We’ll also hear why a change in the climate is impacting trout habitat in Montana – and what it means to you – from NRDC’s George Black.

Ross Gelbspan Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Boiling point (just published in paperback).
Listen to the first part of the interview (11 min)
Listen to the second part of the interview (7 minutes)

More info on Kyotoandbeyond.org (the people’s ratification).

We’ll also hear parts of the song Change in the climate by Sharon Abreu

Steve Cochran, Director of Strategic Communications for Environmental Defense Fund

about their global warming undoit campaign.

Listen (4 min)

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Laurie David Founder and active promoter of the virtual Stopglobalwarming.org march

Listen (7 min)

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NRDC‘s magazine OnEarth explores the impact of global warming on trout habitat in Montana: how anglers and environmentalists join forces. George Black is articles Editor for OnEarth and his last book is The Trout Paradox. Listen (7 min)

NRDC also join forces with EcoTalk via a special partnership.

We wish  and hope other groups join us to promote and produce more radiobroadcasts about key environmental issues.

LISTEN to the whole show (37 min)