Earthbeat Radio

Today on Earthbeat, Host Mike Tidwell speaks to climate activist Bill McKibben about the massive protest March 2nd – the Capitol Climate Action.

Coming on the heels of PowerShift, the biggest gathering of college students organized against climate change, the March 2 protest is set to be a massive act of civil disobedience and action designed to highlight the damage done by coal-fired power.

The $787 (B) billion-dollar stimulus plan signed into law by President Obama was remarkably free of money for old and dirty energy industries like coal and nuclear power. The Friends of the Earth spearheaded the campaign to fight against loan guarantees for nuclear power we hear about the campaign from Ben Schreiber, FOE’s climate and energy tax analyst. Here you can view the TV ads that ran against the issue.

Then we hear about how the death of journalism will affect coverage of climate issues from Peter Dykstra. Peter was laid off in December from CNN along with the entire 7-person science, technology and environment team. He’s currently finishing a scholar-in-residence program at the
Woodrow Wilson Center.  He now writes for the Mother Nature Network.

Finally, we speak to the man behind the panels. Blake Jones is the founder of Namaste Solar, the Colorado company who installed solar panels on the roof of the Denver museum that was the backdrop for President Obama’s signing of the $787 (B) billion-dollar stimulus bill. Jones formerly worked in oil and gas exploration for Haliburton before founding Namaste. He’s developed the company with a completely democratic system of profit-sharing and decision-making.

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