Category: Water

Slime Molds, the Spotted Lanternfly, Fungi, Trees and preserving Nature with Taro Ietaka: Recreation Supervisor and Conservationist Westchester County, NY

Mother Nature is in need of help. It is imperative that we all work to keep the air, land and water clean, as well as do whatever we can to be active participants to achieve reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. We rely on experts to help us in this process, especially those who are conservationists. Nature conservationists are responsible for the practical management of the countryside. They help develop policies to preserve and protect areas such as woodlands, fields, rivers, mountains, forests or coastal areas, to develop awareness and understanding and to encourage people to be proactive in taking care of the environment. In Westchester County New York, there are terrific people who work to preserve the natural environment through a host of initiatives designed to protect thousands of acres of open space and the hundreds of species of plants and wildlife that thrive in the county. The conservation division plays a vital role in working on a variety of programs and services. We talk to Taro Ietaka who is a Recreation and Conservation Supervisor with Westchester County PRC (Parks, Recreation & Conservation). Taro coordinates the County’s biodiversity program to assess and protect the flora and fauna, and he oversees the six County-operated nature centers. We discuss the importance of science and nature programs for kids. We touch on, but don’t want to touch, the infamous slime mold, and we discuss what might help eradicate the invasive Spotted Lantern Fly (aside from squashing them, vacuuming might be a solution). We also talk about the importance of fungi being an integral part of forests and landscape. Taro is a certified arborist, and past president of the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association. He plays a vital role in maintaining and improving Westchester’s unique and beautiful natural environment for current and future generations to come. For more info go to parks.westchestergov.com.

Check out past shows on HudsonRiverRadio.com and MalcolmPresents.com. Please subscribe to TMSOG podcast on all major podcast apps. Follow us on FB and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen. #RaiseYour EcoConsciousness

The Rewilding School with Founder Eric Stone

We are living in stressful times, and connecting with nature is a way to become calmer and more centered. Being in a forest, on a beach or any open space adds to ones sense of well being, and provides a needed respite from the day to day grind of life. While being locked up during covid was horrific on so many levels, it brought more people outdoors, as walks in the woods or any open space provided exercise and benefits to your psyche. Children especially needed to connect to the outdoors and play in a park, make a snowman, build a sand castle, climb a tree, spot fireflies or listen to the songs of the birds. In our busy work-a-day lives, it’s good to know that there are people who help us connect with nature, and with each other. In this episode we talk to Eric Stone, who is a true nature connector. Eric is the founder of The Rewilding School, an outdoor education organization he runs with his partner Megan, which is dedicated to building connections between people and the traditional lands of the Wappinger and Lenape that we now call The Lower Hudson Valley. The Rewilding School runs preschool programs, hands-on summer programs, parent child classes, and workshops for school-age kids. For more info go to rewildingschool.com and @rewildingschool

To listen to current and past shows go to hudsonriverradio.com and malcolmpresents.com. Follow TMSOG on Facebook and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen. Subscribe to our podcast on all major podcast apps. #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness

Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion with Peter Schlactus

If you are living near a large or small airport, please know that you are being exposed to ultrafine particles of air pollution. Emissions from aviation are a significant contributor to climate change. If unmitigated, aviation emissions are expected to double or triple by 2050. Adverse environmental impacts affect communities that are near airports, especially those near watersheds areas which affect stormwater runoff and drinking water. Westchester Airport is a local airport in a suburb of NYC and there are major concerns about water and air pollution, as well as noise and increased usage by private jets. The skies are not very friendly in the surrounding communities, and my guest this week, Peter Schlactus, is tirelessly working to reduce the expansion of Westchester Airport, to help reduce environmental impacts to area residents, as the airport borders the Kensico watershed. Peter is a member of the Steering Committee of the Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion, a non-profit watchdog group of community and environmental organizations, as well as many hundreds of unaffiliated residents that together represent thousands of constituents united in seeking a vibrant but limited and environmentally responsible County airport, with no expansion of airport operations. For more information go to CTPWAE.org or https://www.coalition-to-prevent-westchester-airport-expansion.org/

To file a noise complaint go to https://www.coalition-to-prevent-westchester-airport-expansion.org/noise-complaints

Please subscribe to The Many Shades of Green Podcast on Spotify, Apple, Spreaker.com, iHeart, Amazon and more. Check out past shows on HudsonRiverRadio.com and MalcolmPresents.com. Follow us on FaceBook and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness

Guest Greg Vizzi, naturalist and co-author of THE ORIGINAL PEOPLE: THE ANCIENT CULTURE AND WISDOM OF THE LENNI-LENAPE PEOPLE talks about the Indigenous world view and the philosophy of co-author Chief Quiet Thunder

How is the world view of Chief Quiet Thunder relevant to todays modern world? Guest Greg Vizzi talks about how the Indigenous world view has been lost to modern man, and why it is important to collect the oral histories and tell the stories of Native Americans. The traditions of the Lenni-Lenape, teaches “the sacred obligation to protect the Earth.” We should all be protectors of the earth and do our part to prevent further damage to the planet caused by fossil fuel pollution, which is having a damaging effect on the land, the air and the water. Greg is an American naturalist and writer, and he gives us some answers and background on the need to understand and appreciate the culture of the Original People. For more information go to https://www.natures-wisdom.com/ Please subscribe to TMSOG podcast on all major podcast apps (Spotify, Apple, iHeart, Amazon, Spreaker.com and more). Follow us on Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on the web at themanyshadesofgreen.com, HudsonRiverRadio.com and malcolmpresents.com #RaiseYourEcoConsciousness #BEEGREEN

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

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