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
Category: Health
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
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).
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
1718 Pesticide Madness
Pesticides are permeating the land, air and water. Our crops and food are sprayed with toxic chemicals which is causing health issues, pollution and collapse of pollinators. We talk to Carey Gillam, author of the new book Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science. Ms. Gillam picks up where Rachel Carson left off with the perils of DDT, but this time the culprit is glyphosate, the main chemical used in Roundup, produced by Monsanto. We also chat with June Stoyer, host of The Organic View, about neonictinoids, and how it is causing the reduction in the bee population. We need to work to stop the pesticide madness.
Tune in to find out what the hottest tortilla chip on Earth will do to your digestive system and mouth. It’s the hottest chip on the Scoville heat scale, coming in at 1.92 SHU, a Guinness World Record.
For more information go to U.S. Right to Know: usrtk.org, careygillam.com theorganicview.com, thegreendivas.com and themanyshadesofgreen.com
1621 Climate Monologues, Climate Change and Irthlingz
#1621 Climate Monologues, Stories of Climate Change and the plight of all Irthlingz
I caught up with Sharon Abreu after a performance of her one woman show, The Climate Monologues, at the United Solo Theatre in New York City. Sharon channels the voices of people affected by climate change, and brings their stories to life via monologues and music. Check out more by visiting:
climatemonologues.com, irthlingz.com and send Sharon a tweet @SharonAbreu
#1620 Rock and Wrap It Up
This episode of 50 Shades of Green Divas features Syd Mandelbaum, founder of Rock and Wrap it Up, an anti-poverty think tank, which works to feed those in need by taking unserved food from concert and sporting events, and delivering what is collected to local food charities. This not only helps feed those who go hungry, it minimizes waste in landfills, and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The organization is also working to feed veterans and get needed supplies to women who cannot afford feminine products. For more information go to rockandwrapitup.org
#1617: Green Sex For Climate’s Sake
Green Sex for Climate’s Sake (Yes, Green Sex is a shade of green)
There is no single solution for climate change…but separating sex from childbearing represents an under appreciated opportunity to forestall climate disaster…for the climate, family planning’s potential benefits are profound.
Those are the words of my guest this week, Alisha Graves, who is the co-founder of the OASIS Initiative (a project of UC, Berkeley which focuses on reducing population growth and poverty in the Sahel region of Africa). Her recent article, “Green Sex for Climate’s Sake,” debates the link between carbon emissions and population, and the need to educate young women, as well as young men, about contraception, family planning and health. For more information go to: oasisinititative.berkeley.edu and projectdrawdown.org.
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1602: Slick Water
It is no secret that mainstream media coverage of environmental issues is slow-moving, and many stories go un-reported in the press. Climate change deniers spout their ideology with reckless abandon. Enter my guest this week, Andrew Nikiforuk, an award winning environmental writer based in Calgary, Canada, who has written a new book about the hydraulic fracturing industry entitled Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry. The book traces the saga of Jessica Ernst, and the path she takes to hold Encana Oil and Canada’s environmental government agencies, responsible for secretly fracking hundreds of gas wells around her home, in a rural area northeast of Calgary. A cover-up ensues, which leads Ms. Ernst to take legal action against the various parties for their role in contaminating land, water and air in her community. For more information andrewnikiforuk.com and to amazon.com to check out his new and older works.
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#1537: Dayna Reggero, Climate Listening Project
Billions of people around the globe are affected by the changes in climate every day. There are many stories that need to be told and many stories that need to be heard. My guest this week, Dayna Reggero, project director for the Climate Listening Project, has gathered stories from a variety of individuals and businesses about the direct effect of climate change on their lives and communities. Farmers, scientists, faith based and environmental groups are working towards solutions to adapt and build resilience to the extremes of climate change. We must connect actions to our words and work towards building a cleaner, greener world. Dayna has also been involved with the Showtime Series, Years of Living Dangerously, and has partnered with Laura Lengnick, author of the book Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems in a Changing Climate. Dayna and Laura conduct storytelling workshops at colleges via the Cultivating Resilience Tour. For more info go to: daynareggero.com, @DaynaReggero and facebook.com/climatelisteningproject.
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#1534: The End of Plenty
Can we feed the world without wrecking it? Are we farming ourselves out of food? My guest, Joel K. Bourne Jr. and I delve into those questions on this week’s show. Joel’s new book, THE END OF PLENTY: The Race to Feed a Crowded World, discusses the world food crisis, as it relates to population increase and environmental concerns. Farm land is becoming decimated, as water shortages are spreading globally, thus reducing growth of crops needed to feed the populace. Political unrest and revolutions have occurred in various hot spots around the world, as wheat crops have failed, which has lead to tightening grain supplies. Lives are lost as fights break out over bread. Will 3D printing of food save us? Probably not, but there is hope, as farmers are using innovations in food irrigation, as well as conservation methods to solve some of the problems. A new land ethic must be put into place to feed the world. For more information go to joelkbournejr.com and amazon.com for his book, THE END OF PLENTY.
#1525: The End of Plenty by The Many Shades Of Green on Mixcloud
#1531: A Modern Day Johnny Appleseed
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
#1531: A Modern Day Johnny Appleseed by The Many Shades Of Green on Mixcloud