Do the electric slide into an EV (electric vehicle), and plug into a greener way to travel. My guest this week, Seth Leitman, a/k/a Green Living Guy, brings his expertise on vehicles that are electrifying the roadways. From Ford Fusion to Mitsubishi to Tesla, we learn about how the car industry is heading towards a more electric future. Seth’s Green Guru Guides and soon to be videos, are great tools to help you become a more sustainable Earthling. For more information go to greenlivingguy.com
Almost born on the Brooklyn Bridge, salvaged in Manhattan, and raised on the Brooklyn side. Sounds like a punk rocker was born, but it was the life beginning of this week’s guest, Samuel Robinson. Sam is a Green Living Consultant, Horticulturalist, Sculptor and blogger. He is the modern day Johnny Appleseed, as he cruises around the streets of NYC in his 1961 Willys Farm Jeep, distributing plant seeds and spreading the green message across the urban landscape. Sam is working on bio-remediation projects to help clean the water in the Gownaus Canal, which has turned into a toxic brew over the last several decades. We all need to take action and let our elected officials know that green spaces and clean waterways will improve the quality of life in the city, and legislation is needed to do that. If Paris can go green, NYC can go green. For more information go to greenwoodrobinson.com
Wild thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything groovy, wild thing. Enter my guest this week, Rachel Frank, a Brooklyn based artist who focuses on the environmental practice of rewilding. Her performance pieces have been shown at Socrates Sculpture Park, The Select Fair and the Bushwick Starr. I met Rachel at an art event on a rooftop in NYC via the Franklin Furnace. She performed a piece using giant sculpted Bison Head Masks, as a vehicle to reintroduce bison into select landscapes in NYC and other parts of the country. The Bronx Zoo is currently working on a Bison Project, and the concept of rewilding is taking hold in both urban and rural areas. For more information on what Rachel is currently working on go to rachelfrank.com
“Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say, it’s alright.” – George Harrison
New York State is committed to achieve 50% renewable energy by the year 2030. The Shared Renewable Program is part of that push, and Governor Cuomo recently stated that “this program is about protecting the environment and ensuring that all New Yorkers, regardless of their zip code or income, have the opportunity to access clean and affordable power.” This week’s show takes us to the #Solar4All Community Celebration sponsored by Solar One and Vote Solar. We heard from the NYS Energy Czar Richard Kaufman, as well as many other New York elected officials, who have worked to get this program off the ground. We spoke to Peter Olmsted and Adam Browning of Vote Solar, who are instrumental is developing policy for solar projects in New York, and beyond. We also spoke to Elana Laichena, Program Manager for Here Comes Solar, a project of Solar One, which promotes many solar initiatives. The Shared Renewable Program will help improve neighborhood health, resiliency and create opportunity, as renters, businesses, and homeowners will be able to participate in renewable energy projects, and receive tax credits on their utility bills. For more information go to votesolar.org, herecomessolar.nyc and sharedrenewables.org
It’s summer time, which means that your inner zen takes control, and dreams of lush green forests, cool lakes, warm oceans and tropical gardens become reality. Be a sustainable citizen, consider the environment, and tool around in an electric car. While camping, keep the bugs away with natural herbal products. Join me and my guests this week, Rusti (Paula) Wolintz, realtor extraordinaire, BFF and electric car owner to be. Bonnie Rogers, expert herbalist and founder of Bonnie’s Herbals, and Brian Horowitz, my co-host today, who is the host of The Rock and Roll History Show. Our discussion takes us from consumer concerns about plug-in vehicles to how lavender can keep mosquitos away. For more information, go to bonniesherbals.com, electric-vehiclenews.com, and rvvagabond.com.
According the the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents within the past 30 years. Enter the National Farm to School Network, which is working to bring local, fresh foods to school across the U.S., in an effort to reduce obesity, and bring healthy food choices to cafeteria menus. My guest this week is Jaime Lockwood, Development Director at the Farm to School Network, which helps connect local farmers with schools, chefs to cafeterias, and students to gardens. We talk about the importance of the Farm to School Act of 2015, and discuss how chefs inspire healthy eating, environmental awareness, and fitness via wellnessintheschools.org. Jaime is also a board member of Urban Tree Connection, an organization based in Philadelphia, that works to educate and develop community driven greening and gardening projects on vacant land. For more information visit farmtoschool.org. and urbantreeconnection.org
My son kisses flowers and hugs trees. His love of the environment is a natural, raw, yet untouched force within him. Keeping children in touch with that reverie and joy is a challenge in the button-pushing-we-can-get-anything-we-want society.
Most homes have recycling bins somewhere in the house, and most know we need to turn off the lights when leaving a room. One way to expand the understanding of the environment for children is to meet-up with them on their own turf, the video. Immediate and satisfying, video shorts are quick loads of messages that can be watched in less than a minute or two yet pack a powerful punch.
One of my favorites is from Animal Planet. They have some wonderful shorts between programming that my kids and I have truly laughed and learned with. We don’t mind watching them over and over.
The task of teaching children about environmental responsibility requires creating a culture of learning from schools to games to how we eat to discussions about visual media from photography to film. Clicking on any one of these videos opens a dialogue. Watching a kangaroo decline the use of plastic bags is cute. A farting cow always gets laughs and the message across. Kids will love the animation. The themes are clever and catchy. Even if they are brief, kids take note.
When the kids of today run tomorrow, we hope they still have the power to stand beneath a tree and feel awe for all it represents in our world. Without the trees, without the power of our kids to change things, we are nothing. So, pass that tablet of phone to your kids and take a few minutes to share these simple, delightful, meaningful videos. Then, search for more or go out and make your own, passing on the message to others.
1. Animals Save the Planet: A montage of funny, poignant, cute shorts teaching little life lessons on we can make small changes to help the planet.
2. What It Means to Be Green: A video story book on ideas to go green.
3. Sesame Street: Water Conservation: Less than a minute, just the right length to get a quick point across about turning off the water faucets.
4. Save Our World: A three-minute look at our planet and our responsability.
5. Explaining Carbon: What is carbon anyway? An animation helps kids, and adults, understand the basics of carbon in our environment.
Why are environmental regulations important in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions? The Clean Air Act and the Clean Power Standard Rule have been put into place to keep the air, land and water safe, in order to reduce the negative health effects of pollutants. Join me and my special guest, Elon D. Rubin, Esq., Environmental lawyer, entrepreneur, techie, musician and most importantly my awesome son, as we talk about the environmental regulatory process, and how citizens can participate in the process. The climate is changing, and we must be proactive in being resilient and adaptive to current and future climate challenges. For more information visit Edrlaw.com and epa.gov.
Neither rain, nor fog, nor soggy dew could dampen the spirit of the Clearwater 2015 Festival. We spoke to many environmental activists and green entrepreneurs who are creating ideas, and spreading the message about the need to be proactive stewards of Mother Earth. Music echoed throughout the festival, with many performers motivating the populace to take a stand and raise their voices on environmental and social justice issues. Music icon David Crosby, sang new songs with lyrics that commented on the nation’s current state of affairs, and implored people to email, call or show up at the offices of their elected officials and make some noise. Pete Seeger would have been proud to see his vision perpetuated. For more info go to clearwater.org.
This week’s program features Jesse Ash, principal and lead producer at Greener Media, an eco-conscious production company based in NYC. We discuss how storytelling via digital and film mediums, is an essential tool in helping raise awareness about environmental and social issues. Jesse has won a Webby for his animated short Magical Cure, and his current project, Common Ground, was recently screened at the United Nations and at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. In addition, Greener Media’s short documentary, Man in the Maze, was a winner of the Sundance Short Film Challenge this year. To find out why Bette Middler has been deemed the “Queen of Green” and why it is helpful to have a celebrity name attached to a particular cause, you have to tune in. For more information go to: greenermedia.com
This week’s show takes us to the Mamapalooza Festival in NYC, which celebrates moms via education and entertainment. We spoke to “super mom” Joy Rose, founder of Mamapalooza and the Mom Rock Movement. She started the band “Housewives on Prozac” to not only rock out, but take us through the trials and tribulations of Motherhood. We also talked to Pierce Delahunt, a masters student at the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), to get some insight into education and how IHE is working to grow a more just, humane and healthy world. In addition, we chat with Brian Horowitz, host of the Rock and Roll History Show, about the greening of RVs and hitting the road in his solarized Air Stream. For more information go to mommuseum.org, humaneeducation.org and glacier-entertainment.com
Portable entrepreneurship has become popular in the new “food truck” era, but mobile vending has been around for a very long time and taken on new forms. A box on wheels can contain businesses, libraries, gardens, roving studios and museum exhibits. My guest this week, Lauren Cannon, who runs the Institute for Mobile Research, gives us the background and current status of world of mobile vending. The popularity in movable businesses has risen with gourmet food trucks, but the term “mobile” is not just directed at carts and trucks, as new ideas are turning boxy wheeled vehicles into project spaces and community hubs. For more information go to upended.net