Episodes
Jan. 31, 2014
Greenpeace Senior Scientist on Geoengineering
Greenpeace Senior Scientist, Dr. David Santillo, joins us to discuss geoengineering – what it is and why it is gaining attention in the U.S. Congress, the U.N. and countries around the world. With 15 years’ experience in orga...
Jan. 24, 2014
What We Should Learn from the W. Virginia Chemical Spill
Toxic chemicals used to wash coal were stored on the banks of a river less than 2 miles from where water entered the public water system for 300,000 people in nine counties of West Virginia. When 7,500 gallons of the chemical...
Jan. 17, 2014
Tusks and Terrorism , Why Wildlife Poaching is More than an Animal Rights Issue
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton made protecting wild African elephants the centerpiece of the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative, in part because the elephants are facing extinction in a decade given current poaching rates, but also ...
Jan. 10, 2014
Education and the Environment
Education is a dynamic institution. Every few years classrooms are introduced to new technologies and reforms that alter the learning experience in many ways. Throughout all these changes, however, two things have remained th...
Jan. 3, 2014
Special Encore Presentation: Where the Wild Things Are – Preserving the Intrinsic Value of Unscathed Landscapes
When a large environmental disaster occurs – like the BP oil spill in the Gulf – we take notice of the impact that energy extraction has on wildlife. But we tend to think of this impact only when a catastrophic event causes e...
Dec. 27, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: Michael Bloomberg asks, “How much economic risk does the United States face from the impacts of climate change?”
“How much economic risk does the United States face from the impacts of climate change?” The Risky Business initiative will help us find out. Risky Business is a joint initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Office of for...
Dec. 20, 2013
New York State Petroleum Council Speaks Out on Fracking
Are there upsides to fracking? Are consumer fears warranted? What are oil and gas companies doing to manage the risks involved? At the top of the hour, we’ll explore this topic with Karen Moreau, Executive Director of the New...
Dec. 13, 2013
Renewable Energy – Follow the Money
It comes as news to no one that the energy industry is the most profitable on Earth. Based on their rise to prominence in the 20th Century, the annual earnings of the top five oil companies alone (ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Conoc...
Dec. 6, 2013
Geoengineering 101
Geoengineering is a generic term for a multitude of technologies and theories aimed at changing the Earth’s climate. There are two basic categories into which all geoengineering concepts fall: solar radiation management and C...
Nov. 22, 2013
Where the Wild Things Are – Preserving the Intrinsic Value of Unscathed Landscapes
When a large environmental disaster occurs – like the BP oil spill in the Gulf – we take notice of the impact that energy extraction has on wildlife. But we tend to think of this impact only when a catastrophic event causes e...
Nov. 15, 2013
Michael Bloomberg asks, “How much economic risk does the United States face from the impacts of climate change?”
“How much economic risk does the United States face from the impacts of climate change?” The Risky Business initiative will help us find out. Risky Business is a joint initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Office of for...
Nov. 8, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: The True Cost of Coal – An Insider’s Story of How MTR Hurts Locals
In 2007, coal-fired power plants generated 50% of all the electricity in the U.S.; it’s now down to 37% thanks to cheap natural gas prices. About two-thirds of the coal used in America comes from surface mining, including mou...
Nov. 1, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: SNAKE OIL: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future
The rapid spread of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has temporarily boosted US natural gas and oil production . . . and sparked a massive environmental backlash in communities across the country. The fossil fuel industry is...
Oct. 25, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: Fevered – Why a Hotter Planet Will Hurt Our Health
Linda Marsa is an investigative journalist and contributing editor at Discover who has covered medicine, health and science for more than two decades. A former Los Angeles Times reporter and author, she has just released her ...
Oct. 18, 2013
Creating Climate Wealth – a new book by SunEdison founder, Jigar Shah
Part autobiography, part treatise, in Creating Climate Wealth, Jigar Shah demonstrates how all of us can participate in the largest wealth creation opportunity of our time. Shah explains that proven, scalable climate solution...
Oct. 11, 2013
Arctic Oil Drilling – The Risks of Extreme Energy Extraction at the North Pole
Climate change isn’t bad news for everyone. As Arctic ice melts at historically rapid rates, some people brace for rising sea levels, and some brace for new opportunities to drill for oil in waters that were once too icy for ...
Oct. 4, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: NRDC Annual Beach Report - Water Pollution Ruins Over 20,000 Days at the Beach for Third Straight Year
The Natural Resources Defense Council has just released its annual report on water quality at U.S. beaches, and found that the number of beach closing and advisory days exceeded 20,000 for the 8th time in the past 9 years. On...
Sept. 27, 2013
Women of the World Call for Urgent Action on Climate Change and Sustainability Solutions
Women bear a heavy burden from the impacts of climate change, particularly in low-income and developing countries where drought, flooding and unpredictable temperatures present difficult challenges for women that are responsi...
Sept. 20, 2013
The True Cost of Coal – An Insider’s Story of How MTR Hurts Locals
In 2007, coal-fired power plants generated 50% of all the electricity in the U.S.; it’s now down to 37% thanks to cheap natural gas prices. About two-thirds of the coal used in America comes from surface mining, including mou...
Sept. 13, 2013
EAT. DRINK. VOTE. Food Politics in America
Marion Nestle, one of the nation’s most prominent voices on the political forces that drive our food choices, has authored a new book, Eat Drink Vote – An Illustrated Guide to Food Politics. She teamed up with The Cartoonist ...
Sept. 6, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: NRDC Annual Beach Report - Water Pollution Ruins Over 20,000 Days at the Beach for Third Straight Year
The Natural Resources Defense Council has just released its annual report on water quality at U.S. beaches, and found that the number of beach closing and advisory days exceeded 20,000 for the 8th time in the past 9 years. On...
Aug. 30, 2013
Special Encore Presentation: Celebrity Yogi, Rodney Yee, on Cultivating a Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability
With over 30 yoga videos produced, and gushing endorsements from followers like Oprah Winfrey and Donna Karan, today’s guest has helped some of the busiest people on the planet learn how to bring their minds and bodies into a...
Aug. 23, 2013
SNAKE OIL: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future
The rapid spread of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has temporarily boosted US natural gas and oil production . . . and sparked a massive environmental backlash in communities across the country. The fossil fuel industry is...
Aug. 16, 2013
The Zero Footprint Baby…How to Save the Planet While Raising a Healthy Baby
In our culture, pregnancy, birth, and childrearing are deeply connected to consumption and resource use. From the baby shower to the minivan and the larger apartment or first house, the baby-raising years are the most hyper-c...