http://www.cchange.net Covering the transformations to social, environment and economic sustainability Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:26:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Sea Change Radio covers the transformations to social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Change is accelerating in positive and negative directions: the clock is ticking in the race to see which will tip first—the problems or the solutions. Join Sea Change's Host, Alex Wise, as he provides in-depth analysis to help our audience understand possible remedies and potential pitfalls. Sea Change interviews sustainability experts including Paul Hawken, Stewart Brand, Bill McKibben, Van Jones, Lester Brown, and many others. Sea Change airs on over 30 radio stations around the country. Alex Wise clean Alex Wise awise@cchange.net awise@cchange.net (Alex Wise) 2007-2011 Making Connections for Sustainability Sustainability, Climate Change, Human Rights, Environment, Corporate Responsibility, Socially Responsible Investing, Accountability, Stakeholders, Clean Tech, Renewable Energy, Green Jobs, Wealth Divide http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/cwr-images-archive/SeaChangeRadioTAG_square144_sm.jpg http://www.cchange.net Weekly http://www.cchange.net/2009/12/23/cop15-wrap-up-climate-deniers-drowning-islands-and-hope-after-copenhagen/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/12/23/cop15-wrap-up-climate-deniers-drowning-islands-and-hope-after-copenhagen/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:31:08 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=2243 http://www.cchange.net/2009/12/23/cop15-wrap-up-climate-deniers-drowning-islands-and-hope-after-copenhagen/feed/ 1 ACES,Barack Obama,Climate Change,COP15,global warming,Waxman-Markey Climate Bill Sea Change Radio surveys a broad spectrum of opinions and outcomes of the UN Climate Conference (COP15).  We hear excerpts from a press conference there featuring a Republican contingent from the US House of Representatives, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/cop15_logo_img.gif)Sea Change Radio surveys a broad spectrum of opinions and outcomes of the UN Climate Conference (COP15 (http://en.cop15.dk/)).  We hear excerpts from a press conference there featuring a Republican contingent from the US House of Representatives, a speech by Tuvalu Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apisai_Ielemia), and an exclusive interview of European Commission Deputy Director-general of Environment Karl Falkenberg (http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/directors_general/falkenberg_en.pdf) by Sea Change Climate Correspondent Cimbria Badenhausen (http://www.cchange.net/about/cimbria-badenhausen/), who covered all 2 weeks of the conference on the ground. The UN Climate Conference, or COP15, ended in the wee hours of Saturday, December 19, resulting in a Copenhagen Accord (http://bit.ly/4FgskS?r=td) brokered by a “limited group (http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=3070)” of countries.  Critics have slammed the deal for falling short of the commitments needed to curb catastrophic climate change, not to mention its disregard for the legitimate negotiation process by ignoring the voices of those most affected by climate change, such as small island nations.  While many blame US President Barack Obama,  climate journalist Mark Lynas published an eyewitness account (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/22/copenhagen-climate-change-mark-lynas) of the late-night negotiations in the Guardian in the UK that places blame squarely on China for scuttling the more ambitious elements of the agreement. Our survey starts at the far right with the deniers and skeptics – in this case, a contingent of six Republicans from the US House of Representatives, who convened a press conference (http://www1.cop15.meta-fusion.com/kongresse/cop15/templ/play.php?id_kongressmain=1&theme=unfccc&id_kongresssession=2737) on the last day of the conference.  They led off by citing what’s known as “Climategate,” or the publishing of hacked emails and data from computers at the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in the UK, widely considered the epicenter of climate research.   We hear from Rep. Joe Barton (http://joebarton.house.gov/Default.aspx) (R-TX), senior ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (http://energycommerce.house.gov/); Rep. John Sullivan (http://sullivan.house.gov/) (R-OK); Rep. Fred Upton (http://www.house.gov/upton/) (R-MI), ranking Republican on the House Energy and Environment Sub-Committee (http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=130&layout=blog&Itemid=71); Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (http://capito.house.gov/) (R-WV), a member of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (http://globalwarming.house.gov/). Sea Change Climate Correspondent Cimbria Badenhausen asked the Representatives to go on the record with their stance on the cause of climate change -- and its impacts on those most vulnerable. The Republican Representatives seem to advance a self-contradictory stance.  They vehemently protested the science underlying the conclusion that human-genarated carbon emissions cause climate change, undermining actions such as the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2454) or the Copenhagen Climate Conference that intended to reduce these emissions.  Then they embrace the idea of carbon reductions that align with their economic visions.  So which is it?  If you can make sense of this, please comment below or on the Sea Change Radio Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Change-Radio/88996586621). (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ApisaiIelemia-150x150.jpg)Also on the last day of COP15, Tuvalu Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia held a press conference Bill Baue clean 29:21 http://www.cchange.net/2009/07/16/big-agriculture-tipping-the-balance-of-regulation/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/07/16/big-agriculture-tipping-the-balance-of-regulation/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:49:06 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=1395 http://www.cchange.net/2009/07/16/big-agriculture-tipping-the-balance-of-regulation/feed/ 1 ACES,agribusiness,Climate Bill,Climate Change,Colin Peterson,farm lobby,food policy,food safety,Ghost Ranch,Grist,Henry Waxman,House Agriculture Committee We talk with food editor Tom Philpott of Grist.org about the impact of the farm lobby on the climate and food safety legislation. And Lisa Hamilton discusses food policy from the perspective of the small farmer. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tom_philpott-199x300.jpg) We talk with food editor Tom Philpott (http://www.grist.org/member/1554) of Grist.org (http://www.grist.org/) about the impact of the farm lobby on the climate and food safety legislation. And Lisa Hamilton (http://www.lisamhamilton.com/book/book.html) discusses food policy from the perspective of the small farmer. Her book is (http://www.lisamhamilton.com/book/DeeplyRooted.html).Big agriculture is coming under increasing scrutiny these days. A popular new film, Food, Inc (http://www.foodincmovie.com/). (http://www.foodincmovie.com/), takes a hard-hitting look at how our industrial food system harms our environment and our health. One environmental impact is on the climate. Agribusiness has a big greenhouse gas footprint (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/factoryfarms/dairy-and-meat-factories/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-industrial-agriculture) -- whether it comes from methane from livestock, the petrochemicals that go into making pesticides, or the emissions from transporting food across countries and oceans. And then there's the issue of food safety. Every day seems to bring news of another outbreak of sickness from contaminated food produced by big industrial processing facilities. Congress is getting into gear. A new food safety bill (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875) sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman made it out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this month and will soon go to the House. But big agriculture has a some powerful friends in Congress, and they can tip the scales in their favor when it comes to regulation. Some say the bill will be devastating to organic and other small farmers (http://farmwars.info/?p=594), who aren't causing the food safety problems, but who can't afford the measures mandated by the bill. One of agribusiness' biggest champions is Colin Peterson (http://collinpeterson.house.gov/), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Grist.org's Tom Philpott says Peterson already has shown (http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-22-colin-peterson-villain) that he can wring major pro-agribusiness concessions on policy out of Henry Waxman -- he did it on the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act that just passed the house, after threatening to oppose the bill (http://www.hillheat.com/articles/2009/06/14/collin-peterson-mixing-climate-change-together-with-energy-independence-isnt-smart). Tom Philpott is a food editor for Grist.org, and he farms at Maverick Farms (http://www.maverickfarms.com/), a sustainable-agriculture nonprofit and small farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. In her book DEEPLY ROOTED, Lisa Hamilton explores the lives of three farm families (http://www.looncommons.org/2009/07/10/sustainable-ag-rooted-rebooted/): Harry Lewis, an African-American organic dairy farmer in Texas, Virgil Trujillo, a Latino rancher at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, and the Podoll family in North Dakota who are breeding seeds (http://www.npsas.org/ovt.html) for diversity. Hamilton told Sea Change Radio that the new push to develop a regulatory label for "sustainability" (http://ecolabelling.org/blog/2009/07/09/sustainable-agriculture-label-in-the-works-in-the-us) might end up making things more difficult for small farmers, while letting agribusiness continue unsustainable practices. Lisa Hamilton is a journalist and photographer who writes about farmers, ranchers and agriculture. Read articles by Lisa Hamilton (http://www.lisamhamilton.com/article/article.html). Francesca Rheannon clean 28:12 http://www.cchange.net/2009/07/08/adin-maynard-on-government-support-for-energy-efficiency/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/07/08/adin-maynard-on-government-support-for-energy-efficiency/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:03:07 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=1425 http://www.cchange.net/2009/07/08/adin-maynard-on-government-support-for-energy-efficiency/feed/ 1 ACES,Renewable Energy Sea Change Co-Host Bill Baue speaks with Adin Maynard, Director of Operations at Cozy Home Performance, about the company’s participation in the Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income homeowners and its move into deep energy retrofits for mid... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/AdinMaynard.jpg)Sea Change Co-Host Bill Baue speaks with Adin Maynard (http://www.mycozyhome.org/about), Director of Operations at Cozy Home Performance (http://www.mycozyhome.org/), about the company’s participation in the Weatherization Assistance Program (http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/weatherization/) for low-income homeowners and its move into deep energy retrofits for mid- and upper-income homeowners.   Maynard discusses how the Weatherization Assistance Program has received a boost in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.00001:)(ARRA.)  He also points out that the American Clean Energy and Security Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02454:)  (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02454:)(ACES) supports renewable energy about twice as much as energy efficiency, despite the fact that energy efficiency uses “shovel-ready” technology and provides a significantly higher return on investment.  Finally, Maynard describes deep energy retrofits, which Cozy Home is set to pilot in partnership with Western Massachusetts Electric Company (http://www.wmeco.com/) (WMECO.) Bill Baue clean 9:55