Earthbeat Radio

A new online map of factory farms highlights how the industry continues to consolidate into massive cattle and chicken farms – and is still pushing the opposite of ‘eat local.’ Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch joins host Daphne Wysham to review their new Factory Farm map.

‘Tis the season for … returning those gifts. An effort is underway to get computer and mp3 player manufactures to accept returns of their older models – keeping potentially toxic chemicals out of landfills. Joining us to discuss The Story of Electronics is Ted Smith, the coordinator of the International Campaign for Responsible Technology and chair of the Electronics Take Back Coalition, and Allison Cook, special coordinator with the Story of Stuff Project.

Then, how human’s innate desire for ‘treasure’ could be harnessed to drive us toward a more sustainable future. Saleem Ali is the author of the book Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future. He’s a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont.

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Some additional information on how to safely get rid of your electronics can be found at the International Campaign for Responsible Technology, StopSamsung, the Asia Monitor Resource Center, Schools and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior and GoodElectronics.

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Renewable energy had a fantastic year what with Google’s investment in offshore wind and the Chevy Volt – the first mass-produced entirely electric car.

Chris Flavin, the president of The Worldwatch Institute, joins host Daphne Wysham to discuss the worldwide successes in renewable energy, and giving us an in-depth view of wind’s successes is Michael Goggin, transmission policy manager for the American Wind Energy Association.

China’s advancements in clean energy is inspiring the United States to finally take direct action – but the answer is mostly military. Joining us to decipher China’s plans, and the American response, is the Institute for Policy Studies‘ Miriam Pemberton.

Brazil has succeeded dramatically in protecting its rainforest from deforestation. Joining us to discuss how Brazil did it, and how other countries could follow their lead is Doug Boucher, the director of the Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative at the Union of Concerned Scientists and Leila Salazar-Lopez, the Rainforest Action agribusiness campaign director.

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International governments agree to a weakened outcome from the Cancun climate meeting. The World Bank will run the financing and the G-20 countries seem to be running the show. Joining us to discuss the disappointing outcome from the United Nations climate meeting in Cancun is Maude Barlow of the environmental group the Council of Canadians.

Reporting from the streets of Haiti, Beverly Bell tells us about the protests surrounding the suspect outcome of the Presidential election – and how this island nation is dealing with the triple whammy of political upheaval, disease outbreaks and international interference. Bell is with the Other Worlds Project and the Institute for Policy Studies.

In June, we spoke to Beverly Bell about how Haitian farmers were choosing to burn Monstanto seeds instead of planting them.

Music for this edition of Earthbeat includes “Activity” by ‘Bonga and the Vodou Drums of Haiti’ from the album Many Hands, Family Music for Haiti. Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

Image from Oxfam International – used under a Creative Commons license via Flickr.

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Soil carbon and genetically modified crops are now the latest hot commodity in carbon markets. Joining us from the the United Nations climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, is Deepak Rughani of Biofuel Watch. He’ll explain how this is driving up the price of land globally, with severe consequences for the poorest.

Then we hear from Joe Romm of the website Climate Progress who gives us his assessment of the state of play on Capitol Hill, where climate denialists will duke it out with regulators from the Environmental Protection Agency.

And we hear from Greenpeace senior researcher Charlie Cray and intelligence expert and investigative reporter Jim Bamford on a lawsuit filed by Greenpeace against public relations firms and former employees of the National Security Agency who engaged in corporate espionage on Greenpeace and other groups. More information on the lawsuit can be found at Spygate.org.

Music for this edition of Earthbeat includes “Willow Tree” by G Love and the Special Sauce and ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police. Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

Image by TyMotion via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

If you’d like to hear this edition of Earthbeat – please send us an e-mail