EarthBeat Radio

President Obama sharply reverses the Bush administration's policies on transportation emissions - and appoints an international climate negotiator. Meanwhile, scientists say that even if all carbon dioxide emissions stop today - global warming will continue for a thousand years. Joining host Daphne Wysham discusses Obama's new policies on climate change is David Bookbinder, Senior Attorney with the Sierra Club, Tony Massaro, Vice President of Legal Affairs for the League of Conservation Voters and with the California perspective, Danielle Fugere, West Coast Regional Program Director for the Friends of the Earth.

Then we discuss two possible techno-fixes for global warming - seeding the ocean with iron filings and biochar. Discussing ocean seeding is Jim Thomas a researcher with the ETC Group in Montreal, Canada. ETC is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights. Joining him is Paul Epstein, the associate director for the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School. Discussing biochar is Rachel Smolker with the Global Forest Coalition and, the leading scientific voice on the possibilities of biochar, Johannes Lehmann, Professor of soil fertility management at Cornell University.

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Image used courtesy of Kid Korovyov via Flickr.

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

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Two million people gathered on the National Mall to see President Barack Obama take his oath of office. Countless millions saw the event live on television and the internet. In his inaugural speech, President Obama directly challenged the American people to join forces and fight climate change.

Today on Earthbeat we review the President's ideas on climate change - in his own words. Host Mike Tidwell guides us through statements made by President Obama, by President-elect Obama and even candidate Obama.

We're reviewing these campaign promises on Earthbeat because, in the coming months, we'll be addressing Obama's renewable energy campaign promises one by one - tracking them as they move from ideas, to legislation, to laws.

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Our current world-wide economic crisis is the worst since the Great Depression. The government's solution is to pour billions of taxpayer dollars into banks and businesses. But a growing number of economists say the fundamentals of our economy are false - and now is the time for a major overhaul of our capitalistic system.

Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham speaks to David Korten on the idea of getting rid of Wall Street entirely - and rebuilding a new, green economy. Korten is the author of the upcoming book Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth. David is the co-founder of the Positive Futures Network, which publishes YES! Magazine. His previous work includes the books, "When Corporations Rule the World," and "The Great Turning."

Then we turn to President-Elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus package - and how to ensure that it supports truly green industries. Corry Westbrook, the legislative director for the National Wildlife Federation joins the discussion with Kate McMahon, the Energy and Transportation Policy Campaigner for the Friends of the Earth.

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Image used courtesy of Scott Ableman via Flickr.

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A devastating environmental disaster occurred in Tennessee when - three days before Christmas, a dam burst and millions of gallons of toxic fly ash slurry knocked houses off their foundations - poisoned water systems - and covered 300 million acres of land. In sheer volume alone - this disaster is more than 48 times worse than the Exxon Valdez spill.

Host Mike Tidwell speaks to Donna Marie Lisenby the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, a program of the group Appalachian Voices, in Boone, North Carolina - as well as Glenn Hurowitz - the media director of Greenpeace USA and is the author of the book Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party.

Mike talks about the planning for a massive demonstration against coal here in the nation's capital with Ted Glick, the national coordinator of the US Climate Emergency Council. And then we sit down with Alice McKeown, of the Worldwatch Institute to speak about how utility companies LIE when it comes to America's energy needs.

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Image copyright J. Miles Carey/Knoxville News Sentinel, via Associated Press

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