http://www.cchange.net Covering the transformations to social, environment and economic sustainability Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:33 +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/2010/03/24/whose-commonwealth-is-it/ http://www.cchange.net/2010/03/24/whose-commonwealth-is-it/#comments Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:45:07 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=2408 http://www.cchange.net/2010/03/24/whose-commonwealth-is-it/feed/ 0 back to the future,Clean Tech,clean technology,Commonwealth,Dan Juhl,David Bollier,digital sphere,energy expert,green economy,intellectual commons,kerry buckley,mass humanities Journalist and policy strategist David Bollier tells us about the idea of the commons, wind energy expert Patrick Quinlan talks about how wind power in Massachusetts has become a battleground over competing definitions of the commons, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Bollier_photo_June_10082-150x150.jpg) Welcome to the final episode in our Sea Change series, Back to the Future. Journalist and policy strategist David Bollier tells us about the idea of the commons; wind energy expert Patrick Quinlan talks about wind power in Massachusetts and how it has become a battleground over competing definitions of the commons; wind developer Dan Juhl talks about community wind power; and historian Kerry Buckley sums up the lessons of our series. Each month, Back To The Future looks at what we can learn from the past, when we used far less fossil fuels than we do today. We explore practices we can adapt as we move toward a lower carbon future. Last month (http://www.cchange.net/2010/02/17/cool-industry-for-a-cooler-planet/), we looked at how water power in Holyoke, Massachusetts helped fuel the industrial revolution in the U.S. and is powering the birth of a green economy in Holyoke. This month we look at how the ancient idea of the commons can be adapted to ensuring the survival of the ecological commons. We also take the case of wind power in Massachusetts to examine how controversy has erupted over conflicting ways people define the common good. David Bollier (http://www.bollier.org/) is a journalist and policy strategist whose work focuses on the politics, economics and culture of the commons.  He's the editor of the web portal and blog OntheCommons.org (http://www.onthecommons.org/ ) and also co-founder of Public Knowledge (http://www.publicknowledge.org/), a public interest group defending the rights of the  intellectual commons in the digital sphere.  Lately he's been thinking about how to establish a international legal framework for protecting the ecological commons. Patrick Quinlan is Associate Director of the Wind Energy Center (http://www.umass.edu/windenergy/)at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He's been actively involved in wind power and clean technology development since 1982.  He was an advisor to the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy and worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the Washington office, serving the Federal wind energy, solar energy, geothermal, and hydrogen technology programs. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/juhl_wind-104x150.jpg)Minnesota-based Dan Juhl of Juhl Wind (http://www.juhlwind.com/) is one of America's pioneers in community wind power. Sea Change Radio interviewed him (http://www.cchange.net/2008/07/16/the-community-building-power-of-wind/) originally in 2008. Kerry Buckley is executive director of Historic Northampton (http://www.historic-northampton.org/). He's the author of several books and editor of A PLACE CALLED PARADISE (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Place-Called-Paradise/Kerry-W-Buckley/e/9781558494855). This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Francesca Rheannon clean http://www.cchange.net/2010/02/17/cool-industry-for-a-cooler-planet/ http://www.cchange.net/2010/02/17/cool-industry-for-a-cooler-planet/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:27:28 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=2370 http://www.cchange.net/2010/02/17/cool-industry-for-a-cooler-planet/feed/ 1 boston associates,Calvin Ellis,Charlie Lotspiech,connecticut river,George Ewing,heritage state park,jim lavelle,machine tool industry,Martorell,mass humanities,massachusetts nurses association,Penni In this fifth episode of our Back To The Future series, we look at how the mighty power of the Connecticut River fueled the birth of manufacturing in Massachusetts -- and the country -- not just in producing finished goods, like paper and textiles, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Holyoke-dam-150x150.jpg) In this fifth episode of our Back To The Future series (http://www.cchange.net/mass-humanities/), we look at how the mighty power of the Connecticut River fueled the birth of manufacturing in Massachusetts -- and the country -- not just in producing finished goods, like paper and textiles, but also in making the machinery that drove the mills. We hear from Jim Lavelle, manager of Holyoke Gas And Electric (HGE) (http://www.hged.com/), a hydroelectric power company. He tells us how Holyoke's industrial  past points the way to the future. HGE’s Calvin Ellis takes us on a tour of the hydroelectric plant at the South Hadley Falls. Robert Forrant (http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/History/faculty/forrant.html), professor of regional economic development and sustainability at UMass-Lowell tells us about machine tool manufacturing in the 19th century and the lessons that holds for today.  And we also hear about Holyoke's industrial history from Penni Martorell (http://holyokehistory.blogspot.com/), archivist of the Holyoke Public Library and Charlie Lotspeich, Park Supervisor at Holyoke Heritage State Park (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/hhsp.htm). The Connecticut River has always been a vital resource for the people who have lived along its banks.  Early indigenous people (http://www.holyoke.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=152&limitstart=1) used it for transportation, fishing, and farming, as did the early settlers. And local merchants use the river to transport their goods.  But the high falls at south Hadley presented an obstacle to transport up the river from port cities further south.  So locks and canals were built to get around the falls and keep the goods moving north. In 1858 George Ewing and the Boston Associates, who developed Lowell as an industrial city, turned their attention to Holyoke. There was a 59 foot drop in the river there, making it a perfect place to build a dam (http://www.holyokemass.com/hwp_1876/tex2.html), while the sloping land and  the bend in the river made it an ideal site for a hydro-powered city, complete with canals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyoke_Canal_System). Holyoke's mills depended on a thriving machine tool industry that began in Springfield just a few miles south on the Connecticut River. It soon spread upriver to Holyoke itself.  A former Springfield machinist himself, Robert Forrant tells us how the industry got started in the early days after the American Revolution, incubated by the Springfield Armory (http://www.nps.gov/spar/index.htm). (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/SPAR_SA-ind-1861-150x150.jpg) But industry fell on hard times in the Connecticut River Valley. It started first in Holyoke in the 1920s and culminated in a wave of arsons and plant closings in the 1960s and 1970s.  It was all part of the de-industrialization of the northeast, a victim of globalization.  But Holyoke Gas and Electric's Jim Lavelle tells us that machine tooling could come back strong to Holyoke, especially as the cost of fossil fuels skyrocket, crimping transportation costs and encouraging more local manufacturing.  With a revival of intercity rail (http://www.masslive.com/chicopeeholyoke/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1266049008177780.xml&coll=1)planned along the banks of the Connecticut River, and a new green data center (http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/06/08/daily28-Holyoke-targeted-for-green-data-center.html) to be built in Holyoke, prospects are looking up for a revitalized, sustainable, manufacturing economy in western Massachusetts. Francesca Rheannon clean http://www.cchange.net/2010/01/27/back-to-the-future-getting-around-on-rails-and-trails/ http://www.cchange.net/2010/01/27/back-to-the-future-getting-around-on-rails-and-trails/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:48:51 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=2312 http://www.cchange.net/2010/01/27/back-to-the-future-getting-around-on-rails-and-trails/feed/ 0 back to the future,cathy stanton,commuter rail lines,craig della penna,francesca rheannon,kerry buckley,light rail,mass humanities,northampton museum,radio series,rail trails,trolley system In this edition of the Sea Change Radio series Back To The Future, Francesca Rheannon talks with historian Kerry Buckley about the heyday of the trolley system in Massachusetts; rail trail promoter Craig Della Penna talks about how rail trails came abo... In this edition of the Sea Change Radio series Back To The Future, Francesca Rheannon talks with historian Kerry Buckley about the heyday of the trolley system in Massachusetts; rail trail promoter Craig Della Penna talks about how rail trails came abo... Francesca Rheannon clean 29:29 http://www.cchange.net/2009/12/16/back-to-the-future-reduce-reuse-retrofit/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/12/16/back-to-the-future-reduce-reuse-retrofit/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:03:39 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=2220 http://www.cchange.net/2009/12/16/back-to-the-future-reduce-reuse-retrofit/feed/ 2 back to the future,carbon emissions,carbon footprint,mass humanities,northeast sustainable energy association,retrofits,zero net energy Welcome to the third episode in our Sea Change series, Back to the Future.  Green architect Betsy Pettit talks about retrofits and what older building methods can teach us about saving energy. And John Grossman of ReStore tells us about re-using salvag... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/BetsyPettit-150x150.jpg) Welcome to the third episode in our Sea Change series, Back to the Future.  Green architect Betsy Pettit (http://www.buildingscienceconsulting.com/who/member.aspx?TeamID=3) talks about retrofits and what older building methods can teach us about saving energy. And John Grossman of ReStore (http://www.restoreonline.org/ ) tells us about re-using salvaged building materials. Each month, our six-part series looks at what we can learn from the past, when we used far less fossil fuels than we do today. We explore practices we can adapt as we move toward a lower carbon future. Last month, we looked at the revival of a locally based food system in western Massachusetts. This month we look at using old style Yankee frugality in building homes -- and adapting existing houses -- to save energy and reduce our carbon footprint. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/BetsyPettitRetrofit-150x150.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/BetsyPettitRetrofit2-150x150.jpg)In the U.S., buildings are responsible for between 48 and 80 percent of all carbon emissions (http://architecture2030.org/current_situation/building_sector.html), depending on what you include in the numbers. Single-family homes account for a significant portion today -- but they used to use a lot less energy. Green architect Betsy Pettit says homes built in the early years of the last century can teach us a lot about using less energy for cooling and lighting -- and even heating. She retrofitted her circa 1916 Sears Kit house (http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/case-studies/cs-0016-concord-four-square-retrofit/?searchterm=retrofit) to make its carbon footprint tiny -- nearly zero net energy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-energy_building). Pettit plies her trade with Building Science Corporation (http://www.buildingscience.com/) in Boston. She'll be chairing this year's Building Energy Conference (http://www.nesea.org/buildingenergy/) put on by the NorthEast Sustainable Energy Association, or NESEA (http://www.nesea.org/). The ReStore in Springfield was founded eight years ago by the Center for Ecological Technology (http://www.cetonline.org/) in Northampton, MA.. It takes salvaged materials and surplus stock from the building industry and sells them to the public at low prices, thereby keeping good used stuff out of landfills. The ReStore crew will take a house apart, piece by piece, including one from the 1700s, that used to sit in Rutland, Massachusetts. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ReStoreMerch-150x150.jpg)When you go to the ReStore, you'll find everything from claw foot tubs to spas, doors, windows, heaps of old lumber, radiators of various vintages, tub surrounds and marble countertops outside. Inside, you can find entire kitchen cabinet sets, including a cherry one on the day Sea Change host Francesca Rheannon (http://www.cchange.net/about/francesca-rheannon/) visited that looked like it had been pulled from a 1940s mansion. There are lamps hanging from every inch of ceiling space, and everything else for the home from drawer pulls to wiring.  Manager John Grossman took Sea Change on a tour. Francesca Rheannon clean 29:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/11/18/back-to-the-future-to-market-to-market/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/11/18/back-to-the-future-to-market-to-market/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:55:44 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=2123 http://www.cchange.net/2009/11/18/back-to-the-future-to-market-to-market/feed/ 0 amherst farmers market,back to the future,CISA,delta organic farm,farmers markets,historian,local economy,MA Humanities,margaret christie,mass humanities,organic farm,rural capitalism The second episode of our Back To The Future series looks at the revival of a locally based food system in western Massachusetts. We talk with Margaret Christie of CISA (Community In Support of Agriculture), The second episode of our Back To The Future (http://www.cchange.net/mass-humanities/) series looks at the revival of a locally based food system in western Massachusetts. We talk with Margaret Christie of CISA (http://www.buylocalfood.org/) (Community... Francesca Rheannon clean 28:48 http://www.cchange.net/2009/10/28/back-to-the-future-pasture-local-wheat-and-water-power/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/10/28/back-to-the-future-pasture-local-wheat-and-water-power/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:29:16 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=2043 http://www.cchange.net/2009/10/28/back-to-the-future-pasture-local-wheat-and-water-power/feed/ 1 agribusiness,Climate Change,mass humanities,Sustainable Agriculture Massachusetts has a deep agricultural history stretching back before the days of chemical-based industrial agribusiness. How are farmers using older methods to make the transition to more sustainable agriculture? Massachusetts has a deep agricultural history stretching back before the days of chemical-based industrial agribusiness. How are farmers using older methods to make the transition to more sustainable agriculture?  Sea Change Co-Host Francesca Rheannon (http://www.cchange.net/about/francesca-rheannon/) goes to the Colrain Dairy (http://westcountyhilltowns.com/site/backend05/xmlold/SFI60.hl.dairy.xml) to talk with Larry Shearer about his low-impact, pasture-based method of organic dairying.  She then talks with Cheryl Maffei of The Hungry Ghost Bakery’s Little Red Hen (http://www.hungryghostbread.com/pages/the-little-red-hen-restoring-wheat-in-the-pioneer-valley.php) local wheat-growing project . Finally, she interviews historian Dan Bennett (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/23/travel/0123-havens_10.html) about the use of water to power grist and sawmills in the smaller communities of the Connecticut River Valley. Today, we begin a six-part series called Back to the Future. It explores what older ways of living and producing can teach us about adapting to a future where we will have to get by with less -- much less -- use of fossil fuels. We’re not talking about going back to the stone age or getting rid of innovation. But rather, what can we learn from the old to create new ways of responding to the challenges of climate change and peak oil? Both crises are driving the need to find low-carbon ways of growing our food, getting around, building our homes, and producing other goods and services. So the stakes are high, but so are the benefits: not just saving our planet for ourselves and our kids, but also more resilient local economies, more satisfying connections with our neighbors, and a higher quality of life. In this series, we’ll look at food, transportation, housing, energy, and manufacturing -- what we can learn from the past to guide our future. Back to the Future will air monthly on Sea Change Radio. This program series is funded in part by Mass Humanities (http://www.masshumanities.org). We start out with the first of two episodes about food. We’ll hear from a farmer, a baker, and a historian helping to restore old mills in Leverett, MA -- mills that in their time ground grain and sawed logs for, among other things, barns and farmhouses. Larry Shearer is a small-scale dairy farmer in Colrain, MA. His farm spreads over a rocky hill with enough pasture to keep about fifty cows. Although he’s past retirement age (he’s in his late seventies), Shearer is still actively involved in running the farm with his two sons. The Colrain Dairy has been certified organic since 2007, but long before that Larry Shearer decided to do dairying in the old style: by pasturing his cows instead of feeding them grain, like most modern dairy farmers do. He hasn’t regretted the decision, finding that his cows are healthier, his costs and energy use are down, and he has more leisure time to spend with his family. And he makes a decent living. He says it’s all about “quality of life” -- for his family and his cows. The CT River Valley used to be the breadbasket of the nation, back in colonial times. Hardy wheat varieties that could withstand the winters, and the wet of the northeast, were grown around here. Cheryl Maffei is co-owner of Hungry Ghost Bakery (http://hungryghostbread.com/) in Northampton, Massachusetts. She runs an innovative project that’s enlisting local residents in growing New England-friendly wheat varieties in their backyard gardens. It’s called Little Red Hen. Dr. Daniel Bennet is a former academic, food coop founder and local historian in North Leverett, MA. He’s been working to help restore the old sawmill on the Saw Mill River in his home town and preserve the knowledge of older residents who remember how to run it. Other Links * David Fisher Natural Roots Farm (http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php?farm=1460) * Butterworks Farm, Vermont (http://butterworksfarm.com/) Francesca Rheannon clean 28:47