Country Bluegrass Singer Adrienne Young has used her stirring voice and songwriting gifts to sing the praises of living food, local agriculture, and an intimate connection to nature and the life lessons it offers. Adrienne is a spokesperson for FoodRoutes, a national organization that aims to help put local food on your table. Find out how to get involved with FoodRoutes in your area, and buy Adrienne’s new album May 22nd! LISTEN (12 min)
NRDC Senior Attorney Cara Horowitz tells Betsy how the US Navy has violated California State Law by using sonar, which is harmful and potentially fatal to whales, in protected waters. LISTEN (8 min)
Visit Whales in Danger to watch the video…
CEO of Natural Capitalism Solutions and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Hunter Lovins sits down with Betsy to talk about writing Climate Protection Manuals for cities, Richard Branson’s $25 million challenge, and how the business case for climate change is simply a matter of supply and demand: "There’s so much money to be made and saved through behaving responsibly towards the planet, that business is now one of the leading exponents of sustainability. This is no longer philanthropy, or environmental activism. This is good business."
PART ONE (11 min) PART TWO (7 min)
Tikkun founder Rabbi Michael Lerner has long advocated for reasserting the spiritual dimension inherent in the progressive values of charity, peace, and stewardship of the earth. Here he tells Betsy about the link between his concept of ethical consumption with kosher habits, the skepticism which accompanied the 20th century’s greatest social movements, how we should all come out of the closet as spiritual beings, the Marshall Plan as a blueprint for tackling climate change, and welcoming the religious right into the climate cavalry. Whew! It’s another jam-packed interview.
PART ONE (12 min) PART TWO (8 min) and his blog
Richard Louv is Director of the Children & Nature Network and author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder — a book that one of our guests cites as an influence on a weekly basis. Richard and Betsy talk about what we all risk by raising children who lack a connection with the outdoors, parents’ fears of the outdoor world, and also Louv’s upcoming activities in Washington, DC, including offering ideas on how to integrate nature education into the upcoming revisions to No Child Left Behind. LISTEN (12 min)