This is a special addition of 50 Shades of Green Divas with Green Divas Meg, Lisa, Max and Elly. We have various special guests who answer the question: what actions can we take now to make the environment better in 2070, when the people of planet Earth celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Earth Day? Our guests include environmental activists in various fields including Ed Begley Jr., Raffi, Dayna Reggero, Harriet Shugarman, Seth Leitman, and more. We need to use our collective will to be active, in order to put measures in place to reduce carbon emissions. We are living in difficult times right now, but there are silver linings. Go to thegreendivas.com for more info.
Category: Climate Change
1908 Plastic, Plastic and more Plastic
We are a world filled with plastic bottles, bags, straws, packaging and more. Rivers, lakes, oceans, parks, highways, train tracks, fields are littered with single use throwaway plastic and it is damaging the planet. We can use our collective will to be more proactive and work to find solutions, as well as take personal responsibility. On this episode Green Divas Meg and Max delve into the plastic problem and give information and ideas about the problem and what can be done about it. We talk to Eileen Bastianelli, Founder of Eco Centric Solutions, who is a Plastic Hunter (she helps promote One Plastic Free Day) as well as a marketing advisor and eco-steward of the earth, about steps that can be taken to reduce plastic. For more information go to oneplasticfreeday.com. We also talk about the Octopuses Garden in the shade filled with plastic straws. We would love to hear from you, so tweet us @tmshadesofgreen, @50ShadesofGDs, @thegreendivas. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and tune in via thegreendivas.com on Spotify, Buzzsprout, iHeart, iTunes and ask Alexa or Siri to play The Green Divas podcast. #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness
1815 Is it the Weather or is it Climate Change with guest Paul Douglas, Meteorologist
“The climate is changing, our lives rearranging, the weather just alters our minds. It’s cold where it’s hot, it’s hot where it’s cold, some things you cannot deny.” That’s a lyric from a song I wrote called, ‘Find The Blue’ and as the recent U.S. National Climate Assessment Report Volume Two predicts the climate is changing. There are high risks of future disasters from flooding, droughts, fires, and extreme weather events, which will have a profound effect on the populous of the America citizenry, and the globe. The question is : why are we downplaying climate change? Green Divas Meg and Max discuss weather vs. climate, and we hear from Paul Douglas, a respected meteorologist who gives us some insight into climate and weather, and how the changes in climate are impacting humans and the economy (pauldouglasweather.com). Get more info by going to thegreendivas.com. Tweet us @tmshadesofgreen, @thegreendivas and @50ShadesofGDs.
1811 Food Not Lawns
Tune in to 50 Shades of Green Divas, as we discuss the role of lawns, and why we need to do something about our obsession with manicuring them. Spraying the grass with pesticides is not good for children, pets, or anyone else. Cancer rates are increasing, which is problematic to say the least, and the amount of water used to grow that perfect lawn, is adding to already bad drought conditions in many areas within the US and beyond. Why not do something lovely and grow a garden, or better yet grow some food. For more info go to thegreendivas.com #FoodNotLawns
Tweet us @50ShadesofGDs, @thegreendivas, @tmshadesofgreen
1808 Every day should be Earth Day! Get Active and be resilient!
Happy Earth Day, Earth Week, Earth Month, Earth Year from Green Divas Meg and Max. It is everyone’s job to be proactive to protect the planet, and to be resilient. The show features the tune California Reggae Debate (You Got the Power) by Token great and sorely missed brother, Mitch Margo. There is also commentary by Harriet Shugarman, founder of Climate Mama, Ed Begley Jr., a very Super Green Dude and Stephanie Palumbo founder of Small Victories. The episode wraps with a song by Brute Force to help welcome in Earth Day #EarthAlways. Tweet us your thoughts: @50ShadesofGDs, @thegreendivas, @tmshadesofgreen. Check out climatemama.com and begleyliving.com as well as thegreendivas.com, celebratesmallvictories.com and themanyshadesofgreen.com
1805 Using the Law to battle climate change with Maya Van Rossum and John Parker
Using the law to battle climate change, this episode of 50 Shades of Green Divas focuses on how the legal system is an important tool in combating global warming. We talk to Maya Van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, and author of the book, The Green Amendment: Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment and John Parker, environmental lawyer and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. Maya and John give us examples of recent court actions which have been successful in the fight to keep the planet clean and green. We also touch on how the kids are leading the way, not only on the gun issue, but on the environment via the case Juliana v. The US. Their complaint asserts that, through the government’s affirmative actions that cause climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, and has failed to protect essential public trust resources. Mix in some weird science facts on space and Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and you have the classic Green Divas Meg and Max at their podcast best.
For more info check out delawareriverkeeper.org, LEAF-Legal Environmental Fund of theHudson Valley (Susan Shapiro 845.371.2100), thegreendivas.com, themanyshadesofgreen.com Tweet us @TheGreen Divas, @50ShadesofGDs, @tmshadesofgreen and @parkjlp (John Parker).
1804 Before the Flood with Green Dude Fisher Stevens talking about Climate Change and Leonardo DiCaprio
This episode of Green Dudes features Fisher Stevens, Academy Award winner for the documentary film, The Cove, and a wonderful actor and activist. He directed the Eco-documentary, Before the Flood, which follows Leonardo DiCaprio as he meets with activists, scientists and world leaders to discuss the dangers of climate change and possible solutions. Green Diva Meg chats with Fisher about the film. I met Fisher Stevens at a screening of the documentary at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, and we talked about the movie, and briefly discussed how important it is to get the message out to all Earthlings, that we must be proactive in pushing forward ideas and solutions, to make the planet a cleaner and healthier place to live. For more info go to beforetheflood.com, thegreendivas.com, tweet us @50ShadesofGDs, @TheGreenDivas, @tmshadesofgreen, @BeforeTheFlood_ #BeforeTheFlood
1803 Van Jones, Vien Truong, Rev Yearwood discuss Poverty, Pollution and Climate Justice
The most vulnerable members of society bear the brunt of adverse pollution effects. This is becoming more prevalent each day, as we see what has happened in Flint Michigan and the Port of Newark. Pollutants fill the air and water in lower and middle class neighborhoods, where the population is at greater risk both medically and financially. This episode brings in three powerful community leaders, Van Jones, Vien Truong and Reverend Yearwood to discuss this important issue. Cheech and Chong and Harold and Kumar also get mentioned, as spotted owls need to be saved from black market marijuana growers in CA. There is also the story of Camels and Botox, yup you read that right. So tune in, be informed and be active. It’s time to be Green for All! For more info go to greenforall.org, hiphopcaucus.org, vanjones.net
Also visit thegreendivas.com and tweet us @TheGreenDivas, @tmshadesofgreen and @50ShadesofGDs
1717 #StopSucking, Strawless Oceans, and Strawsome
Green Diva Meg and I speak with Dune Ives, Co-founder of the Lonely Whale Foundation, which has a campaign to reduce how plastic straws find their way into the ocean. Check out their Strawless Ocean (#StopSucking) campaign.
Plastics wind up in are the ocean via land and are carried by the wind and rain into the sea. Grocery bags, coffee cup lids, plastic bottles, straws and more. We need to work to stop this from happening.
One solution is in the form of glass straws, and we speak to Daedra Surowiec, Founder of Strawsome, which produces beautiful glass straws as an alternative to the polluting plastic version. They even designed a straw for the 50 Shades of Green Divas, called the GD Straw. Details coming soon on how you can purchase them.
Will we be able to get the now crippled EPA to regulate plastics as a pollutant under the Clean Water? Find out by going to:biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/oceans and getting more info.
For additional info go to: lonelywhale.org, strawsome.com, thegreendivas.com and themanyshadesofgreen.com
1712 Suburban Coyotes and the need to coexist
Did you know that Wyle E. Coyote of Looney Tunes fame is cousins with Tech E Coyote, the main character in Loonatics Unleashed? We didn’t either, but if you toon in (ha!) you will find out the connection, as well as get important information on the suburbanization of coyotes, and how we can coexist with them. We talk with Victoria Alzapiedi who has vast knowledge on the subject, and we will help you understand their habits, and how we can live in harmony.
For more info check out: dec.ny.gov/animals/9359.html
#RaiseYourEcoConsciousness#TheGreenDIvas#TheManyShadesofGreen
1709 Fisheries and Fish Tales
Sustainable Fishing, Tish, the world’s oldest goldfish, and other fish tales are touched on in the latest episode of 50 Shades of Green Divas. We chat with Noah Bressman, a marine biologist about fisheries, the fishing industry, how to tell if the fish you buy is safe to consume, and other fish stories.
go to thegreendivas.com and themanyshadesofgreen.com for more
1708 Population Does Matter
Population does matter. The Earth cannot continue to produce the resources needed to keep both humans and the animal kingdom alive and well without changing our behavior. Tune in to 50 Shades of Green Divas (thegreendivas.com) and The Many Shades of Green (themanyshadesofgreen.com), and check out our conversation with guest Robert Walker, President of The Population Institute, as we talk about issues of population. For more information go to populationinstitute.org. #PopulationDoesMatter