Environmental activist Mike Roselle faces charges of trespassing, obstruction, contempt of court, and the defiance of a temporary restraining order – so all is going to plan for this Kentucky native. Mike is the author of the book Tree Spiker and the co-founder of several groups including Earth First!, the Ruckus Society and the Rainforest Action Network. He’s just been released from jail in West Virginia for his nonviolent work against mountaintop removal mining with Climate Ground Zero.
James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster movie Avatar is on track to become one of the most watched movies around the world – and that’s allowed many to look at the movie as a way of illustrating the current struggles of indigenous peoples around the world. Sanho Tree of the Institute of Policy Studies and Clayton Thomas Muller, a member of the Cree Nation and the Indigenous Environmental Network, join the conversation. Muller joins us from Canada – where the battle over oil-rich tar sands on native lands mirrors the movie’s plot.
The discovery of methane being released in Siberia leaves many scientists concerned that we’ve entered a positive feedback loop of global warming. The National Science Foundation says the methane release is a result of climate change. Host Daphne Wysham gets to the core of the issue with University of Chicago climate scientist Dave Archer.
Image: Mike Roselle, Joe Hamsher, and Tom Smyth walk with purpose towards the Marfork Coal Company office. The three activists peacefully entered the office to deliver a citizen’s arrest warrant for Christopher Blanchard and Don Blankenship, the CEOs of Marfork and Massey, who are responsible for the destruction of Coal River Mountain and for numerous violations on their sites. Photo by Cheshire/Climate Ground Zero
Billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson are funneling millions of dollars into far-out solutions to climate change. It’s called geoengineering and these high-risk, planet-altering schemes are already underway. Joining host Daphne Wysham to discuss these plans is Diana Bronson of the ETC Group in Montreal, Canada.
The massive snowstorms that blanketed the nation’s capitol are just one instance of odd-ball weather this winter. Joining us to discuss the connections between the weather and climate change is Dr. Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist for the National Wildlife Federation.
The sweet smell of success on coal-fired power. Bruce Nilles, the director of the Sierra Club’s national coal campaign, joins us to discuss how nearly all of the 150 planned coal-fired power plants have been stopped nationwide.
Image from Valkyrieh116 via Flickr – all rights reserved.
‘Clean Coal’ has been the rallying call of the coal industry in America, but as author and activist Jeff Biggers explains to Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham, it’s actually a strategy that the dirty industry has used throughout history to push back on any types of restrictions on coal mining.
The play The Saudi Arabia of Coal will be at Busboys and Poets on 14th St., NW in Washington, DC on February 9th at 7 pm and February 10th at 9 pm on its tour across the United States.
Then we hear about the Appalachian elementary school that is just downhill of a massive pond of ’slurry’ left behind from Mountain Top Removal mining. Host Daphne Wysham speaks to Coal River Mountain Watch’s Judy Bonds, Bobby Mitchell, Lorelei Scarboo as well as Alan Johnson for Christians for the Mountains.
Mary Anne Hitt is the director of Appalachian Voices and a native to the area. She spoke passionately at the IFG/IPS Teach-In about the effects of coal mining on both the land, and the culture, of Appalachia.
Music for this edition of Earthbeat comes from Moving Mountains – an album that benefits the fight against Mountain Top Removal Mining. The song is “The Fiddler’s Ballad” by Jen Osha with Wolf Creek Session.
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To give to the people of Haiti affected from a massive earthbeatquake – we suggest Doctors without Borders, Partners in Health or Mercy Corps. Also, our friends at Other Worlds, with three decades of experience working with social movements in Haiti, have this message to share
with you: Other Worlds.
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While the US Senate continues to stall on climate change – allegations continue into oil company lobbyists writing legislation suggested by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Joining host Daphne Wysham to discuss these Senate shenanigans is Steven Biel of MoveOn.org and Courtney Abrams of Environment America.
Then we discuss presidential power and climate change with Kevin Bundy of the Center for Biological Diversity. He’s one of the authors of the new report “Yes, He Can.”
Then a critical discussion on agriculture and climate change. Rachel Smolker of BioFuel Watch joins us to discuss agribusiness, biochar and agricultural offsets.
Music from this edition of Earthbeat is by the Haitian band Tabou Combo from their album Taboulogy. Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.
Biochar is a type of charcoal that’s the result of burning plant matter with very low oxygen. It’s a sooty, black substance that holds great promise for not only slowing down climate change – but actually reversing it. In this encore episode of Earthbeat, host Mike Tidwell discusses the promise of biochar with Durwood Zaelke, the president and founder of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.
The connections between population and climate change go far beyond the recent comments by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Kathleen Mogelgaard of Population Action International speaks about how giving women the control they want over the size of their families ends up being a win-win for them, and the climate.
Finally, we hear about a rock that naturally traps carbon dioxide right out of the air. It’s kinda like the ‘anti-coal;’ we speak to researcher Sam Krevor of Stanford University’s Energy Resources Engineering Department.
Music used in this edition of Earthbeat is ‘Charcoal’ by Mrs. Tanaka.
Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.
The United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark is underway. Joining host Mike Tidwell to discuss what’s occurring during the official meeting is author and climate activist Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org. And from the floor of the Copenhagen talks themselves is Jennifer Morgan, the director of the World Resources Institute’s Climate and Energy Program.
Peter Barnes joins us to discuss his views of the current status of climate action. Peter is is with the social justice group On the Commons based in San Francisco. He’s also the author of the book Who Owns the Sky? and a supporter of a cap and dividend way of combating climate change.
The debut of the new animated film The Story of Cap and Trade. Host Daphne Wysham, who recently penned an op-ed for The Huffington Post on cap and trade, speaks to narrator Annie Leonard and and the founder of Free Range Studios, Jonah Sachs, the animator. The Story of Cap and Trade is featured in The New York Times and creating a stir in the blogosphere.
Indonesia recently rounded up and deported international journalists and activists who were in-country to witness the massive, intentionally set, fires that are destroying the country’s tropical rainforest.
Thanks in most part to those fires, Indonesia is the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter standing right up with China and the U.S. Joining host Mike Tidwell to discuss the devastation to the area – and its consequences for our climate are Greenpeace forest activists Rolf Skar in San Francisco and Chiara Campione in Italy.
Then we hear about a rock that naturally traps carbon dioxide right out of the air. It’s kinda like the ‘anti-coal;’ we speak to researcher Sam Krevor of Stanford University’s Energy Resources Engineering Department.
Host Mike Tidwell then speaks directly to President Obama on how leadership could drive the United States into a clean energy future, if only he took the reins and lead the nation. Read that commentary here.
Music by Jacco Muller – Viento del Desierto. Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.
Image copyright John Novis for Greenpeace, all rights reserved.
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The EPA tried to silence two of its own staffers when they criticizing the White House’s cap and trade program. Host Daphne Wysham speaks to Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel about their YouTube video that shows how cap and trade is fatally flawed.
Al Gore’s long-awaited follow up to ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ is in bookstores. ‘Our Choice’ is a master plan for fighting climate change. Joining host Mike Tidwell to talk about the book is Joe Romm. Joe is the author of the website Climate Progress and the author of the book Hell or High Water.
Then speaking of high water, we review a lawsuit by victims of Hurricane Katrina against the oil companies that they say contributed to the ferocity of the storm. We speak to Hannah McCrea, the author of the website Warming Law, and F. Gerald Maples, the lead attorney in the case.
If you’d like to hear this edition of Earthbeat – please send us an e-mail
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critical (if sometimes under acknowledged) aspects of the climate
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treats this enormous challenge with the thoughtfulness, honesty and
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