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/2009/06/16/8-loopholes-in-corporate-reporting/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/16/8-loopholes-in-corporate-reporting/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:54:57 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=969 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/16/8-loopholes-in-corporate-reporting/feed/ 2 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/10/policy-blueprints-climate-2030-route-to-reform/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/10/policy-blueprints-climate-2030-route-to-reform/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:39:13 +0000 Francesca Rheannon http://www.cchange.net/?p=935 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/10/policy-blueprints-climate-2030-route-to-reform/feed/ 1 Clean Energy economy,Climate 2030,Climate Bill,Climate Change,climate policy,energy economy,global warming,Rachel Cleetus,Stern_Review,Sustainable Public Policy,Transportation for America,union of concerned scientists We talk with Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists about the group's National Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy, Climate 2030 and with David Goldberg about Transportation for America's Route to Reform. (../2009/06/03/climate-bill-pass-or-fail/)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/rachaelcleetus-150x150.jpg)Last week on Sea Change Radio, we featured the pros and cons of the climate bill (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.+2454:) now set to wend its way through the halls of Congress. Today, we take a look at two proposals from the grassroots that have some important bearing on climate policy. We talk with Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org/) about the group's National Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy, Climate 2030 (http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/big_picture_solutions/climate-2030-blueprint.html) and with David Goldberg about Transportation for America (http://t4america.org/)'s  Route to Reform (http://t4america.org/pressers/2009/05/11/transportation-for-america-issues-national-blueprint-for-transportation-reform/). Economic recession doesn't mean the world can't afford to tackle climate change. In fact, the costs of delay dwarf the costs of moving to a clean energy economy. The British economist Lord Stern says it will take 2% of the world's GDP (http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/lord-stern-on-global-warming-its-even-worse-than-i-thought-1643957.html) to avert catastrophic climate change, whereas GDP would drop 20% or more if we don't (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stern_Review). But the Union of Concerned Scientists goes further. In Climate 2030: A National Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy, the UCS argues that strong climate change policy will actually create substantial savings for consumers and the economy as a whole, not just in the distant future, but right here and now. The report forecasts $1.7 trillion in net cumulative savings between 2010 and 2030 and annual savings of $465 billion by the latter date. Francesca Rheannon spoke with Rachel Cleetus, economist with the Climate program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Her work focuses on designing and advocating for effective global warming policies at the federal, regional, state and international levels. Dr. Cleetus has also worked as a consultant for the World Wildlife Fund (http://www.worldwildlife.org/) and the Tellus Institute (http://www.tellus.org/). (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/t4a.jpg) In light of climate change, peak oil, and energy dependence on volatile regions like the Middle East and Central Asia, how our transportation system is structured is a matter of national and economic security. Every six years, the United States Congress passes a bill to authorize federal spending on transportation, and it's up for renewal this year. The third largest spending bill in the budget, it covers both funding targets and policy goals. How should we fund transportation: with a gas tax or a road-use tax (or other ways)? How much of the transportation pie should go to roads and bridges or to high speed, light rail, and even bike paths? Do we want to keep plumping up suburban sprawl by investing in roads and bridges or do we want to encourage denser, walkable communities with light intercity rail? These questions are up for grabs in the 2009 bill. They are being addressed by Transportation for America in a blueprint proposal to the Congress, called Route to Reform. Francesca spoke with communications director, David Goldberg. Francesca Rheannon clean 29:21 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/climate-bill-pass-or-fail/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/climate-bill-pass-or-fail/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:58:07 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=908 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/climate-bill-pass-or-fail/feed/ 2 carroll muffett,center for american progress,Clean Tech,Climate Change,climate policy,Climate Progress,Green Jobs,Greenpeace,joe romm,Renewable Energy,Sustainable Innovation,Sustainable Public Policy The Waxman-Markey Climate Bill is making its way through Congress, and stirring up controversy within the environmental movement between those who support it as a necessary first step, and those who think it's fatally flawed. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/joeromm-140x150.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/carrollmuffett-150x150.jpg) The Waxman-Markey Climate Bill (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.+2454:) is making its way through Congress, and stirring up controversy within the environmental movement between those who support it as a necessary first step, and those who think it's fatally flawed.  Sea Change Radio talks with both sides.  Joe Romm (http://climateprogress.org/about/), editor of the ClimateProgress.org (http://climateprogress.org/) blog and a senior fellow (http://www.americanprogressaction.org/experts/RommJoseph.html) at the Center for American Progress, favors passing the Bill.  Carroll Muffett (http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/carroll_muffett) of Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/) says the bill fails to address key issues in solving the climate crisis. HR 2454: The American Clean Energy and Security Act (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02454:). A draft (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090331/acesa_discussiondraft.pdf) of the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, as it's better known, was released by the Energy and Commerce Committee on March 31st (http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1560). Greenpeace immediately greeted it as a “good first step, but improvements needed (http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/releases2/waxman-markey-bill-a-good-firs).” ClimateProgress blogger Joe Romm agreed, grading the bill a B+ (http://climateprogress.org/2009/03/31/waxman-markey-energy-global-warming-bill/). By the time the Bill came out of Committee (http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1630:energy-and-commerce-committee-passes-comprehensive-clean-energy-legislation&catid=122:media-advisories&Itemid=55), however, it had undergone significant changes – changes that Greenpeace (and a broad coalition of environmental organizations (http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/releases2/broad-coalition-criticizes-cli)) lambasted for “failing to impose necessary reductions (http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/releases2/climate-change-legislation-fai)” And Romm downgraded the Bill to a B- (http://climateprogress.org/2009/05/13/waxman-markey-deal-renewables/). Despite the Bill’s flaws, though, Romm supports it, and criticized Greenpeace (http://climateprogress.org/2009/05/17/greenpeace-attack-waxman-markey-european-trading-scheme/) for its attacks on the Bill. Sea Change Radio spoke first with Joe Romm.  The conversation started with discussion of the problems in the Bill.  Despite these problems, Romm considers passage of the Bill essential for solving the climate crisis.  He sees US climate policy as a multi-stage process, with this Bill as a starting point.  As climate science gets stronger, future emissions reduction targets can be strengthened.  Romm also discusses the role of emissions allocations, defending the shift from a regime of 100 percent auction of allocations as promised by Barack Obama on the campaign trail to a percentage of free allocations. Romm and other supporters of the Waxman Markey bill argue that the first order of business is to get the knobs in place that can then be ratcheted up in the future to tighten controls on greenhouse gas emisisons. They say, if we spend all of our time arguing over what the settings are, we'll never get the knobs on the climate console. Romm is no starry-eyed optimist, however.  Even if the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill becomes law, he predicts a mere 10 to 20 percent of averting disaster.  He says that "the human race does not have many examples of instances where the world collectively got together and transformed itself before something bad happened." To hear the complete interview with Romm, click here (http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/joe-romm-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/). Bill Baue clean 29:41 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/carroll-muffett-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/carroll-muffett-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:57:07 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=926 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/carroll-muffett-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/feed/ 1 Clean Tech,Climate Change,Renewable Energy,Sustainable Innovation,Sustainable Public Policy Sea Change's complete interview with Carroll Muffett of Greenpeace on the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/carrollmuffett1-150x150.jpg)Sea Change's complete interview with Carroll Muffett of Greenpeace on the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill. Bill Baue clean 20:39 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/joe-romm-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/joe-romm-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:53:15 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=922 http://www.cchange.net/2009/06/03/joe-romm-on-waxman-markey-climate-bill/feed/ 1 Clean Tech,Climate Change,Renewable Energy,Sustainable Innovation,Sustainable Public Policy Sea Change's complete interview with Joe Romm of Climate Progress. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/joeromm1-140x150.jpg)Sea Change's complete interview with Joe Romm of Climate Progress. Bill Baue clean 24:48 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/27/justice-in-the-environment/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/27/justice-in-the-environment/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 22:01:04 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=890 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/27/justice-in-the-environment/feed/ 0 corporate governance,human rights,interfaith center on corporate responsibility,jim boyce,leslie lowe,political economy research institute,Shareholder Engagement,Sustainable Public Policy,toxics release inventory Jim Boyce of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst talks about the new report, Justice in the Air.  It looks at EPA data showing that the toxins spewing from company smokestacks hit minorities and... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/jimboyce-136x150.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/leslielowe-143x150.jpg) Jim Boyce (http://www.peri.umass.edu/PERI-Staff.211.0.html#c121) of the Political Economy Research Institute (http://www.peri.umass.edu/) (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst talks about the new report, Justice in the Air (http://www.peri.umass.edu/justice/).  It looks at EPA data showing that the toxins spewing from company smokestacks hit minorities and the poor hardest.  And Leslie Lowe (http://www.iccr.org/about/staff/staff11_ll.php) of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (http://www.iccr.org/) talks about Chevron's refusal to disclose the $27 billion liability it faces in a court case happening in the Amazonian rainforests of Ecuador.  The company is accused of dumping toxic oil byproducts from years of drilling, damaging the environment and the health of residents. Sea Change Radio Co-Host Bill Baue recently spoke with Justice in the Air lead author Jim Boyce in the WMUA (http://www.wmua.org/) studios at the University of Massachusetts.  Boyce explains how the  report builds on PERI's work in the Corporate Toxics Information Project (http://www.peri.umass.edu/ctip_research/) for the past several years compiling the Toxic 100 (http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic100/) -- the top 100 corporate air polluters in the US.  This year, with the help of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (http://college.usc.edu/geography/ESPE/pere.html) at the University of Southern California, the project added an environmental justice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_justice) component, looking at the impact of pollution on the poor, and people of color.   Boyce distinguishes between environmental justice and traditional environmentalism, which does not take social justice or racism into account.  He also explains how the report slices and dices the data by race and income, as well as by state and municipalities.  He also discusses the "TRI Effect (http://books.google.com/books?id=ovijnnKLw_0C&dq=James+T.+Hamilton,+'Regulation+through+Revelation&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=Z60dSqGNMoi0NZD6pcQF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPP1,M1)" (referring to the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (http://www.epa.gov/TRI/)), where the very act of disclosure leads to companies reducing their toxic emissions without further regulation -- though he acknowledges the limits of this effect, and therefore the need for stronger regulation. Leslie Lowe runs the energy and environment program at ICCR, a coalition of 300 faith-based institutional investors with over $100 billion in assets that conducts shareowner action.  In other words, they talk with companies on improving environmental, social, and governance performance.  And when talks stall, they file shareowner resolutions, airing the issue at annual shareholder meetings.  Almost a half-decade ago, Bill Baue interviewed Leslie for a series of articles (http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/1681.html) on Chevron failing to disclose to investors the risks it faces from a lawsuit over environmental and human health damages in the Ecuadorian rainforest (Chevron issued a statement (http://www.texaco.com/sitelets/ecuador/en/releases/2005-04-25.aspx) responding to this article on its website (http://www.texaco.com/sitelets/ecuador/en/) on the Ecuador case.)   Bill Baue caught up with Lowe on the day Chevron hosted its annual general meeting, where it faced a resolution (http://trilliuminvest.com/resolutions/stockholder-proposal-report-on-global-environmental-standards/) asking it to disclose more information on the risks it faces from this lawsuit. She provides background (http://chevrontoxico.com/) on the case before discussing more recent developments (http://truecostofchevron.com/report.html), such as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sending a letter to Chevron Bill Baue clean 29:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/20/mining-for-disclosure/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/20/mining-for-disclosure/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 18:35:21 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=881 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/20/mining-for-disclosure/feed/ 0 Arvind Ganesan,Bennett Freeman,calvert,EITI,human rights,Human Rights Watch,oxfam america,Sustainable Public Policy The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or EITI, is the focus of today's show.  First, we hear from Bennett Freeman, who serves on the EITI board.  Then, we hear from Arvind Ganesan of Human Rights Watch, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bennett-freeman-125x150.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/arvind_ganesan_web-150x150.jpg) The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (http://eitransparency.org/), or EITI, is the focus of today's show.  First, we hear from Bennett Freeman (http://www.calvertgroup.com/about-sri-analysts.html), who serves (http://eitransparency.org/node/208) on the EITI board (http://eitransparency.org/about/board).  Then, we hear from Arvind Ganesan (http://www.hrw.org/en/bios/arvind-ganesan) of Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/), who shares some concerns about EITI with Sea Change Radio Co-Host Bill Baue. The "resource curse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse)."  That's the term for "developing" countries whose wealth of natural resources fuels corruption.  Oil and mining companies from developed countries pay taxes and other fees that are intended to help governments lift their citizens out of poverty.  But some of these payments are siphoned into private pockets -- essentially amounting to bribes. That's where the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative comes in.  At the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development (http://www.un.org/events/wssd/) in Johannesburg, South Africa, then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled (http://eitransparency.org/eiti/history) EITI as a way to combat corruption.  The initiative calls for companies to “publish what you pay” and for governments to “publish what you earn.”  Any differences between the two point to corruption. On May 15, the EITI board met in Washington, DC, where President Obama's Deputy Assistant Michael Froman reported that  "the Obama Administration strongly supports EITI (http://eitransparency.org/node/765)."  At that meeting, Albania, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Zambia were accepted as EITI Candidates. At the EITI Global Conference in February, Azerbaijan was the first (and still only) country accepted as EITI compliant (http://eitransparency.org/node/727), meaning it has passed a validation assuring it meets transparency standards. Between these two meetings, Sea Change Radio spoke with Bennett Freeman.  He's Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy at Calvert, the socially responsible mutual fund firm.  He also serves on the board of Oxfam America (http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whoweare/welcome_to_oxfam/board), as well as the board of EITI.  He has deep experience on business and human rights.  Freeman served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/) in the State Department under Bill Clinton.  After that, he wrote one of the first-ever Human Rights Impact Assessments (http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/indonesia/STAGING/home_assets/downloads/h/Tangguh_HRIA.pdf), for the oil company BP. Freeman discusses the significance of the recent disclosure by mining company Rio Tinto of its payments to countries where it operates (http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/en/resources/rio-tinto-takes-step-towards-transparency-publishing-payments-governments).  Publish What You Pay (http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/), a UK-based NGO that spurred the whole extractives transparency movement, applauded Rio Tinto while also pushing for deeper disclosure. Freeman also discusses the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act (http://financialservices.house.gov/press110/press051908.shtml) (EITDA), proposed last year by Barney Frank (D-MA) in the House (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h6066:) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in the Senate (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN03389:).  Freeman says that the bill will be re-introduced this spring, and has greater chance of passage in the current political climate.  This legislation highlights the tension in the world of corporate responsibility between voluntary initiatives, such as EITI, and mandatory standards, such as the EITDA. Bill Baue clean 28:31 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/13/prescription-for-single-payer-health-care/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/13/prescription-for-single-payer-health-care/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 21:06:03 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=860 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/13/prescription-for-single-payer-health-care/feed/ 2 baucus eight,massachusetts nurses association,Physicians for a National Health Program,Quentin Young,single payer health care,Sustainable Public Policy Sea Change Radio Co-Host Francesca Rheannon speaks with Dr. Quentin Young, pioneer in the movement get America a universal single payer health care plan.  And Sandy Eaton of the Massachusetts Nurses Association explains why he's for single payer in tod... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/young-obama.jpg) Sea Change Radio Co-Host Francesca Rheannon speaks with Dr. Quentin Young (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Young), pioneer in the movement get America a universal single payer health care (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-payer_health_care) plan.  And Sandy Eaton of the Massachusetts Nurses Association (http://www.massnurses.org/) explains why he's for single payer in today's Sea Change ViewPoint. The US spends more than twice as much as the other industrialized nations for health care. But it ranks 37th in health outcomes, like longevity, infant mortality,  and preventable chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. 45 million Americans have no health insurance at all and about the same number have insurance that's woefully inadequate. Today we look at single payer health care -- or Medicare for all -- as the solution to this problem. After being largely ignored by the press, it's finally made it to the headlines. On May 5, eight advocates for single payer health care were arrested (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncb58qnDyxs ) at what had been billed as a "Roundtable Discussion on Expanding Health Care Coverage" (http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing050509.html) before the Senate Finance Committee. They politely asked committee chairman Max Baucus the question: "Will you allow an advocate for a national single-payer health plan to have a seat at the table?" Instead of answering them, Baucus called for the police to arrest them. And on May 13, five more were arrested at the Committee hearings, where 13 witnesses were invited to testify -- not one a single payer advocate. Three of the advocates arrested on May 5 were doctors. Our guest is another doctor at the forefront of the movement for single payer -- the distinguished physician Quentin Young.  He was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s personal physician when King was in Chicago. And President Barack Obama was a patient in Dr. Young's medical group -- and a personal friend of the doctor. In addition to his 60 years in medical practice, Quentin Young has been a national leader in public health policy and medical and social justice issues. He's been President of the American Public Health Association (http://www.apha.org/) and was a founder of the Health & Medicine Policy Research Group (http://hmprg.org/). And he's National Coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program (http://www.pnhp.org/ ), which includes 10,000 doctors who support single payer. Medicare continues to be under assault: the prescription drug plan is expensive for seniors but a cash cow for Big Pharma. And medicare premiums go up, while the federal government subsidizes private Medicare HMO plans--called Medicare Plus. Quentin Young says, it's all a sign of how politicans have sold out the needs of the American people to corporate interests. Like the Massachusetts plan, the proposed federal plan would cover insurance for poor people and subsidize insurance for people who make up to 3 times the poverty rate. Those who make over that amount must pay the full cost. Francesca ended by asking Quentin Young whether he thinks the health care access crisis is a threat to sustainability, in the sense of preserving the health of succeeding generations... Bill Baue clean 29:29 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/13/viewpoint-nurses-for-sustainable-healthcare/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/13/viewpoint-nurses-for-sustainable-healthcare/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 21:05:29 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=874 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/13/viewpoint-nurses-for-sustainable-healthcare/feed/ 0 baucus eight,massachusetts nurses association,max baucus,medicare for all,sandy eaton,single payer health care,Sustainable Public Policy   It's National Nurse's Week. Commentator Sandy Eaton, RN -- the Massachusetts Nurses Association representative to MassCare, the Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer -- shares his thoughts on what nurses want for their patients. -   It's National Nurse's Week. Commentator Sandy Eaton, RN -- the Massachusetts Nurses Association representative to MassCare, the Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer -- shares his thoughts on what nurses want for their patients. Nurses advocate for our patients. That's what we do. We do it in clinical practice. And we do it through political action. When our delegation met with Senator John Kerry's aide in Washington recently, one of our members told of a patient who fell through the cracks of our Massachusetts healthcare system. Due to copays and deductibles, he could afford prescribed medications or food. He chose food -- and wound up in critical condition in the Emergency Department. He died there. Nurses know that health care in this country requires a thorough recasting. Nurses know that health care must be treated as a human right, not as a market commodity. We know that we must tackle access, affordability and quality together, or we'll wind up with what we have now in Massachusetts, something that's not universal, not sustainable, and not fair.  A few weeks ago I spoke to a roomful of nurses in Portland, Maine about our decades-long struggle in Massachusetts to create a just healthcare system. I related our long list of partial reforms, as well as the crucial campaigns that so far been thwarted by the vested interests of the insurance and hospital industries, enabled by corrupted politicians. I talked about our campaign to amend the state constitution to proclaim health care a right, not a privilege. I talked about our long hard fight to enact legislation placing an enforceable limit on the number of acutely ill patients a nurse may care for at one time. Both of these initiatives were killed in the name of the Massachusetts plan.  When I concluded my remarks, a Maine nurse raised her hand to ask when we were moving on to civil disobedience. Ironically, eight days later eight activists for single-payer, universal health care rose one by one in the chamber of the Senate Finance Committee to demand a seat at the table for Medicare-for-all advocates. One by one they were arrested, and now the Baucus Eight face up to six months in jail for speaking truth to power.  This year Nurses' Week culminates with nurses in Washington spending Florence Nightingale's birthday pounding on the door demanding admittance for advocates of healthcare justice. As I speak, nurses led by the California Nurses Association and its National Nurses Organizing Committee are joining with hundreds from many states and other organizations. They're rallying at the US Capitol for the single payer solution, Medicare for All. They want patient safety measures like enforceable limits on patient loads. They want a ban on mandatory overtime. And they want Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, a measure that would greatly enhance the power of nurses and other workers to counter industry greed. What's good for nurses is good for patients, too. It's time to make health care serve people, not corporate greed. For the Sea Change Viewpoint, I'm Sandy Eaton, RN of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Bill Baue clean 4:00 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/community-governance/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/community-governance/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 19:35:37 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=840 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/community-governance/feed/ 0 Community Economic Engagement,community governance,corporate governance,Fair Trade,Fair Trade Towns,Green Living,human rights,jessie smith noyes foundation,Labor Rights,Local Living Economies,Shareholder Engagement,southwest organizing project Longtime shareowner activist Steve Viederman discusses the notion of community governance, where communities reclaim democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces.  Exemplifying community governance is the Fair Trad... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/steveviederman-150x150.jpg)Longtime shareowner activist Steve Viederman (http://www.sustainability.com/about/profile.asp?id=84) discusses the notion of community governance, where communities reclaim democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces.  Exemplifying community governance is the Fair Trade Towns (http://www.fairtradetownsusa.org/) movement, where communities commit to supporting Fair Trade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade) commodities such as coffee and cocoa.  We speak about Fair Trade Towns and World Fair Trade Day (http://www.worldfairtradeday09.org/) with Amherst Fair Trade Partnership (http://www.myspace.com/amherstfairtrade) Chair Yuri Friman and Bart's Cafe (http://www.bartshomemade.com/greenfield.htm) owner Al Sax, who is coordinating the launch of the fourth Fair Trade Town here in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Valley) where we produce Sea Change Radio.  And finally, this week's ViewPoint comes from Liana Foxvog of SweatFree Communities (http://www.sweatfree.org/) on its latest report, Subsidizing Sweatshops II, which identifies how communities can advocate for their state and local governments to avoid buying products such as firefighter uniforms produced in sweatshop conditions. In November 2008, Steve Viederman met with some of the best community organizers in the country at the the South by Southwest Learning Continuum: Southern Echo (http://southernecho.org/s/) from Jackson, Mississippi; Southwest Workers Union (http://www.swunion.org/) (SWU) from San Antonio, Texas; and SouthWest Organizing Project (http://www.swopblogger.org/) (SWOP) from Albuquerque, New Mexico.    "Community governance" was the buzz -- in other words, communities reclaiming democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces.   As longtime president of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation (http://www.noyes.org/), Viederman helped steer grants to community organizations working to empower citizens and protect their local environment.  For example, the Noyes Foundation helped SWOP engage with Intel (http://www.noyes.org/97pres.html) over environmental issues such as water use and toxics in its New Mexico chip manufacturing facility.  On a recent visit to his grandchildren, Viederman stopped by the studios to chat about community governance. Among other things, he distinguished between communities as stakeholders, the current terminology, and stakeowners, the term Viederman proposes as a more accurate description of communities' rights and responsibilities.   (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fairtradetown-150x150.jpg)Next, there's a movement afoot for communities to use their collective consumer power to promote Fair Trade, which sets a fair price for commodities like coffee and cocoa and deals directly with worker cooperatives to empower growers globally.  Fair Trade Towns is gaining steam in the US, particularly here in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts where we produce Sea Change Radio.  To find out more, we invited Yuri Friman, Chair of the Amherst Fair Trade Partnership, and Al Sax, who's helping launch Greenfield as the fourth Fair Trade Town in the Valley, into the studio. Bill Baue clean 29:31 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/viewpoint-communities-going-sweat-free/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/viewpoint-communities-going-sweat-free/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 19:34:25 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=847 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/viewpoint-communities-going-sweat-free/feed/ 0 human rights,Labor Rights,Liana Foxvog,Local Living Economies,Sustainable Business,Sustainable Public Policy,SweatFree Communities,sweatshops Currently, communities are unwittingly supporting sweatshop labor when state and local governments use tax dollars to buy things such as firefighter uniforms.  Liana Foxvog, National Organizer of the advocacy organization SweatFree Communities, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/lianafoxvog.jpg)Currently, communities are unwittingly supporting sweatshop labor when state and local governments use tax dollars to buy things such as firefighter uniforms.  Liana Foxvog, National Organizer of the advocacy organization SweatFree Communities (http://www.sweatfree.org/), discusses findings of Subsidizing Sweatshops II (http://www.sweatfree.org/subsidizing), the latest research on sweatshops perpetuated by government contracts. Guillermo Cosajay works in a garment factory making apparel for the government. When his vision started going blurry, he didn’t know why. Then he looked at his glasses and saw they were covered with oil. But the glasses weren’t keeping the oil out of his eyes. Cosajay told researchers from SweatFree Communities, “The thread uses lots of oil. So when you are working, there is a part of the machine that shoots oil into your eyes.” Guillermo brought this issue to several supervisors, but to no avail. A new report by Sweat Free Communities, Subsidizing Sweatshops II, shines a light on workers' rights violations in seven factories like the one Cosajay works in. It also looks at how our tax dollars can foster workers' rights --and economic recovery-- rather than fuel the race to the bottom. A previous exposé last summer profiled four of the same factories. Since the first report (http://www.sweatfree.org/subsidizing1), the stock market crashed. That's brought increased attention to jobs and insecurity. But, long before news of the crisis hit the airwaves, most of the world’s population had been experiencing a quieter, less-publicized economic crisis. The workers we interviewed face a daily crisis. Families can't make ends meet on their wages. They go to work sick because they can't afford to lose a day’s pay.  People are fired and blacklisted when they try to organize. Workers are laid off--often without warning or adequate severance pay--when factories move for cheaper labor. The collapse on Wall Street only made things go from already bad to worse. Companies tell workers that they should be happy to have a job-- and never mind about the poor conditions. Guillermo Portalatin, a worker at Eagle Industries, who makes Army and law enforcement apparel, said: “The workers have a lot of fear because of the economic situation. The company takes advantage of that. They told us recently not to listen to radios, and when somebody asked for a raise, the supervisor said we were lucky to be working.” Portalatin and Cosajay don’t work in a third world sweatshop. They work in Massachusetts. Ongoing SweatFree Communities’ research shows that a family of four with two adults working at the factory make only 60-65% of a living wage. The company’s family health insurance plan costs 80% of their monthly earnings, so workers don’t buy into it. Workers say that time-keeping and surveillance create an uncomfortable work environment. They told us of incidents of favoritism, sexual harassment, ethnic discrimination, and monitoring of union supporters. In addition to shooting oil, health and safety concerns include heat exhaustion and fainting, accidents involving forklifts hitting sewing machine operators, and cuts from sharp material. Equally concerning is management’s unresponsiveness to workers' requests for safety equipment and improvements in the working environment. Workers at Eagle and many other factories are organizing for a seat at the negotiating table with management. Tax-payers can act in solidarity with workers by asking state and local officials to adopt sweatshop-free procurement laws and join the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium (http://buysweatfree.org/). Those actions will help ensure that our tax dollars no longer subsidize sweatshop conditions--and instead provide incentives for companies to improve conditions and respect workers' rights. For the Sea Change ViewPoint, I’m Liana Foxvog of SweatFree Communities. Bill Baue clean 3:47 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/30/the-green-jobs-debate/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/30/the-green-jobs-debate/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:22:23 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=824 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/30/the-green-jobs-debate/feed/ 1 bob pollin,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,david johnson,Green Jobs,Green Living,greenbiz,Labor Rights,marc gunther,Renewable Energy,Sustainable Innovation,Sustainable Public Policy Green jobs are all the talk nowadays, which has predictably led to healthy debate.  On today's Sea Change Radio, Co-Host Francesca Rheannon talks with GreenBiz Senior Writer Marc Gunther about his controversial article, "The Phony Green Jobs Debate. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/marcgunther1.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bobpollin.jpg)Green jobs are all the talk nowadays, which has predictably led to healthy debate.  On today's Sea Change Radio, Co-Host Francesca Rheannon talks with GreenBiz Senior Writer Marc Gunther about his controversial article, "The Phony Green Jobs Debate."  Bob Pollin of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, author of a report criticized by Gunther, responds.  To end the show, Rhennon speaks with David Johnson about Transition Towns. When Sea Change Radio -- under our old name Corporate Watchdog Radio -- talked with economist Bob Pollin about the report he co-authored, Green Recovery – A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy, he said that a $100 billion green economic recovery program would create two million jobs nationwide in such industries as building retrofitting, mass transit and freight rail, smart grid, wind power, solar power and advanced biofuels.  But environmental economics reporter Marc Gunther, formerly of FORTUNE magazine, thinks these claims may be downplaying the costs of transitioning to the green economy, especially the toll it may take on employment in conventional energy sectors. Gunther thinks the environmental movement needs to level with the public -- and he's gotten some flack from environmentalists for the recent Phony Green Jobs Debate article. After Marc Gunther posted the article, Pollin wrote him to dispute Gunther's claim that we can't forecast the costs to the economy of shifting employment to green jobs. Gunther published Pollin's comments and replied to them . After hearing this ad from the Blue-Green Alliance on green jobs, we talk with both Marc Gunther and Bob Pollin about the costs and benefits to jobs of the transition to a green economy. QUESTION TO LISTENERS: What most motivates you to make changes in your carbon footprint: fear of the long term consequences of climate change or economic benefits right now? Tweet us with your answer @cchange. Or leave a longer answer in our comment section. Transition Towns: As some ponder the role of government investment in creating green jobs, others aren't waiting for government to provide the stimulus for the transition to a low-carbon society. They are joining a grassroots movement called Transition Towns . Featured in the April 16 issue of the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Transition Towns was started in the UK four years ago by ecological designer Rob Hopkins. The Transition Towns (TT) movement isn't about creating a more sustainable industrial, globalized society. Rather, it's about building resilient communities in the face of the shock of declining oil supplies, climate disruption, and the unraveling of industrial society as a result. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/davidjohnson.jpg) TT's goal is to put new systems in place to make local communities as self-sufficient as possible. It's process is to marshall the collective wisdom of those communities in an on-going, democratic, self-organizing evolution. And it focuses on practical efforts that can be accomplished now, but also help set up the conditions for a more profound transformation in the future. One example is the mass planting of nut trees in the small British town of Totnes--which now is the so-called nut tree capital of the world.  Recently, TT trainers came to Amherst, MA to put on an awareness raising workshop for people interested in making their own community a Transition Town. Sea Change Radio spoke with TT trainer David Johnson. He got involved in the TT movement in his native Britain, but has moved to Portland OR to help build the movement there.   Bill Baue clean 28:36 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/22/phoenix-economy-rising/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/22/phoenix-economy-rising/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:47:33 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=796 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/22/phoenix-economy-rising/feed/ 0 Alternative Economic Models,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,john elkington,karen ribeiro,phoenix economy,Social Entrepreneurs,Sustainable Business,Sustainable Public Policy,terry mollner,triple bottom line,william spademan Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon speak with green business guru John Elkington about the new Phoenix Economy report.  And Sea Change members join in the conversation with Elkington in the second half of the show for the first ... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/johnelkington1-150x150.jpg) (http://stage.volans.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/thephoenixeconomy-201x300.jpg)Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon speak with green business guru John Elkington (http://www.johnelkington.com/) about the new Phoenix Economy report.  And Sea Change members join in the conversation with Elkington in the second half of the show for the first Sea Change Radio RoundTable.  In this feature, we host a sustainability expert fielding questions from Sea Change members -- this time featuring Calvert Social Funds (http://www.calvertgroup.com/) Founding Boardmember (http://www.calvertgroup.com/about-board-of-trustees.html#social) and Ben & Jerry's (http://www.benjerry.com/) Boardmember Terry Mollner, Ener-G-Save (http://www.ener-g-save.org/) Executive Director Karen Ribeiro, and Common Good Finance (http://commongoodbank.com/) President William Spademan. The Phoenix.  In myth, this bird would build a pyre on which to burn itself and then re-emerge from its ashes.  Volans (http://www.volans.com/), the new venture founded by John Elkington, borrows this imagery to symbolize the current economic meltdown -- and potential re-incarnation into a more sustainable economic order.  Today, we speak with John Elkington about the Phoenix Economy report from his offices in the UK.  Elkington coined the term triple bottom line, referring to people, planet , and profits, and he founded the sustainable development consultancy and think tank SustainAbility (http://www.sustainability.com/) in 1987.  BusinessWeek called him the "dean of the corporate responsibility movement."  Baue started by asking him to describe the notion behind the Phoenix Economy.  He later asks Elkington to distinguish between the Phoenix Economy and the Chrysalis Economy (http://www.amazon.com/Chrysalis-Economy-Citizen-Corporations-Creation/dp/1841121428), the name of his 2001 book.   Elkington also serves on the Sea Change Advisory Board (http://www.cchange.net/advisory-board/), and agreed to participate in the first Roundtable with Sea Change members posing questions of sustainability experts in the second half of the show. Bill Baue clean 28:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/15/wangari-maathai-peace-and-environmental-justice-taking-root/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/15/wangari-maathai-peace-and-environmental-justice-taking-root/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:31:09 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=779 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/15/wangari-maathai-peace-and-environmental-justice-taking-root/feed/ 1 Alan Dater,Alternative Economic Models,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,Green Jobs,Green Living,lisa merton,Local Living Economies,marlboro college graduate school,nobel peace prize,Renewable Energy,Social Entrepreneurs Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue of Sea Change host an intimate chat with Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai about the links between environmental justice, women's empowerment, democratic governance, and sustainability at the Marlboro College Graduate Scho... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lisamertonalandater-150x133.jpg) (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wangarimaathaifrancescabill21-150x130.jpg)Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue of Sea Change host an intimate chat with Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2004/press.html) about the links between environmental justice, women's empowerment, democratic governance, and sustainability at the Marlboro College Graduate School (http://gradcenter.marlboro.edu/), where Baue teaches.  Maathai is touring (http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/events.php) the US promoting her new book, (http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Africa-Wangari-Maathai/dp/0307377407), as well as the documentary, TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (http://takingrootfilm.com/index.htm).  In the second half of the show, Rheannon and Baue speak with the filmmakers, Alan Dater and Lisa Merton (http://takingrootfilm.com/production-team.htm) of Marlboro Productions (http://www.marlboroproductions.com/index.html). In her native Kenya, Wangari Maathai saw that deforestation was devastating the environment. Good arable land was eroding, streams were getting polluted or drying up and the women had to go further to find ever-scarcer firewood. So in 1977, she founded the grassroots Green Belt Movement (http://greenbeltmovement.org/index.php). Over the past 32 years, it's planted 35 million trees, bringing back whole ecosystems with it and revitalizing villages. The program has been carried out mainly by women in those villages. By hiring them to plant the trees, it gave them the means to care for their children and protect their environment. The corrupt regime of Daniel Arap Moi sought to stop her, arresting her numerous times and even jailing her. In 1991 she was beaten while planting trees on public lands and suffered a head injury. But she fought on and earned world acclaim for her actions and her courage. In 2004 Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” She's in the US to promote her new book, CHALLENGE FOR AFRICA and a new film about her, TAKING ROOT, which aired recently on the PBS program, Independent Lens (http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/takingroot/index.html). Taking a break from her tour of major cities, Wangari Maathai visited the filmmakers near their home in Vermont for a public talk.  Sea Change Co-Hosts Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue  sat down for an intimate chat with Wangari Maathai at the Marlboro College Graduate School, where Baue teaches. The story of Wangari Maathai, and the Green Belt Movement, is captured vividly in the documentary, TAKING ROOT.  The film won a bunch of awards in 2008.  Rheannon and Baue spoke with filmmakers Alan Dater and Lisa Merton of Marlboro Productions from their home studios.  The interview started with the question, what inspired them to tell the story of Wangari Maathai's vision in film? Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/08/closing-the-climate-feedback-loop-with-everyday-citizen-opinions/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/08/closing-the-climate-feedback-loop-with-everyday-citizen-opinions/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:58:53 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=759 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/08/closing-the-climate-feedback-loop-with-everyday-citizen-opinions/feed/ 2 Alternative Economic Models,Carrick McCullough,Clean Tech,Climate Change,Colin McCullough,Community Economic Engagement,corporate governance,Green Jobs,Green Living,Lars Klüver,nell minow,OurRenewableNation Lars Klüver of the Danish Board of Technology talks about the World Wide Views on Global Warming project he directs that will gather opinions of everyday citizens in 45 countries globally in September 2009 to feed into negotiations at the United Nation... Lars Klüver (http://www.tekno.dk/subpage.php3?page=sekretariatet/person.php3&toppic=om_os&id=1&language=dk) of the Danish Board of Technology (http://www.tekno.dk/subpage.php3?page=forside.php3&language=uk) talks about the World Wide Views on Global Warming (http://www.tekno.dk/subpage.php3?article=1497&toppic=kategori11&language=uk&category=11) project he directs that will gather opinions of everyday citizens in 45 countries globally in September 2009 to feed into negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (http://en.cop15.dk/) (COP15) in Copenhagen in December 2009.  And Colin and Carrick McCullough of OurRenewableNation.org (http://www.ourrenewablenation.org/index.htm) talk about their "cross-country eco-video adventure" where they will visit, video, and interview folks advancing sustainability solutions -- as well as everyday folks on their thoughts about climate change and this shift toward renewable energy.  Finally, this week's Sea Change ViewPoint comes from Nell Minow (http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/info.php?id=62) of The Corporate Library (http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/) with commentary on first steps on toxic assets. Last year at a monthly get-together here in Amherst, Sea Change Co-Host Bill Baue met Dick Sclove, and the two chatted over a beer or two.  Sclove worked for years with a nonprofit that coordinated community consultations around the world, and now he's senior advisor to World Wide Views on Global Warming.  That's an initiative spearheaded by the Danish Board of Technology to gather input to COP15 -- the United Nations Conference on Climate Change happening in  Copenhagen in December 2009.  WWV is coordinating community consultation meetings in 45 countries two months before the conference to gather opinions from everyday citizens on what kinds of climate change policy they'd like to see enacted at COP15.  Baue recently spoke with WWV director Lars Klüver from his office in Denmark. Klüver has agreed to coordinate with Sea Change Radio to cover the events of September 26, and continue following up with interviews of WWV participants around the world. On the day of producing this episode of Sea Change Radio, the New York Times ran an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/business/energy-environment/08greenoil.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper) on big oil companies expressing skepticism about the shift to renewable energy.  On the other end of the spectrum, the McCullough family is full of optimism.  They're gearing up to embark on what they're calling a "cross-country eco-video adventure" to visit, video, and interview folks working hard to make the transition to  renewable energy a reality -- no matter what big oil says.  They're heading out from central Massachusetts in early May, and you can follow their progress on the web at OurRenewableNation.org (http://www.ourrenewablenation.org/index.htm).  Sea Change Radio Co-Host Bill Baue spoke with Colin and his nine-year-old son Carrick, who has been nominated for the President's Environmental Youth Award (http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya/index.html). The McCulloughs have agreed to send dispatches from the road to Sea Change Radio with interviews of folks working on renewable energy and everyday folks' views on how to tackle climate change. Bill Baue clean