Earthbeat Radio

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.

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Documents have come to light that show that Canadian diplomats have been working in DC to try to kill or limit laws that enact clean fuels standards that would restrict the sale of oil from dirty Canadian tar sands flowing into the US. The diplomats quietly asked companies like Exxon Mobil and BP to help them crush clean energy reforms. Joining us in our Washington, DC studios is Danielle Droitsch, the US Policy Director for the environmental think-tank Pembina who discusses the disturbing attempts by these diplomats to “debunk” the toxic effects of tar sands exploration on First Nations peoples.

And, in what’s been called a major breakthrough – over 400 companies around the world have agreed to start using climate-friendly refrigeration techniques. Amy Larkin, Greenpeace’s Solutions Director, helped to put together the agreement that will cut the amount of climate-killing HFCs released into our atmosphere.

Then we hear from representatives who joined nearly 200 nations gathered in Cancun, Mexico this week for the next round of United Nations-sponsored climate negotiations. Joining host Daphne Wysham from the meeting are Ann Peterman, the executive director of the Global Justice Ecology Project to discuss the UN plans for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and its effects on indigenous peoples. Janet Redman of the Institute for Policy Studies and Kristen Hite, an attorney for the Climate Change Program at the Center for International Environmental Law also join us to discuss climate finance and REDD.

A recent lawsuit filed on behalf of Ecuador essentially sues the oil company BP on behalf of Mother Nature for the disaster that occurred this summer along America’s Gulf Coast. Nnimmo Bassey of the Friends of the Earth International joins us from Cancun to discuss the meeting the intent of the lawsuit.

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

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Environmental activists should take a page from the exceptionally persuasive marketing message of Mexico’s Zapatista insurgency, that’s the assertion of Jeff Conant. He’s the author of the book A Poetics of Resistance: The Revolutionary Public Relations of the Zapatista Insurgency.

Today on Earthbeat, Jeff Conant’s presentation on this unusual media messaging strategy. He spoke recently in Washington, DC in a panel discussion with Manuel Perez-Rocha of the Institute for Policy Studies.

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