Yearly Archives: 2013

Empowered By Light + California’s Lone Wolf

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MoiraHanesJoeDonnellyToday’s show starts off in Zambia. Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 billion people do not have access to electricity. In Zambia more than 80% of the population has no access to electricity according to the World Bank. It has been shown that providing access to power can be tremendously beneficial to people’s education, their health and their livelihood.

Our first guest on Sea Change Radio this week is Moira Hanes, who describes what her relatively small nonprofit, Empowered By Light, is doing to try to change this big problem, harnessing solar power in sun-drenched areas like sub-Saharan Africa.

Next, we come back to California where, after 80 years of extinction, a lone wolf has appeared in the Golden State. Author Joe Donnelly recounts the tale of California’s lone wolf who wandered in from Oregon and unwittingly raised a controversy between environmental groups who want to protect the possible resurgence of wolves in California, and ranchers and others who don’t.

Green For All: Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

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livestream-logoPhaedraEllisLamkinsPolitical opponents of the green movement have been depressingly successful not only in attacking the facts that underpin the struggle, but in knocking down some of its most eloquent and powerful figures, relegating to the margins what should be a universal concern: a healthy world that can be sustained into the future.

Our guest today on Sea Change Radio is Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, one of those eloquent and powerful figures. In spite of personal attacks from those who would silence her, Ms. Ellis-Lamkins perseveres in the fight to nurture a green economy that helps to empower traditionally disenfranchised communities.

Picking up where Van Jones left off, Ms. Ellis-Lamkins is the chief executive officer of Green for All, which works to promote the green economy through policy advocacy, networking, engagement of the business community, and by mentoring a new generation of environmentalists of color. She talks about the challenges of breaking into a field dominated by white, middle-class men, how issues of urban poverty and the environment are inextricably tied, and what needs to happen to change the “makers and takers” narrative that pits ideological rhetoric against our shared need for global health.

Beyond Oil: Michael Marx on Tar Sands and Pipelines

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MichaelMarx2113212191_9e8cf0ddef_qMost of the time when we hear about “bureaucratic delays” it is with a sigh and a moan (especially this week when the Federal government is almost completely shut down). But when it comes to the Keystone XL Pipeline, a bureaucratic delay is a welcome reprieve for the activists and environmental groups fighting the controversial plan to build a pipeline that would transport tar sands crude oil from Canada through the US.

This week on Sea Change Radio, host Alex Wise speaks with Michael Marx, the Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Oil campaign. They discuss the new economics of tar sands oil, the options for the petroleum industry if the Keystone is blocked, and how the fight over the pipeline has helped to energize groups like his.

Jeff Orlowski: Chasing Ice

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"Chasing Ice" director, Jeff Orlowski, Greenland Ice Sheet, June 2009ChasingIce_smThe acclaimed documentary film Chasing Ice chronicles the work of photographer and environmentalist James Balog, who has been at the forefront of documenting earth’s melting polar ice cap. This week on Sea Change Radio, we hear from the film’s director, Jeff Orlowski, who started out as a part of Balog’s team and eventually assumed the role of documenting the documenter.

We learn about the difficulties of filming in some of the most remote places on earth, as well as the contradictory feelings that Balog and the other members of the Extreme Ice Survey felt while capturing these beautiful yet tragic earth-changing events.

The War on Empathy: Marion Nestle and George Lakoff

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MarionNestleGeorgeLakoffRemember when President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, and “empathy” was transformed by some political commentators into a dirty word? This week on Sea Change Radio, we talk to two giants in their respective fields who think empathy is probably pretty important, especially when it comes to policy.

First, host Alex Wise talks to Marion Nestle, a noted nutritionist and author whose latest book digs into the power of cartoons to drive home complex arguments for fighting food insecurity issues in this country. Next, progressive linguist extraordinaire George Lakoff discusses how liberals need to improve their messaging to convince people that policies that help people are actually a good idea.

Chris Whittier: Cousins In The Mist

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ChrisWhittier8384792838_4350289870_qIn 1988 a Hollywood movie called Gorillas in the Mist depicted the work of the noted primatologist Dian Fossey and brought well-warranted attention to the plight of the mountain gorilla. In the intervening years, the story of how the mountain gorilla has been saved from extinction has been a prominent narrative for the animal conservation movement. But we haven’t heard much lately about the mountain gorilla. And what of its close relative the lowland gorilla, which is much more numerous than its mountain brethren, and is facing its own threats to survival?

This week on Sea Change Radio, we learn about the state of the world’s gorilla population from Chris Whittier, a professor of veterinary medicine at Tufts University and a Veterinary Medical Officer at the Smithsonian. We’ll get a glimpse into the different challenges that both mountain and lowland gorillas are up against, and come away with a better understanding of why it is of vital importance that we save these magnificent cousins in the mist.

Rolf Skar: Living In the Age of Fire

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RolfSkar29626930351_036f3a74e5_qMassive wildfires, like the recent so-called “Rim Fire” which threatened the region near Yosemite National Park, seem to be far-too-frequent events these days.  The Rim Fire, which apparently was caused by a hunter’s illegal campfire is now thankfully 80% contained at the cost of about $100 million, but its effects are long-term and far-reaching, and they raise some important larger questions: Are we heading in the right direction in terms of forestry policy? Are we learning from past mistakes? And are fires like this always bad?

This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome back Rolf Skar, the director of forestry management for Greenpeace, to break down the impact of the Rim Fire and answer our questions about the broader context of this fire and its ilk.

The Latest Buzz On Bees

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HannahNordhausEarthStarterBack in 2010 we had entomologist John Hafernik on Sea Change Radio to explain what was going on with the honey bees and colony collapse disorder. Today’s guest, Hannah Nordhaus, picks up where Dr. Hafernik left off, with her new book, “The Beekeeper’s Lament.”

In the book, Nordhaus profiles an industrial beekeeper, examines the close tie between almond cultivation and the honeybee population, and details the current research on colony collapse disorder. Later on in the show, host Alex Wise speaks with the founders of a new company called Earth Starter who have developed an easier way to grow your own food that can turn even an inattentive gardener into a successful producer of fruits, vegetables and complementary flowers.

2013 Goldman Prize Winner Azzam Alwash Pt. II

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PrintAzzamAlwash2Last week we spoke with Azzam Alwash, who earned a 2013 Goldman Prize for restoring a vast marshland in Iraq that had been drained and depleted under Saddam Hussein. This week we continue our discussion with Alwash, who has a refreshingly optimistic view of Iraq’s long-term prospects. He shares his hopes about cooperation with neighbors like Turkey, personal opinions about the war, unconventional ideas about what to do with some of the country’s minefields, and talks to host Alex Wise about the road he took to move his organization Nature Iraq from a small grassroots campaign to a triumphant and internationally acclaimed movement.

Azzam Alwash: Iraqi Environmentalist Pt. I

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AzzamAlwash7436695074_f6ab725ac0_qWe are not very used to hearing good news about Iraq these days. Nor is there an abundance of feel good stories about the earth’s dwindling wetlands. So, when this week’s guest successfully launched an effort to restore the Mesopotamian marshlands in southern Iraq which had been drained, poisoned and burned under Saddam Hussein in the mid-nineties, it got a fair amount of attention.

Azzam Alwash went about refilling these wetlands, once an abundant area for diverse wildlife, by gathering support in Iraq’s prickly political landscape and applying his own complex understanding of hydraulic engineering. The struggle is far from over, but given the heroic actions he has taken, it’s no surprise Dr. Alwash is the most recent winner of the Goldman Prize, the environmental equivalent of the Oscars – and this week’s guest on Sea Change Radio.