A major victory for indigenous peoples in the Ecuadoran Amazon against Chevron for environmental racism. Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham discusses the case with Kevin Konig of Amazon Watch.

Dr. Arjun Makhijani of IEER explains the latest information on the nuclear meltdowns underway in Fukushima, Japan. Then, will biofuels and climate change lead to another dust bowl in the Midwest? Don Carr of the Environmental Working Group discusses their latest report, Losing Ground.

And Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth reflects on President Obama’s energy strategies and what the environmental movement needs to really win.

Music in this edition of the show is Aires de Terra by Ecuadorian folk musician  Arturo Aguirre y los Folkloristas and Lake Sonata from ‘The Midwest American Piano Project’ by Stacey Barelos. Our theme music is ‘Baladi’ by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

Image by Jonathan McIntosh for Amazon Watch.

The Japanese Government increases the ‘allowed’ amount of radiation exposure to children to 133 times EPA safe levels for adults – and the chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission admits he had not been informed of the change – even though the news was widely covered in the mainstream media

Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham speaks to Bob Alvarez, senior scholar of the Institute for Policy Studies about the Japanese upping the dose of radiation exposure for children, we hear from the chair of the NRC himself – Greg Jaczko. Daphne speaks to Kuniko Tanioka, a member of the Japanese Parliament who tells us what measures the government is and isn’t willing to take to protect its children, and how the Japanese media is failing to cover the issue critically. Then an interview with Public Citizen’s Ralph Nader on the Fukushima disaster – and what it should mean for nuclear power in America.

Anti-nuclear activist, Doctor Helen Caldicott wrote a New York Times editorial on the Fukushima disaster.

Video of Daphne Wysham’s interview with member of the Japanese Parliament, Kuniko Tanioka, is from our television partnership with The Real News Network.

Music in this edition of the show includes two Japanese folk ballads, ‘Sakura’ and ‘Shakuhachi’. Our theme music is ‘Baladi’ by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

Image by Matthias Lambrecht via Flickr Creative Commons license.

The Interior Department decides this summer whether or not it will allow uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. Joining host Daphne Wysham to discuss the pre-Fukushima boom in uranium mining by foreign companies is Lauren Pagel, the policy director of EarthWorks. To express your opinion on the mining for uranium in and around the Grand Canyon, click here.

A ‘honking big global Earth summit’ is coming our way next year, that’s according to Jim Thomas of the ETC Group. Jim says bankers and corporations are already jockeying for position at the upcoming UN Rio+20 Summit. His recent commentary can be found at Grist.org. But also preparing are activists like India’s Vandana Shiva. We’ll hear part of Vandana’s comments on Rio+20 at a UN conference earlier this month. The video from the UN Conference is available.

DuPont is taken to task for potential toxic liabilities that endanger millions of Americans, we’ll get the details from Rick Hind, the legislative director for Greenpeace.

Music in this edition of the show is ‘Lightning over Sonora’ and ‘Procession of the Jaguar’ by Native American musician Robert Tree Cody. Our theme music is “Baladi” by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

Image of an abandoned uranium mine in Utah by wonder_al via Flickr.

Reflections on the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the Chernobyl 25th anniversary, the one year anniversary of the BP blowout, and signs of hope from across the country with Brent Blackwelder and Antonia Juhasz.

Brent is the president emeritus of the Friends of the Earth and Antonia is the director of the Energy Program at Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights non-profit organization.

A Fukushima-like hydrogen explosion could happen at the Hanford Nuclear Waste facilities, that’s according to whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis. The Hanford site in Washington State is home to two-thirds  of the nation’s high-level radioactive waste. Joining Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham to discuss Walt’s case – and his being fired for speaking out – is Tom Devine, part of Walt’s legal team and the legal director for the Government Accountability Project.

Oil companies like Chevron work with the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers to place their advertisements directly opposite the paper’s environmental reporting. Discussing the corporate control of environmental reporting is Kert Davies, Greenpeace’s Research Director and Sut Jhally, a professor in the communications department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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Kert Davies mentions the Powell Memo, a document written by Supreme Court Justice Lewis S. Powell before he joined the US Supreme Court that outlines how corporations should fight back against negative public opinion – and the American Petroleum Institute’s work to undermine climate science. Also discussed is the book, Merchants of Doubt.

Here’s a recent op-ed on the Fukushima crisis and other energy issues by Earthbeat Host Daphne Wysham.

Photo used via a creative commons license via Flickr.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has quietly doubled what it considers “safe” exposure levels to nuclear radiation. Japan issues conflicting claims about levels of radioactivity. The French and Austrian governments are putting forth different numbers on the radiation emerging from Japan.

Joining host Daphne Wysham to discuss the reliability – or lack thereof – of claims of “safety” in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster is Dr. Arjun Makhijani, the president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. Makhijani is the author of numerous reports and books, including the book “Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy.”

** Update: The US EPA is testing milk for radiation contamination. **

Mary Olson is the director of the Southeast Office of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. She explains how President Obama’s ties to the nuclear industry include some of his closest advisers, staff, and fundraisers. She also explores the challenging issues around nuclear waste storage and transport.

Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham interviewed the Institute for Policy Studies‘ Bob Alvarez about spent fuel here in the U.S. for our television partners – The Real News.

The US has opened up huge swaths of public land in Wyoming to coal mining in a deal that involves billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Jeff Biggers gives us the latest. Biggers is the author of “Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland.”

Finally, environmental justice activists declared victory in California courts, bringing cap and trade to a halt in the state. We hear from attorney and plaintiff Angela Johnson-Meszaros on why they challenged cap and trade and what’s next.

Additional information and audio will be posted shortly.

Image by Abode of Chaos, used via a Creative Commons license from Flickr.

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

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Nuclear power plants in Japan are exploding as the country struggles to cool them down and recover from the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Joining host Daphne Wysham to discuss the latest on the disaster is Damon Moglen. Damon is the director of the climate and energy program for the Friends of the Earth.

Doctor Ira Helfand, the past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, tells us how the radiation released will affect people and the effects of potassium iodide pills. He advises US residents on how to prepare in case of radioactive fallout in the US.

In the light of the disaster, the French government released a memo advising its citizens to leave Tokyo.

The BP oil spill continues to kill wildlife along America’s Gulf Coast. Antonia Juhasz tells us the latest on the BP spill, the Chevron spill in Ecuador and how instability globally is affecting prices at the pump. Antonia is the director of the energy program at Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based humans rights group. She’s the author of the book The Tyranny of Oil and up forthcoming book is Black Tide: The Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill.

Samantha Joye at the University of Georgia continues to research the Gulf Oil Spill.

Music during the breaks from this week’s show is the song “Rescue” by Sanjay Mishra from the CD by the same name.

Select the image below to view Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham’s interview with author Harvey Wasserman on The Real News Network.

photo: Kim Kyung-hoon / Reuters. caption: Officials in protective gear check for signs of radiation on children who are from the evacuation area near the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Koriyama, Japan, March 13.

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Today on Earthbeat, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s History month – we talk to women and girls who are making a difference.

Award-winning children’s book author Lynne Cherry focuses on environmental issues. Her latest project Young Voices on Climate Change brings her work to a new medium – film.

The bailout of Wall Street led to billions of taxpayer money going toward banks – instead of people. Nia Robinson, the former director of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, spoke with us about how these funds could have gone toward helping African-American communities cope with climate change.

Actress Q’orianka Kilcher co-starred in the Hollywood movie ‘The New World.’ She now works to spread the message of environmental justice in her native Peru and around the world.

Niaz Dorry, Time Magazine Hero for the Planet, and director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, is working to bring the ‘buy local’ food movement out to sea.

Music for this edition of Earthbeat includes Protect the World, Last Day on Earth by Kate Miller-Heidke, and Scale Down by Rising Appalachia. Our theme music is “Baladi” by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.

Photo by SIDA.

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The EPA undertakes the first national study of fracking for natural gas – while communities near so-called fracking sites find radium in their water and scientists reveal that natural gas isn’t as climate-friendly as once thought. Joining host Daphne Wysham is Abrahm Lustgarten, the author of the ongoing investigation of fracking for the non-profit journalism group – ProPublica.

Decrepit oil refineries threaten the health of at least 16 million Americans – and safer chemicals alternatives that could be used are ignored by oil companies. Reporter Jim Morris investigated the records of more than 50 oil refineries across America for the investigative journalism group – The Center for Public Integrity.

To find out if your community is located near an oil refinery – check out this interactive map by CPI.

As the US federal budget debate continues, the EPA is once again on the chopping block. A look back at the history of the EPA and look forward to new ways to stimulate the economy with Bill Drayton and Brent Blackwelder. Bill was the deputy administrator in the EPA in the Carter Administration. He’s currently the CEO of the Ashoka Foundation. Brent is the president emeritus of The Friends of the Earth.

Music for this edition of Earthbeat includes Excuse Me Mr. by Ben Harper and Jump Start by Melissa Czarnik.

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The world is facing a potentially devastating ‘Food Bubble,’ that according to pioneering environmentalist Lester Brown. in his new work – ‘World on the Edge’ – Lester seeks to reconcile dueling predictions of our future: The scientists who say climate change will cause incredible disruption in our food, water and energy sources; And the economists who continue to predict steadily increasing world growth.

Lester’s earlier book, ‘Plan B’ will be the subject of an upcoming PBS television special hosted by Matt Damon this Spring. Host Daphne Wysham sits down with the founder of the Earth Policy Institute – Lester Brown – for a look into the world’s future.

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A high-tech heist of international carbon trading credits. Thieves steal millions of dollars worth of ‘vouchers’ for carbon emissions right out of the bank accounts of European traders. We’ll discuss how this daring theft underscores the weaknesses of cap and trade schemes with Jutta Kill, the climate change campaigner for FERN, an environmental and social justice group that focuses on the European Union and the EU’s impact on forests around the world.

Then, the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases comes under attack by Congress.  Some say the EPA is barreling ahead on regulations – others say it’s too little, too late. Joining us to discuss the EPA and its use of the Clean Air Act is Nathan Richardson, a lawyer at the non-partisan think-tank Resources for the Future and Kevin Bundy, a senior attorney for the the Center for Biological Diversity.

Then, Monsanto succeeds in pushing genetically engineered alfalfa on American consumers and organic farmers. Joining us to discuss the effects this GE crop may have on milk, beef and bees is Will Fantel, the co-director of the Cornucopia Institute and Patty Lovera, the assistant director of Food and Water Watch.

Image from Digital Monkey via Flickr, used via a Create Commons license.

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