EarthBeat Radio

Coal is a dark and dirty source of energy -- it's also the source of about 80 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

So why is the coal industry pushing to build over 100 new coal-fired power plants across America? They're rushing construction before Congress finally sets caps on greenhouse gases. But activists are fighting back.

Patrice Simms, a senior project attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council joins host Mike Tidwell to discuss coal nationwide.

Then we focus on one plant planned in Wise County, Virginia. Joining us from Charlottesville, Virginia is Cale Jaffe, the lead attorney fighting against the planned Dominion Virginia power plant. Cale is a staff attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. Joining him is Matt Wasson, the conservation director for the group, Appalachian Voices.

Finally, we talk about the people living in the shadows of coal. Nick Miroff is a staff writer for the Washington Post - his story on prescription drug abuse among coal miners can be read here. Joining him is Kathy Selvage. She's a citizen activist and the vice president of the group - Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.

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Music for this edition of Earthbeat comes from Moving Mountains: Voices of Appalachia.

Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

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Today on Earthbeat, uranium mining at the Grand Canyon. With little public notice and no formal environmental review -- the Bush Administration allows a foreign company to look for uranium three miles from the most popular lookout point at the Grand Canyon. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, there's a so-called 'safety study' that would pave the way for a massive radioactive mine in Virginia. And brand-new nuclear power plants are being planned across the nation - thanks to a massive loan guarantee from Congress. The rush toward nuclear power - coming up next on this edition - of Earthbeat.

Daphne Wysham's guests for this edition of Earthbeat include:

Michael Mariotte of the Nuclear Information and Research Service NIRS
Jim Riccio of Greenpeace
Arjun Makhijani of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research IEER
Eric Jantz of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center
Geoff Fettus of the National Research and Defense Council NRDC
Dusty Horwitt of the Environmental Working Group EWG

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Photo courtesy of Klaus Leidorf.

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Host Daphne Wysham talks Presidential politics and climate policy. David Sandretti, the communications director of the League of Conservation Voters discusses the issue with Bill Becker, the executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project.

American University senior Claire Roby was just one of thousands of students taking part in a nationwide Teach-In on climate change; joining Claire in discussing how youth voters are changing the election is Focus the Nation program manager Alex Tinker.

Go here for more about the upcoming Earth Day events in the Washington, DC area.

For every dollar the US spends on combating climate change - we spend $88 dollars on military spending, that's according to research fellow Miriam Pemberton of the Institute for Policy Studies.

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Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

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The Bush Administration stalls on putting the polar bear on the the Endangered Species List -- while it rushes forward with oil and gas leases on prime polar bear habitat. Earthbeat host Mike Tidwell discusses polar bear protection with the Audubon Society's Betsy Loyless, the senior vice president of policy and Mike Daulton, director of conservation policy.

Go here to read the article on how Alaska's governor is doing scientific back flips to deny polar bear protections.

Bill McKibben's latest book is an activists' call to action, Fight Global Warming Now. Rob Gelbspan is the author of the book, The Heat is On, and of the website of the same name. Both men were recorded at the recent IFG/IPS Teach-In.

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Music used in this edition of Earthbeat is 'Balkan Lowrider Anthem' and 'Twenty Four Hours in a Lake of Ice' by Alaska in Winter.