Go Green Radio

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the U.S. desperately needs clean, affordable energy. But maybe it takes a nuclear physicist who founded an investment banking firm to help the government make better choices about where to invest public dollars to help speed the development of renewable energy. Today’s guest on Go Green Radio is Dr. Michael Gamble, a formerly on staff in the physics division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he researched devices such as terawatt laser systems, and is now a founding partner of a California investment banking and corporate advisory firm. He’ll talk with us about promising new technologies and companies that are poised to bring massive amounts of clean energy to the grid at prices that are competitive with current market rates.

When natural gas is used as a fuel, it is cleaner burning than oil and coal, so you might say it’s a more eco-friendly fuel. However, the process for extracting natural gas from the earth has people from New York to Wyoming wondering if more environmental damage is being done than good. The process of hydraulically fracturing shale rocks with chemicals, water and sand has come under fire recently. Blamed for recent earthquakes in Ohio and Oklahoma, “fracking” has also been blamed for contaminated drinking water in other regions. Today’s guest is John Armbruster, a seismologist affiliated with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who is studying the seismic implications of fracking

During Earth Week 2011, I visited the OSU campus, and toured the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) where the world’s fastest electric vehicle (top speed 320 mph) is housed. The only thing more impressive than getting to see the “Buckeye Bullet” in person was meeting the Director of CAR, Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni. While the Buckeye Bullet is fueled by lithium ion batteries, the world class research facility run by Dr. Rizzoni is fueled by his unparalleled brilliance and enthusiasm for advanced electric propulsion and energy storage systems for reduced fuel consumption and emissions. Dr. Rizzoni and his team are focused on advanced engines and alternative fuels that will shape transportation in the 21st century. Whether you’re into cars or into green, this interview will leave you thrilled that Dr. Rizzoni is in the driver’s seat of one of the world’s premiere transportation transformation incubators!

Think there’s no connection between the food on your plate and water pollution and ocean dead zones? Think again. Philippe Cousteau, grandson of the legendary Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, joins us to discuss his new education program for middle and high school students, which is designed to help them make informed decisions about what they eat, based both nutritional value AND environmental impact. The program references the award-winning documentary, Food, Inc., and includes free teacher’s guides and student worksheets intended to help kids understand how modern food production works, and how their food choices can influence the industry. On today’s episode, we will also be joined by the co-author of Philippe’s new guide: What’s on Your Fork? A Campaign for Meatless Choices, Cathryn Berger Kaye, who is a renowned service learning expert, author and speaker.

What’s on your grocery list this week? Milk, bread, eggs…how about sustainability? Today on Go Green Radio, we’re joined by the VP of Strategic Sourcing, and the Director of Supply Chain Sustainability for Safeway, Inc. They will give us some insights on how their grocery chain is “going green,” and how they are working with their suppliers to bring eco-friendly products and services to a market near you.

The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) is dedicated to the efficient and sustainable use of water. The Alliance has embarked on seven key tasks to support and enhance water conservation efforts: • Stand as a clear and authoritative national voice for water efficiency. • Provide comprehensive information about water-efficient products, practices, and programs--what works and what doesn’t. • Represent the interest of water efficiency in the development of codes and standards. • Transform the market for fixtures and appliances. • Coordinate with green building initiatives to institutionalize water efficiency. • Train water conservation professionals. • Educate water users. Tune in as we talk with Mary Ann Dickinson, President and CEO of AWE. For more information, check out their website at: www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org

Consumers have looked to Good Housekeeping for trusted advice for more than 125 years. The magazine has crusaded for food and toy safety, warned readers about flammability risks in Halloween costumes, children’s sleepwear, and kids’ rain coats, and called out manufacturer deceptions on a variety of product claims. In 2009, the magazine introduced the Green Good Housekeeping Seal (GGHS), an environmental extension of the brand’s primary Seal, the most recognized consumer icon in America, to offer consumers guidance in a marketplace saturated with green claims. For more than three years, the scientists and engineers at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, the magazine's state-of-the-art product testing laboratory, have worked with Brown & Wilmanns Environmental, one of the nation’s leading green consultants, as well as an Environmental Advisory Board, to establish criteria for the Green Good Housekeeping Seal. Today we’ll speak with Stacy Genoves, Technical and Engineering Director at the Good House

Climate change endangers human health, and costs us money in both lost and interrupted lives and increased health care. In a study published in the journal Health Affairs, a team of scientists from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) partnered with university economists to investigate the health costs of six climate change-related events, and found the estimated costs totaled more than $14 billion (in 2008 U.S. dollars). The study team selected six types of events that will worsen with climate change in ways likely to harm human health—ozone smog pollution, heat waves, hurricanes, mosquito-borne infectious disease, river flooding, and wildfires. The health effects and related costs of these events offer an indication of the threats we will increasingly face under a warming climate. Tune in to Go Green Radio to hear from the authors of this groundbreaking study, Drs. Kim Knowlton and Wendy Max.

We’re running low on clean water in the U.S., and that has a tremendous impact on our economy. Water-intensive industries like manufacturing and agriculture are feeling the pinch, but so is the energy industry. Permits for new coal plants in Texas are being protested by farmers whose crops are already parched with drought, because the farmers don’t want to compete for clean water with the energy plant. Downstream states are taking upstream states to court across the U.S. over water rights, and Las Vegas has offered to build San Diego a plant to desalinate the Pacific Ocean in exchange for a portion of its allocation of the Colorado River. Climate change is only exacerbating the problem, yet most Americans have no idea how fragile their water supply is. Tune in to hear Dr. Robert Glennon, professor of law and public policy at the University of Arizona, discuss this crisis and what each of us can do about it.

Our guest this week is New York Times auto writer Jim Motavalli's with his new book HIGH VOLTAGE: The Fast Track to Plug in the Auto Industry, published by Rodale Books on Nov. 8, 2011. HIGH VOLTAGE is a behind-the-scenes look at the robustly competitive race to dominate the market for electric cars, the larger-than-life moguls behind them, and the changes that are transforming the auto industry. Jay Leno says of the book, “Electricity has always been the best way to power an automobile. At the dawn of the last century, electric cars were the future, and 100 years later they’re the future again. For that reason, I’m sure you’ll find this book fascinating.” Tune in to Go Green Radio this week as we give you access to inside information on one of the most pivotal moments in automotive history! For more about Jim Motavalli, visit www.jimmotavalli.com.

On this episode of Go Green Radio, we’ll be joined by the filmmakers of the award winning Sundance documentary “Fuel,” husband and wife directing team Josh and Rebecca Tickell. They will discuss Freedom, a powerful new documentary film that examines the destructive relationship between foreign oil, national security and our economy, and focuses on clean energy solutions to America’s oil addiction. Freedom showcases the potential of home-grown energy for our economy and features interviews with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former NATO Commander Wesley Clark, singer/songwriter Jason Mraz, international author Deepak Chopra and such “green” actors as Ed Begley, Jr., Amy Smart and Michelle Rodriguez. The film covers issues spanning from the Keystone XL Pipeline and Canadian tar sands to last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion, to the economic issues resulting from oil use - and contrasts them with sound, long-term energy plans to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil sources. For more infor

A lot of people believe that no matter what humans do to the environment, the Earth has the capability to restore its equilibrium. After all, we know that the planet has survived through many previous ice ages, periods of global warming, and eras of intense CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. We assume that just because the Earth has recovered from these naturally occurring events, it will do so again, even as humans contribute to the environmental changes we currently observe. However, Professor Peter Sale of the United Nations University, and author of the new book Our Dying Planet…An Ecologist’s View of the Crisis We Face, has a different theory. On today’s episode he will reveal how the combination of overfishing, deforestation, pollution, and intense use of fossil fuels may cripple the Earth ability to rejuvenate itself, hence making the planet much less inhabitable.

What can a bank do to create a more sustainable economy? How can a bank help reduce a community’s carbon footprint? Are green jobs created by lending practices that reward eco-sensitive enterprises? Today’s guest is Stephanie Rico, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Wells Fargo. She will discuss some new concepts in sustainable financial lending, as well as internal measures to “green” the bank’s business operations. Ms. Rico will discuss the evolution of “green” banking practices across the industry, and some of the goals Wells Fargo is setting to help ensure their corporate customers do business in an environmentally responsible way.

Founded in 2009 by Brooklyn-based CEO David Luks after a battle with cancer lead him to learn about living a natural lifestyle, David discovered the extraordinary health benefits of honey and built his company based on the simple idea of offering consumers a flavorful and healthful drink that is derived from the land, not the lab. Honeydrop Beverages is proud to officially announce their “Buy a Bottle – Save a Bee” campaign. This initiative, established to help fight Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), an epidemic threatening the global bee population, is at the heart of the brand, with Honeydrop donating a percentage of profits from each bottle sold to carefully selected local beekeepers across the U.S. Tune in as founder & CEO, David Luks, discusses the human health benefits of honey, and why it is so important to our food supply to protect honey bees.

What’s on your grocery list this week? Milk, bread, eggs…how about sustainability? Today on Go Green Radio, we’re joined by the VP of Strategic Sourcing, and the Director of Supply Chain Sustainability for Safeway, Inc. They will give us some insights on how their grocery chain is “going green,” and how they are working with their suppliers to bring eco-friendly products and services to a market near you.

According to Richard Heinberg, author of the new book The End of Growth – Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, the answer is no. He makes the case that the world’s economic growth is inextricably tied to cheap energy, namely oil, and that as we enter a phase of more expensive extraction – like deep water, offshore drilling – our economy will level out…at best. He says that, “The human economy exists within and entirely depends upon Nature, and many natural resources have no realistic substitutes…societies have to operate within the planet’s budget of sustainably extractable resources.” Tune in to learn what Heinberg has to say about how everyday individuals and communities can do to prepare for what he calls a post-hydrocarbon economy and way of life.

Jill Krysinski and Betsie Weisse both hold Masters Degrees in Education, and firmly believe that all kids should be educated on environmental issues, starting in pre-school. Jill is a high school science teacher who has won awards from the Earth Day Network and the National Environmental Education Foundation. Her science club has established a bus tour – run on biodiesel the kids help create – in which high school students travel to various elementary and middle schools to teach younger kids about environmental issues. Betsie is a second grade teacher, and has been Jill’s best friend from college. They have recently teamed up to create a series of books aimed at kids from pre-school through third grade on topics like recycling and energy conservation. Tune in to learn more about their books, their mission, and how you can get involved

A lot of people believe that no matter what humans do to the environment, the Earth has the capability to restore its equilibrium. After all, we know that the planet has survived through many previous ice ages, periods of global warming, and eras of intense CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. We assume that just because the Earth has recovered from these naturally occurring events, it will do so again, even as humans contribute to the environmental changes we currently observe. However, Professor Peter Sale of the United Nations University, and author of the new book Our Dying Planet…An Ecologist’s View of the Crisis We Face, has a different theory. On today’s episode he will reveal how the combination of overfishing, deforestation, pollution, and intense use of fossil fuels may cripple the Earth ability to rejuvenate itself, hence making the planet much less inhabitable. Tune in as Professor Sale discusses a reasonable course of action that humans can take to help restore balance to the Earth’s many ecosys

BPA seems to be the scapegoat for hundreds of other harmful chemicals found in plastic food and beverage containers. While plastic manufacturers are scrambling to produce materials that can be marketed to consumers as BPA and phthalates-free, a recent study shows that many of these products are still full of chemicals with estrogenic activity (EA), which disrupt the natural function of human hormones. Chemicals with EA have been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, and a variety of behavioral abnormalities.

According to Richard Heinberg, author of the new book The End of Growth – Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, the answer is no. He makes the case that the world’s economic growth is inextricably tied to cheap energy, namely oil, and that as we enter a phase of more expensive extraction – like deep water, offshore drilling – our economy will level out…at best. He says that, “The human economy exists within and entirely depends upon Nature, and many natural resources have no realistic substitutes…societies have to operate within the planet’s budget of sustainably extractable resources.” Tune in to learn what Heinberg has to say about how everyday individuals and communities can do to prepare for what he calls a post-hydrocarbon economy and way of life