Episodes

You can call California a bellwether state for environmental policies, or you can be accurate… and call it the rock star state for bold environmental movements. In 2006, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB32 into law, which aimed to curb greenhouse gas emissions and move toward a clean energy economy. It gained worldwide attention as one of the first large economic forces in the world putting “green” on the front burner. But as he prepares to term out of office, an initiative bac...

Though tap water in the United States is much cleaner than in many other countries, it is not perfectly healthy. Recent studies have shown that rivers throughout the U.S. are contaminated with pharmaceuticals, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that our children shouldn’t be drinking water with medicine in it. Many families have turned to bottled water, assuming it is safe, but in fact only one person at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the responsibility to oversee the safe...

Recon Recycling is a disabled veteran owned small business located in the Barrio Logan community of San Diego. Recon believes in applying the principles of sustainability, economic development, and social equity to their business practices. Richard McCaskill started the company three years ago with no capital, learning the basics of recycling from the homeless and utilizing guerrilla military tactics learned in the Marine Corps special forces. Currently the company provides waste reduction and r...

Everywhere we turn, there is another news story about carbon emissions and efforts to reduce them. But for the average town, small business, school, home or individual, reducing carbon emissions is a bit of a mystery. How do we know how much carbon we are emitting? Where can we cut carbon from our operations? Is there a way to offset the carbon that we cannot reduce? Until recently, answering these questions was imprecise at best. But now there is a company with reliable and easy-to-use tools th...

Though tap water in the United States is much cleaner than in many other countries, it is not perfectly healthy. Recent studies have shown that rivers throughout the U.S. are contaminated with pharmaceuticals, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that our children shouldn’t be drinking water with medicine in it. Many families have turned to bottled water, assuming it is safe, but in fact only one person at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the responsibility to oversee the safe...

Give them the tools, the training, and a mission – these Veterans have what it takes to help America transition to a green, clean economy. On today’s episode of Go Green Radio, we’ll talk with Garrett Reppenhagen, former sniper in the Army’s 1st Infantry Division stationed in Iraq, and now the head of the Veterans Green Corps, overseeing teams of Veterans who are working outdoors to clean up wetlands, conducting forest fire mitigation projects, building woodland trails, and preserving our nation...

On this week’s Go Green Radio, Michael Kraft, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, will discuss his recent OpEd entitled, “Republicans must embrace clean energy for their future.” During the midterm elections, most political observers expect unemployment rates and the war to dominate the airwaves, but how is the electrification of American light transportation related to those topics? We will discuss the effects that federal subsidies for electric cars could have on...

Ever tasted an apple grown in the Big Apple? If not, talk to this week’s guest, Marcel Van Ooyen, the Executive Director of GrowNYC – formerly the Council on the Environment of New York City. The NYC Greenmarket is the largest and most successful open-air farmers markets program in the country. Since 1970, this organization has been improving New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities block by block and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and ...

Trees for the Future (TFTF) –www.treesforthefuture.org- is a nonprofit organization that was around long before “going green” was cool. Since their inception in 1988, they have planted 65 million trees in strategic locations around the world. They train local farmers to plant, care for, and sustainably utilize trees. Among their many success stories, TFTF was responsible for the reforestation of an area in the Philippines that had been stripped by illegally logging and left barren for over 100 y...

According to this week’s Go Green Radio guest, more than half of the world’s population currently lives in an urban environment, and that number is expected to rise to 70% by the year 2050. In his most recent article for Fast Company, Trung Le writes, “These urban centers are supported by a diversity of interconnected systems and infrastructure that enhance the human condition (i.e. employment, culture, housing, education, transportation, public safety, healthcare, energy and technology)… But th...

Healthy Child Healthy World exists because more than 125 million Americans, especially children, now face an historically unprecedented rise in chronic disease and illness such as cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD / ADHD, and learning and developmental disabilities. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases. For the past two decades Healthy Child Healthy World has been the natio...

The National Environmental Education Foundation, in partnership with The Weather Channel, has launched Classroom Earth, a program designed to enhance and strengthen environmental education in high school classrooms nationwide. Planet Connect, a program of Classroom Earth, targets high school youth in an effort to increase student engagement in environmental learning, stimulate interest in environmental careers, and learn how to protect the environment. Planet Connect was developed with input fro...

Everywhere we turn, there is another news story about carbon emissions and efforts to reduce them. But for the average town, small business, school, home or individual, reducing carbon emissions is a bit of a mystery. How do we know how much carbon we are emitting? Where can we cut carbon from our operations? Is there a way to offset the carbon that we cannot reduce? Until recently, answering these questions was imprecise at best. But now there is a company with reliable and easy-to-use tools th...

Every generation needs leaders, and not all of them will come from affluent, private schools. Many of the next generation’s leaders will come from public schools, and one woman and her colleagues are on a mission to ensure that their public school delivers citizen-leaders who are prepared for the challenges they will face in the 21st century. This week on Go Green Radio, we will talk with Sarah Elizabeth Ippel, who is the founder of the Academy of Global Citizenship. This brand new public school...

We’ve all used battery powered devices, so the concept of storing energy isn’t new. But what IS new is the concept of storing energy in amounts that could power cars, homes, and entire communities. While wind and solar plants soak up the headlines on today’s energy news front, just below the surface of that news is a technology that makes wind and solar viable: energy storage capacity. On today’s show, we’ll talk with the Chief Operating Officer of Ioxus, Chad Hall, who will explain the function...

According to our guest, Jason Makansi, Executive Director of the Energy Storage Council, the reason storage is so essential to renewables is the renewables are intermittent -- the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, and they are often located in areas far from population centers. Because the price of wholesale electricity varies throughout the day, when electricity is sold is just as important as how much electricity is sold. But if you can store the energy generated on a ...

We can't see the smog of electro-pollution – but it is affecting us – according to the scientific evidence in the award-winning book Wireless Radiation Rescue – safeguarding your family from the risks of electro-pollution by Kerry Crofton, Ph.D. (Global Wellbeing Books, Revised Edition, July 2010). The issue of cell phone radiation is making national headlines, yet consumers remain uncertain about the risks involved and how to protect themselves. Dr. Crofton, a health educator, collaborated with...

Global Broadcasting for Kids (GB4K) is the brain child of actor/director/producer Scott McGinnis, and it just might change the world. While politicians and environmental activists work to clean up the mess left by older generations, GB4K reaches out to the ones who will inherit the mess – today’s teenagers. The message couldn’t be more perfectly on point; it’s “Green News…from One Kid to Another.” Each week, teen journalists, Marley and her brother Elijah, report on environmental issues, and fin...

Healthy Child Healthy World exists because more than 125 million Americans, especially children, now face an historically unprecedented rise in chronic disease and illness such as cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD / ADHD, and learning and developmental disabilities. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases. For the past two decades Healthy Child Healthy World has been the natio...

Nestled in the Rockies near the Big Sky Ski Resort, the student body at Montana State University has one of the most breathtaking vistas of any college campus I’ve ever seen. The daily reminder of the beauty and majesty of nature inspired students to take matters into their own hands to protect the environment in January 2009 when they voted to create a student-financed sustainability center. One year later, the sustainability center is responsible for diverting over 109 tons of recyclable mater...

According to Laurie Mazur’s new book, “A Pivotal Moment”… “3 billion people -- nearly half the world’s population – are under the age of 25. The reproductive choices made by these 3 billion young women and men will effectively decide whether total world population is 8 billion or 10.5 billion in the year 2050. The difference of 2.5 billion people is profound for many reasons. Population growth rates remain high where poverty and gender inequality are most intractable. Where women are denied educ...

Global Broadcasting for Kids (GB4K) is the brain child of actor/director/producer Scott McGinnis, and it just might change the world. While politicians and environmental activists work to clean up the mess left by older generations, GB4K reaches out to the ones who will inherit the mess – today’s teenagers. The message couldn’t be more perfectly on point; it’s “Green News…from One Kid to Another.” Each week, teen journalists, Marley and her brother Elijah, report on environmental issues, and fin...

Everyone is talking about climate change. In LIFE IN THE HOTHOUSE, Melanie Lenart, PhD, award-winning journalist and climate researcher, offers an alternative view of the issues at hand— explaining in fascinating, user-friendly terms how the Earth’s natural systems help deal with climate change and what we can do to support that process. Lenart explains how our planet responds to different climates, past and present. Stronger hurricanes, rising seas, bigger floods – warming temperatures spur the...

What happens when a landfill become land “full”? Answer…taxpayers foot the bill to build a new one. It’s expensive, and it’s a waste of land and other resources that could be used for better things that burying trash. What if I told you that your trash could be converted to clean energy? In fact, that may already be the case in your town. Communities across the U.S. have been using energy-from-waste (EFW) technology for decades. In fact, many states – including Florida and California – have incl...