The Mike Nowak Show Podcasts

Guests: Faith Campbell , senior policy representative at The Nature Conservancy, on new regulations proposed by the USDA to keep non-native insects and diseases out of the country; Guy Sternberg from Starhill Forest Arboretum on the latest recognition of this downstate treasure; Connie Spreen, co-founder and executive director of Experimental Station, on the final days of the 61st Street Garden in the Lawndale neighborhood and a public meeting scheduled for November 12 on moving forward.

Mike talks to Jessica Fujan, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, which is working to get the Illinois Senate to pass a law labeling GMO food products in the state. After ballot initiatives failed in both California and Washington State, it represents a new tack by the anti-GMO forces.

Guests: Maria Anna Rafac and Jeanne Phelan from Joliet Community College talk about sustainability efforts at that institution, The Frozen Robins threaten Mike's radio career and skewer Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel at the same time, and Mr. Brown Thumb tries valiantly to get serious about gardening events and news. Nice try, MBT.

Doug Tallamy talks about his book, Bringing Nature Home, How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, in anticipation of several local appearances, including at the Greater DuPage Chapter of Wild Ones. A caller to the program conveniently illustrates the difficulty home owners have in identifying native plants, and Tallamy describes his project to identify which birds consume which insects.

Mike welcomes Blake Davis, Carla McGarrah and Tim Sparer to the WCPT studios. They are are just three of the many people working behind the scenes at The Plant, a former meat packing plant on Chicago's south side that will house a vertical farm, incubator for green businesses, brewery, bakery and more.

David A. Kraft of the Nuclear Energy Information Service stops by the WCPT studios to chat with Mike about the continuing danger posed by our aging nuclear power plants. Among the issues he discusses is how drought conditions that have plagued the country in the past few years make nuclear power plants and their surrounding environments less safe.

Guests: Benjamin Cox, Executive Director of Friends of the Forest Preserves (Cook County) talks about how the November 2 elections will change the direction of forest preserve management; Julie Rizzo explains how her company, Recycled Granite, saves thousands of pounds of the material from ending up in landfills; Scott Kuntz of Old House Gardens gives some advice on planting bulbs and discusses how he is transforming vacant urban lots to colorful bulb bed for his business.

Guests: MELA Executive Director Carol Becker talks about teaming up with O'Keefe Elementary School to renovate the memorial garden honoring a slain student--she is joined by science teacher Emily Kenny and neighborhood resident Thresa Conley; new chief horticulturist Jennifer Davit for Millennium Park's Lurie Garden, and Sue Markgraf from GreenMark PR talk about managing the garden; Natural Resource Defense Council's Josh Mogerman discusses last weeks oil spill in Romeoville and the wisdom of continuing U.S. dependence on tar sands oil.

Rick Moskovitz from A-Plus Pest Control, Inc., George Manning of American Pest Solutions, and Kaye Kharasch of Green Building Connections explain how bedbugs have resurged as a national problem and how the KiltronX Bedbug Barrier System is addressing that issue in a non-toxic way.

Guests: Chad Bliss and Justin Quinones from Cob Connection; Sarah Abu-Absi, WRD Environmental Consultant for the Chicago Department of Environment on "Tweet Home Chicago" competition.

Guests: Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott, author and editor of Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: good science - practical application; Kerrie Rosenthal and Carol Niec from The Seedkeeper Company; Jack Pizzo of Pizzo & Associates Ecological Restoration.

Guests: Rianna and John Caravette from Earth Wind And Solar Energy, LLC recap Saturday's Illinois Solar Energy Tour; Jennifer Brennan from The Chalet in Wilmette answers gardening questions with Mike; a5's John Harris previews next week's GreenTown Chicago conference at Columbia College.

Guests: Robert Nevel, Joel Smith and Terra Brockman discuss the Martin Luther King, Jr.Social Justice Weekend at KAM Isaiah Israel January 15th & 17th; Guy Sternberg, Mayor Bruce Tossell and David Ellis talk about saving the historic Osage-orange tree in Kewanee, Illinois; actor/producer Michael Martin and Chicago actor Richard Henzel preview the opening of Verbatim Verboten: The Words You Long to Hear at Hamburger Mary's in Andersonville on January 13 (yes, I'm in the show).

Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune writer and author of her own blogsite Growing in Chicago, co-hosts. Guests: Friends of the Forest Preserves Executive Director Benjamin Cox on Hinsdale land grab, conversation about the problems of harvesting plants and insects from the wild.

(Note: Due to technical problems, audio on this podcast is sub-standard. My apologies.) Guests: Filmmakers Carey Lundin and Mark Frazel, who have created the television documentary "Jens Jensen Harmonious World"; Martha Boyd from Angelic Organics Learning Center on their second annual Summer Solstice Celebration; LaManda Joy updates The Peterson Garden Project; Mike rants about recycling in Chicago.