Earthbeat Radio

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.

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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.

Image used courtesy of Laura Padgett via Flickr.

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Keep Winter Cold is a yearly polar bear plunge by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network to highlight climate change.
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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.

Then, we get a view of what’s occurring outside the official U.N. Climate meeting from George Marshall, the founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network from Wales, UK and from the Copenhagen meeting itself is Jihan Gearon of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Image from © Greenpeace / Christian Åslund all rights reserved

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.

Then Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi joins us to discuss how the investment bank Goldman Sachs stands to make a killing in the carbon market. And, how activists are planning to demonstrate at the upcoming Copenhagen climate meeting. We speak to Kim Wasserman, the coordinator of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Nadine Bloch of the Mobilization for Climate Justice, and David Solnit, who helped to organize the Seattle demonstrations and is the co-author of the book The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle.

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.

We review of the recent UN climate meeting in Barcelona with Ilana Solomon of Action Aid and Janet Redman of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network. Then, details of President Obama’s climate agreement with China with Julian L. Wong of the Center for American Progress.

Image used courtesy of Sam Feinstein via Flickr.

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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.

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Denmark’s Ambassador to the United States, Friis Petersen, joins host Daphne Wysham for a discussion on how his country became a world leader in renewable energy, lower greenhouse gases, and a strong national economy. The Danish city of Copenhagen will host the crucial United Nations Climate Summit – COP 15 – in December.

The federal government classifies incinerators as a source of renewable energy. Meg Sheehan of Ecolaw in Massachusetts discusses the irony of naming waste as renewable.

And an architecture research group that’s working to slow climate change – we speak to Edward Mazria, the founder and executive director of Architecture 2030.

Image by Fred Sorensen of Denmark used with permission via Flickr.

Music used is Flight to Denmark by Duke Jordan.

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

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Nuclear power proponents are pushing for new giveaways in the climate change bill that’s currently before the U.S. Senate. We hear from Dr. Helen Caldicott the author of Nuclear Power is Not the Answer on the dangers of nuclear power. Dr. Caldicott joins the discussion with host Daphne Wysham and Michael Mariotte, the executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. More information about the rise of nuclear power in the US Senate can be found at Mother Jones magazine. The report Dr. Caldicott mentions is Carbon Free Nuclear Free.

Then we talk about foraging for your own food with author Langdon Cook. He’s the author of the book, Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager.

Image used with permission by C. Tyson Photography via Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

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

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

US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in a surprise move by the Norwegian prize committee. In part they say they gave Mr. Obama the prize for his work on climate change. Host Mike Tidwell discusses the promise and the actions of the president with Joe Romm, the editor of the blog ClimateProgress.

Copenhagen, Denmark is the greenest city in the world, even though a large portion of its electricity comes from coal. We talk about how to green American cities with Peter Garforth. He advises major American cities on how to be more competitive and reduce their energy use.

Then, an encore of our interview with Professor Jessica Hellmann of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indianan on her work studying forced migration – when conservation biologists move plants and animals to new locations to protect them from extinction due to climate change.

Image used with permission by Manlio K via Flickr.

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

Music in this edition of Earthbeat is El Zaffa from the album Planet Passion by Ancient Future. Our theme music is Baladi by Tony Anka, Bellydance Superstars vol. 2.