EcoTalk's Archives

Paul Hawken: Blessed Unrest

Paul Hawken talks about his most recent book Blessed Unrest : How the Largest Movement in the World Came in to Being and Why No One Saw it Coming.
Part 1  (11 min)  Part 2 (7 min)

The Fate of the Dead Sea

As the Dead Sea shrinks three feet per year, can Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories find common ground in these common waters to build a more lasting peace? Oregon State professor and author of Hydropolitics along the Jordan River: the impact of scarce water resources on the Arab-Israeli conflict Aaron Wolf offers his thoughts on the solutions, and the political will necessary to save the Dead Sea. LISTEN (11 min)

The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, SIlent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement

Brad College Environmental Studies Chair Mark H. Lytle checks in to discuss his new book The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement: "[Carson] really believed that the right to endure gave us a right to know. She felt that unless the public had the facts necessary to make an informed decision, they were going to be unwitting victims." We take such citizen advocacy for granted today, but as multinational coporations and the chemical revolution created a brave new world of potential dangers to human beings, Carson was one of the first people to stick her neck out for all of us. LISTEN (12 min)

Julia Whitty & Mother Jones Magazine: "Gone"

The latest issue of Mother Jones Magazine features an incredible (and ominous) article by Julia Whitty on the astonishing loss of biodiversity that this Earth has endured in the last century, and the precipitous increase to come, if we don't change: "It's the interaction of lifeforms that make our planet habitable. If we subtract 50% of those lifeforms, we're going to have a serious time sustainaing life on this planet." Listen to this interview, read the article in Mother Jones, and check out Whitty's new book The Fragile Edge: Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific. LISTEN (11 min)


 

Kim McKay: True Green

Kim McKay co-founder and deputy chair-woman of Clean Up Australia talks about her new book True Green, 100 everyday ways you can contribute to a healthier planet.  LISTEN  (12 min)

Elizabeth Kolbert: Field Notes From A Catastrophe

Elizabeth Kolbert's vivid, intimate accounts of climate change through the eyes of people in the Netherlands, Iceland, and Alaska were initially published in the New Yorker Magazine and later compiled in the book Field Notes from a Catastrophe. Since "Field Notes" was first published, Kolbert has written a stunning piece on ocean acidification, and has profiled one-time boy wonder of the environmental movement Amory Lovins, now 49 years old and still the eternal optimist.
PART ONE (11 min) PART TWO (7 min)

Patrick Carman: "Atherton: the House of Power"

Bestselling author Patrick Carman joins Betsy to talk about the magical world depicted in his new novel for young adults "Atherton: the House of Power", and its not coincidental resemblance to the magical Earth we all live on: "This particular book takes place about a hundred years in the future..."
LISTEN (8 min)

SustainLane: How Green is Your City?

SustainLane Chief Strategy Officer Warren Karlenzig joins Betsy to talk about how SustainLane has ranked the 50 greenest cities in the nation in their attractive and handy new book How Green is Your City?  The top three cities are on the West Coast, but cities from Boston to Honolulu have  green habits and new efforts, from Farmer's Markets to Tap Water to Public Transportation, that they should be proud of and build upon: "Cities can learn from one other. They're using these rankings to compare their metrics, how they're performing in different areas on everything from green building to sustainability management."  LISTEN (7 min)

Marty Essen: Cool Creatures, Hot Planet

Marty Essen tells Betsy about the adventures to be found on our precious, joyous, and yes, hair-raising planet, chronicled in his new book Cool Creatures, Hot Planet :  "There are a lot of creatures out there that aren't warm and cuddly, that you might want to wipe off the map, but when you do that, you lose things for humans. For example..." LISTEN (8 min)

Chad Pregracke: From the Bottom Up

"A genuine American hero," according to RFK Jr., Chad Pregracke, the young man who has cleaned up our Mississippi River, returns to EcoTalk to relate his colorful, inspiring story as it is told in his new book From the Bottom Up: One Man's Crusade to Clean America's Rivers. Nobody dedicates their life to such humble stewardship of the planet if they are not optimistic and in posession of an archetypal Midwestern work ethic. LISTEN (12 min)