Ana Unruh Cohen, Director of Environmental Policy with the Center for American Progress, gave us her take on the President’s trip to the Capitol: "Recognition of the challenge is not enough. We need action." LISTEN (8 min)
The coalition of 28 Evangelicals and Scientists that the National Association of Evangelicals Richard Cizik and Dr. Eric Chivian of Harvard University assembled do not agree about everything in the world (or in the heavens, presumably), but they do agree that climate change is a problem requiring urgent action on everyone’s part. Here Richard tells Betsy about his initial skepticism, his climate change revelation, and the common ground that will keep all of us on firm ecological footing. LISTEN (11 min)
NRDC President Frances Beinecke tells Betsy about the coalition of large corporations, including Duke Energy, DuPont, General Electric, and PG&E, who are demanding strong leadership on climate change from the Federal Government, just in time for tomorrow’s State of the Union speech: "The most important thing we’d like to see the president to do is commit to a cap-and-trade proposal that reduces our carbon emissions. But we’re not that optimistic." LISTEN (11 min)
PG&E’s VP of Environmental and Federal Affairs Steve Kline describes the evolution that brought California energy giant PG&E into the coalition of corporations demanding federal action on climate change: "We decided that we had to be a solution to this problem."
LISTEN (7 min)
Leading environmental thinker Bill McKibben calls in from Sundance and urges us all to get involved in Step It Up 2007, a call to every one of us to organize climate change rallies in our own communities (and in our own styles!) on April 14th. April Power will launch a Spring flowering of creative solutions and united optimism in the face of Climate Change. Bill also talks about his new book Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future due out in March.
PART 1 (11 min) PART 2 (7 min)
Catch Bill in the new film Everything’s Cool, which had its premiere this week at the Sundance Film Festival.
Former Scientist with the US Climate Change Science Program Rick Piltz tells Betsy about leaving his post after a decade in of public service due to his refusal to work under the Bush Administration’s definitions of "science." He now runs climatesciencewatch.org, a site dedicated to keeping tabs on how our government handles the science of climate change. LISTEN (12 min)
Also, see Rick in the new film Everything’s Cool, which premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival.
In Plug-In Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America Sherry Boschert chronicles the coming together of Americans of all political stripes, from "left greenies" like herself to neoconservative hawks like James Woolsey, to call for 100mpg (100mpg!) Plug-In Hybrids as a solution to our environmental, energy, national security, and pocketbook problems. Let’s do it! LISTEN (12 min)
Even if it’s just political football, it is refreshing for environmental and energy issues to be in play as the 110th Congress wraps up its first 100 hours. Jeremy Symons, Manager of the Climate Change Program for the National WIldlife Federation, chats with Betsy about Thursday’s big Congressional vote to make Big Oil pay taxes like other Americans.
They also review the ambitious McCain/Lieberman/Obama bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2% every year. That’s exciting– but can it pass? You’d almost think those guys were running for president or something…..
PART 1 (11 min) PART 2 (7 min)
Sign this petition asking Congress to end
the billions of dollars of tax giveaways to big multinational oil
companies and invest this money in clean renewable energy.
Read Larry’s blog
Joseph Romm, former Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Energy under President Clinton and current Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, shares with Betsy his three big picture solutions to global warming,
looks back at the environmental legacy of the Clinton/Gore
administration, and shares his insights on the legacy of the sitting
(duck) presidential administration: "They only like technology that
doesn’t exist." His new book is Hell and High Water: Global Warming– and What We Should Do.
LISTEN (12 min) Read his blog
Over her lifetime Laurie Fickus has seen her community in Fairbanks physically transformed by the thawing permafrost and "drunken trees" that have become the signature features of climate change in Alaska. She shared her firsthand account with Betsy as they attended "Al Gore U." in Tennessee last week. LISTEN (8 min)